OPINION | The Washington Football Team Has The Wright Stuff
It is certainly a new day in Ashburn. History has been made for all the right reason with the Washington Football Team. Jason Wright was announced this morning as the new team President.
He is the first Black president in the NFL and the youngest to be named to this position. He will be running the business side of the operation.
One thing that Wright has made clear during his interviews is that there is a clear dividing line between him and head coach Ron Rivera. The only times that there will be some cross pollination is when it is necessary including when the team goes out in the community and there is charity work to be done.
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Wright is clearly the ultimate antithesis to former President of Football Operations Bruce Allen. He is smart, maps out a strategy, and executes it with precision. What he also brings to the Washington Football Team is he has experience working on human resource structures making it more effective and efficient.
Something that Allen seemed to care less about. Wright will also not be riding on the coattails of a family member. He is here by his own smarts and hard work.
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Wright is going to abide by two principles that he mentioned in an interview with Brian Mitchell. The first being that at the end of the day, there needs to be transparency. Something that this organization desperately needs.
There was an attempt to be transparent by Brian Lafemina, but Allen (and Snyder) ultimately ran him out of town. The second principle is about having the culture and people to sustain a successful organization. There’s that word again, culture. It is all about turning this large ship into the right cultural direction.
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The biggest culture change that needs to happen in Ashburn is restructuring accountability and the
human resources department. Part of Jason’s portfolio at McKinsey and Company was to “improve efficiency, service levels, and customer satisfaction in functions such as HR, finance, procurement, and research administration.” Having someone who has a background in building an HR department will allow for current and future employees to feel more comfortable coming to work. It will also allow for the creeps and harassers to get canned sooner.
I would expect to see more thoughtfulness in inclusion. You do not hire someone who led an anti-racism and inclusion strategy at a major consulting firm without expecting it to be implemented in your organization. As I have learned from my graduate studies and working in nonprofits, the more inclusion you have, the better shape your business will be.
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Opening doors to new ideas that can catapult an organization into new markets and sectors they have never been in before. Wright will clearly have an eye on this type of expansion. Not just because it is good for business. But because it is the right thing to do.
Owner Daniel Snyder is clearly trying to propel the Washington Football Team and organization onto a more progressive path. We can all guess his motivations to do this, but it is happening nevertheless, and it’s for the better. It is another move that is being welcomed with open arms from the fan base. We can only hope that Snyder has finally learned his lesson and lets Wright and the rest of his team do their job to improving the fan and community experience.
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Alan Lepore joins "Washington Football" on SI.com, while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.
