David Novak 0:04 

Welcome to How leaders lead where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world, I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader. That's what this podcast is all about. Believe me, if you want to accomplish something big, you won't get very far without a team. And my guest today knows a lot about the power of teamwork. Val Ackerman is the Commissioner of the Big East Conference. And one of the executives behind the iconic Dream Team at the 96 Olympics. She was also the first ever president of the WNBA. And as the new WNBA season tips off may 14, it's the perfect opportunity to sit down with Val and get some real insights on how to foster teamwork. Because here's the thing, it's not enough to build a good team and hope for the best. To get real cooperation. You've got to support and respect your team. Val does this in a really special way. In this conversation is going to have your head buzzing with ideas to show up for your team. So you all can win big together. Here's my conversation with my good friend head soon to be yours, Val Ackerman.

Bell, I want to get into your business career. But But I understand that you taught leadership and personnel management at Columbia University at one time, how would you sum up your leadership philosophy,

Val Ackerman 1:41 

I have my five ds of leadership, and I'll share them with you the five DS make it easy. And I'll tell you what they are. Most are self explanatory, but they are number one do leaders do? Sometimes you're the one that has to do the acting. Number two leaders decide critical skill. We don't always get them right. But I think the more advanced you are as a leader, the better your decision making capabilities become. Number three is delay decision making. Sometimes the best decision is to not make a decision and to hang out and wait and see if the facts change. The fourth D is delegate can't do it all. So you have to rely on your team to do some or most of the work. And then number five, which for me became important in the space I'm in is what I call dividing it up, which is figuring out who you have to involve in either the doing or the decision making process. Sometimes the decision falls to you and you alone, but other times you gotta get others in the mix. So those are my five ds, and I probably rely on all five of them pretty much every day.

David Novak 2:48 

And speaking of leadership, you've led the Big East Conference in 2013. What's something about being Commissioner that caught you by surprise, something you didn't expect? To be honest,

Val Ackerman 2:59 

not a ton because I had been in a similar role when I was at the WNBA as the president of the league. And so there is commonality in the job description of being at the top of of a league office, terms of the things you do for your schools, slash teams, stakeholders, types of stakeholders that you deal with. So while I'd never worked in college sports before this position, I had worked as I said, in a league setting, so that made it so there weren't, you know, many surprises. But I will say the thing that did strike me and still does to be honest tenures in is the complexity of the NCAA bureaucracy. I mean, our league is only 11 schools. And so you can be somewhat nimble with your own group. But the NCAA is 1100 schools division one alone is 360 plus schools. And so it does create enormous challenges in terms of making decisions, getting things done, coming to a consensus on key matters. And I had never been confronted with anything like that before. I mean, even in the NBA, and WNBA We never got that big. And so decision making and getting things done was seemed easier. The most surprising thing to me was the completeness of the ecosystem. As

David Novak 4:16 

a leader, how do you get your mindset geared to deal with that? Because it isn't going away? It's hard.

Val Ackerman 4:22 

I'm not sure I'm there. There are sometimes moments of frustration, particularly because if I believe strongly in something, and others don't see it the same way. And because it's a kind of a bit of a democracy here. You know, things that you might believe in, don't necessarily get done. So that part I think has been hard, but you, I think learn how to pick your battles. As I said, you focus on what you can get done, particularly within your own group of schools. And you just kind of keep plugging away. Probably all I can say and hope that maybe timing, there's something that you want to get done. The timing will be more in your favor, the next time the issue comes around. How

David Novak 4:59 

would you do

Val Ackerman 5:00 

Describe your your daily responsibilities as a commissioner, it's pretty varied. You know, it's an office job at the end of the day a desk job. So I spent a lot of time on email, on Zoom calls. But at the same time, there's a lot of travel, going to sports events, being part of different groups of people throughout the day, whether it's my staff, whether it's colleagues from other conferences, whether it's our business partners, whether it's people on the NCAA staff, they're based in Indianapolis, I do media requests. Today, I'm on the road today and spoke to a sports management class. Back to our earlier discussion about the importance I think of giving back to the next generation. It's definitely a mix of activities. And you know, it keeps it fun. But the best part through it all is really, you're working with some people who are, you know, very competent pros and every sense of the word. I've got a long network of relationships in the business so that that's probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job. You know, as I understand it, the conference was in a bit of turmoil when you stepped in, how would you go about assessing the landscape? And then how did you write the ship, that's pretty much true. The league that I'm running was founded in 7919 79, as a college conference focused on basketball, over the years, the league added team slash schools, it added sports, it became more of a some respects as much of or if not more of a Football Conference than a basketball conference. And that led to tension and fragmentation so that when I took over the league, in effect had been through a breakup. And the schools that were the basketball schools were staking out their own course. And so it was a relaunch, if you will, of the sort of the old Big East model, but in a new environment, with new people with some new pillars, including location of the conference office, and then importantly, its network partner. For me, it was, as I said, a chance to use skills I've learned at the NBA in the WNBA. I was familiar with college sports to a degree because I was an athlete myself. So I just had a sense of kind of, you know, what the relationship was between a school and an athlete. And it was a lot of work, quite honestly, because I, as I said earlier, had never worked in college sports before. So a learning curve was steep. And just how did I deal with long hours, trying to listen, talking to a lot of people trying to get help from a lot of sources, and getting sort of the manpower on board to help me with things that I couldn't do myself. So kind of, I would say, it really probably took me the better part of two years, to feel like I had gotten the conference back to where it needed to be to be able to focus on some things that were more strategic, rather than get through the day. So speaking of focus, what were your major tenants that really turned around where the conference was, and, and got you to that point where you could think strategically?

