Jennifer Reynolds is a Manager, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors. Jennifer stepped into a newly-created role to develop an integrated approach to promote inclusion and engagement for the company and its sports teams. With diverse professional experience prior to MLSE, Jennifer’s passion for sport inclusion has remained a consistent thread; she has been a dedicated volunteer and Regional Board Member with You Can Play, a non-profit that promotes inclusion in sport for LGBTQ+ athletes, for the past five years.
We talked about self-advocacy, the confidence to create your own path, and hint at some of the amazing work coming in from an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion perspective in pro spots.
Jennifer's LinkedIn profile is here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-reynolds-mlse/
Full show notes and transcripts can be found here:
https://www.mtcpod.com
Like the show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps. Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!
Jennifer Reynolds is a Manager, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors. Jennifer stepped into a newly-created role to develop an integrated approach to promote inclusion and engagement for the company and its sports teams. With diverse professional experience prior to MLSE, Jennifer’s passion for sport inclusion has remained a consistent thread; she has been a dedicated volunteer and Regional Board Member with You Can Play, a non-profit that promotes inclusion in sport for LGBTQ+ athletes, for the past five years.
We talked about self-advocacy, the confidence to create your own path, and hint at some of the amazing work coming in from an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion perspective in pro spots.
Jennifer's LinkedIn profile is here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-reynolds-mlse/
Full show notes and transcripts can be found here:
https://www.mtcpod.com
Like the show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps. Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!
Ep 8 - Jennifer Reynolds
[00:00:00] Christian Parsons: Coming up on Make The Cut.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: The job I have now didn't exist six months ago. So even though there might not be a job that you see in the sports industry, For you right now, it doesn't mean it's not going to be there in the future. And you just might be the one who creates it.
Christian Parsons: Welcome to the show. I'm Christian Parsons. On Make The Cut we deconstruct the career paths, work lessons in practical advice of the people who have built successful careers on the business side of pro sports. From the NHL to the NBA. From football to soccer. These are the stories of people who make it happen off the field, off the ice and off the court.
Our goal is for you to leave with a better knowledge of what it's like to work in the world of pro sports. Different jobs that you didn't know existed and actionable steps to help you get your next job in sports.
Today, we're talking with Jennifer Reynolds. Jen works in equity, diversity and inclusion at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The company that owns the Toronto maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors. She's actually dropped into the role in the past six months after working [00:01:00] in their corporate strategy department for two years.
Her new job is to develop an integrated approach to promote inclusion and engagement for the company and its sports teams. We dive into the skills she was able to port over from her time working as an accountant ,her volunteer experience at You Can Play,
how we're all on our own learning journeys and the importance of self-advocacy in our own careers. Let's dive into our conversation with Jennifer Reynolds.
All right, Jen. Well, thanks for joining. Talk me through how you got into working in sports. I believe you started in one of the big accounting firms, but have also been a lifelong athlete. Walk me through your journey so
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: far.
Yeah, it's a, it's been a bit of a winding road for sure. I've been working for eight years now.
And when I tell people that I started off. Working in audit and professional services firm, and eight years later have wound up working in equity, diversity and inclusion at Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. I get a lot of quizzical looks so I can [00:02:00] help kind of connect the dots there. I studied business at Queens university and when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, it took me a while to figure that out at, at university.
I was always good with numbers, so. Finance and accounting seemed like a good place for me to start my career. So graduated when I was 22. Moved to Toronto. I was excited to be entering the corporate world. Um, I pursued my, my CA designation. So I'm a chartered accountant. It seemed like a good place to start, uh, get the foundational skills in professional services, providing services to clients.
I learned some really valuable skills there. It's all about providing. Value to your clients, client service excellence. I got exposed to organizations, anywhere from a big bank to the, the Royal Ontario Museum. I got exposed to their inner workings of their companies. And ultimately, how do we provide value?
[00:03:00] For those companies, it was a good place to start, but I always knew that there was something else that I wanted to do. I didn't know what, so five years spent, working in, in professional services. I started thinking what what's, what's my next step here. Um, as you mentioned, I've been a lifelong athlete, but to be honest, I never considered the sports industry as a career because I didn't think that there was.
Work for me, there wasn't a role for me as someone who, had studied finance and worked in financial advisory. I was browsing LinkedIn just on an, on a whim applied for a position at, uh, at MLSE, uh, W with the role of strategy and planning and it looked like they were actually looking for someone that had my expertise.
Um, they, they valued the work that I had done, um, in, in corporate strategy, uh, what I had [00:04:00] obtained with my CA designation. And I was like, look, this is a long shot. I didn't know anyone that worked in the sports and entertainment industry, but Hey, I submitted my application. Uh, it's a funny story. I didn't hear from MLSE for a year.
