The importance of diversity within the realm of sports leadership cannot be overstated. Diversity to me, within the sports leadership field, is having a team that is made up of many people from different backgrounds, races, religions, sex, creeds, genders and so forth. In my experience the more diverse my workplace or team happened to be, the more successful we tended to be. I believe the reason for that is, through experiencing diversity we are exposed to different ideas and viewpoints. We develop an understanding from my different view points which in turn leads us to have a fuller understanding of everyone involved. For me, as a coach or director of athletic operations, being able to not only understand but practice diversity tactics such as inclusion and understanding are vital to team success. The reason being, if I only sought out a certain type of athlete or coach to work with and exclude others, I am severely limiting the potential of my department or my team. If people do not feel included or feel they have someone to connect with, their potential to be successful drops significantly. Having a diverse staff as well as a diverse team, can not only help the individual athlete or coach thrive, but also help the overall success of the team and athletic department as a whole. The ultimate goal in the sports world is to be successful by any measure, and practicing solid diversity practices is the best way to achieve that goal.