Well, it was, you know, a little bit of everything. I mean, again, it was, I had to hire staff, when I took over as the head of the Big East, we, the staff had been essentially left behind in the prior iteration of the conference, which continued, but with different schools. So getting staff on board was an important to do, we really had nothing else. I mean, I know office. So that was a big to do. And the first year was finding office space in midtown Manhattan, we had to set up a website, we had to set up email system. I mean, sounds funny, but I was on Gmail for the first several months. So we got to Office email account setup. We one of our schools was managing our finances. So we had to re establish that and all the controls that come with managing your budget. Interfacing with our business partners, of course, was critical, especially in television, and then all the things that conferences do had to get done. So that's scheduling, dealing with officials, getting your conference championships up and running. We sponsor 22 Sports here. So it's 22 conference championships that we've got to conduct over the course of the academic year. So I couldn't do all that myself. And again, it sort of mostly went back to hiring the right people who could get that done.

David Novak 9:18 

And you have to bring in people in bringing high talent in a time of turmoil. What was your sales pitch?

Val Ackerman 9:26 

The excitement of it all? To be honest, it was, you know, I had the benefit of an established brand. In the Big East. It was known to many people in the sports business as a premier Conference, which had had tremendous success over the years, setting up shop in New York City with the excitement that went with that. So it was really about hey, you know, come be part of this venerable organization that's starting a new in a new place with new faces and a couple of new schools. And, you know, be part of getting it going essentially from the ground up again. And some people aren't up for that. To your point maybe maybe that's you're alluding to, and others are mean I was. That's why I took the job. I thought that would be an exciting challenge.

David Novak 10:11 

You mentioned to Chip 28 I think 28 Conference Champions, the end value so known for basketball, you're in the Hall of Fame, you've got all these accolades as a great basketball player came up with the basketball world, how do you overcome the perception to show that you cared about these other sports in these other athletes besides just the basketball programs,

Val Ackerman 10:31 

early on, it was showing up at everything my travel now is such that I don't quite get to everything every year. But I have a rotation for that. And I have other staff that can step in. But early on, it was that it was just showing up at you know, championships for our other 20 sports, getting to know some of the coaches, developing a personal relationship with them listening to their concerns, and being humble about the fact that I didn't know everything. You know, I've been an athlete my whole life, I have a real appreciation for sports. Some of the sports we sponsor I did like I played field hockey in high school, I was a competitive swimmer. I ran track and field. So you know, when I go to those events actually have a ball because I just remember oh my god, I remember doing this. And it's actually quite fun to relive those memories. It just takes the effort and time you put in to develop the relationships and to show up.

David Novak 11:26 

You know, one of the schools in the Big East, UConn won the men's national basketball championship last year. And how do you leverage individual team wins like that to grow the larger brand to grow the conference.

Val Ackerman 11:39 

It is brand strengthening, I can attest to that. And we had it to other times because Villanova won the national championship in men's basketball in 2016 and 2018. And that was really, you know, incredible validation of this decision of these basketball schools to stick out on their own, separate themselves from football 10 years ago. And so Villanova my hat goes off to coach right. And their president, father, Peter Donahue, their athletic director, Mark checks the day, you know, they got it done. And that carried us the next year and beyond just in terms of brand recognition. Probably helped a bit with viewership, our ratings have gone up steadily every year. It helps with some of the sales efforts, we sell sponsorships to our conference championships, and our men's basketball tournament in particular has become very attractive as a commercial property. We play at Madison Square Garden. It's been there 42 years. It's Uber competitive, and it sells out. And that wouldn't be happening if we didn't have a reputation for having basketball played at the highest level, you know, in the college space. And now we've got UConn to thank for keeping it at a high level. So it's really those those areas, I think that benefit and more than anything, it's just a source of great pride for our schools, because basketball is their priority. And when you get something like that done, it just it helps everybody

David Novak 13:04 

UConn actually left the Big East Conference in 2013. But you brought them back and 2020 Tell us the story of how you did it.

