Thomas Dimitroff readily admits that he found this year's NFL Draft to be a challenging experience.

With remote working currently a necessity due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Atlanta Falcons' General Manager, found his focus being drawn elsewhere.

"Normally, with a month and a half to go I am locked-in; I'm so focused on my evaluation of players - rarely am I reaching out to people within football operations," he explains.

"I'm interacting but they know to steer clear of me because I'm getting ready. I spent a lot more time trying to be a leader in certain ways outside of evaluating for our upcoming draft. That was complicated and it really tugged at a lot of areas within my focus.

Thomas is talking on the latest edition of At Home With Leaders, which is 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 near Atlanta, Thomas also touches upon:

- The reasons why a true work-life balance is a competitive edge in the modern NFL [9:00];

- Why adaptability and selflessness were important traits when the team started its 2019 campaign 1-7 [20:00];

- His efforts to ensure draftees such as AJ Terrell are suitable talent and character fits [26:00];

- How the onboarding process has changed in the NFL [31:00].

Steve Gera: Twitter | LinkedIn

Matthew Stone: Twitter | LinkedIn

Further listening:

At Home With Leaders - Sir Dave Brailsford

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