Back to Facility Manager Contents

Back to Home

I moved to Montana from Texas. I “get” football tradition. Our realtor was effusive about the University of Montana program. We politely smiled and nodded smugly thinking, “They can’t have a clue.” Four years later, I’m here to tell you, we were wrong. Since 1993 the Grizzlies have competed in the national championship play offs every year; played for the championship four of those years and won the title in 1995 and 2001. In 1995 UM won the Championship and coach, Don Read was named Division I-AA National Coach of the Year.

However, on the administrative front, there was trouble in paradise. The fiscal officer for intercollegiate athletics resigned. The media pounced on the program’s considerable unanticipated deficit. The athletic director resigned and the Board of Regents appointed a panel to review the deficit.

The panel determined that the deficit was attributed to overspending and a structural deficit in funding. University administration created a financial plan to make the deficit whole and address the structural deficit in future years.

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein

The deficit and ensuing brouhaha highlighted the fact that we didn’t have a plan to prohibit a replay of the same story. After a couple of meetings to discuss what we, as an institution, could do differently to improve our situation, we brought in a facilitator to direct us through a process we called, “Building a Better Team.” The university president asked coach Read to step in and serve as interim athletic director for three to five years.

UM, like most of its peers, has a great collection of silos in which we work. In our facilitated process we assembled all the “silo” leaders who regularly interface with athletics: The Adams Center, Campus Recreation, Dining Services, Public Safety, etc. Our facilitator, Roxanna Bahar Hewertson (both a consultant and administrator at Cornell University) led us through steps and exercises designed to build trust, open communication, build problem solving skills, and assure that we operate with a shared vision. We initiated the process in July and had our last facilitated session in September.

Participants in the process agreed that this is not the end but marks a new beginning. At the end of our last session, I experienced a surprising emotional rush. As I was driving home I hit upon the source of my emotional surge. I found myself daring to hope that we could truly start working collaboratively with one another.

Before this process, any one of us in frustration may have started a sentence with, “Let’s pretend we all work for the same university ….” Now we have a set of ground rules that, if we live by, will assure we no longer have to pretend.

Respect: We will treat each other as we wish to be treated.
• We will not start or continue rumors, but stop them when we hear them.
• We will check out the facts rather than base our beliefs on assumptions.
• We will speak to each other directly to solve an issue before talking about each other.

Honesty: We say what we mean and do what we say.
• We will be clear with our expectations of each other.
• We will stick to the facts even if those facts are about feelings.
• We will ask if we do not understand.
• We will admit what we don’t know.

Support: We will not let each other fail.
• We extend ourselves and pay attention to others’ needs.
• We offer help, and we ask for and accept the help we need.
• We learn how others need to receive information.
• We check for understanding, we do not assume it.
• We consider “who needs to know” and consider the impact of our actions.
• We look for solutions, not blame.
• We defend our teammates with the truth.

Accountable: We are responsible for our own actions and behaviors.
• We follow through on promises.
• We provide each other constructive, truthful feedback.
• We create consequences (positive and negative) to acknowledge performance.

Achievement: We strive for excellence in every way.
• We do what we say we will do.
• We have high standards for results regardless of our roles.
• We are pro-active rather than reactive in managing our functions.
• We respect each other’s pressures and timing issues.

Our ground rules are empowering. They are building blocks in our shared vision. It takes a cultural change to break down the silos. A facilitated group session was how we initiated our change in culture. I can’t tell you if it is going to succeed, but that surge of hope is carrying me through the days.

UM has a long tradition of a winning team on the field. I believe Don Read has the skills and the commitment to make a winning team in the Athletic offices as well. He now has an agreement of support from his peers, and he has agreed that he and his staff will give it back to all of us.

I will close with another quote from Albert Einstein; “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

n difficulty, UM seized the opportunity to make a real change because we like the way it feels to win.

Mary Muse is director of The Adams Center at the University of Montana in Missoula. She can be contacted at musem@mso.umt.edu.