Val Ackerman 13:13 

Well, the the sort of modification of the fact is they elected not to come with the seven old Biggie schools who have left to form the new biggies that I'm part of, they stay behind. And I think that had a lot to do with their interest in football. They are playing continuing to play at the FBS level of football, which is the highest level FCS is the next level down. So they had a different agenda 10 years ago, and I can't speak to their interest. But we you know, we always kind of thought of them as a potential addition. They were very different and still are from the current Biggie schools because they're a big public university. They have a different profile than our other 10, who are private schools, most of them Catholic schools, again, continuing to play football at a high level. But in Yukon, we saw history, we saw rivalries, we saw great geography. And we saw, you know, great fans and great basketball fans in particular, and great basketball. And that all combined beginning in around 2019 2018, to sort of get discussions going about the possibility of them rejoining the Big East for the second time around. And, you know, it was discussions with their ad day Benedict, who's terrific. They had a consultant in the mix was in negotiation, because these are always our terms, the conditions of reentry and some of the economics around that. And it worked out and so we announced in 2019. We gave it a year to sort of get everything ready that they were going to come back and 2020 That was the good news. The bad news was they came back during COVID Right in the heart of it in the teeth of it. So it was a funky first year for them back in the Big East and 2021 but they've added a great deal. They've been really great partners, their women's basketball Of course. 100 Coach Orianna is among the best programs of all time. And so it's been for us win win, hopefully for them too. And, you know, we're excited their basketball fortunes are clearly continuing this year. I think they've got a good shot as anybody to repeat as a national championship and men's basketball come April, you

David Novak 15:18 

know, well, it seems like colleges just jump from conference to conference, it's kind of hard to keep up with, I mean, which conference you're in? How much of your job is really keeping the schools that you have in the conference? Is that a big challenge for you? Or is it? How do you do it? I mean, what's your strategy on that front?

Val Ackerman 15:37 

The answer is, yeah, we think about this a lot because of what's been happening in the last few years. And we're very much monitoring what's been going on with these football conferences, as we see teams jumping, schools jumping, and cross country travel. Now, you know, happening hasn't happened yet. These new configurations don't kick in until this summer. So no one knows how that'll work out yet. We have a lot of communication within the biggies. We talk about this. I do hope that and I believe that our schools do see a value proposition and what we are and being fine with what we're not, which is, you know, we're not a football league at this point. So we're not in that fray. And I think our school basically our you know, our content with that, you know, we're I think I don't want to sound immodest here, but I think we are the destination for a basketball school for whom basketball is the priority sport, it's not a second priority to football. And that can't be said about many schools in the country because a lot of the good basketball schools are also football schools. You know, the combination of that camaraderie, the shared vision of our schools being on national television in a significant way, which we are because of our partnership with Fox Sports, playing our men's tournament in the garden playing our women's tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, which is a prime a venue for women's basketball, maintaining quality programs and our other sports that we sponsor, being academically mindful, doing other initiatives that enhance our brand. It's a mix of things. It's not one thing. I have no crystal ball here, David on what the future holds for college sports. I hope it's a good future because it adds so much to so many lives. You know, I can say I think right now, the Big East, ironically enough, because this league was picked apart 10 or 1520 years ago, this league is now I'm in a stable position is anybody?

David Novak 17:26 

That's great. You don't speak in a movement, you know, there's this thing called the transfer portal. Can you talk a little bit about that? You know, what it is and and how it's impacted your leadership? If it has, I mean, how do you get the best at that as a conference?

Val Ackerman 17:41 

Well, just for your listener here, up until a few years ago, there was a role in in college sports that if you transferred in one of five, sports, football, men's and women's basketball, baseball and ice, men's ice hockey, you had to serve what what was known as a year of residency, meaning you could transfer to the school, you go to class, you go to practice, you could do everything, but you couldn't play in games. And for a variety of reasons, that rule was changed a few years ago to allow for what was then known as one time immediate eligibility in those five sports, every other sport you could have transferred without sitting out. But those five sports you had the one year wait, the rule changed a few years ago, and that's where we are, there's a chance that for multiple transfers, they might also be able to play right away, but that versus sitting out. But that's under review. So the answer to your question is, it's really our schools that are feeling it on that one. I mean, they're the ones that are dealing with what this is meant for roster stability, roster composition, roster development. I mean, it used to be that a basketball coach, for example, would spend a fair amount of time recruiting a high school athlete. Now maybe instead of doing that, or in addition to doing that, they go to the so called transfer portal, which is basically just a way of saying, you know, that's your notice, that's where you give notice if you're an athlete, that you want to go to a different school. And then that sort of, you know, it's basically a virtual holding pen. And then once you say that you're available, then other schools can come and they can, you know, try to get you to transfer to their school. So that's really it's really our coaches that are dealing with the intricacies, the nuances, the ramifications of this new environment where athletes have much more freedom to move around. And in some cases, it's worked to the benefit of schools and others where you can't hold on to the player its work to your disadvantage. Our hope, generally, is that the athletes who do this can maintain their academic standing because they need to maintain academic standing in order to stay eligible. It's sort of too early to say the trend lines on whether that's happening.

