Employees that continuously are looking to evolve and grow
within, I think are the ones that
are best suited for change.
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Work from home, Zoom meetings, just the world
has changed with the way that we approach our work.
And it's changed a lot in the past few years,
including just the way that everyone is working right now.
And you've been no stranger to this
as the VP of Brand and Marketing Strategy for the Pistons.
So could you please tell us what your idea of flexible work
schedule looks like?
Certainly.
I mean for starters, I moved to Detroit in August of 2020
in the heart of the pandemic from Los Angeles.
So for the first two weeks of my employment,
I actually manage 28 people from the West Coast
and in the height of the pandemic.
So certainly, well versed in understanding
how you have to evolve in this dynamic world,
specifically as it relates to flexibility.
Having that opportunity to work from home,
adjusted and flexible hours, all things
that you have to be cognizant of to really create
an environment that affords you to be able to adjust and adapt
to what employees are going through.
Well, I want to ask you if you're
seeing a clash of any kind between cultures
on what their meaning of flexibility in the workplace
means to them?
It's funny you ask that.
For me, I mentioned those 28 employees.
They range from 21 years old to 63 years old.
So generational gap is certainly there.
And everybody has their own style.
I have someone who loves to come in at 6:00 AM every morning.
He's buttoned up and ready to go and he leaves right
at 4:00 o'clock.
Others who love to start a little later and sometimes
leave at 4:00 o'clock, but then work until midnight.
All part of where the world is headed
and how you have to be on the pulse of things
to truly maximize each and every person based on their skill
sets.
And I don't look at it as a clash.
I look at it as an opportunity for people
to see different styles and how that all melds together,
to create the perfect well balanced work environment.
Would you know what many people are frontline workers,
or they don't have a choice to work remotely.
So what do you say for those in that position?
How can they advocate for more workplace flexibility?
Yeah, in the case of the Detroit Pistons,
we have an environment where there's live entertainment.
So even during the height of the pandemic,
we had people who had to come and work game days.
And obviously, we put all the parameters in place
to ensure that they were in a safe environment.
But it's also providing, hey, you're working today.
You have to be here.
However, the next morning, why not come in until noon.
Or, hey, take a few days after this,
knowing that you just put in six days straight.
So having that ability to accommodate and meet them
where they are and assess and evaluate and ultimately impact
their needs is what we try to aim to do in every execution.
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Well, do you think flexibility is only on the employees?
Is that the employee's responsibility or is
that on the employers as well?
It's certainly a two-way street.
I think open dialogue and ensuring
that each person or each side truly articulates their needs
and then meeting in the middle or sometimes it
may go one way or the other.
But it certainly behooves everybody
to be transparent, and then figure out
the solution from there.
We know some people who are going into job interviews,
they might feel uncomfortable, even mentioning
asking about what kind of work-life flexibility they have
because they don't want to seem uncommitted.
How would you approach that in an interview?
First of all, interviews are a two-way street.
The employer is interviewing you and the employee
is interviewing the employer.
And if you go into that conversation with that mindset,
you won't feel intimidated by asking questions
that are important to you.
And hopefully, there's a proactive nature
on behalf of the employer that is already
inquiring about those types of questions in advance,
to provide that element of ease and comfortability.
But thinking about it through that mindset
will give you the confidence needed
to be able to walk in, chest out, head held high.
And I can ask these questions about my work-life balance,
my mental health, and know that there
won't be any detriment as a result of that.
Adaptability and flexibility, do you
think these are qualities that maybe can help you stand out
in your career?
And if so, what are some ways that maybe an employee can
show that?
Employees that continuously are looking to evolve and grow
within, I think are the ones that
are best suited for change.
To have that type of mindset and come in
and to know that I have a coachable employee who's
willing to adjust and pivot as needed
is something that I'm trying to build
an entire roster of employees.
I think even on the basketball court,
I'm thinking about the Detroit Pistons.
We need adaptability.
And do you see for the future, do
you see adaptability and flexibility being
something that will continue to be prioritized?
Certainly.
I think, again, to the point that I made earlier,
adaptability and flexibility have
to be at the forefront of what companies are about, as are
what employees are about.
And having those two together and being prioritized,
I think you're ultimately going to see
the continuation, the evolution of putting out better product
and end results because we've prioritized
the fact that people want to bring about the right change
and put better process in place.