Welcome to the Director Download, powered by Campus Rec Magazine.
It’s time to go behind the curtain of the director role and have honest discussions with leaders in the campus recreation industry.
In this episode, host Grady Sheffield, the director of campus recreation at Towson University and the senior advisor to the Campus Rec Mastermind Groups, gives you the listener real and authentic conversation between himself and special guests, Silvia Chan and Jay Frain at the University of Connecticut (UConn).
Chan and Frain have been working together at UConn for over 20 years. They’ve learned to work with one another’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as candor and honesty.
The working relationship they have reflects the team atmosphere at UConn Recreation as a whole. Chan and Frain share on how that culture has come about, the shared vision the team works together to form and why they each have stayed in the field.
Plus, the conversation touches on generational differences when it comes to work and how to lead staff in those dissimilarities.
Enjoy the honesty, the banter and more in the conversation that follows.
Show Notes from the Conversation with Chan and Frain
- How both Chan and Frain got into campus recreation.
- The crazy place Chan lived.
- What Frain accidentally fell in love with while pursuing law school.
- How these teammates first met at minute 7:45.
- Listen to minute 11:55 for a breakdown of the campus recreation structure at UConn.
- The dynamic in the 20-plus year working relationship between Chan and Frain.
- Approaching a shared vision for the team looks like this at minute 18:02.
- At minute 20:45, Chan and Frain share how they motivate and inspire the department in today’s work environment.
- It might be time to check out the book, “Not Everyone Gets A Trophy.”
- The differences in generations and their expectations when it comes to work.
- Chan shares what they really want people to do — listen at minute 30:12 — and how leaders can get there.
- Why getting back after being shut down during the pandemic was such a big thing in the industry at minute 34:55.
- Chan gives an in-depth look at the UConn campus rec team culture.
- Listen at minute 44:47 as to why both Chan and Frain have chosen to stay in the field and at UConn.
- Check out the book “Fierce Conversations” which Sheffield is a big fan of.
- Advice for leaderships teams who are looking to build a similar culture is at minute 53:41.
