Leading from where you are ... in every job

What Six Years at Clemson Athletics Taught Me About Leading from Exactly Where You Are

I never planned to spend my entire college career and first real job embedded in Clemson athletics. But looking back, those six years - from typing invoices in triplicate as a freshman to managing six different coaching staffs as a recent graduate - taught me everything I needed to know about leadership.

Not the kind of leadership they teach in business school. The kind you learn when you’re the person everyone depends on to keep things running, regardless of your title.

It Started with Invoices (and No Computers)

My first job at Clemson was in the accounting office, literally typing invoices for payment in triplicate. We barely had email in 1997 (boy did that change quickly); my computer screen for several programs was still the black screen with green writing.

I was 18, making minimum wage, and had no idea I was getting my first lesson in attention to detail and systems thinking. Every invoice had to be perfect - one mistake meant starting over completely. The white copy was for signature and approval, the yellow copy was for the files, and I have no idea what we did with the pink copy LOL.

But here’s what I was really learning: doing a little of this and a little of that is how I can function as an EA and also how my brain has always worked. One minute I was typing invoices, the next I was filing, then answering phones, then helping with whatever crisis walked through the door.

What I didn’t realize then was that every job at Clemson was building on the one before it.

The Beautiful Progression of Accidental Preparation

Understanding budgets and invoicing from the accounting office meant when I moved into the student worker role for Men’s Basketball, I could make things easy for the accounting department. I knew what they needed, how they needed it, and why it mattered.

Working at the ticket office gave me the ideas and skills to work in IPTAY with not-so-happy fans and people who were few members but just excited to be there. I learned how to read people, manage expectations, and turn frustrated customers into grateful ones.

And then the pièce de résistance - my first “REAL” EA job (aka Administrative Assistant IV).

Six Coaching Staffs, One Very Important Lesson

Suddenly I was supporting Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving, and Men’s and Women’s Track and Field. Six different sports, six different head coaches, and about twelve assistant coaches - each with their own personality, communication style, and way of handling pressure.

The baseball office became my home base. I sat right outside the head coach’s office, with two assistant coaches stationed next to me. And let me tell you - they were completely different humans. One was quiet and reserved, the other was… well one was NOT like the other (in good ways!) Every single day, I had to read the room and adjust my approach accordingly.

The swimming coach needed complete quiet time for reviewing film and reading reports. Soccer coaches dealt with recruiting pressure differently than track coaches handled meet results. Each sport had its own rhythm, its own crisis points, its own way of celebrating wins and processing losses.

Here’s what I learned that changed everything: working with assistant coaches is exactly the same as working with direct reports - just different words and ways of thinking.

Assistant coaches have their own responsibilities, their own areas of expertise, their own relationships with players and recruits. But they still report up through the head coach, just like direct reports have their own projects but work through the executive. They need support, communication, and someone who understands both their individual needs AND how they fit into the bigger picture.

The Real Leadership Lesson

This wasn’t about managing tasks - it was about managing the personalities of very competitive people. And find me a founder or CEO who isn’t competitive!

I was learning to be the steady presence who helps navigate whatever comes next. I didn’t have a fancy title. I wasn’t making executive decisions. But I was absolutely leading from exactly where I was.

Looking back, I realize Clemson didn’t just give me six years of work experience - it gave me a masterclass in leadership without a title. Every invoice I typed, every frustrated fan I calmed, every coaching personality I learned to navigate was preparing me for a career supporting executives who needed exactly those skills.

The work may look different now, but the job is still the same: being the person others can count on to read the room, manage the personalities, and keep things moving forward.

You don’t need a corner office to lead. You just need to show up fully wherever you are.

PS - GO TIGERS!