They act like one year, 12 months. Um, I submitted the application and I was like, okay, well, I didn't hear anything back. I tried to follow up with the recruiter on LinkedIn. And I was like, okay, I guess they didn't get the job. Um, I was happy with the work that I was doing in, uh, financial advisor at the time.
So I was like, okay, I it's okay. I gave it a shot a year later, the recruiter, um, sends me an email and said, Sorry for taking so long, you actually put the hiring for this role, um, on pause as there was a new CFO at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, but we've revisited what the role will be. So would love to bring you in for an interview [00:05:00] if you happen to still be interested.
And I was like, yeah, absolutely. Like, um, A hundred percent. And at that time I'd actually within that year between submitting my application and hearing back from MLSE, I had actually, um, really developed my skills in terms of my consulting and strategy work as well. So I was actually in a lot better position and better suited for the job than I was a year ago, um, at that time.
I landed the job as you, as you might expect from this. But, what really helped me stand out in the application and interview process? Not only do I love sports, but I believe in the passion, that sports provides and the power to bring people together through sports. So, um, My volunteer experience really [00:06:00] spoke for itself.
Um, I, I'm a huge advocate for being involved, um, in, in the community and for doing stuff outside of work. And, um, for a number of years I've been involved with the, You Can Play Project. So it's a nonprofit organization that promotes LGBTQ inclusion in sport. I'm a gay person, myself, a gay athlete. And I strongly believe in that mission to make.
Sports and an inclusive place for all. So, um, although my professional experience did set me up well for my job at MLSE, it was really, I think my, my volunteer work and passion for sport, um, that, that set me apart that way.
I started at MLSE in 2018.
And worked within this corporate strategy role for two years. Um, it was a new position, which is a theme for me . So a new role that I was stepping into. And essentially I worked as a internal consultant, for our [00:07:00] company. So. I was tasked with helping advise on various strategic projects across the organization, which allowed me to have excellent exposure to the different parts of our business, anywhere from ticketing to sponsorships, to food and beverage venue operations.
MLSE has a wide diverse portfolio of businesses.
Then 2020 hit, uh, no surprise that COVID-19 threw the sports industry upside down, but, um, in May and June with the rise of the contemporary anti-black racism movement, um, and the rise of Black Lives Matter again.
The sports industry and, and many companies across the world took time to think about what their position was in all of this. And as a sports organization, we know the power and responsibility that we have to our community, um, and, and our [00:08:00] fans to be better. We know that, um, with that power with the fans, we have a platform that we can use for change. So it was a real reckoning for us. Um, a time of reflection, a time to have those difficult conversations across the organization and figure out where we might have fallen short in the past and opportunities for us to be better, not only for our employees, but for our fans as well.
So over the summer, we worked to create, an equity, diversity and inclusion department. So a new department, not within HR, like most folks might think that equity, diversity inclusion falls under, but its own department. We hired, um, a senior vice-president, um, so an executive level leader, uh, to, to run and.
At that time, I was still working in, in corporate strategy and finance, but, um, my, my boss, [00:09:00] the CFO knew that I had a passion for equity, diversity and inclusion. And, um, in, in a conversation that we were having, I was quite frank with her. And I was like, I love the work that I'm doing in corporate strategy and finance now, but.
I see the value that I can bring to our organization if I were to work in equity, diversity, and inclusion. So I created a job for myself. In our new equity, diversity and inclusion department. Um, I just started that role, um, December 1st, 2020. So I I'm new to the role, but I'm not new to the equity, diversity and inclusion space based upon my lived experience as an LGBTQ woman, my lived experience as an athlete and also my volunteer work outside of, of MLSE.
So that's, that's how I got from point a to a. Point F let's say all the way down the road, eight years later. A little bit of luck, but a lot of self-advocacy as well, to [00:10:00] figure out, you know, ultimately what it is I wanted to do and then just put in the work to get there.
Christian Parsons: That's so interesting.
Right? There's so much to unpack there. That's such a, and I know it's, it's, it's the five minute version of your story and not the three hour version of it, but there's a couple of themes that I'm pulling out of this. I think what you just said at the very end, the figuring out what you want and self advocacy to go get there, I think is really, really interesting and intelligent.
I think you defining your own roles as a part of that is really, really interesting. And to have a bunch of just straight up questions on, on that. And then I think, um, there's you continually building your skillset and rounding out the opportunity so that you're almost growing and ready for the opportunity.
As, as it presents itself, if you had gotten that interview when you had applied for the strategy, sorry. I think it's manager of strategy.
Yeah, yeah,
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: exactly. Yeah. Yeah. That strategy role. Yeah.
