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Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Yes, welcome to the biz communication Show. I’m your host Bill Lampton the biz communication guy bringing you tips and strategies that will boost your business. Today, I’m very happy to have join us from Athens, Georgia, Josh Brooks, the Director of Athletics at the University of Georgia since January of 2021. Josh started gaining his athletic management skills as a student assistant at LSU. Working as an equipment manager and student assistant coach. His athletic management background also includes leadership roles with smaller institutions, University of Louisiana, Monroe, and Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, which happens to be my alma mater, and I’m aware of the great difference he made there in the athletics program. Josh gained extensive experience at UGA before assuming his current role he earned his master’s degree in sports management from UGA. On the athletic staff he was centrally involved for years and several athletic and other campus construction projects. His responsibilities have ranged from turf management to football scheduling, and bowl game operations. Besides heading the program that has led to two consecutive national football championships, Brooks provides direct support for the university’s other sports, which are doing quite well under his leadership. Equally as important. Josh Brooks has made a vital impact on the Athens, Georgia community through his service and philanthropy. So please join me in welcoming Josh Brooks, to the biz communication show. Hello, Josh.
Josh Brooks
Hey, Bill, how are you doing?
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Doing great. And one of the one of the items that pops to mind immediately for me is that here you are in a media situation. And of course, the minute that you were named, athletic director at the University of Georgia, a highly public highly visible position. The media, we’re, we’re, we’re going to be constant media, attention, media, interviews, media questions. So you’ve been doing that for a long time, not just in this leadership position here. But in other positions I mentioned. Every successful leader needs, tips and strategies that will help them and dealing with the media. So it will be helpful if you share two or three of the guidelines that you go by that would help other people who are leaders and their media relations.
Josh Brooks
Yeah, well, you know, one of the first things I did I think I reached out to you, and you gave me a few pointers and some advice and strategies. But, you know, for me, when dealing with media, you know, I’m a South Louisiana native. So the first thing that I have a bad habit of doing is probably digressing, talking too much. So the first tip that I was given was, don’t, don’t speak too much. Don’t over Don’t just answer the question. I think the first fundamental part of it is not running on and on and on, but just being concise with your answers. At the same time, there’s going to be questions, depending on the topic, it could be something sensitive, it could be something that there’s not a clear answer on, you could get a question like, Hey, would you, you know, tell us on coach A or B, the status of their job? Or where do you where they live? And it’s sometimes there’s it’s not fair to answer that question. So I think sometimes, you don’t have to precisely answer the question. And you could say, out of respect to the situation, I’m not going to get into that that’s a private matter, or so not feeling that every every question has to be answered as it’s asked. And then the other thing is, is I think, for me, conveying true emotion and being sincere, because I think if you’re sincere, and come across with a politeness to an answer, you’ll get a little grace from those asking the question, so I try to be kind sincere, honest As I’m talking through answers where I’m never going to be condescending, or, or rude, or any manner that can be seen as confrontational with a medium member.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I’d like to amplify on that. Last one, there’s an old saying, which people today might not understand very well, because of the way we get news. But there’s an old saying, Never argue with anybody who buys ink by the barrel. And so, being congenial be even something as simple as good manners. Even even your nonverbal expression, if someone is, is asking you a question, which is maybe difficult are controversial, even in your example, explaining that that’s not a question that you can answer right now. That that goes a long ways. So media people are just like other people we deal with, they want respect. They want honesty. And I like your point of conciseness. We, we all can get into taking what should be a two sentence answer and making a story out of it. So those are great tips. And one that I would add, Josh would be on the other extreme, if we’re too concise, it kills the interviewer. For example, if I were to ask you five questions, and all you said was yes, or no, maybe that that wouldn’t work very well, either. There’s one point I want to make sure that we get to. And that is, very shortly after you assume this leadership position as Director of Athletics at the University of Georgia. And you notice I’m wearing red and black and honor of that today. Soon after you assume that leadership position, you announced a large commitment, a charitable gift on your part, to an area need. And many people I know are greatly impressed by that. Because sometimes when people assume great wealth, it’s it’s all for them. But tell us what, what the organization is pleased that you’re supporting? What motivated you to do that and what’s happening with it?
Josh Brooks
Yeah. So our first thing my wife and I decided to do, when we got this position was start a scholarship for need based aid for for kids from Clark County. I believe, I believe this university changes lives. And I think there’s so much need here in Clark County, we wanted to help establish a scholarship to where students from Clark County who wanted to come to Georgia would have financial support to do so. My wife and I decided to do it and my mother in law’s name, she passed, you know, not, not too not too distant from when I got the position. And an education was important to her. So it tied in together. And I think that we have a responsibility as being part of this community to help support this community. I mean, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for people that believed in me and invested in me and, and I think as, as you make it in life, you need to pay that back and, and pay it forward a little as well. So I’m excited about this scholarship and one hopefully continues to grow it and continue to provide opportunities for for phenomenal young men and women from Clark County who want to attend University of Georgia
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
and their students currently at UGA because of the scholarship.