Koula Callahan 19:52 

Hey, everyone, it's Kula here from three more questions and if you haven't downloaded the new how leaders lead app, you are missing out If you're leading a team, I know it's really hard to find time to consume leadership development content and continue investing in yourself. That's the whole reason we launched this app. If you just take two minutes a day each morning to watch the daily leadership insight and the how leaders lead app, you'll stay inspired with practical Leadership Lessons from the world's greatest leaders. Imagine starting your day with inspiration from Condoleezza Rice, Tom Brady and Jamie diamond, just to name a few. I've started using the app and I love how the daily leadership inside gets my mind right before the busyness of my day starts, download the how leaders lead app today in the App Store and stay inspired with amazing leadership wisdom and just two minutes a day.

David Novak 20:50 

So as commissioner, then what would be your biggest challenge that you'd be up against today?

Val Ackerman 20:55 

It's a little bit of everything. I mean, you know, in the case of our league, it's trying to support our schools in every way imaginable so they can stay competitive and basketball. We do that by managing the business relationships that make that success, at least in part possible. For me, as a commissioner, you know, part of my job is keeping up with what's happening nationally. You noted before, there's issues now around transfers and player movement. There's issues around conference realignment, which we discussed. There's a new world now with name image and likeness opportunities for these athletes, which is just another way of saying they can now earn endorsement, money from third parties, for using their likeness in ads or on social media posts, or to make speeches or make appearances. And that's a whole new world, for our schools. And without a lot of regulation long story there. But it's a little bit of a free for all right now on that. So just trying to stay up with that trying to figure out if any of that requires Conference policies, conference rules, trying to figure out how to maximize revenue, our schools get the net revenue that we bring in as a conference. So being mindful of our budget, and what our schools need to stay competitive, particularly in basketball is top of mind for me and my staff. And then, you know, most of all, just recognizing our role in the ecosystem and trying to make sure that we're helping maintain a constructive work environment for our, you know, our athletes, our staff, a constructive playing environment for our athletes, and trying to keep the biggest brand healthy and strong, because that adds a halo effect to our schools and helps them in other ways.

David Novak 22:32 

Well, I want to talk more about how you lead. But first, I want to take you back a little bit. What's a story from your childhood that shaped the kind of leader you are today. I'll

Val Ackerman 22:41 

give you a story. I'm not sure it shaped my leadership path. But it did affect my life in a very dramatic way. And that is you'll laugh. When I was in seventh grade, there were no sports for girls at my junior school. The only sport that was offered was cheerleading. So because that was the only offering I tried out, I thought I did a really good job with my chair, which I practice 100 times in front of my bedroom mirror. And I did not make the cheerleading squad. I got cut. The only team in the world you didn't make Yeah. And I was like kind of an athlete. I was sort of, you know what we call tomboys. Back then I thought of myself as you know, when I went to high school a few years later, I got to play sports, because Title Nine had been passed by then and things opened up. But I got cut from cheerleading in seventh grade. And that was you're seeing my face here. I mean, I just I couldn't believe it. So that one, I guess the leader lesson there was it just made me really determined to have that happen again. And I guess, you know, really did help frame my mindset about, you know, being a girl. How come that was the only sport I got to try out for. And then sort of what that's translated into my career and trying to help women generally, in terms of continued opportunities to play the sports of their dreams.

David Novak 23:55 

You know, you as I understand it, you were a lawyer or our lawyer, you've worked in the financial area for a while. And I was surprised that years later you were named the CO marketer of the Year by brand we get up. How did you develop the marketing skill set

Val Ackerman 24:13 

on the job? Number one, I did not go to business school. That's a regret. I did get a law degree to know that. I wish I'd gotten an MBA, I had a chance to go back and do it I just kind of was moving on. So a lot of what I know about marketing was really just sort of picking it up on the job through my boss, David Stern, my dear friend Rick welts, who was to your point that CO marketer of the year and quite honestly, I think they sort of split it because when the WNBA launch Rick was really the brains behind NBA marketing at that time, he was the head of NBA properties, critically critically involved in the launch of the WNBA the interface on our branding on our sponsorship sales on our licensing program, you name it, sort of all the visuals Rick had a hand in that. And then I was sort of the operations person, you know, working on kind of the basketball side of things, scheduling the officiating player acquisition, you know, working with our teams on, you know, host of areas. And so I think that was kind of the the way that they were rewarding us both for our respective roles. In the launch of the league for sent dozens and dozens of other people were vitally involved. So we represented a, an amazing group. But really, you know, some of it with marketing is training, some of it is just what's in your gut. And some of it is just, you know, learning and making mistakes along the way and hoping sometimes you get things right, in terms of how you're reaching your fans.