Right.
Christian Parsons: You wouldn't, you, you would be [00:11:00] one year less able to say like, Hey, I've actually consulted on this, this, this, and this at the moment.
Right. So, so a couple of things, In a new position, whether it's the manager of strategy role, whether it's going into the equity, diversity and inclusion element, how do you define the role? For the first one was it the CFO who defined the role for you?
Or did you work to, or she was just working. To find the right partner and to do it together. And then for the SVP and the equity, diversity and inclusion space, how do you actually define what's needed? And what's the role in it?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: It's very much a collaboration, for, for both of the roles, coming into a new organization when I did, two and a half years ago.
It, it took me some time to figure out what the landscape was, a new role, to be able to develop that mandate, but, but figure out like what exactly are the business needs? There is no consulting strategy arm of MLSE. So for a person to come in and [00:12:00] act as a internal consultant on projects is kind of new to the business.
So I had to work to gain the trust of the leaders. Put in the work to, to understand the business, whether that be ticketing and understanding that the differences in, in the ticketing prices for Leafs, Raptors, dynamic pricing, food, and beverage, that was a new industry for me. Understanding, we have two restaurants downtown, um, uh, understanding the key demographics of who attends, what restaurants when and, and our competitive landscape.
So I had a skill set that allowed me to, get up to speed quickly and to help provide that, that value for our business units. But it was a lot of on the job learning. Stepping into the equity, diversity and inclusion role. I'd been at the organization for two years. I had been very involved [00:13:00] in the community side, through volunteering and getting involved in different initiatives, just within MLSE.
I had a pretty good idea of what the landscape. Was in terms of the inclusion space. So working with my new boss, the SVP of equity, diversity, and inclusion, I had a lot of ideas there. These were ideas that I never had time to do or was empowered to do in my role before it was, um, always things that I had wanted to do even, um, really putting more.
Time and effort towards establishing our, employee resource group for LGBTQ employees. There was no person doing that. So there was so much potential at our organization too, to be the leader, but we really needed to put the time and resources towards that.
So I'm quite fortunate that I'm able to do the work that I [00:14:00] love, um, in terms of the inclusion space. And I have the background. In, in the sports industry at MLSE. I have the trust of many employees to be able to advocate on behalf of them, uh, in, in order to, to be the leader in the equity, diversity and inclusion space that we want to be.
Christian Parsons: That's awesome. One of the things that you said with both roles was, building trust. With the first one, it was about building trust, with the other leaders on the executive team. And with the second one, it's about building trust with employees. How do you go about building trust?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: I think it really has to do a lot with being authentic myself and opening myself up through being vulnerable. It's only when you are able to be vulnerable yourself, that you can really create those meaningful connections with people on a person to person level. So in the work that I do now for [00:15:00] equity, diversity and inclusion, I can only speak for my experience as an LGBTQ woman.
My experience is different from other LGBTQ folks, different from other women. So I am investing the time to speak with individuals on a one-on-one basis across our organization. People who are black people, people with disabilities, um, All all folks from different walks of life and, and different experiences from people that are new to the organization.
People that have been here for 25 years. So understanding as best I can, their experiences and coming at it with, from a place of, of empathy, trying to put myself in their shoes and ultimately, to work to. Advocate for them. An advocate for those whose voices haven't been heard in the past.
Christian Parsons: Got it.
So it sounds like one starting with vulnerability, right? That [00:16:00] building trust is really a one-on-one endeavor with that. Yeah. And then being nonjudgmental and empathetic as you're, as you're listening
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: yeah, definitely. And with our equity, diversity and inclusion department, like we consider ourselves a center of expertise.
Our ultimate goal is that equity, diversity and inclusion becomes. Part of every single business decision that is made at the organization. So it's not an afterthought, it's not a bolt on through human resources. It's not just getting the right people in the door. That's diversity.
It goes even further than inclusion. So inclusion is how people feel in terms of that level of engagement. But yeah. We're working so that equity, diversity and inclusion is across all parts. Whether that be the sponsors that we work with for. Our global partnerships business. Are we working with companies that [00:17:00] uphold the same standards of inclusion that we do, um, for our fan base is our employee group reflective of our diverse fans and reflective of all faces across Toronto.
Um, in terms of the work that we do through MLSE launch pad and MLSE foundation for our philanthropic, um, work it's. Are we able to use our funds in a way that can make the most impact for those that needed across Toronto and are able to amplify the messages of our players who have a lot to say on this.
When we think about the Toronto Raptors and when they rolled into Orlando with the black lives matter bus, like we want to be able to empower them and also educate. Our our, our employees educate our players that want to learn more about what they can do to use their platforms as professional athletes to make a difference in this space.
