Barbecue, Baseball, and Coaching for Success

Originally from Texas, Marc Medrano is a barbecue aficionado and proud year-round coach living just outside of San Francisco. When he's not manning the smoker, he keeps busy coaching baseball and basketball teams for his two boys, as well as teams with at-risk kids from low-income neighborhoods: “It’s rewarding to work with these kids who are looking for structure and positive role models in their lives. Knowing how impactful sports can be, it’s a way I am able to give back to my community and beyond.”  

Whether it’s with BBQ or sales, Marc isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. When asked his favorite thing to cook, he responded “Brisket. Hands down. Texan BBQ aficionados are measured by how well they can smoke a brisket, which happens to be one of the most difficult cuts of meat to smoke and get right.” His critics (kids) can be tough on him too, not hesitating to tell him what he got wrong or right with each meal.  

As a sales professional, Marc’s career spans 20 years, starting in customer service. He perfected his recipe for success moving into direct sales, and ultimately sales leadership. Today, he wears the title of west coast VP of sales for Workhuman^®. He might have softened his southern drawl, but his ambitions for the west coast sales team are as big as the Texas sky. 

“Leading the team on the west coast is a unique opportunity for me. It’s an area where we have a lot of growth potential, which allows me to bring an entrepreneurial spirit to the team while working for a company that is well established and in an incredible position to provide valuable products to the market.” 

In fact, Marc is no stranger to the power of social recognition in the workplace.  

“My first experience with social recognition was actually 10 years ago. I was leading a team at a company that had just gone through an acquisition. I remember some employees were gathered in the office talking about receiving an award, and that they were able to take that award and redeem it for a gift online. A few months later, after a great deal of organizational change, other leaders came to me and asked ‘how has your team remained so positive through all this?’ I firmly believe that it was our use of a social recognition platform that allowed us to come together and rise up to challenges while rewarding and recognizing the actions and behaviors that led to success." 

The Workhuman solutions suite has been proven to help organizations boost productivity and employee engagement while reducing turnover. Our customers include several organizations that are well-known for their positive workplace culture, including Cisco, LinkedIn, Baystate Health, and JetBlue.  

As a leader, Marc hopes to continue doing what he does best – be a coach to his team members, providing opportunities for them to strengthen their skills and excel at what they do. “I’m not taking on a team that needs to be rebuilt – the skills are already there. What I hope to do is to get them to the next level through coaching and adding structure around what they’re already doing.”  

Whether it’s in the (virtual) office or on the field, Marc’s approach to leading teams focuses on providing structure, accountability, and always working together. “In sales, we win together and we lose together. We celebrate success and work with each other to overcome challenges. When I have a rep that’s working on a large deal, I like to bring the whole team in to collaborate and help to build a strategy for success. Athletes are always practicing their craft, and as sales professionals, we can always be learning from one another too.”