We all have a voice. We all should use our voice.
We all want to connect with each other, and many feel a sense of responsibility with those connections.
What if your voice is amplified because you are a member of a popular professional sports team?
What responsibilities do you have to yourself, to your employer, and to your community when you become famous because of the platform your employer gave you?
Not too long ago, before the rise of digital social media platforms, the opinions of a professional athlete was not a focal point in the perspectives of a society. The perspectives of a professional sports team, for the most part, stayed on sports.
Today, everyone’s platform is elevated. We all have a “channel” via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Now, think of an Millennial athlete just drafted into the NFL, NBA or any high profile professional sport. Those Millennial athletes have the same profiles as most of us do, yet their existing platform has now elevated significantly.
I spoke with Keenan Harrell, Community Relations Coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, to explore the impact of today’s societal expectations on a pro athlete today, and how an organization manages a multi-generational workforce, particularly one as high-profile as an NFL team.
Let’s explore what we can learn from those perspectives as we develop our own platforms and our own voice, and let’s also explore the talents of Connectedness and Responsibility in our journey to become more effective stewards of our public platforms.