[00:18:00] Christian Parsons: That's awesome. Yeah. It's, it's, it's really interesting, right? Cause you have, let's say an early twenties athlete, um, coming out of college who's just, a man. You know what I mean? Just a very young man trying to learn probably before this year, never registered to vote.
But have this huge voice and have this huge amplification and audience and microphone. And you know, whether they're doing silly things or whether they're doing really deliberately impactful things, they can shift the market. That's really interesting.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah, exactly.
And what I say to people - it's all about recognizing what your platform is. We're not all professional athletes that have millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram, but as a person like myself who works at a sports organization, we have the power to make the decisions that will impact our broader community.
We have the power to use our voices to make a difference. So it's realizing, [00:19:00] um, whether you will. You know, work at a sports organization, whether you're in university and what groups that you can be a part of, whether you identify as part of that group or being an ally to that group. So thinking about what is in your toolkit, what resources do you have at your disposal to be able to build up your platform, to make that change?
Everyone has a platform it's just being able to use it in the best way to make that positive change.
Christian Parsons: Awesome. Very cool. So I also think that there, this is, this is my bias coming through. Right. But I th I also think that there is a business or a competitive edge for a diversity, I think that just, just picking the Toronto Raptors and what, I've, what I've seen, probably one of the most diverse front offices. I feel like Masai has set up a situation where they definitely see things in drafting and developing players that other people don't right.
They have a bias bias is the wrong word. From an [00:20:00] outside perspective, it looks like they're more. Open to African born players, then maybe the rest of the league, which has a kind of a little bit more of an American born, like player bias. So yeah, exactly. All of that to say, you know, as you, as you were talking about, Hey, I want diversity equity and inclusion to be a part of every single decision that's made within the organization that you're part of right now.
What's the competitive advantage or what's the business reason behind doing that?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah, to, to, to your point, like, um, we know that having diversity of thought diversity of experience in a team will yield better business decisions and better results. For us as a sports organization we're nothing without our fans, we're nothing without our community.
Um, our teams drive us. Our live entertainment business drives us, but ultimately we're here for our fans and [00:21:00] to provide them with that experience, whether it be the fans that are lucky enough to come to Scotiabank arena and, and have those tickets to the games, whether it's our fans across the world, in the Philippines, cheering for the Raptors, um, Ultimately, we we're nothing without our fans.
So when we think about diversity in the sports industry, We're looking to change the sports landscape. Not only is it diversity of our employees who work at MLSE, but how do we change the sports landscape in terms of sports being as a place that has been exclusive? In the past, the barriers to access sport.
If you take hockey, ice, hockey, there's financial barriers involved in that. How can we work to remove those financial barriers and make it accessible to more people? [00:22:00] Hockey is different than let's say basketball, hockey, you need skates. You need rink time, all that comes with a cost. So how do we make a sport like hockey, more accessible to those who wouldn't be able to access this from, from a financial means, but also who wouldn't want in the past, who haven't wanted to.
Be involved in a sport like hockey, because they don't see themselves reflected in that. So how do we work to change the face of some sports to show that that this is a place for you and how do we elevate the, the voices of our players? So when we're thinking about the Leafs, we need to be able to develop that next generation of fans and be able to have.
Our fan base, our player base, our employees reflective of the community that we serve. So ultimately we're here for our [00:23:00] fans. That's the business side of sports, but through equity, diversity and inclusion, we can make sure that sports is a place for everyone. Everyone feels included, and that everyone feels that sports can be a place for them.
To come together to enjoy the game and share our passion for the game that way.
Christian Parsons: . Thinking about it. It almost sounds like it's, it's a big opportunity from a growth strategy, right? Because, because if you, one of the things that I love that you said, we're here for the fans and making sports available to everyone.
I think it was Phil Knight who said Nike is for every athlete and everybody with a body as an athlete.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yes, exactly. Right.
Christian Parsons: So it's the same sort of thing where you're like, we are here for our fans and anybody could be a sports fan.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. It's and in a city like Toronto, like we've seen the power of sport to bring [00:24:00] people together. Like we all remember the 2019 Raptors championship run, 56% of all Canadians tuned in to some part of the Raptors NBA championship. That's over half of the Canadian population. Like that's huge numbers.
People who didn't even. Watch sports people who, you know, couldn't even name a player on the Raptors tuned in because this was the shared love of a Canadian team, doing something that had never been done before. So we've seen the power that sport has to bring folks from all walks of life together. And there's an opportunity to use that power for good.
