Developing a Culture of Success

“It is important for us to have a strong culture”

“Our secret sauce is our culture”

“Our culture is what separates us from our competition”

Without a doubt, all of the above statements about culture have both wisdom and validity. However, culture is a tricky term if not cultivated properly. It is not a “how to” term or one that comes with a rigid instruction manual. If I walked into our athletics department tomorrow, popped my head in each administrator’s office and coach’s office and said, “Hey, we are going to have a great culture today”, it could come across as artificial (fake!) and – most importantly – unattainable.

With a high level of intentionality, I avoid using the word “culture”. Do not mistake that remark…I certainly value the benefit of cultivating, achieving, and then stewarding a robust culture that places a high value on PEOPLE, but there are key ingredients to a strong culture that need more attention than the term culture itself.

BE MISSION-COMMITTED

In our Texas A&M University-Commerce athletics program, we are committed to providing a Best in Class experience for our 436 student-athletes. Next fall, it might be 439, or 431, or 442. However, our commitment to being Best in Class in our actions, our efforts, and our awareness of opportunities is not going to waiver. We talk about it in our student-athlete population, our coaches’ population, our administrative units, and our university community. It is grounded in the simple question of “Who is our model”, and mission commitment is our top ingredient that influences our culture.

BE INVESTED IN CORE VALUES

Just over two years ago, we identified five common themes in a department-wide assessment that were attributes of our athletics program. Passion…Respect…Innovation…Determination…Excellence. There were a few others that were identified, but these five quickly rose to the top in both frequency and fit for our campus and department. We brand our core values throughout our athletic department, we talk about them in our monthly Town Hall (full staff) meetings, and we certainly explain them to prospective student-athletes and parents during the recruiting process.

HAVE A HIGH “PEOPLE IQ”

Everyone has special gifts and talents. Some student-athletes run faster…some jump higher…some tackle better…some shoot better…some hit better. You get the point. To that end, the same is true for administrators and coaches that have an influence on shaping your department’s cul-….well, you know, that word I do not use much J. To be certain, you hope your development officer is engaging and outgoing, but that may not be the most important characteristic for everyone. But, having a high “People IQ” is something that should always be sharpened.

For example, even if your CFO/business manager is a bean counter who proclaims they “don’t like to talk to people”, or your compliance person “only answers by email so it’s in writing”, they still have responsibilities for their People IQ (thankfully, neither example above is true at TAMUC!). That business manager needs to have great relationships with the university budget officer, accounts payable, travel, accounting, etc. The compliance head must have great communication with your admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and international office (thankfully, these ARE true at TAMUC!). The AWARENESS of establishing and maintaining these relationships is just as important as how they are done. Share the vision, and let your talent execute the vision with their fingerprints on it.

“THANK YOU FOR SHARING HOW SINCERE AND ENGAGING YOUR CULTURE IS”

That quote came from a prospective student-athlete’s parent about three weeks ago during a recruiting visit. I had met with the PSA, the mother, and the head coach of the sport recruiting the young man. The mother asked if she could have a moment when the student and coach stepped out. Of course, I obliged, but I did have a moment of, “Uh oh…what did we do or say wrong?”

Then, she said verbatim the quote above. It was a short and simple phrase, but after less than 30 hours on our campus and being around our program, our talented student-athletes, coaches, administration, and university community had made an impression that was positive, powerful, and – I hope – lasting. And yes, we signed the PSA.

In conclusion, there are hundreds – if not thousands – of ingredients, situations, people, opportunities, and resources that can impact your CULTURE. Just make you sure are an invested partner in that process.

Special thanks this week to Tim McMurray , Athletic Director at Texas A&M Commerce for authoring this blog post.