You Can't Grow Into Someone You Don't Know (June 17, 2026)

You have to know who you are to grow to your potential." — John C. Maxwell

One of the biggest mistakes professionals make isn't a lack of talent.

It isn't a lack of experience.

It isn't even a lack of opportunity.

It's a lack of clarity.

John C. Maxwell's quote stopped me in my tracks because it reinforces something I've written about throughout this blog and something that sits at my heart.

You cannot intentionally build a career if you don't intentionally understand yourself first.

Before You Network, Know Yourself

Many people approach networking with one question:

"Who should I meet?"

I believe there's a better question.

"Who am I becoming?"

If you don't know your strengths, your values, what energizes you, or the problems you're uniquely equipped to solve, every networking conversation becomes transactional instead of transformational.

People remember clarity.

They struggle to remember confusion.

That's why the most effective professionals don't simply collect contacts. They build relationships around a clear understanding of who they are and where they're headed.

Experience Doesn't Equal Identity

I've written often that experience alone doesn't create opportunity.

Impact does.

The same is true with identity.

Your résumé tells people where you've been.

Your identity tells people where you're capable of going.

Those are not always the same thing.

I've met professionals with twenty years of experience who still couldn't clearly answer:

• What am I known for?
• What problem do I solve better than others?
• Why would someone choose to work with me?
• What kind of teammate do I want to become?

Those answers matter more than another line on a résumé.

This Is Why I Have This Blog

I write this blog because it isn't just about helping someone land a job.

It's about helping them discover direction.

Career growth begins long before an interview.

It begins with understanding your story.

Knowing your values.

Recognizing your strengths.

Building genuine relationships.

Creating a reputation that speaks before you enter the room.

Networking without clarity is simply collecting business cards.

Networking with clarity builds a career.

Whether you're a college student, graduate assistant, intern, first-time sports communicator, or someone wondering what's next after years in the profession, the starting point remains the same.

Know yourself.

Then connect with purpose.

Growth Is an Inside Job

Every season of your career asks a different question.

Early on, it asks, "What can you do?"

Later it asks, "Who can you lead?"

Eventually it asks something even more important.

"Do you know who you are?"

Because your greatest potential will never be determined solely by your skills.

It will be determined by how well you understand the person using those skills.

That is why Maxwell's quote is so powerful.

You have to know who you are to grow to your potential.

Everything else—your network, your opportunities, your influence, and your career—grows from there.

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Reflection

Before asking, "What's my next opportunity?" ask yourself these three questions:

1. What am I consistently known for?
2. What unique value do I bring to others?
3. Does my network know me for the person I want to become, or only the job I currently hold?

Those questions may be the beginning of your next chapter.

And they're exactly where meaningful connection begins.

The Difference Between a Contact and a Connection (June 16, 2026)

Your Network Isn't Your Contacts List

If I asked you how many people are in your professional network, you could probably give me a number.

Maybe it's your LinkedIn connections.

Maybe it's the business cards you've collected over the years.

Maybe it's the people you've met at conventions, workshops, and conferences.

But here's a tougher question:

How many of those people would take your call tomorrow?

For many professionals in college athletics, the answer is far smaller than they would like to admit.

That's because a network and a contacts list are not the same thing.

A contacts list is a collection of names.

A network is a collection of relationships.

And relationships are what create career momentum.

The Networking Mistake Most Professionals Make

Many professionals treat networking as an event.

They attend a conference.

Exchange business cards.

Connect on LinkedIn.

Maybe send one follow-up message.

Then they move on.

Months later, when they need career advice, a recommendation, or help identifying an opportunity, they suddenly attempt to reconnect.

The challenge is that relationships require investment before they produce value.

The strongest professional relationships are built long before they are needed.

Career Advancement Happens Through Trust

Job descriptions matter.

Experience matters.

Skills matter.

But trust matters, too.

In college athletics, opportunities are often created through conversations.

People recommend professionals they know.

People advocate for professionals they trust.

People open doors for professionals who have consistently shown up, provided value, and invested in the relationship.

That doesn't happen overnight.

It happens through intentional communication and genuine connection.

Mentorship Is More Than Advice

One of the biggest misconceptions in professional development is that mentorship begins when someone officially becomes your mentor.

The reality is that mentorship often begins with curiosity.

A question.

A conversation.

A willingness to learn.

Some of the most impactful mentors in a career never carry the title of mentor at all.

They simply invest in others through conversations, encouragement, perspective, and honest feedback.

The professionals who advance most effectively are often the ones who consistently seek those conversations.

Relationships Create Career Clarity

Many professionals believe they need a new job.

Sometimes they do.