Christian Parsons: Absolutely. Absolutely. And, and I think. One of the big pieces of pride from, from that is one putting the Toronto Raptors and Canada on the sports, on the American sports landscape in terms of an NBA [00:25:00] championship, but also the flip side of that. Right. And what I, what I've seen being in the American market is the appreciation of what are perceived in America as Canadian values of equity.
Democracy inclusion, you know, all of that kind of stuff. Be, you know, permeate and leverage a team like the Raptors to do that down here and be an example, which I think is right. Really cool. Absolutely. Um, who, so going back to diversity, equity and inclusion, who does it best? right now? Is there best in class standard out there? Like the WNBA or something like that, that you're trying to match or is figuring it out a big part of the job that a lot of people are doing. Right.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: People would be surprised to hear that, although, you know, our Face other teams on, on the court, on the ice, on the field as fierce competitors, there's actually a lot of collaboration and [00:26:00] sharing of best practices that goes on behind the scenes. So the NBA and the NHL, for example, have been big proponents of that.
Both leagues have senior executives who are black women who are leading the diversity and inclusion efforts for their leagues and have brought together a team representatives from all the teams in their leagues to share best practices, share what's working in their markets and what's not, and how they can improve.
For our teams, we have been leading the way in, in some areas, but we're also leaning on, on other teams to learn about what they've been doing. Toronto, we are, um, and, and Canada, we, we a very liberal place where we're very accepting by nature, but, there are areas for, for us to improve and, there's really.
Such an amazing opportunity to be that leader. So we have a lot coming up. I can't share too much, but there's, there's a lot to look forward to. [00:27:00] And, and we are making waves really to, to be that leader in, in inclusion, in sport that we want to be.
Christian Parsons: That makes sense. And, and I think what you just said at the top end of that is, is, is really interesting from a, from an outside perspective or for a fan perspective, right?
Like you might be conference rivals or something with the Milwaukee Bucks, right. And actively chasing. Chasing a championship and, and, and that team is in your way, but at the same time, knowing that members of your social media staff are on a Slack channel with them and collaborating on how to make the best product for the fans,
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: We're we're competitors on, on the rink, um, on the court, but ultimately we all have the same goal, um, in terms of sport inclusion. And, if we can help to elevate, the sport inclusion practices of other teams, then that's really what it's all about. We're we're looking to change the broader sport landscape.
That's
Christian Parsons: awesome. Yeah. Once you drop into [00:28:00] a sports organization from the outside, dropping into a big organization like.
Maple leaf sports entertainment. That's, that's different. You know, what was one of the biggest surprises kind of coming in? What do you wish you knew before you, you gone in and you, you started, you know, started day one.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah um, everyone would know MLSE is like four. Major sports team. So we got the Leafs, Raptors, Argos, and TFC.
But what I mentioned at the start is I was surprised by just how vast and diverse our portfolio of businesses is and everything that we own from Scotia bank arena, um, to real sports apparel. Selling merchandise to our thriving live entertainment business, everything that comes together under the MOC umbrella is truly fascinating.
Uh, we have close to 4,000 employees. So a lot of the work that we do, whether it. It'd be our public relations, our, [00:29:00] our studio team, our accounts payable, that's all in-house at at the organization. So yes, we have the people that are, are leading the teams in terms of the front office that are making those, you know, roster decisions and, and, and the plays for the teams.
But there's a huge team behind the team that. It doesn't get the visibility that they deserve. So often, um, people like myself starting early in my career, didn't see sports in the sports industry, being a place for me because. I didn't know what, what existed within sports. Um, so what, what I think, what I wish I would have known coming in is that there's so many opportunities and Hey, like I've the two jobs that I've had at MLSE were new jobs.
The job I have now didn't exist six months ago. So even though there might not be a job that you see in the sports industry, For you right now, it doesn't mean it's not going to be there in the future. And you just might be the one [00:30:00] who creates it.
Christian Parsons: I love that. And that's super inspiring, . Because I think I'm sure we're going to look back 10 years from, in 10 years and be like, I didn't know that 50% of these jobs even existed.
Definitely. Right. Even right now, if I look back 10 years ago, I couldn't predict be being where I am right now. And to me to take that and project 10 years forward, there's no way that I know what's gonna happen in 10 years.
Right. Um, but I think, you know, being open. Building a diverse skill set, being adaptable and knowing who you are and where you want to go. I think it's super important in, in, in chasing that and being, I guess, being patient as well. .
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: I'm quite fortunate to chat with students on a regular basis.
Many of which that reach out, they're interested in finance, they're interested in, in the sports industry, whatever it may be. And a lot of them were like, wow, how did you end up in working in [00:31:00] sports? Like, was that something that you had on your radar, you know, for years and years? And it's like, no, it wasn't.
