Andrea Fairchild remembers the moment in Brazil as though it was yesterday. “It was early in my career and I was traveling with Nike as the company was preparing for the World Cup,” she recalled. “It was scary and daunting — the kind of situation I’d never been in. I’ll never forget stepping into a room with very senior marketers and explaining my point of view, even though I absolutely felt out of my depth.”
The feeling of acute discomfort and uneasiness she felt might have kept another junior marketer silent or have been suppressed and forgotten with the passage of time, but Fairchild keeps a special space in her mind she can “call up” when she needs to because, as she explains in the podcast, it reminds her of a very important leadership lesson.
“Sometimes you have to break yourself to make yourself,” Fairchild said. “When you put yourself in an uncomfortable place and view it from a place of humbleness, it almost always leads to a sense of confidence and pride in the end. I’ve always taken that experience with me to remind me when I need to step up.”
The meeting in Brazil wasn’t the first time Fairchild had learned a great lesson from stepping out of her comfort zone. A former equestrian, softball player, and track athlete, Fairchild stepped in to throw the shot put when no one else in her high school was willing to do so. “We needed to fill that spot,” Fairchild remembered. “And I was the captain and the one my teammates counted on to do what nobody else wanted to do.”
She has stepped up by leaps and bounds and is now one of those senior marketing types that once challenged her to adjust in real time to difficult situations. The senior vice president of global sponsorship strategy at financial services giant Visa, Fairchild spearheads the company’s partnerships with prestigious events like the Olympics, Paralympics, FIFA, and the NFL. She currently is playing a leading role in Visa’s sponsorship of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
In the months leading up to the Cup, Fairchild and Visa will launch a marketing campaign based on the premise that “behind every number, there is a story,” bringing the achievements of these world-class athletes to life, while inspiring the next generation of athletes to pursue their dreams.
In the podcast, Fairchild draws on two decades of leadership experience at Gatorade and Nike as well as Visa to show how other leaders can help their teams “break and make” themselves, including:
"Don is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met. I’ve known him for a long time and every time we talk I walk away wiser and more inspired. He is the best in the business at teaching you a skill – storytelling – that will last you a lifetime.”
“The ability for athletes to get hired is carried on through you because you are putting out the message that lessons learned from sports are important in life. It is embedded in this podcast, what you’re doing is significant.”
We speak the same language. I am inspired by the stories you tell, the people you have met, and the things you’ve done. Those of us that are competitors like to follow others that have been down that journey, so it is always fun talking to you!”
“Many of the leaders I have worked with were excellent athletes, and I think there is a direct correlation. You’re one of the few people that really has pursued this study, Don. Keep up the great work. What you are doing really makes a difference.”
“Don, you have mastered the skill of interviewing and asking great questions. That is a great skill all leaders need in order to understand their team members’ thought processes.”
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