But often what they really need is clarity.

Clarity about their strengths.

Clarity about their goals.

Clarity about what comes next.

Meaningful conversations can provide that clarity faster than hours of scrolling job boards.

The right conversation can reveal opportunities you didn't know existed.

The right mentor can help you see strengths you've overlooked.

The right connection can change the trajectory of your career.

My Philosophy

One of my core beliefs is simple:

No college athletics professional should have to navigate their career journey alone.

The goal is not simply to help people find jobs.

The goal is to help people build sustainable careers.

That happens through intentional relationships.

It happens through mentorship.

It happens through professional development.

It happens through creating a community where people are willing to learn from one another and invest in one another's success.

Final Thoughts

At some point in your career, someone opened a door for you.

Someone answered a question.

Someone gave you advice.

Someone made an introduction.

Someone believed in you before you fully believed in yourself.

The best way to honor that investment is to do the same for someone else.

Your network isn't your contacts list.

It's the people who know you, trust you, support you, challenge you, and help you grow.

Those relationships may become the most valuable asset your career will ever have.

The Discipline of Appreciation (June 15, 2026)

"The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them." — G.K. Chesterton

As professionals, we are often conditioned to focus on what comes next.

The next game.

The next hire.

The next promotion.

The next conference.

The next opportunity.

The next challenge.

In athletic communications, the calendar never truly stops. As soon as one season ends, another begins. There is always another story to tell, another graphic to create, another deadline to meet, and another goal to pursue.

Ambition is not a bad thing. Growth is important. Advancement matters.

But Chesterton's quote serves as a reminder that achievement without appreciation can leave us feeling perpetually empty.

Many professionals spend years chasing the next rung on the ladder without ever pausing to appreciate how far they have already climbed.

Appreciation Is a Leadership Skill

When we think about leadership, we often think about vision, strategy, communication, and decision-making.

Yet appreciation may be one of the most overlooked leadership skills.

Appreciation changes how we see our teams.

It reminds us to notice the student worker who consistently shows up early.

It reminds us to thank the coach who always returns a call.

It reminds us to celebrate the colleague who quietly solves problems behind the scenes.

It reminds us to recognize mentors who invested in us long before anyone else saw our potential.

People who feel appreciated often become more engaged, more committed, and more willing to invest in others.

Appreciation Creates Perspective

One of the challenges of career development is that comparison often steals contentment.

We compare our title to someone else's.

We compare our salary to someone else's.

We compare our institution to someone else's.

We compare our career timeline to someone else's.

In doing so, we lose sight of our own journey.

The truth is that many of the things we once prayed for, hoped for, or worked tirelessly to achieve have become so familiar that we barely notice them anymore.

Think about your first full-time position.

Think about your first press credential.

Think about your first conference presentation.

Think about the first time someone asked for your advice.

Those moments were milestones.

Today they may simply feel routine.

Appreciation helps us rediscover the significance of experiences that familiarity has diminished.

More Is Not Always Better

Our culture often teaches that happiness comes from accumulation.

More followers.

More responsibilities.

More recognition.

More resources.

More opportunities.

But Chesterton points out a powerful truth: having more means very little if our ability to appreciate decreases along the way.

A larger office does not guarantee fulfillment.

A bigger budget does not guarantee satisfaction.

A more impressive title does not guarantee purpose.

Sometimes the issue is not that we need more.

Sometimes the issue is that we need to appreciate more.

The Practice of Appreciation

Appreciation is not a feeling we wait for.

It is a discipline we choose.

It looks like sending a thank-you note.

It looks like acknowledging a mentor.

It looks like celebrating a student's growth.

It looks like pausing after a successful event and recognizing the people who made it happen.

It looks like ending the day by identifying what went right instead of focusing solely on what went wrong.

The professionals who sustain long careers are often not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who learn to appreciate the journey while they are living it.

Final Thoughts

As I reflect on my own career, I realize that some of the greatest blessings were not the championships, awards, titles, or milestones.

They were the people.

The mentors who opened doors.

The colleagues who became friends.

The students who taught me as much as I taught them.

The opportunities that stretched me.

The lessons that shaped me.

The memories that remain long after the deadlines have passed.

Growth is valuable.

Achievement is worthwhile.

But appreciation gives both of them meaning.

Before you focus on what's next, take a moment to appreciate what is already here.

You may discover that some of life's greatest gifts have been in front of you all along.

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Reflection

Don't let the pursuit of more cause you to overlook the value of what you already have.

Appreciation doesn't slow progress.

It gives purpose to the journey.

