The importance of the chain of command.

While it may have started with the military, most organizations have an established chain of command that is essential for effective management, accountability, and a strong means of operation.

Whether it's because individuals now have higher expectations or perhaps it is simply out

of force of habit, many of us want to go right to the top with their complaints. In terms of fairness and efficiency, this is not appropriate for our athletic programs as it creates the necessity for an established chain of command.

As an athletic administrator, you must start by educating everyone on the significance of your chain of command. You can do this in a variety of ways to give the parents ready access to the information.

We initially cover the chain of command in our Pre-Season Parents' Meetings and in various publications.

Because of our principal's strong support and our efforts to educate and communicate our expectations, most parents observe our chain of command. This decreases the amount of time spent playing detective and speaking with coaches to get to the roots of a problem--significantly decreasing the number of complaints.

In one of my former positions, our principal would immediately ask anyone calling him with a complaint, "Have you spoken with your coach?"

If the answer was no (and it typically was), he would politely but firmly inform the complainant that was where he had to begin. Our principal would instruct his secretary to immediately ask this vital question when answering calls.

Since I was the intermediate step in the chain, our principal would often keep me abreast of these complaint phone calls. This was important, because he also would not accept a call by anyone who hadn't spoken with me next.

Parents often resist following the chain of command, and we frequently get some common responses such as this:

* "I can't talk to the coach, he wouldn't understand." Our standard response is, "Well, you won't know until you try."

* "The coach will take it out on my son or daughter if I present my concern." We always counter with, "You need to have a little faith. Our coaches are educators and sincerely care about their athletes. Please give them some credit and try."

* It doesn't help to keep talking at this point. We want something done. Firmly but politely, we will remind the parent that, "The first step is to talk to the coach. Nothing else can be done until this step is taken. This is our procedure."