David Novak 25:38 

When you were launching the WNBA, what was the biggest learning you had on the marketing front? When you look back? Well,

Val Ackerman 25:46 

I'll tell you a learning. When we launched the league, we had a vision about the target audience, we expected hope we would attract women as fans, we hoped we would attract kids, boys and girls, who we thought would look up to the players as role models and want to bring mom and dad to the game, and so on. And the third bucket was that we would attract men's basketball fans, because we were playing in the summer. That was one of the reasons for the summer season, which continues to this day, because we would be the only game in town. NBA is our college basketball is dark, here we were. And what was interesting was we did not attract that men's basketball fan. In the ways that we expected, we thought there would be a crossover between the NBA and the WNBA season ticket base, for example. And that didn't happen. And so that was a learn that was a kind of a lesson, an interesting one. It really proved to be a different demographic. I think now there's more mainstream support for women's basketball than we had hoped for 25 years ago, as more men's basketball fans, I think, take appreciation in the quality of play and the skill level of the players today. We had a little bit of that then, but not as much as we expected. So I would say if there was a surprise based on sort of what we projected, that would be the main, the main thing I would note. Now you

David Novak 27:05 

work your way up in the NBA, which is an industry where I can imagine you were surrounded mainly by men. How do you differentiate yourself?

Val Ackerman 27:13 

Your supposition is correct. It was very male dominated. Not many women when I started no women to look up to when I started, there weren't any senior women at the league. There were a couple on teams. Jeanie buss was one, her dad owned the Lakers, she owns it now. susan o'malley ran the Washington den bullets. Now wizards was another woman that I got to know and look up to. But other than that, it was that was it. I mean, I just worked my butt off, frankly. I mean, that's I would give that advice to anybody wondering how you get to the top, just work hard, be good at what you do. Understand what your boss is one, and try to give them something they don't want. Try to figure out what they want what they're looking for. You know, if you make a mistake, admit it, try to fix it. Hope it didn't cost anybody a lot of money. I certainly made mistakes. And I don't think I made any that cost a lot of money. Somewhere embarrassing. And you know, you really kind of learn to be you. I mean, I think part of being a good leader is being authentic, not trying to be, you know, too imitative of somebody else. I've learned from every leader, I've worked for taking little bits away from each one. But at the end of the day, I can't be them. I can't assume their personalities. And so, you know, I think for me, I like to think I've got a style that works well. I try to be friendly to people. I'm very respectful of others, I believe deeply in gratitude, telling people thank you, when they've done something that helps me, or that helps others. I don't think there's one thing but I hope, David, those kinds of traits, attributes, behaviors, you know, have helped set me apart and helped get me to where I am today. And hopefully, I can be a good role model for others who are going to follow me in the years to come. Well,

David Novak 29:01 

you're known for that, for sure. And you got the nod to become the founding president of the Women's National Basketball Association, making you the first woman to ever launch and operate a sports league did being the first to do something like that put more pressure on you. I mean, what's it like being the first to do something like that where you're really breaking some major ground?

Val Ackerman 29:23 

You know, at the time, I wasn't thinking about that. I mean, there was enough pressure. You know, I didn't need to add to it that hey, I'm a woman here. mean, there was enough pressure because the NBA had made the WNBA a priority. It could not fail. With everything that David Stern and Ross Granick, our Deputy Commissioner Rick I talked to and others. And the owners, the NBA owners at that time were they gave David the green light to do this. So it had to be great. You know, the stakes were high. That was the pressure. It was okay, how do I not flub this? How do I do my part? because, again, it was a group effort at the highest order. How do I not let my teammates down? You know, how do I represent the league in the best possible manner, because I was out there, they put me out there, I was the one doing speaking engagements and doing media interviews. And I just took very seriously this trust that had been given to me and the sacred trust that I've been handed. And so I think that was really what was most on my mind, first couple years. And then yeah, you know, yeah, I mean, it was obvious it was, you know, the women. I mean, that was a source of pride that I was able to sort of break through. And now the good news is, there's so many more women who are at a senior level in sports, and many more will follow. I know. So that's the part I feel really gratified about that. I was the first but I'm not going to be the last,

David Novak 30:47 

you know, the legendary David Stern, he had the original idea for the WNBA. And you helped shape it and executed? What advice? Can you give leaders on being a great right hand to a visionary leader like him, you

Val Ackerman 31:05 

know, get a good night's sleep before be ready for anything. Part of one of my jobs at the league was to be David's, his assistant, and I would sit in his office as he was on calls, I really, I learned so much about what it means to be a commissioner. And not just the things that the public sees, you know, the handing out of the trophies, or, you know, the interviews that you see on television, it was really what goes on, you know, in someone's office, or what happens when they're on the phone, or how they're dealing with a particular matter. And I just, I feel so fortunate that I had the chance to learn from the best, you know, he was he was the dean of commissioners, and you know, may he rest in peace, we've lost him, we lost him four years ago, the beginning of COVID, right before the beginning of COVID, the loss is still deeply felt by many of us, the things he taught us, you know, and I didn't always agree with the way he did things. He had a style very different from mine. You know, I learned a lot from the way he attacked a problem. He was a lawyer, and he had a whole, you know, lawyers mentality about how to do stuff and how to use precedent and ask a million questions before you made a decision on something. And that those are all lessons that serve me in good stead. And, you know, I very much keep as part of my sort of internal crit to this day,

