REFLECT
According to NHL.com: Seattle was granted an expansion franchise by the NHL on Dec. 4, 2018 and will begin play in 2021-22. The Seattle Kraken will be in the Pacific Division, with the Arizona Coyotes moving to the Central Division. The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft will be under the same rules for Seattle as the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. Seattle will select one player from each team excluding the Golden Knights for a total of 30 (14 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 3 goalies) not including additional players who may be acquired as the result of violations of the Expansion Draft rules. Seattle must choose a minimum of 20 players under contract for the 2021-22 regular season and those with an aggregate Expansion Draft value that is between 60-100 percent of the prior season's upper limit for the salary cap. Seattle cannot buy out players chosen in the Expansion Draft earlier than the summer following its first season. Current NHL teams can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie, under a variety of conditions. This week Seattle welcomed the 32nd franchise into NHL history. As it introduces the “Kraken” to the world of hockey, Seattle changes its landscape, adding a re-imagined stadium and state-of-the-art training facilities to the region. It will also enjoy, like Las Vegas before it, the ability to cobble together a new team from a combined mix of seasoned players from teams around the league and new draft selections. This last piece changes the work environment for players, creating expanded opportunities and adding more players to compete against. It also generates new strategic challenges for coaches around the league as they insulate their stars to defend their own structures and must now contend with another new market challenger. All of this being introduced during a global pandemic means a multi-million dollar investment in the sports entertainment space designed to generate revenue from game ticket sales, TV revenue, and merchandising that depends on fan buy-in potentially has to start with empty seats. How do you launch a multi-million dollar approach when the customers you are counting on for success can’t come through the door? This new environment will represent challenges for all of us, changing not only the landscape of a great sports town, but also the world of work for everyone involved. From parking to vendors and players alike, every worker and employer now faces the new reality of how to emerge and deliver safely in an uncertain landscape. Reflecting with your team as you re-engage with direct work spaces is now paramount. Ensuring as a leader you and your team are listening to each other, taking concerns seriously, and generating plans that reflect honest input will help develop stronger commitment from your franchise players and better experience for your fan base. This means in today’s new market environment you and your team will need to make smart decisions on what priorities you will maintain in serving clients and what you will walk away from or re-invent as you deliver work. Has the remote environment revealed opportunities to improve? New spaces for you to go after? Revealed weaknesses in your business approaches? All relevant questions, and you can now take a moment with your organization to refresh your strategy and layout the path forward. Listening. If you don’t ask, no one will answer.
Create opportunities for multiple input streams
Take note of genuine concerns - even if they are not yours
Articulate how you will take input, provide feedback adopt, or ignore recommendations
Give credit/recognize contributions at every level
Take inventory. It is important to understand where you have been and where you are heading to make sense of the journey. Create feedback opportunities by talking to the people who actually deliver the work and asking for client feedback. Gain insight into what has worked during this unique service window and what has not. You may need to make tough business decisions based on your results. If digital meetings and remote work provided stronger outcomes that could create opportunities to expand, reposition existing team for greater impact or generate savings. Understand where you are heading. More importantly, gain insight in adjustments that may need to be made as you work through new paths to get to your targets. Be overt about helping your teams reflect and discuss what has changed in how they have been working together. Determine what they want to leave behind and what they want to sustain. This will help your teams bring some closure to the past and feel empowered to take control of how we move forward. Find more info on creating powerful feedback loops inside your organization by downloading our business insight tools at www.ipartnerships.net.
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