And I think that has a lot to do with the lack of visibility, like I mentioned, but in my career, I've, I've taken steps towards something, that was building upon. The skill set that I had built, but I didn't know the ultimate end goal. It's, it's been a journey and it's been stepping stones to get where I, gotten to today.
So what I, what I often say to students, it's like, it's okay if you don't land that dream job right out at the university. I mean, not even know what that dream job is, but get some good experiences. Don't discount, transferable skills, experiences, experience, whether it's volunteer work, whether it's lived experience, you don't have to be paid for it to count as experience as long as you can speak towards it.
Um, then it's absolutely valid and you [00:32:00] can use that to fuel your future, uh, career progression.
Christian Parsons: Absolutely. And just calling out from our conversation to the ones that you picked up from your first couple of couple of years in it like accounting, finance, client services is, one of the things you mentioned that was really important for you was the skillset to get up to speed quickly on a business.
Right. And like you were just saying. Holy crap. I didn't know that we had an FNB in restaurant business that was X number of millions of dollars. And I know nothing about FNB, what the margins are, how the business works, how we make money, all of this kind of stuff. I need to learn this. You know, two weeks later, you're like, now I know it.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah, exactly. And that's, and that's what we did in, in client services. Right. You're, you're working on a new deal, a new client every month, every couple of months. And you're expected to be able to ask the insightful questions. So you really have to know. What you're doing. Um, so that's a huge transferable skill as well as working under pressure [00:33:00] and, and just keeping your cool when not when things get heated.
So definitely a really valuable experience that, uh, I, I can't take for granted.
Christian Parsons: So build transferrable skills, be able to work under pressure. What else, you know, if somebody wanted to. Drop in to help with diversity equity inclusion in their home market, especially with a lot of places now opening up roles within this.
What advice would you give them, particularly if it's a new role?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah, I think, in terms of working in diversity equity inclusion in, in the sport landscape, even if an organization doesn't have a set role, in the budget to be able to fund that role, there's still so many opportunities to get involved.
Whether it be through employee resource groups, And if you identify as part of that group or not, or if you're an ally, uh, whether it be, um, volunteering for other community organizations [00:34:00] like theirs, So many organizations that require the skills and expertise of people from the business world. Um, and that can just really use extra hands at a time like this.
So there's always opportunities to, to make that difference and to help further the work of equity seeking groups.
Christian Parsons: Got it. What I'm hearing for that is just do something, right. It sounds really so sorry. I'm not trying to simplify it.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: It's it's, it's so true. And, um, through the conversations, the candid conversations that I've been having with people, um, they're often left with a question of, well, what do I do?
I, I support, um, This inclusion effort. I just don't know what to do. Like what is an action for me to do? Um, even if it's a simple action of just educating yourself further, you know, listening to different podcasts, um, discussing [00:35:00] these important issues, um, taking an online course, having a conversation with a colleague, if they're open about their experience.
Um, Hmm. Uh, from an equity seeking group, uh, those are seemingly small actions, but they make the world of a difference.
Christian Parsons: Absolutely, absolutely. And I think, you know what you were just saying about educating yourself, broadening your own perspective and, and, you know, be willing to be wrong and be willing to accept other, other perspectives on things is hugely powerful because that if nothing else shifts you from a closed mindset to an open mindset, So just you from, Hey, the world is exactly as I see it from my one perspective to actually there's 7 billion per how this
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: world works for sure.
And I often say that we're all on our own learning journeys and you can't compare yourself to anyone else. You just have to be able to, uh, put in your own time, your own [00:36:00] effort to further your journey and make the impact that you can. Got it.
Christian Parsons: That's awesome. Okay. So I don't have the opportunity to talk to a lot of people, who are high level athletes at individual sports, or I'm just going to take them turn on this light, light triathlon.
So most of the people that I talked to you ended up playing team sports. What would you say would be one of the best lessons, that training or competing as in an individual sport taught you. Because I know that you're a part of a team and you're all training towards this, and yet you're competing against each other.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah, just for a way of background. So I competed as part of the Queens varsity triathlon team back in university. So it seems like a world ago now. Definitely not as fit as I used to be, but yeah, it's, it's really interesting. Like you mentioned, we, we train as a team, you know, we train. Five six, seven days a week.
Um, and especially for a multi-sport athlete, [00:37:00] um, it's all about cross-training right. Um, so what's interesting about that is that you're training alongside your teammates, some of which, who just might be better at swimming than you. So I don't know, but you might just be better at running the new, but there's so many opportunities needs to learn from them and to be able to.