David Novak 32:21 

though, how do you think about innovation for the product that you're selling? Whether it's the WNBA, or the Big East Conference, how do you think about innovation itself was

Val Ackerman 32:33 

the WNBA, which was a new league, it was very easy to be innovative. That was the mindset, in fact, was because the NBA was behind it, the mantra was, let's just take everything the NBA has learned about how to run a pro basketball league over the last, you know, 40 years, that point, and all the mistakes made and all the successes that were accomplished, and then just do it, you know, from scratch. As if the NBA you know, had started a new and everything you learned could be incorporated into the new model. That was a mindset, it was innovation all the way. But also relying on you know, things that had happened successfully in prior years. The Big East, a little bit of that too. But it just more, you're more confined, I think in the college space because of NCAA restrictions, or other factors don't have the budget in the Big East that the NBA would have to be really innovative, which I had their budget. So it's a little bit harder. But we have I have tried to create new initiatives. And we've done that in the Big East around mental health. critical issue today around diversity, equity inclusion, which we're leading deeply into, we'll continue to do that. Around programming for our student athletes, we have programs and men's and women's basketball directly to the athletes are kind of like personal development programs. We've done some innovative things on television, together with Fox that have not been done by other leagues or other networks. If there is a way to do it, we you know, my attitude to my staff is come to me with a good idea. And if we can pay for it. Let's try it. That has been David, that was David's mindset. So I got that from him. But I do think it's important to have the mix of traditional, tried and true. Here's what you just the normal job or whatever things just no reason to change them. And then being adaptive as much as you can.

David Novak 34:23 

As you think about your team. And just the shadow that you cast. You mentioned your style was different than David Stern's fantastic leader. You're a fantastic leader. What's the main thing that you're you're focused on in terms of culture? And how do you drive that deep?

Val Ackerman 34:42 

I believe people when they come to work they want meaning. They want to know that they're part of something that's special and important, and they're making a contribution. That's certainly how I felt at the NBA. I mean, you know if you'd love sports and love basketball, there was no better job and work in Italy. Uh, you know, David was a tremendous leader, we always trusted him to make hard calls. And the league grew phenomenally under his watch. And so you just felt energized, you know, everyday going into the office, because you knew that the brand was respected. And people, you know, you go to cocktail parties, and people would say, Oh, wow, you know, you work for the NBA. And so that's kind of how I feel about the Big East. I mean, I feel like I use the word sacred trust before, I feel like I've got a sacred trust here. This is one of the most venerable brands in college basketball. You know, some days wake up, I can't believe I'm 10 years later, I'm running this league that Dave Gavitt found that I knew Dave, another one of my idols. And, you know, I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to not flub this. And the good news is, I've got a great staff who also I believe, care deeply about the league, want to keep the brand relevant, you know, know what we're doing to help our athletes because they're the future. And so it hasn't been super hard, I don't think to imbue with our work a sense of meaning and purpose. But as it relates to culture, I mean, I'm just, you know, try to hire people who I think are good people who care about being good teammates, who work well together, pick each other up, you know, we have events where everybody's it's all hands on deck. So there's a premium on, on teamwork and camaraderie. And, you know, making sure my staff knows how much I appreciate them each and every day, because I certainly couldn't do what I do if they didn't do what they do. So it's a little bit of all of that.

David Novak 36:42 

We'll be back with the rest of my conversation with Val Ackerman in just a moment. Another fantastic leader in the world of basketball is Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, just like bow, he's the kind of leader who's willing to embody the values he wants to see on his team. In fact, as he told me, that's key. If you want to actually hold those standards up for everyone else to follow, it

Steve Kerr 37:07 

would be hard to throw it in their face on day one and say these are our values. What I did our first year was I tried to embody our values each day with my interaction with the players with the staffs interaction with the players are other values. By the way, besides joy, we're competitiveness, mindfulness and compassion. Those values are all based on me personally, what makes me tick as a human being. And since I'm the leader of the team, those values have to really come alive as Pete Carroll talked about. And so I tried to be really compassionate with the team right away. I tried to be very competitive in terms of putting together drills and keeping score and constantly pitting the team against one another and drills and scrimmages. And then we tried to have as much fun as possible. We played music during practice, we showed funny videos, we celebrated guys, birthdays, we celebrated the birth of children, we invited family members on the team plane so that they could travel with us. We tried to incorporate everything that sort of embodied our values. And then I think maybe a couple of months in, we sat down one day, and I wrote all those values on the board and said, This is what we're about. And this is what you guys need to enhance and grow every single day for us to become special.