Josh Brooks
There are there is in and my wife and I were fortunate enough to meet one of the students and it’s really special to get to see them and, and hear their journey and and again, hopefully something we can continue to do and grow because again, I truly believe that this university changes lives. And you just want that opportunity to to be there for so many, especially right here our backyard and an athlete’s
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
that’s a marvelous contribution to the university to the community and to young people. I believe, you know, Josh that I have a lifelong practically, affiliation with and affection for the University of Georgia, I taught speech communication there at to start my professional career. Both of my daughters graduated there. And I may have mentioned to you before that when I was on the faculty there, my wife worked in the athletic ticket office.
Josh Brooks
So well. So we’ve fixed as well. We’ve got a lot of a lot of connections.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Yes. A lot of connections. And I’m very delighted to say I have a granddaughter there now too, and her freshman year and she knows she made the right choice. She’s She’s a, an avid Bulldog already.
Josh Brooks
That’s great. Josh,
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I have certain other questions. We’ll be back with you in just a few seconds.
Michael Stewart
Do you wish you felt competent about giving speeches? Do you want to deal with difficult people constructively? And what about becoming more persuasive and sales, then keep listening now to Dr. Bill Lampton, he spent 20 years in management, so he knows the communication skills you need for success. I urge you to call the biz communication guide today for a no call, but very valuable 30 minute discussion about your communication challenges. Call now. 678-316-4300? Again, that’s 678-316-4300.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Josh Brooks, another question that will be very valuable to get your answers for leaders. I know that I’ve looked at the organizational chart online, I know that there are many employees that you’re responsible for. And of course, every leader will benefit from generating candid and constructive feedback. Tell us what structures are, what practices you have, for getting feedback from those who are on your team.
Josh Brooks
We have a few different ways. One of the things I’ve tried to really focus on now that I’m in year three, is creating more face to face opportunities for our staff with myself. That was probably one of the early feedbacks I got, indirectly, we, we have a few different methods, but one of the things I got feedback on was having more FaceTime. So I’ve do that in a couple of different ways. The first thing is I invite anyone to come sit with me and athletic event, because a lot of times you can catch me in a tennis match for a few hours or softball game, baseball game, etc. And a lot of these events are open to the public. So I tell my staff, hey, if you really want some my time, come sit with me at a tennis match. I’ll be there for three hours, and you can bend my ear and talk to me. But I’ve also started doing things like we call it breakfast with Brooks, you know, silly little alliteration, but where people could sign up to have breakfast with me, we’ll do a group of 10 at a time and, and it’s where they can ask questions or get feedback or wherever. So really programming those opportunities, because I’ve got over 300 employees, and 550 student athletes. So to organically have that face to face, or one on one time as needed is pretty impossible. So by structuring is one way, and then I’ve got an exec staff and a senior staff that that I encourage them to meet with and give me feedback because I again, I can’t meet with all 300. But that’s another method. And then, and then people also know that if they want to schedule the time, like I said, my doors open. We also have a PSs Committee, which is made up of around 15 or so employees that will meet and then they will have suggestions or things that make the department better. So really through a bunch of different avenues. And it’s something that you always feel like you’re falling short on, but you’ve got to stay committed to it and keep program because that is the critical piece that that if you if you just stay in your office all day and keep your head the same, you’ll miss a lot of things where you can maybe make an improvement.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I like that creative approach of come sit with me at an athletic event. Because during my 20 years in management, there were many times where the person that I was reporting to my conversation with them, they would be behind a huge desk, sitting 25 feet away and something of a display of power status. So it’s very refreshing to hear that that you say hey, let’s just do this informally come sit by sitting side by side with me. That’s that’s absolutely great. Josh. I worked one time in an organization where They, the CEO had a private door and to the building so that he didn’t have to see any employees unless he chose to. And in that same organization, back then we call them the suits, of course, nobody the suits anymore. But the suits would come into the cafeteria. And instead of spreading themselves out and sitting down even with employees, they didn’t know they would sit tightly bunched together never meet anybody news. So I certainly applaud your approach. We have time for one more question. And it’s a very vital one. Anybody in this region of the country in the southeast would say you’re in a fishbowl situation. You are, you are I constantly every act, every word. And of course, there’s, there’s naturally going to be with any leader in any organization, criticism, give us some advice on how a leader should respond to criticism.