Reflection: Experience Is Not the Same as Impact (June 11, 2026)

Mary Southern's article, "You Spent 20 Years Building a Career. They Rejected You for It," highlights a reality many experienced professionals face: years of experience alone are not always enough if employers cannot quickly connect that experience to the specific problems they need solved.

The article challenges the assumption that more years automatically create more opportunities. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of positioning, clarity, and effectively communicating value.

That message aligns closely with many of the themes I strive to address through this blog.

The Connection

One of the recurring themes throughout this blog is that experience alone does not create opportunity—impact does.

Whether the topic is career advancement, convention networking, resume development, leadership, or personal growth, the underlying message remains the same:

Don't just tell people what you did. Show them the difference you made.

In athletic communications, it is easy to build a resume that lists responsibilities:

• Managed social media

• Wrote game recaps

• Oversaw statistics

• Coordinated media relations

But hiring managers are increasingly looking for outcomes:

• Increased social media engagement by 45%

• Generated record livestream viewership

• Created sponsorship opportunities that produced new revenue

• Expanded student worker programs that improved content production

That distinction is something I have explored repeatedly through articles such as Turning Experience into Resume Impact, More Than Content Creator, and my convention-focused career development series.

From an Athletic Communications Perspective

Many veteran athletic communicators encounter a challenge similar to the one Southern describes.

After 15 or 20 years in the profession, they have:

• Covered thousands of events

• Managed countless social media campaigns

• Built meaningful relationships across campus

• Led staffs, interns, and student workers

Yet many struggle to articulate how those experiences created value for their institutions.

The danger is that experience begins to look like tenure rather than impact.

For athletic communications professionals, the question is no longer:

"How long have you done this?"

The question is:

"What changed because you were there?"

That is a question I regularly encourage readers to answer.

Why This Matters

The audience for SIDAssistant includes job seekers, emerging professionals, and experienced leaders—many of whom work in sports communications and collegiate athletics.

They are navigating a profession where:

• Artificial intelligence is changing workflows.

• Content expectations continue to increase.

• Revenue generation is becoming part of external relations responsibilities.

• Hiring managers expect measurable outcomes.

Southern's article serves as a valuable reminder that careers are not simply collections of responsibilities. They are collections of results.

Final Takeaway

The lesson for athletic communicators is not to downplay experience.

The lesson is to translate experience into evidence.

Twenty years of experience should not be the headline.

The headline should be:

"Here is the impact those twenty years created."

That idea fits naturally alongside my mission: helping professionals become better equipped for their personal and professional endeavors.

Experience may open the door, but clarity, positioning, and demonstrated impact help keep it open.

For athletic communicators pursuing their next opportunity, the question is not how many years appear on the résumé.

The question is whether the résumé clearly communicates why those years mattered.

As always, I welcome your feedback. If this article resonates with you—or if you've experienced a similar challenge in your own career journey—I would enjoy hearing your perspective. The conversations that emerge from these reflections often provide as much value as the articles themselves.

What changed because you were there?

The Practical Path to Success (June 10, 2026)

We often hear that being an optimist means wearing rose-colored glasses, looking only at the sunny side, and ignoring the bumps in the road. But is that what true optimism really is?

Kate Chappell once noted:

"An optimist is not someone who always looks on the bright side of things, but someone who understands practical ways things happen and anticipates that they will be successful. Pessimists say there are so many obstacles it's never going to work out."

This perspective changes everything. True optimism isn't about blind wishful thinking or pretending that challenges don't exist. It is a mindset grounded in reality. It means looking at a goal, mapping out the practical steps required to get there, acknowledging the potential hurdles, and moving forward with the firm belief that you will succeed.

While a pessimist sees an obstacle as a dead end, a practical optimist sees it as a puzzle to be solved. Success doesn't happen by accident; it happens through intention, strategy, and a resilient mindset. When you change how you look at challenges, you change your outcomes.

Let’s Navigate Your Journey Together

Every great journey comes with its own unique set of obstacles, but you don't have to navigate them alone. Whether you are trying to overcome a professional hurdle, streamline your daily processes, or find practical ways to reach your next big milestone, I am here to support you.

I am fully available to help you clear the path to your success. I offer tailored guidance, practical solutions, and the strategic support you need to turn your obstacles into stepping stones. Together, we can anticipate your success and build a clear, actionable roadmap to get you there.

Ready to take the next step? Reach out today, and let's start working on your journey to success!

Article Review on “How can you increase your influence before your next promotion?” by Raymond White (June 9, 2026)

 This is the first of many article reviews of what I have been reading. The first article is “How can you increase your influence before your next promotion?” by Raymond White is a practical leadership-development piece focused on influence-building for mid-level professionals who feel constrained by organizational hierarchy. Rather than centering leadership on title or authority, the article argues that influence is developed through intentional behaviors long before a formal promotion occurs.

