GCMA Mentor Ben Driver discusses the importance of combining a long-term vision with a keen eye for the day-to-day details of a Club Manager’s role.
Golf Club Managers need to have a firm grasp on long-term goals without losing touch with the daily demands of the role, according to GCMA Mentor Ben Driver.
The University of Birmingham graduate, who spent six years with Crown Golf at various clubs before enjoying five years as GM at Chigwell Golf Club, is now Chief Executive Officer at Royal Blackheath Golf Club.
In the second part of our catch-up, Ben also discusses our Advanced Management Programme and offers his top piece of advice for Club Managers…
Staff retention can be a problem in the industry — how do you overcome this and maintain morale?
The key is to spot issues before they arise by keeping a constant line of communication open between the team and your department heads. If you provide opportunities for individuals to express ways in which they may be unhappy with something, you may be able to act before it’s too late.
Maintaining morale must be achieved by a consistent schedule of one-to-one and team meetings, facilitating group discussions and creating opportunities to have some fun!
What is your approach to giving feedback?
As well as keeping an open mind as to the reasons why something has happened or someone acted in a certain way, I try to keep the feedback honest and maintain a positive tone.
How important are the CPD and educational opportunities provided by offerings such as the GCMA Advanced Management Programme?
They are vital and the GCMA are offering some of the industry’s best programmes. A manager must be continuously trying to expand their own skillset and keep up to date with trends and news. There may be extraordinarily busy times in your role and life where it can’t always be prioritised but never abandon the idea that it’s crucial to long-term success in your role and the industry.
How vital is it to have a clear long-term vision as well as a keen eye on the day-to-day operations?
My focus is that the department heads have a very keen eye on the day-to-day operations and (if you imagine a long road trip), minor mishaps won’t stop you reaching your destination but they will certainly throw you off course or slow you down. If there are too many and the ‘car’ is not serviced regularly, then something more serious may happen and it may take a long time to get back up and running. A Club Manager will no doubt have been given the position because of their intuition for operational efficiency, so it’s important to use that intuition and maintain a daily awareness but never lose sight of the long-term goals and vision. Combining the two is a skill.
If you could give one piece of leadership advice to someone stepping into a management role at a club, what would it be?
Just one piece of advice is very difficult but I’d have to go with make sure you communicate! Regular and coherent communication with your team, the members, guests and visitors, as well as to your committees, managers or board of directors is absolutely mission critical.
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