“First get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then they can figure out where to drive it.” (Jim Collins, Good to Great)
During the summer of my first year as an AD, we hired a brand new secretary. On her first day, she put all the mail that had been piling up for the last month into a big black trash bag and threw it in the dumpster.
In all fairness, it looked like a big pile of trash with all of the catalogs from equipment, award, and apparel businesses. But there were a few letters and other important stuff mixed in.
Obviously, I was not happy. However, she was just trying to help out and we were in the midst of redecoration and redesign of the athletic department so she thought this was right in line with what we were trying to do.
Regardless, I went dumpster diving and also learned a great lesson.
We didn’t hire her just to answer phones and do clerical work. She was selected because we thought she could be a valuable member of our team.
If I want someone to take ownership and invest in the culture then I need to allow some wiggle room for mistakes. If I pick the right people then I need to trust them. When they mess up, we need to learn together and figure out how to be on the same page next time.
It might not be my fault that someone messes up but it is definitely my responsibility to help them be the best version of themselves, maximize their strengths, and minimize their weaknesses.
It is my responsibility to equip, enrich, empower, and encourage them in their jobs.
As for that secretary, she turned out to be one of the best team members I have ever been around. She took full ownership in our athletic office and made it her mission to make our department something that our coaches and student-athletes could take pride in.