In a sports world trending toward specialization, the role of the small college athletics director still is very much that of a generalist. The key to being effective in multi-dimensional roles is to eliminate redundancy in your department using clarity and accountability. Redundancy is the duplication of responsibilities or specific tasks. The most common issue […]
Perspective Podcast #006: What You Can Learn From Student-Athletes
Our research with student-athletes has provided revealing insights for athletics directors and their staffs. Many athletics administrators believe they have the pulse of their student-athletes and many may have a good relationship with them. However, we’ve found that some areas are often missed because these are not typically a part of conversations between student-athletes and […]
Keeping Focus on Your Strategic Core
Too Many Hats. Mission Drift. Job Scope Creep. Survival Mode. Any of these sound familiar? The job of athletics directors today is not getting any easier. Increasing expectations and shrinking resources for AD’s to juggle an array of job duties. And, unfortunately, these duties often have little or nothing to do with an athletics department […]
My Key Principles for Intercollegiate Athletics
This episode of Perspective on Athletics is a bit different than usual. Rather than addressing one topic, I will offer some of my random, and not so random, thoughts on how intercollegiate athletics needs to change, or at the very least engage in discussion about serious issues that continue to plaque the environment. The tables […]
Perspective Podcast #003: SAAC Beyond Community Service
Establishing an engaged and effective Student-Athlete Advisory Committee In this episode we talk about Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and specifically how you can avoid a lack-luster SAAC on your campus. Developing a vibrant and effective SAAC group helps build a strong culture of trust and communication between student-athletes and athletics administrators and also provides students with […]
What Does Student-Athlete Experience Really Mean?
In this episode we talk about the “student-athlete experience” and the misperceptions surrounding this critical element to athletics program administration. Many people consider the student-athlete experience to be the most important element of their athletics program. However, many can’t articulate what that experience is or does for student-athletes. Our research has revealed several common characteristics […]
Perspective Podcast: Why We All Can Use a Little More Perspective
Perspective on Athletics – Episode #001 In this inaugural episode we explore the concept of perspective and how important it is to the work we do. Perspective leads us to clarity, focus and strategy and enables us to keep the big picture in mind when lots of little things try and distract our attention, time […]
My Communication Conundrum
A core element of leadership is effective communication, which requires skill, empathy and consistency. People around you need to know what you expect from them and also what they can expect from you. Consistent communication delivers the same message to everyone. Open and clear communication sounds easy enough, but as I learned a long time […]