Early in her career in the National Football League’s business development office, Renie Anderson saw an opportunity for promotion to vice president that interested her, and she confided as much to her boss. His response was blunt: “You’re not ready for that position yet. But here’s what you need to do so that the next time it opens up, you will be ready.”
The passionately hard-working Anderson might have been tempted to argue her case or respond with bitterness or resentment; instead, she chose to listen to someone she valued as a mentor. “In the coming months, he spent a lot of time with me on presentation and management skills,” recalled Anderson. After meetings, they would debrief on topical issues, what she did well in the meeting, and where she could do better next time. The experience set the course for her thriving NFL career.
“I realized that if I put my pride to the side and opened myself to growing, there was a lot I could learn about the cadence of work life,” Anderson reflected. “How to handle a certain situation that can be frustrating and remain calm when the person across the table is being unprofessional. The key was being self-aware.”
True to her mentor’s word, when he left to pursue an opportunity elsewhere, Anderson was ready to seize the moment and begin her move up the NFL management ladder, a move that took her to upper management as the top female executive at the country’s top sports league.
Anderson was a competitive gymnast and cheerleader who grew up on a farm in Western Kentucky. In this podcast, she encourages listeners to treat their career in a series of stages, each one of which calls for re-evaluating what you’re willing to sacrifice at that time in your life.
You Will Learn:
- 3:30 Why you need to continually re-evaluate what you’re willing to sacrifice.
- 4:45 How to treat your career as a series of stages.
- 11:45 What the phrase “fake it ‘till you make it” really means.
- 20:30 How to find teammates who will challenge you to be your best.
- 25:00 How often you should check-in on your employees.
Learn More:
- Connect with Renie on LinkedIn.
- Follow the NFL on Twitter and Instagram.
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