Key Takeaways:
When a hurricane is headed toward the Texas Gulf Coast, Tracy Morgan, director of facilities and security at Galveston College, doesn’t have the luxury of wondering whether his team is ready.
They either are or they are not.
Morgan knows his staff is prepared because he builds resilience through trust, clear communication, and a workplace culture where people willingly step beyond their job descriptions long before a storm appears on the radar.
On Galveston Island, where hurricanes, aging infrastructure and tight budgets are part of everyday life, Morgan, a 2025 Facility Champion, has learned that resilient people build resilient organizations.
Morgan shares his leadership philosophy was shaped in the family construction business, the Air Force and a facilities career at American Airlines.
“My grandpa used to tell me all the time, ‘You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with,’” he says. “That philosophy really comes into play in the higher levels of facility maintenance.”
Establishing a strong, collaborative team was Morgan’s top priority when he started at Galveston College almost five years ago. He shares that one of his first messages to employees surprised the staff.
“The team laughs at me now because of that first meeting,” he says. “I told them we’re going to have peace, love and happiness in this department.”
Morgan admits that while his statement seemed like a pipe dream then, it captured the culture he envisioned. Today, he credits that team-first environment for helping the department navigate increasing workloads without adding staff.
Galveston College’s facilities department hasn’t grown as fast as student enrollment. Morgan shares this reality has required the team to become more versatile. Employees cross train, take on additional responsibilities, and respond wherever they are needed to keep the campus running smoothly.
“We wear a lot of different hats,” he says. “They need to do what they were hired for and also help me in other ways, just like I help them.”
Instead of assigning work by job title, Morgan says he identifies people’s strengths and helps them use those skills. “It’s about finding everybody’s gifts, and giving them the ability to use them,” he says.
That philosophy also extends to Morgan himself. Although he serves as director, he regularly works alongside technicians as needed.
“My staff laughs at me when I’ve got my work clothes on,” he says. “They think it’s funny when I’m out here getting dirty. But I’m not afraid to do that, and I think that example shows them they don’t have to be afraid to do it either.”
Operating on Galveston Island means emergency preparedness is constantly on Morgan’s mind. It’s called Hurricane City for a reason. The island is hit by a hurricane every 2.52 years, according to hurricanecity.com.
Morgan says hurricane preparedness is never a seasonal exercise. His team spends the months leading up to hurricane season reviewing emergency plans, updating contact lists, verifying supplies, testing backup equipment, and making sure every employee understands their role.
Even if forecasts call for a mild season, he refuses to lower the organization’s guard. Experience has taught him that resilience depends on preparing for the storm that never comes.
“My mindset is that we’re going to prepare for it and we’re going to be ready for it,” he says. “Everybody’s going to know their role in it.”
Morgan also serves on the college’s executive emergency management team and leads a facilities planning group that coordinates closely with security and other departments to ensure all Galveston College leaders are ready.
He says planning cannot eliminate every challenge, but it can dramatically improve an organization’s ability to respond. “I can promise you we’ll be ready for more challenges because I prioritized preparation,” Morgan says.
Facilities resilience also depends on building strong relationships outside the department, according to Morgan.
Executive leadership at the college must cultivate collaboration between facilities, IT, security, and other operational departments, as opposed to allowing departments to function as siloes.
Every department also must abide by similar goals, he adds.
“My overall goal is to make this the best possible learning environment,” he says. “The second goal is to protect our assets.”
Those objectives require constant communication because every department depends on the others during emergencies.
“For example, half of the things that I do today will require IT,” Morgan says. “I need a good relationship with that department. Same with security. The security department plays a key role in protecting everything we have here.”
Rather than seeing other departments as rivals for resources, Morgan promotes the idea that leaders should acknowledge their common duties.
“It really is a collaboration,” he says. “Working together is a must if you want to succeed.”
Morgan states that emotional safety for employees is also crucial to resilience.
He explains that this is why he practices an open-door policy, inviting staff to bring forward any professional or personal matters.
“My door is wide open,” he says. “My phone is too for anything they need at any time.”
He also empowers other supervisors to resolve issues independently if employees feel more comfortable talking with them. “If somebody comes into their office and says, ‘Hey, I’ve got this problem going on, but I don’t want Tracy to know about it,’ that’s OK,” he says. “That’s how trust is built.”
He believes leaders also earn trust through consistent actions. “I don’t keep it a secret that I’ve got their backs,” he says.
Simply acknowledging staff concerns and needs can also be a form of consistency. “People want to be heard,” he explains. “They want to be recognized, they want to be appreciated, and ultimately I think everybody wants to be a part of a team.”
Like most facilities leaders, Morgan cannot fund every capital project or purchase every piece of equipment his department needs. Instead of shielding employees from those realities, he explains the reasoning behind all budget decisions.
Early in his tenure, Morgan directed resources toward replacing aging HVAC equipment. That initiative meant he had to delay improvements elsewhere, but his employees understood why.
Being transparent about priorities like these helps employees understand that difficult decisions support larger organizational goals.
“I make sure that they know what our vision is for this year,” he says. “As they see results, I’ve found that everybody’s on board with it.”
Cross training has become another cornerstone of Morgan’s leadership strategy.
At Galveston College, every custodian learns basic maintenance skills, and maintenance technicians assist with custodial responsibilities when necessary.
“I don’t really classify... security, custodial, maintenance,” Morgan says. “Cross training is the sole requirement for every position.”
Morgan says employees have embraced the approach because they understand everyone on the team is working toward common goals.
Even if employees leave for new opportunities, Morgan still encourages their professional development.
He says he recently mentored a custodian interested in becoming a plumber and helped him obtain training, apprenticeship hours and licensure. That employee may stick around, or he may leave to take a position elsewhere.
“I don’t look at this like it’s a lifetime commitment,” Morgan says. “I look at it like we’re a team. We’re going to do everything we can to help each other. Good leaders should never stand in the way of someone’s career aspirations. I don’t let what I need from them cloud what’s best for them.”
When asked what advice he would offer other facilities managers hoping to build resilient teams, Morgan returns to the bigger picture.
“You have to be trustworthy,” he says. “I think you have to be in it together.”
Facilities departments may rarely receive recognition unless something goes wrong, but Morgan reminds his team that their work enables student success every day. Watching graduates cross the commencement stage reinforces that perspective.
“When you watch graduation, you see the bigger picture of what’s being accomplished here,” he says. “That focus keeps me in line with trying to do the best that I can.”
For Morgan, true resilience isn’t revealed only when disaster strikes. It’s built every day through a culture of trust, continuous learning, open communication, and employees who are committed to the success of the team.
As he puts it, “There is no way that you can do this job without a group effort from everyone involved.”
Ronnie Wendt is the owner of In Good Company Communications and a freelance writer specializing in articles for the facilities management, aviation, RV and automotive, meetings and events, security, logistics and business technology industries.