David Novak 38:24 

Go back and listen to my entire conversation with Steve Kerr, Episode 62. Here on how leaders lead.

There's no question you're, you're a real Trailblazer. Not only did you help start the WNBA, you you also created the US National Women's team, they won gold medals, the 96 Olympics, what you've done for women's basketball is absolutely remarkable. Because of your leadership, what's something that you hope, more women will come to believe

Val Ackerman 39:02 

that they can do this to, you know, you hear this expression, if you can see it, you can be it. I really think having more women in leadership positions in sports reinforces that, that could be me. That's my goal, career goal. You know, I'd like to be able to make an impact too. And I think the more women we have at the top, the more likely we will continue to have women at the top and more of them. I tell women and men frankly, all the time, it's not easy to get these jobs and to do well on these jobs. I mean, don't get me wrong. I mean, it's a lot of work. You got to be really good at what you do. You got to manage politics and relationship management and all that. You got to have a lot of stamina. You have to have thick skin some days, because things aren't always gonna go right. And it's a marathon not a sprint in some ways. I've been at this for 35 years. And so you know, it's some days are just like, oh, wow, okay. But again, I'm My team, we care about our league special, we have, you know, good collaboration, sort of top to bottom. But back to women, I think that's it, if I can be a little bit of an inspiration to somebody who might take my job in five years, or 10 years or 20 years, then I will have succeeded. You

David Novak 40:18 

know, if there's anybody that could really talk about building a winning team, I would imagine it would have to be you what you did with the Olympics, you know, what you've seen with the Dream Team? You know, you know, you've seen it all. And what do you believe, are the real keys to building a winning team? Understanding

Val Ackerman 40:36 

what your organization needs? When I had to take over the relaunch of the Big East? I had to learn fast, like, Okay, who do I hire? what functions do we have, what skill sets are needed for those roles, and then, you know, just doing your best to match it up with people who are interested in, you know, in taking that leap. It's a group effort, it is about a team, it's about hiring the right people, it's about giving them the direction, they need to do their jobs, staying out of their way, most of the time, assuming they've hired the right people, you can do that. Jumping in when you need to making sure they understand the priorities of the organization, making sure that they're respectful to one another. You want to have the kind of workplace that people want to be part of, and accepting, frankly, that sometimes people are going to move on. I mean, I've had great staff members who've left most cases for great jobs. And that's you gotta Cheer Mom. And that happens to, you know, you've got to stay a friend and a mentor and a source of support. And I've tried to do that as well, in my career. It's just, you know, people have their own ideas about where they want to be, and you just have to accept that too.

David Novak 41:45 

You know, this has been so much fun. Val and I want to have some more with my rapid fire questions by lightning round. Are you ready for this?

Val Ackerman 41:54 

Oh, boy. Okay.

David Novak 41:55 

What are three words that others would use to describe you? I

Val Ackerman 41:59 

mean, I'm smiling with you, but people would probably call me intense. Serious, I would hope they would say compassionate.

David Novak 42:06 

If you could be one person for a day besides yourself, who would it be?

Val Ackerman 42:10 

Bruce Springsteen's manager. Just I would like to see how he spends

David Novak 42:16 

a day. Yeah. Who would play you in a movie?

Val Ackerman 42:19 

Can you pick a an attractive actress?

David Novak 42:24 

What's your biggest pet peeve?

Val Ackerman 42:25 

biggest pet peeve is laziness. You get

David Novak 42:29 

to front row tickets to anything you want. Where would you go? Springsteen

Val Ackerman 42:33 

concert. There's a theme here, probably picking up on. So

David Novak 42:38 

you get to have lunch with Bruce Springsteen. What would you want to talk to him about?

Val Ackerman 42:42 

Oh, God, I think if I had lunch with him, I couldn't speak. I really I've thought about this in my head. Like if I ever had a chance to meet him, I think I would just break down and cry. He's been this guy has been the soundtrack of my life. Born to Run came out when I was a sophomore in high school, the guys from New Jersey. Just every important stage of my life. There's a Springsteen song attached to that. But I think I don't know, I think I would ask him what his motivation was behind Thunder Road, which is one of my all time favorite songs like what inspired him to write that song? And where did the words come from?

David Novak 43:10 

The most points you ever scored in the game? I

Val Ackerman 43:14 

think it was in the 30s. I don't think I ever had a 40 point

David Novak 43:17 

game, what you would consider your biggest business accomplishment? Well, again,

Val Ackerman 43:21 

it was shared. But I would say tremendous pride to your point in helping USA Basketball women's national team get back on track in 1996, being part of the launch of the WNBA the next year, and then being part of the relaunch of the Big East in 2013 have all been high watermarks for me.

David Novak 43:39 

What's one of your daily rituals, something you'd never miss watching

Val Ackerman 43:43 

television at light before I go to sleep with my husband.