Share your tips and tricks for, you know, different parts of the sport that, that you Excel in. And then that's the training part. And then when it comes to the actual competition, Use, although only one person can cross that finish line. First it's still very much is a team mentality. Um, being able to compete like beside each other, you, you know, uh, what, what everyone.
Strengths and weaknesses are, and you can work together to help, um, make sure that your teammate is doing as well as they can knowing in the, you know, and [00:38:00] 10 kilometer run, for example, like how to push your teammate just a little bit further that way. So it's competing at an individual sport it's uh, yes, only one person can get that gold medal, but it's still is a huge, a team mentality that way.
Christian Parsons: It's, it's awesome. And it's awesome to hear, right. I do truly feel that as humans we're wired for social connection and even in competition, You're able to still able to push each other enough.
I don't want to say friendly way, but like in a, in a way that really supports each other and brings out the best in each other. And I think that's, that's how you, to your point, you know, you wouldn't have been the athlete that you were without the teammates that you had to push you and support you throughout the journey.
Yeah, exactly. So let's say someone started in accounting, went to school for it. Um, maybe because they didn't know what else to do, or like, to your point, they were good with numbers [00:39:00] and they want to make the move over to sports. What advice would you give them?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah. I think that a lot of people, they say I want to work in the sports industry because I'm a sports fan.
I love sports. And I say, okay, that's great. But what else? Like, what is your unique angle? Like what is the unique value that you bring? You, you need to think about that because we hire for the person. Um, and. Their affinity towards sports and our sports teams is an added bonus. So thinking about like, why is it that you want to work in sports and what extra value can you bring?
So for me, that was quite clearly demonstrated in the volunteer work that I did. And I would recommend that people look to, gain experience, whether that be in, in their community, where they can just, they can more [00:40:00] authentically, speak to the value of sport, the value, that sport has brought to their lives.
Like we've been saying there's a ton of different career paths, career opportunities within sports. So no matter what it is, there likely is a job within the sports industry that could match to your skillset. But, um, it's a very unique environment, uh, not, not for everyone, but, uh, it's, it's an excellent place.
Um, for those that are passionate about it.
Christian Parsons: You just said, something that, that I've definitely had the conversation with a couple of people on, you said not for everybody who is, who is this not the right environment for?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Very dynamic work. Um, we like the ebbs and flows of the season. Like as much as you can strategically plan, um, you, we cannot influence the actual like game night performance of our [00:41:00] athletes.
So as much as we can plan, there's a lot of like ups and downs with that. Uh, it's the entertainment business, right? It's it's nights, it's weekends, but, um, I, I know it's hard to answer who it's like not for, but I think you have to be able to, um, you know, appreciate what our product is, which is providing exceptional, um, experiences for, for, for fans.
Christian Parsons: Got it. Got it. So you need to be able to empathize or not empathize, but like actually put yourself in the shoes of those fans, whatever the, whatever the business is, whether it's. The customer at the restaurant, whether it is the fan at the childish Gambino show, whether it is the person in a suite, entertaining clients at a maple Leafs game, all that stuff.
Exactly.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Exactly.
Christian Parsons: You've been there two and a half years. I'm sure there's been a lot of things that has happened, whether it's in the office, you know, [00:42:00] on the field, on the court. And what did you learn from them?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah. So I've had the opportunity to get involved with, the community work that that MLSE does before I stepped into my role in equity, diversity and inclusion.
So kind of paired with the volunteer work that I do with you can play. I was able to be part of the group organizing, the Leafs. You can play pride night last, February, 2020. Um, As part of that, I sat down with the group and we thought about how we could do things better than we had in past years.
In the past years, we've always, uh, done, uh, an. We've done stuff that has been focused inside the arena. So whether that be, um, you know, t-shirt giveaways, special announcements, PSA videos to support, you can play an LGBTQ employees, but we wanted [00:43:00] to expand what we did with the pride nights. So, um, I've always been a big advocate for, um, allowing people to experience.
What is happening in the arena without actually buying a ticket, because we all know that Leafs tickets are quite expensive and not everyone has the means for that. So what we did is we took that experience and we brought it to real sports bar and grill across the street. So we turned that into, um, The the pride night party at real sports, we invited folks, um, LGBTQ athletes, um, from all across Toronto's, um, sports, um, groups, a lot of, um, community sports groups, uh, student groups as well with, with LGBTQ folks.
And we, we brought that experience, um, not that meaningful. [00:44:00] Um, experience of knowing that sport is a place for you. We had, um, Leafs, alumni joining. We had drag Queens. We, we really, it, it was an excellent, like, it was amazing to see people feel that like for a organization like the Toronto maple Leafs to, you know, put that much time and effort and, um, care into developing.
