In part one of this series, I wrote about “Daring to Lead” with Integrity by drawing inspiration from different sources including “Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown, “Integrity: Without it Nothing Works” by Michael C. Jensen and the innovative thriller “Where Eagles Dare” by Alistair MacLean.
“Own the fear, find the cave and write a new ending for yourself, for the people you’re meant to serve and support…choose courage over comfort. Choose whole hearts over armor…choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid. At the exact same time.” – Brene Brown
Daring to lead in the golf industry means authentically representing oneself, both personally and professionally, and creating a distinction between public and private life. Another aspect I discussed is the importance of integrity in daring to lead. Integrity is defined as honoring one’s word and ensuring it is whole and complete.
“Integrity is important to individuals, groups, organizations and society because it creates workability. Without integrity, the workability of any object, system, person, group or organization declines; and as workability declines, the opportunity for performance declines. Therefore, integrity is a necessary condition for maximum performance. As an added benefit, honoring one’s word is also an actionable pathway to being trusted by others.” – Michael C. Jensen
Now, for part two. Let’s consider the manner in which leadership is demonstrated in the workplace. I will focus on three key aspects: delegating responsibility, reporting value through compensation profiles, and proving value through player development reports.
- The manner in which we “delegate responsibility”
Are you a leader, manager and/or supervisor who delegates responsibility on your team? If a third party like me or some other PGA professional were to interview your staff or those you lead, how would they answer the following questions.- Think of the last projects or tasks that (insert your name) has “handed off” to you. How would you rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being highest) that you were:
- Adequately prepared and/or trained to complete the task?Confident about your view or understanding of what the desired outcome was? And what was the completion date for the project?Given enough time to complete the project/task?Supported well and given autonomy (or authority) needed to complete the task?
- Do you delegate responsibility for things/tasks/projects you aren’t excited about or prefer not to do? (If this is the reason you’re “delegating” the task, it’s more likely that you are “dumping it” instead.)
- Think of the last projects or tasks that (insert your name) has “handed off” to you. How would you rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being highest) that you were:
- The manner in which we “report our value” (COMP REPORT)
- With good information, you can negotiate with confidence. In order to get you the best, more relevant and recent data, we need EVERY ACTIVE PGA professional in the Section to complete their comp profile every year (preferably after Jan 1 on an annual basis.)Have you completed the PGA Comp Profile this year (specifically once since 1/1/23)? If not, why not? Do it here (or at least double check that it’s been updated since 1/1/23). If it’s still the same as before, just click “submit” and it will save it as newly updated.
- Do you feel like you’re underpaid? If so, how are you going to proceed in asking for and negotiating for more base, more incentives, etc.? Now seems like a good time to bring up Joseph Campbell’s quote: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
- The manner in which we “prove our value” (PLAYER DEV REPORTS)
- This goes right along with the “report our value” concept above. If you are in the “customer engagement business” (or member engagement), you are in the business of:
- Activating your customers to play more, spend more and participate more in events.
- Retaining your customers through activation and by deepening their connection in a “socially rich golf community.”
- Recruiting new customers through succeeding in the first two. Sure, marketing is a valuable concept, but happy and engaged customers (and members) are the best “word of mouth salespeople” for your business.
- If you’re succeeding in these areas, are you tracking your efforts consistently? Are you using great tools like:
- PGA Value Tracker – With the value tracking tool you are able to financially quantify the impact of PGA Jr. League and other Player Development programs at your facility. (Want more info on how to enter/track this information and best utilize it? See our PEC, Patrick Oropallo, PGA and he’d be thrilled to assist!)
- This goes right along with the “report our value” concept above. If you are in the “customer engagement business” (or member engagement), you are in the business of:
- Other ways we could “prove our value” as PGA professionals include:
- The Forever Freddy Initiative – An innovative mentorship and staff recruiting concept created to honor the vision (and memory) of Sean Fredrickson, PGA.
- The manner in which we “bring others to our industry” (RECRUITING)
- Building our own team from “inside” and a true, accurate “brand as a great employer to the outside”. To do so, it starts with:
- Attracting Team Members – How realistic are your job postings in terms of what they will be doing, learning, earning and developing? The closer the posting is to reality, the more likely a “good word” will be getting out. (Retention of these new hires will be higher too.)
- Orientation and Connection -Turnover is often high among new employees, especially when they don’t feel like they’re part of the team. Your connection practices can help new hires become embedded “like Velcro” in the team culture and thus more likely to stay. These “hook and loop” efforts, including shared and individualized learning experiences, formal and informal activities build trust and camaraderie, will help your top staff be the “go-to” role models for hires.
- Learn about other Retention Strategies and Best Practices (LinkedIn) here including keys like:
- Recruitment
- Socialization
- Training and development
- Compensation and rewards
- Supervision
- Employee engagement
- Building our own team from “inside” and a true, accurate “brand as a great employer to the outside”. To do so, it starts with:
Do you have any “manner in which” you are working on “being” vs “doing” that you would like to share with me? What other ideas or solutions have you seen or would like to see that might apply in the narrative above? I would love to hear from you.
Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional, CEIP
PGA of America | Career Coach & Consultant/Certified Interview Coach
Certified Predictive Index Practitioner
[email protected]
206.335.5260
Based in South King County, WA