In the virtual presentation about Inclusion, I will share the amazing story of Jason (J-Mac) McElwain who was my basketball team manager. Jason is on the autism spectrum and tried out for our basketball team 3 consecutive years. Jason was cut from the team all three years but because his dedication and loyalty he served as our team manager for all 3 seasons. Because he was so loyal to our program, I shared that I was going to give him a gift his senior year. The gift was put him uniform for our final home game during his senior year.
Throughout this presentation I will share the background about Jason and his teammates while weaving 3 essential keys that all audience members can use to improve their inclusion when building their team. Those 3 keys are: 1) 4 components of picking the right people for your team. 2) The power of clarity of mission and 3 top values. The leader must lead by example and be the Chief Reminding Officer to the team about the mission and most important values. 3) Share various ways we can make our people on the team feel valued.
