Taking It to the Next
Level:
Preparing to Become an
Athletics Administrator
What Does It Take To Be A
Successful Athletics Administrator?
 Knowledge & Understanding of Higher
Education and Intercollegiate Athletics
 Leadership & Management Skills
 Social Skills
 Ability to Work with Many Constituent
Groups
 Ability for Work/Life Balance
Knowledge & Understanding of
Higher Education & Athletics
 Very specialized career option
 Important to learn about higher
education
 Recognize what Search Committees
want
 Coaches may have a longer road to
hoe
Leadership & Management Skills
What is Leadership?
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Leading people toward common goal
Understanding people
Building loyalty & competence
Serving as role model
Being both leader and part of a team
Leadership & Management Skills
What is Management?
 …the systematic handling of a multitude
of responsibilities and tasks, done
efficiently and expertly…
 …good management is reflected by
efficient and expert handling…
 …ineffective management leads to
dysfunction, chaos, and ultimately
negatively impacts one’s ability to lead.
How to Become a Leader & Manager
 Observe Others—be a student of
leaders’ and managers’ behaviors.
 Read about both.
 Think about what you admire in
specific leaders and managers—try
on different behaviors for size.
 Sometimes comes easier to
others—but you can learn to be a
leader and manager!
Social Skills
 Strong and effective communication
skills
 Aura of confidence and ability
 Comfort level with greeting others
first
 Ability to think like a politician
 Practice, practice, practice…
 If introvert, still possible!
Ability to Work—Constituent Groups
 Board of Trustees
 Administration
 Faculty
 Staff
 Departmental Staff—Coaches &
Support Staff
 Student-Athletes
 Parents & Boosters
 Alums
Constituent Groups
 Starts with the interview
 Understand each group’s needs.
 Example—Administration needs a wellmanaged program that operates with
integrity and provides an outstanding
experience for each student-athlete
 Develop program that addresses each
group.
Ability for Work/Life Balance
 Patterns…
 Make yourself develop a life outside
of work.
 Intercollegiate athletics, in particular,
lends itself to a certain type of
life…working many, many hours.
Guard yourself against this!
 A better manager will, at the end of
the day, have a personal life that is
fulfilling.
"Taking it to the next level”
preparing to become an athletics
director
Functions of Management
“Skills to Succeed”
Lynn Oberbillig
Smith College
Functions of Management
Planning: Setting objectives & allocating
resources to match.
Organizing: Coordination of activities and
tasks to meet objectives.
Leading: Motivating and directing members
of the organization.
Evaluating: Assessing organizational
effectiveness and individual performance.
Planning Function
“ A Vision without Action is just a dream
Action without a Vision is just a passing of time
But a Vision with Action can change the world.”
SMART Goals
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant
T = Trackable
Planning Function
Setting objectives and allocating
resources.
Budgeting
Scheduling
Compliance
SAAC programming
Fundraising
Event Management
Promotion
Alumni relations
Organizing Function
“Doing little things well is a step towards doing big things
better.”
• Detailed planning for specific
activity/event
• The bigger the event:
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the more time ahead you must begin to plan
the more you must break down into segments
the greater the need for delegation
the greater the need for communication
Organizing Function
Coordination of activities and tasks to
meet objectives.
Step 1
Break down the tasks into
specific jobs
Step 2
Assign tasks to right people
Step 3
Staffing is the recruiting and
training of workers.
Job analysis
Job descriptions
Job specifications
Leading Function
“Combined, Industriousness and Enthusiasm create an irreplaceable component of great
leadership” John Wooden
Motivating and directing members of
the organization
* Psychology of Individual Motivation
Needs of Individuals
(Self determination theory): autonomy, stimulation & challenge, feel
competent and worthy, acceptance & belonging
* Skills of Group Leadership: Active listening, reflecting,
clarifying, summarizing, facilitating, empathizing, interpreting,
questioning, linking, confronting, supporting, blocking, diagnosing,
evaluation, terminating
* Conflict Resolution (20% of day) Either disagreements over
interpretation of facts or on difference of feelings and values. 3
stages
* Decision Making Examples of levels of D-M; level 1=you
decide, level 2=make recommendation, I approve, level 3=I decide
* Communication Meanings are not in words, meanings are in
people
* Team Building Examples to follow
Situational Leadership
“Effective managers learn how to diagnose the
situation and how to select the appropriate
leadership style to match the skills and
commitment of their associates.”
Four Leadership Styles
Directing
Coaching
Supporting
Delegating
“Different Strokes for Different Folks”
Matching Leadership
Style to Development Level
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
Building Blocks of High Performing Teams
Celebration of Success
Flow of Information
Mutually Workable Solutions
Demonstrated Concern for Other Member’s Issues and Values
Constant Focus on Goals
Confidence in Other’s Skills and Abilities
Evaluating Function
Assessing organizational effectiveness and
individual performance
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Were the department goals for the year met?
Were college wide objectives accomplished?
Did you meet budget?
Individual Performance Appraisals:
: coaching & teaching effectiveness
: recruiting plans
: quality of student experience
: professional development
: service…to college, to dept, to community, to profession
Lifelong Learning
Mental Habits That Support Lifelong Learning
 Risk Taking: Willingness to push oneself out of comfort zones
 Humble self-reflection: Honest assessment of successes
and failures, especially the latter
 Solicitation of opinions: Aggressive collection of
information and ideas from others
 Careful listening: Propensity to listen to others
 Openness to new ideas: Willingness to view life with an
open mind
“People can and want to develop.”
The Relationship of Lifelong Learning, Leadership
Skills, and the Capacity to Succeed in the Future
John Kotter 1995
Personal History
Competitive Drive
Inborn Capabilities
Level of standards
Childhood Experiences
Desire to do well
Job & Educational
experiences
Self-confidence in competitive
situations
Skills & Abilities
Knowledge
Leaderships skills
Other skills
Competitive Capacity
Capability of dealing with an
increasingly competitive and fastmoving environment
Lifelong Learning
Willingness to seek new challenges
Willingness to reflect honestly on
successes and failures
“Leadership and learning are
indispensable to each other.”
John F. Kennedy
Taking It to the Next Level
Preparing to become a
Director of Athletics
By T.J. Shelton
Washington University
SELF AWARNESS
Know your strengths and
weaknesses
Job duties vs. Career goals
Taking Initiative:
Seek Additional Opportunities
Meet with Director of Athletics
Develop Job Plan
Expand Your Network:
Finding a mentor
Building a relationship
Career Development
Personal Development Opportunities
Professional Development
Opportunities
Quote
“It is better to be prepared and
not offered, than offered and not
prepared.”
-unknown
Are you ready?