Executive Director of Facilities Services Jeffrey Benjamin believes a Leadership Philosophy provides clarity of purpose. He has seen high performing organizations united and driven by a sense of shared direction, shared purpose and shared values. His philosophy for Facilities Services lays the foundations for each of these.
He has been honored to lead a group of tremendously talented and hardworking people over these last two semesters. He feels the team has gotten through some of the biggest catastrophes including flooding, freezes and a burning building.
Benjamin feels his Leadership Philosophy is a template for everything that will follow. Below is the information posted in each of the shops in order to help guide daily decisions made by Facilities Services staff members.
My Vision
While I am new to this position and our organization has undergone, and is likely to continue to undergo a great deal of change, we will continue to build upon our past success. My vision for the Facilities Services team is …to be world class provider of facility services and facility management to the University of Houston.
To achieve this vision, I commit to foster a culture where our customers are our number one priority; where every employee is treated with respect, clearly understands how he/she contributes to our mission, is recognized for a job well done, seeks opportunities for professional and personal growth, and strives to make a difference; and where communications is clear, open, timely and flows freely throughout the organization. I am committed to providing a safe, secure, and mishap free environment for the University’s students, faculty, and staff.
My Expectations
Below, in no particular order of precedence, are the basic tenets by which I expect you to engage your duties. They are essential to executing our mission and achieving our goals.
Take Care:
- Of Our Customers – We exist solely to meet their needs.
- Of Each Other – Treat all with dignity and respect.
- Of our Equipment – Safely maintain the highest state of readiness of all equipment and systems.
- Of our Business – Safely accomplish the job on time, every time.
Strive for Excellence:
- Always do your best ... set the right example. Do the right thing … even if it hurts.
- NEVER compromise on safety or quality.
- If you see something wrong, let your leadership know. Don’t be afraid to raise issues.
- Always be honest and professional.
- Meet commitments and deadlines.
- Take ownership of everything in your area of responsibility.
- Continuously seek to improve processes ... don’t be satisfied with the status quo.
- Don’t let the day-to-day details force you to lose sight of our mission or goals.
- Be a good communicator.
- Treat everyone fairly.
- Be receptive to change and learn from your mistakes.
Have Fun
- On The Job – Learn from each other and work as a team to achieve common goals.
- At Home – Take time with your family ... they are part of our team. Maintain a proper balance between your professional career and your personal life.
Being part of the Facility Services Team provides each of us the opportunity to accomplish great things. Our potential can only be realized in an environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute to his or her full potential. Anything less is not fair to our customers, ourselves, or the people we work with.
My focus will be to ensure we work together while concentrating on what is essential for Facility Services support to the University’s mission; stewardship of our resources, growth and development of our people, our organization, and leadership for today and the future.
Be proud to be a part of this University and this organization, it has a great heritage and many great accomplishments!
~Jeffrey Benjamin, P.E., DBIA
Executive Director of Facilities Services