Josh Brooks
You know, I think this is something that that’s taken me a while to get used to, and something I’ve not perfected yet. You want to be open to criticism, you want to you know, iron sharpens iron. And in through criticism, you can actually be presented with weak spots and things you want to improve upon. But you’ve got to find the discernment between valuable criticism and invaluable criticism, I think, I think we can get trapped into a situation where we focus too much on the comments made in social media, whether it be Facebook, or Twitter or other things. And I think we got to remember, that’s not always real life, only a certain percentage of the population are on Twitter, and only a certain percentage of those people actually post. So you’re talking about a very small portion of your fan base. And then and then there’s another small portion that will reach out and send you emails will send you messages via social like I said, but I think on top of that, you’ve got to do a good job of getting out there and meeting people face to face and talking to them and listening to them. Because you can get a good, another side another perspective of people face to face. Now, you’ve got to couch that a little bit too, because you know, that people generally face to face are gonna be a lot nicer to you than they will be versus email or social media. So it’s all a balance. And then you gotta remember to consider the sources, right. So I may value the opinion of a donor, who’s been a season ticket holder for 40 years, I may take their opinion a little differently than someone who is not a truly engaged fan and never attended an event who may just be someone on social media. So you got to balance it all out now through all that you never know where you can find a good idea. So you’ve got to be open, to listen to, you know, the suggestions and thoughts. But then also, third, like we talked about discernment, understanding, sometimes there’ll be emotional responses, we could lose a game. And then there could be a flood of comments, but that’s coming from a place of emotion. So separating through all that is the key part. And I think, again, I’m not, you can get good information from any source. But you’ve got to remember the source when you’re receiving that feedback. But at the same time, you can’t just shut down and ignore all of it. I’m not gonna go filtering through the message boards, I’m not gonna do that. Because that can that we know that can be generally more negative in nature. So finding the balance between not shutting it completely off to where you’re open to feedback, but not so open to where you’re becoming, you’re letting the masses drive you because end of the day, I’ve been assigned the job to be the leader. So it’s not a it’s not where I can always be gauging the wind and letting the wind move me I’ve got to be the, we say the top my children all the time, be the thermostat, not the thermometer, right I’m not just here to read the room here to set the temperature so I’ve got to be the thermostat will gauge the temperature in the room and then help drive it so at the same time while I’m open to receiving the feedback, I’m my job as ad is to help set that direction and temperature. So it’s all a balancing act of one that I’m not I’m far from perfect. And I try to improve it every day. But again, it’s just being honest with yourself as you as you go through this process.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I like your your thermostat. analogy there. In fact what what we’re saying here Josh is a leader cannot rule only by consensus. There are times that a leader has to go against the common opinions, the the common suggestions and the recommendations of others because the leader has the qualifications of the total information and also the experience to do that. Josh, this has been a fabulous opportunity to interview you. I know that not only people who are affiliated with the University of Georgia, but others who want to top communication skill, advice and suggestions from a proven leader. I know all of those will benefit from this. And so, in closing, let me ask you, do you have any closing comments that you’d like to pull things together with?
Josh Brooks
Yeah, I think the closing what I would say through all of this is, I still think of myself as young in learning. And I know I’ve aged a lot in a couple of years of the beards gotten grayer. And they say that wisdom is part of that. But I think the key for me in the key I would want to share with anyone is, the process is never over. It’s a continual growth and being honest, and open with yourself knowing you’re not perfect. Not putting that pressure on yourself to be perfect, but also hold yourself to high standards, all while, a mission of trying to get better every day. And no matter what we do, from communications, to leadership, to whatever the topic may be. Having a mindset of wanting to improve yourself, wanting to help others improve, being sincere, being honest, being kind. And I think if you stick with those principles, things will generally work out it won’t always be smooth waters. It won’t always go you won’t win every contest. But I think with the right mindset, you can have an enjoyable experience and keep improving. And that’s, that’s my goal every day is hopefully a year from now I’ll be better than I am today and, and keep going and keep growing along journey.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Thank you so much. Great way to pull together ideas about communication skills and leadership. It’s been a great privilege having Josh Brooks with us today. Those of you who joined us on video or the podcast, I know that you have benefited and so I invite you to subscribe to my YouTube channel. This video will be there along with others that I’ve been producing since 2004. Simply go to YouTube and on the search bar, put in my YouTube handle which is Bill Lampton PhD, certainly I invite you to go to my website. Since I’m the biz communication guy. My website is biz communication guy.com And then I will welcome a phone call from a non obligation phone call to talk about your communication challenges and problems. And we can explore how I can assist you with them. Thanks again to Josh Brooks for being with us. Thanks very much to those of you who joined us and be with us for the next edition of the biz communication show.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
