“All the people here, over the past four years, like me, have left a really good job,” says Sean Marks.

“They had to sacrifice something to come here, whether it was the vision, the Nets, myself, ownership, whatever it is. [Those individuals] have ownership in everything they do. Our day to day activities do not revolve around one person. It’s a complete collaboration and I don’t have to remind them of that.”

Marks, who became General Manager of the Nets in 2016, has overseen the franchise’s return to prominence since arriving from the San Antonio Spurs where he served as Assistant GM.

Excitement is building around Brooklyn and the team’s ‘people-first’ approach to culture. It’s something Marks discusses with considerable pride on the latest edition of At Home With Leaders, our new minseries of podcasts brought to you today by our co-hosts Matthew Stone, Leaders' Senior Product Manager, and Steve Gera, the CEO of Gains Group, which helps some of sport’s greatest teams and athletes maximise the value of their data and technology.

At Home With Leaders brings you a wealth of guests drawn from across sports performance to explore how they are adapting to the new normal, attempting to thrive and contribute to the eventual reboot of the sports performance landscape.

From his home in Connecticut, Mark also walks us through:

- Why the NBA shutdown represents an opportunity to think a little differently [9:00];

- The importance of being able to have fun in the performance space and the need for people to ‘get over themselves’ [18:00];

- How star trades such as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant play a fundamental role in the ongoing development of the Nets’ culture [23:00];

- The need to challenge and evaluate the status quo each and every day [26:00];

- Why Marks can spot future executives in his team and why he invests in their development even if they ultimately move on [29:30].

Steve Gera: Twitter | LinkedIn

Matthew Stone: Twitter | LinkedIn

Further listening:

At Home With Leaders - Sean Dyche

Listen above and subscribe today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Overcast, or your chosen podcast platform.