By: Clayton Zoellner ('13)
On January 20th the Ohio University Sport Administration program was given the opportunity to host Mr. Mark Shapiro, the President of the Cleveland Indians. Mr. Shapiro graciously donated his time in order to further the professional development of those within the program.
Mr. Shapiro first shared several leadership principles from which he has benefited throughout his professional career. Within his advice, theme to hold clearly communicated organizational values above all else emerged and connected each successive idea. After defining these organizational values adhere to them even in difficult situations. This adherence instills both reputability and enforceability into the values system. While leading, in order to be successful, one should also define and identify challenges, outline how people can contribute to the solution presented by the challenges, and then hire and empower the best people for the tasks at hand.
Additionally, a leader should focus on the variables that are controllable. It is essential to focus on the variables within your scope of control as each outcome contains many facets beyond your influence. Those who succeed in narrowing their focus and implementing these strategies are often the most successful.
Next, Mr. Shapiro shared his outlook pertaining to how one can attain job fulfillment and satisfaction. To achieve this Mr. Shapiro suggested not focusing on the desire to work within baseball operations or any specified career. Rather, find leaders whose values align with your own, persons who can portray clear and mutually agreed upon goals, and have the desire to invest in you on a personal level will be the keys to fostering a satisfying career.
After addressing these crucial elements of successful leadership and job satisfaction Mr. Shapiro opened the floor for questions from program members; an opportunity where all in attendance benefited. In response to a question, one point of advice given was to seek opportunity in distressed situations; these situations yield a great deal of learning and career advancement opportunities. A second point of advice is to differentiate oneself while applying for jobs within the industry. All applicants are bright, passionate about their particular sport or industry, and are hardworking. Mr. Shapiro extended this self-differentiation aspect into clearly identifying exactly how you will make the organization better immediately upon your hiring.
On behalf of all those able to benefit from Mr. Shapiro’s visit, I would like to thank him for devoting his time, imparting his wisdom, and taking interest in our personal development. This experience was invaluable and will certainly benefit each of us as we begin our professional careers within the sporting industry.