A major strength of the article is its accessibility. White writes from lived experience instead of abstract leadership theory, which makes the content relatable for professionals navigating a variety of collaborative environments, including a college athletic department. The sports analogy early in the piece is especially effective because it reframes leadership preparation as “practice before playing time.” The argument that “influence is often what earns the promotion” is the article’s core thesis.

The article is organized around five “shifts” that function as a framework for emerging leaders:

1. Build trusted relationships

2. Listen before persuading

3. Make expertise visible

4. Communicate with purpose

5. Become a connector

This structure works well because each section combines:

• a leadership principle,

• a personal reflection,

• actionable prompts,

• and a concise “Shift Your Lens” takeaway.

The strongest section may be “Make Your Expertise Visible.” White addresses a common leadership tension: professionals who work hard but struggle to articulate impact without appearing self-promotional. His distinction between effort and perceived organizational impact is particularly insightful. He explains that organizations tend to reward visible outcomes tied to strategic value, not merely hard work.

Another effective element is the emphasis on relational leadership. The article consistently reinforces that influence is social capital built through trust, curiosity, preparation, and collaboration rather than positional authority. This aligns with contemporary leadership theory surrounding emotional intelligence, stakeholder management, and servant leadership. The recommendation to become a “connector” is especially relevant in modern organizations where cross-functional collaboration often determines effectiveness.

Stylistically, the article succeeds because it avoids overly academic language while still delivering strategic insight. The conversational tone helps readers feel included in the discussion. Phrases such as “You’ve thought this too…” create emotional connection and make the content feel like mentorship rather than instruction.

The article is highly effective as a professional development resource because it balances encouragement with actionable leadership behaviors. It is especially valuable for:

• aspiring managers,

• middle managers,

• emerging leaders in athletics or education,

• and professionals who feel overlooked despite strong contributions.

The article’s broader message is clear: leadership influence is not something granted after promotion; it is demonstrated beforehand through trust-building, communication, visibility, and service to others. 

For readers in sports communications, collegiate athletics, or organizational leadership roles, the piece offers a strong reminder that culture-shaping and professional credibility can begin immediately, regardless of title.

I Arrived Knowing a Few People — I Left With a Second Family (June 5, 2026)

Back in 1999, I boarded a plane to Orlando to attend my first-ever College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) convention — an event now known through College Sports Communicators (CSC) as Unite. At the time, I had no idea that one trip would help shape not only my career, but many of the relationships that would define my professional life for decades to come.

At the time, I knew only a small handful of people in the profession. Like many first-time attendees, I was walking into something unknown. I understood the basics of the job, but I was still learning the industry, still learning the people and honestly, still learning where I fit within it all.

What I didn’t realize when I stepped onto that plane was that the convention would become far more than a professional development opportunity.

It became the beginning of a second family.

Over the years, CSC conventions have never simply been about panels, breakout sessions or networking receptions. They have been about people. They have been about reconnecting with those who understand the unique rhythm of this profession — the late nights, the missed holidays, the pressure, the pride and the constant pursuit of telling the stories of student-athletes the right way.

Some of the most valuable conversations I’ve ever had in this industry did not happen inside convention halls. They happened in hotel lobbies after midnight. They happened over Diet Coke (or for some, it is coffee) before sessions started. They happened while walking between meetings or sharing stories about challenges nobody outside athletic communications could fully understand.

That’s what makes this profession different.

The relationships built through CSC are rarely transactional. They become lasting friendships, mentorships and support systems that follow you throughout your career and, in many cases, throughout life.

This year, for the first time in a long time, I will not be in attendance.

And while I’ll certainly miss the conversations, the laughter, the familiar faces and the energy that convention week always brings, I’m still excited for everyone making the trip. I’m excited to follow the sessions, read the takeaways, see the photos and learn from afar through the perspectives of those attending.

Because convention season still matters — even when you are not physically there.

It remains a reminder that this profession continues to evolve. New voices emerge. Young professionals find confidence. Veterans rediscover purpose. Ideas are exchanged. Friendships are strengthened. Careers quietly change direction through one conversation in a hallway.

That was true in 1999.

And it is still true today.

For those attending this year’s convention, embrace all of it. The sessions matter. The networking matters. But the relationships matter most. Introduce yourself to someone new. Sit at a different table. Reconnect with people you have not spoken with in years. Listen more than you talk. Ask questions. Share experiences.

You may arrive knowing only a few people.

But you never know when a convention will become the start of your own second family.