David Novak 43:46 

If I turned on the radio in your car, what would I hear? You

Val Ackerman 43:49 

might hear probably hear a little bit of talk radio. And probably like classic vinyl. Sirius XM like old songs from like when I was in high school and college.

David Novak 44:02 

What's something about you a few people would know that

Val Ackerman 44:07 

I just an intense animal lover. love animals.

David Novak 44:11 

I love it. That's the end of the lightning round. Good job. Good, quick, perfect. And just a few more questions. And I'll let you go. You know, you've got all these accolades. I was looking at all of the recognition that you've received. But one thing that really stood out to me is that you were named by the National Mother's Day committee as the outstanding mother award. What's the best advice you you could give to mothers out there?

Val Ackerman 44:36 

I wasn't always because of the distractions of my work and my intensity, but be as present as you can and know when it's time to be there to really be there. And that was what happened to me. I mean, I gave up the WNBA, frankly, to be more present with my two daughters who at that time were 12 and 10. And it was the best one of the best decisions I made. It was a gamble profession. She really didn't have an on ramp in mind to get back out. But that was one of the best decisions I ever made. I think my daughters, I hope they really appreciated that they told me they they did. Just knowing when it's time, how'd

David Novak 45:13 

you get the courage to do that? Oh, that's a big move. It

Val Ackerman 45:16 

was. And again, it was just, it was a mother's instinct. It was just a mother's instinct. And you know, my husband, who's a amazing guy, who was, you know, her job of zone, we were splitting the duties at home, and he was doing a lot and I was traveling so much. And I just, you know, I just in my heart of heart of hearts, just knew it was time for me to be more present as a mom, which I did. And then, you know, as it turned out, the biggest opportunity came up as my youngest daughter, Sally was going off to college. And so the bandwidth literally was restored. So that was the luck and the timing of that, of that opportunity.

David Novak 45:51 

You know, you've given so much to the game of basketball, what's the biggest lesson it's taught you? Well,

Val Ackerman 45:57 

I think about the power of basketball and sports to do good, is a big theme of mine. I think David, David was a forerunner in this. But the joy just to see the joy that watching basketball brings to fans that playing basketball brings two players, you know, having been part of USA basketball, and then I did two terms as the President, as a US representative to the international Basketball Federation, I had a chance to see the impact of basketball and other countries. And it really is a sport that brings people together from so many walks of life, it sort of joy and peace and harmony and togetherness and all the good things that we need more of. And so for me, the ability of basketball to bring the world together, is real. And to the extent that, you know, we've been able to do a little bit of that on top of whatever else we do with the Big East all the other things we do. I mean, that's, you know, that makes my job even more worthwhile.

David Novak 46:58 

Now, what would you say? Is your unfinished business?

Val Ackerman 47:01 

I don't know, David, I can't I'm not sure I can answer it. I mean, I probably has something to deal with, you know, until I take the last breath helping with, you know, the cause of women and leadership in the sports industry much advance from when I started out talking about that earlier. But just to see, you know, women getting their due, whether it's playing, whether it's leading, that is unfinished business, I think for me, and probably many women who are in my shoes, and so the more that we can contribute on that front. I know I and colleagues that are like me, feel very committed to that cause.

David Novak 47:38 

All right, last question here, what's the best piece of advice you can give aspiring leaders, I

Val Ackerman 47:44 

would say just be competent, and confident. competency and confidence, go a long way. And doing it in a manner that is effective, because of the way you're communicating your competence. And your confidence is I think, can be a winning combination for them. Well,

David Novak 48:09 

I have to tell you, it's been a real honor to be able to have this conversation with you. You're You're a Hall of Famer on many, many fronts. And it's great to see you setting the tone and the standard of leadership in your industry. Forget male, female. I mean, you're you're one hell of a leader. And I think that's why you've done so well. David,

Val Ackerman 48:31 

thank you so much. I really appreciate those kind words. I really do. Thank you so much.

David Novak 48:50 

accomplishing something big is always going to take a team effort, the respect, the camaraderie, the willingness to help one another towards that collective goal. Well, that's the mentality of every great team, whether they're on a court or in a corporation. And that's how Val builds her teams. But you know what, it starts with her by supporting our team and respecting them. FAU sets the standard that everybody is there to cooperate and win together. That's a powerful takeaway. So let me pause here and offer you some coaching so you can put it to work this week. I want you to spend a few minutes reflecting on three strengths you see in your team. Now I know your team isn't perfect. No team is but focus on the good stuff this week. Cultivate that respect for your team. And I can promise you, it will help you create a more cooperative culture. So do you want to know how leaders lead? Well, we learned today is the great leaders respect their teams. Coming up next on how leaders lead is pro golfer Rory McIlroy just in time for the 2024 PGA be been held at Valhalla. The site where he won the 2014 PGA so be sure to come back again next week to hear our entire conversation. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of how leaders lead where every Thursday you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I make it a point to give you something simple on each episode that you can apply to your business so that you will become the best leader you can be