December 20, 2010
Back in March, we posted an article titled "4 Ways to Stand Out at Your Facility". Our golf operations are all about the team we're a part of, but each one of us also as has an opportunity to display our unique personalities as individuals. There is something to be said about shining in our own unique way. The following are 5 more ways we can stand out as assistant professionals at our facilities.
Show People, Don’t Tell Them
When asked about where the locker room is or where the cart staging area is, it goes a very long way to show them or lead them there. People want to be led. They want to be shown where things are. From a service standpoint, don’t just point your finger and tell them where it is, it’s short and not very personable. When you lead someone to the locker room, it gives you an opportunity to chat and personalize yourself as well as personalize the golf operation.
Don’t Always Be Asked
It’s great to be someone who does what he’s been delegated to do. But it goes twice as far to be someone who does things without being asked to do them. Don’t be that guy who doesn’t do anything unless he’s asked. Initiative will take you far in this profession let alone any other area of business. A former boss of mine called it “operational awareness”, which means to see something before it might happen (good or bad) and take measures to act upon it.
Downtime
Fill your downtime with productivity, no matter what it is. In a golf shop or even the outside services department, there is always something to do throughout the day. If you’re not seeing anything that needs to be done, then you’re just not looking hard enough. Obviously our lunch breaks are significant to us and they should be. But it’s those spurts of 5, 10, or 15 minutes of dead time between member/guest action that make the difference in a well kept and well run golf operation versus a poorly kept golf operation.
No Exemptions
Because of a title you might have or because of the seniority you might have, don’t act like you are exempt from certain tasks or responsibilities as an assistant professional. I know of Head Professionals at top-100 clubs that pick the range when necessary! When they told me this, I was inspired. If you’re a First Assistant, the things you did before you moved into that role shouldn’t go away entirely. All the title means is that you have added responsibilities now on top of your old responsibilities. Will you have to execute those old responsibilities as much as you did before you got promoted? Probably not. But don’t completely shut yourself off from them and think you will never have to do them again.
Team Work
Your golf operation rests solely on the efforts of your team. Vince Lombardi said, "Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work". Simply put, there may not be a better way to stand out individually than to submit to the team and be a team player. Period.
