Keeping it Great
Plants grow quietly and at varying rates. Once we had our vision statement, it was time to go about developing the vision. And, like plant growth, personal and professional growth happens quietly and at varying speeds. Cultivating greatness has a deeper meaning, which most people don’t see or hear about. As the teams move about campus tending the plants, they are simultaneously quietly growing the greatness within themselves and one another. Over time, we have grown from being highly efficient and productive to having meaning and purpose. We continuously develop our skills through our Landscape University—an in-house, homegrown, professional development program.
As I focus on developing people, they focus more on growing the plants. Knowing how important first impressions are for those coming for a college visit elevates our employees’ awareness of how important they are when it comes to recruiting top students, faculty, and staff to our campus. It may sound improbable, but our staff may play a part in helping to cure a disease, sending people into space, or putting the next All-American athlete on the playing field—all because of that first impression.
Dr. Hannah Gay, professor of pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, who also attended UM’s Oxford campus for her undergraduate degree, took HIV treatment to a new level that brought national attention and added significant value to the research of this infection. At one time, perhaps she, like so many other prospective students, stood in the beautiful environment that is Ole Miss and made a critical decision to begin her career there. In a very small way, we assisted with the process of treating and trying to find a cure for HIV. Te purpose to change the world for good gives our landscaping work a deeper meaning, well beyond just earning a wage or waiting for a retirement plan. It is a higher calling.
University of Mississippi Athletics Director Ross Bjork has visited our department on several occasions to help reinforce our impact in recruiting top athletes. Hugh Freeze, head football coach, and Mike Bianco, head baseball coach, have done the same. I knew the vision of cultivating greatness was hitting home with our staff when a team member confessed to the group, “I hate putting down pine straw in the shrub beds; it’s just not that fun to me. But I do it because I know I may be helping recruit for our football team the next Eli Manning, Patrick Willis, or Dexter McCluster.” He understands why he’s doing what he is doing and sees the bigger picture.
David Allen, dean of our nationally-ranked School of Pharmacy, and Douglass Sullivan-González, dean of our nationally known Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, have visited our team and shared their stories of leadership and expressed their appreciation for making the job of recruiting the best and brightest just a little easier.
TPI Turf News March/April 2019
Te best way to create a healthy lawn is to grow healthy grass. It takes good food, water, and sunlight. A healthy environment allows the growth of good turfgrass and doesn’t allow weeds to grow. It takes being intentional in scheduling and organizing. Rarely does a healthy culture just show up out of the blue.
Today, we are not a perfect group, we still have issues, but we have a strong, healthy culture of staff members leading themselves and others, and the issues just aren’t as many or nearly on the same scale. Staff members will reach out to help other staff members who are struggling. It is like having everyone in the same boat, rowing together, going the same way, to get to the same destination. People know when, where, how, and why we are going there.
My role is to help bring in people to tell the story, to connect the dots that show people they matter and are making a difference. Yes, we mow grass, trim shrubs, and plant trees, provide sod and turfgrass, but what we, all of us, really do is cultivate an environment for others to learn, create, cure, and play while on their way to making a positive change in the world. We are cultivating greatness.
Bio: Jeff McManus grows things. As the Director of Landscape Services at the University of Mississippi, he grows plants ... he grows people ... he grows ideas. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture from Auburn University and is a PGMS Certified Grounds Manager, and currently serves as President of the Professional Grounds Management Society. Jeff specializes in applying hands-on maintenance and developing beautification projects that produce national award-winning curb appeal. His first book Pruning Like a Pro has garnered attention for its fun and simple
approach to the gardener’s
dilemma...pruning! Jeff’s newest book, Growing Weeders into Leaders, chronicles the lessons he has learned on his journey through his adopted state of Mississippi. To download 21 ways to help your team walk with greater wisdom, visit
JeffMcManusSpeaking.com/Wisdom. Contact Jeff at:
jeff@jeffmcmanus.com.
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