An event for them as an LGBTQ athlete was really heartwarming to see. So with that, it's, there's so many options opportunities, like I've said for sports organizations to do better. And this was a really great example that we were able to do at MLSE by bringing that experience that only select people are able to have within the arena, bringing that to the general public, um, and seeing all the wonderful things we could do with that.
Christian Parsons: That's so awesome. That's, that's [00:45:00] awesome. How did you go about building support to take a look at something a little bit differently?
Um, especially, you know, just given human nature a lot of the times, like, well, we're going to do what we did last year. We're just getting to make it 10% better. 10% better, 10% better. I think that's. That can happen certain, certain
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: organizations. Yeah, for sure. It's, it's always easier to roll forward what you did last year, then to start from zero and build up.
So, um, with the role that I had in corporate strategy, like I said, I had been able to create. Those connections and level of trust across the organization. So I was already well connected with many folks across the organization. Um, I took time to do my research. I took time to, uh, prepare, you know, uh, proposal really, and the business case for why we should do this.
So I. I did as much heavy [00:46:00] lifting as I could to make it quite clear to people that, you know, this is what we should be doing. This is, um, an excellent opportunity for us to reach a new group of fans. So, you know, everyone is quite busy with, with their day jobs. So I did as much as I could to do, to do.
The work for it. And then you have to be able to find the people, um, who are willing to go above and beyond and at MLSE there are no shortage of those folks who are willing to put in those extra hours who are willing to. Uh, you know, take time out of their regular nine to five to help you execute this.
So it's finding those people that are willing to go above and beyond and have the same passion that you do for something
Christian Parsons: that's awesome. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's not an opinion, it's a business case, right? Because opinions, opinions defer to the. Highest paid person in the room but if there's a, if there's a true [00:47:00] business case, it's, it's a lot easier to, to sell through, make it, you said doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
So it's a really easy decision. And then leveraging that, that team, you know, that energy and that passion point to, to get it done. That's awesome. Is there anything that I haven't asked you that you would like to say to artist our audience?
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Okay.
One thing that I'll attribute, uh, you know, my career path to and where I've gotten to today. It's, um, a lot about self-advocacy and betting on yourself. Don't be afraid to apply for that job position that you don't think you actually need all the job criteria for. Don't be afraid to put your hand up to work on a new project that is kind of outside of what you normally do, and those are realizing your worth and advocating for yourself.
Are huge [00:48:00] areas of opportunity for people. And also being able to find the people within your organization who will work towards ensuring your longterm success and career growth. This isn't necessarily your manager doesn't have to be someone that you report to, but being able to find the right people within an organization that will, um, Spend their time and effort and invest in you so you can ultimately be successful.
Christian Parsons: Awesome. One of the things that I admire so much about this conversation is how confident you seem in self-advocacy. But one of the things that I, that I definitely feel is like, how do I advocate for myself?
Without being perceived as like a big ego to asshole. There's a, there's a nicer way of saying that, but you know, how, how do I confidently advocate for myself? What would you say to somebody who's [00:49:00] like, Hey, I would like to advocate to my for myself, but I don't want to come across as someone with a, with a huge ego.
Who's not a team player.
Jennifer Reynolds - MLSE: Yeah, I, for me, the distinction, there is an ego is something that is inflated and doesn't necessarily have the substance that it should. Um, you know, yes, we can all have like, uh, maybe we might think a little bit like highly of ourselves or on the flip side, like, don't give ourselves enough credit, but if you're able to, you know, Sit down at the end of the day and list out all of the accomplishments that you've done and XYZ and how it's driven value, how you've taken on more responsibility.
Um, it's not about asking. For a raise. It's not about asking for a promotion. It's demonstrating that you have done all of this to create this value and that you're ready [00:50:00] for the next step. So really being able it's it's value driven at the end of the day.
Christian Parsons: A big, thank you to Jen for joining us. It's great to hear about equity, diversity and inclusion from someone who is doing the work in a major North American market. And I love the way she spoke about self-advocacy. The way she was intentional about gathering experience and co-creating roles for herself. After we stopped recording, we actually went deeper and I just love her perspective on that and the way she framed it.
Nobody cares about your career as much as you do. Be confident enough to put your hand up and actively chase those opportunities and her words, it's all about self-advocacy and betting on yourself. I love that.
Once again, I'm Christian Parsons. We're starting to build a community out here on Make The Cut.
If you have any suggestions for the show guests or want to reach out, you can reach me at, @ThisIsParsons on Twitter and Instagram. You can see our show notes and transcripts at mtcpod.com. That's [00:51:00] M-T-C-P-O-D dot com. I hope you're able to learn something valuable from every single episode of the show. If you found it helpful, I ask that you share it with friends. Now, get out there and get hired in sports.