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Cultural Renovation With Tulane’s David Harris

Guest David Harris, Tulane
28:07 min watch

Summary

Tulane Ben Weiner Director of Athletics David Harris joins NCAA Leadership Development Director Lamarr Pottinger at the 2024 NACDA Convention to discuss the concept of “Cultural Renovation” as a new AD, emphasizing the importance of trust and communication with a new staff. Harris: “Culture starts with having everyone all in as far as knowing that what they bring to the table is important, that they’re encouraged to be able to speak on the things they know and that we’re ultimately all pulling together in the same direction to try to do what’s best for the athletic department and student-athletes we serve.”

Harris and Pottinger also discuss the use of the “start, stop, keep” method when evaluating a program, the creation of a strategic plan at the University of Northern Iowa, and the advice former Missouri AD Mike Alden shared with Harris on his first day as the Panthers’ new AD: every staff wants four things – “direction, trust, hope, results.”

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).

  • - You've been at Tulane for about 6-7 months officially. Tell us how the first months have been.
  • - That makes a difference with how you show up at work too.
  • - This is your second stint as an athletic director; I want to talk about the book "Cultural Renovation" by Kevin Oakes, in which he discusses keeping what works, changing what needs to be changed, and the care and maintenance moving forward to sustain success. How have you renovated cultures coming into a department as an AD?
  • - The start, stop, keep method is simple but so powerful.
  • - Talk about the next step; you've gathered all that information from all of those one-on-ones. What's been your approach to now actualizing that?
  • - How have you involved the coaches to go out and present your new direction once you have that established?
  • - What is your philosophy and approach to sport administrators and having them carry out your vision in terms of communication with head coaches?
  • - It's almost as if you're the top architect championing other architects as well.
  • - How did you evaluate success for UNI when it comes to rolling out a new culture?
  • - I appreciate your approach of "the target may be hit or we may be moving towards it" but as long as we have that forward progress, that's success as well.
  • - What advice do you have for new ADs starting within the next year?
  • - How have you leveraged your experience on a national stage with your role?

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