Clubs are a Battlefield

Jackie Carpenter 10/14/19

The club world is a crazy one. No one gets it more than I do... 

Clubs are like a time warp where minutes, hours and even days just disappear. You can work a 15 hour day and go home feeling frustrated that you “didn’t get anything done.” There is literally no end to your “To Do” list because every day brings up more issues to be solved, more meetings to be had and more events to plan. There is always something to be improved upon, added to or followed up on. Add into the mix a random member who wants to chat or an employee who needs your help and it’s no wonder there’s a constant struggle for many in the industry who are trying to balance time at the club with time away from the club. 

So how do club managers and department heads succeed in a world of high expectations, never ending tasks and a labor shortage unlike anything we’ve ever known? 

Two words: Teamwork wins!

Teammates working together to achieve goals and accomplish tasks has never been so crucial for clubs than it is today. It takes a high level team operating as one to make any kind of progress. You can’t do it alone! No one person, no matter how talented, can carry the workload by themselves. 

I’m reminded of a story Curt Cronin, a former Navy Seal shared during a CMAA conference key note speech a few years ago. He explained how Navy Seals must work together on the highest level imaginable because their lives are absolutely at stake if they don’t. He explained that when Navy Seals breach a target, they enter a room and the first guy in covers 45 degrees, the second covers the next 45 degrees and so on until 360 degrees are covered in 45 degree chunks by each member of the team. Each person has a specific role, yet they operate together, moving as one fluid unit. His words have stuck with me to this day. He said, “There’s no way, no matter how good I am, that I can cover 360 degrees alone. But when we do it as a team, each person takes 45 degrees and we can conquer anything. We can walk into a new environment, in the worst of conditions, against an enemy in their home environment and we can win.”

 Clubs are exactly the same thing. Each person must cover their 45 degrees while operating as one small piece of a larger collective unit. Trust, communication and connection are the glue that holds a team together. 

Perhaps spending time building relationships, bonding coworkers together and boosting communication between employees should be what you prioritize over all other job duties? Maybe focusing on your team could be the solution to all your problems. 

After all….would you take your team into battle?