Editor's note: This letter on developing a philosophy and team leadership was submitted by 2014 Superintendent of the Year finalist Jorge Croda. Jorge is a Mexican national living and working in Burleson, Texas, where he is superintendent of Southern Oaks Golf Club.
Developing a solid philosophy that is based on the vision, mission and values of the organization is the foundation that successful employees and teams are built upon. Vision in business requires that you clearly see where you choose to be in future and formulate the necessary steps to get your organization there. Creating and sustaining a vision for an organization calls for discipline and creativity.
The vision for my department is to provide a challenging yet enjoyable course and an environment where guests of all golf levels, from casual to expert, can create memorable experiences.
A leader must have the passion, strength of will and necessary knowledge to achieve long-term goals. Our vision drives our goals. A focused individual who can inspire his team to reach organizational goals is a visionary leader. To cultivate this loyalty the attitude of supervisors is of utmost importance. Growing grass is very easy; to form and grow a team is a challenge that requires vision, attitude and discipline. As a leader, I strive to make leaders out of my staff in order to encourage them to learn and grow both within and outside of their job functions and department. It is important to create a personal sense of ownership and belonging for employees.
We also designed a mission, values and rules that my department follows to meet the expectations of our members, guests and owners. Our mission is to provide exceptional recreational and social opportunities to our members, guests and anyone interested in gaining positive experiences through maintaining high expectations of excellence. Our values include:
- Our members are our most important asset.
- Our staff is a critical and vitally important element in our continued success.
- We treat all people, fellow members, guests, staff and suppliers, as we would like to be treated.
- We are respectful, friendly, courteous and honest in our relations.
- We value friendships and enjoyable recreational and social experiences.
- We value teamwork and volunteerism in pursuing excellence.
- We value the traditions, heritage and etiquette of the game of golf.
- Leadership and management will be open and transparent as they strive to continuously improve our quality customer satisfaction in a fiscally responsible manner.
The objective is to foster skills that will benefit employees in both their professional and personal lives. There are five core rules that establish discipline expectations and govern our department.
- Be Safe.
- Be kind to others.
- Give each task your best.
- If you make a mistake, tell someone.
- Have fun.
These rules are essential to the smooth operation of our facility and ensure that we are all operating within our philosophy each and every day. We have weekly meetings within the department to discuss important issues such as; member and guest comments, management announcements, tasks that need focus and improvement and ideas/suggestions on how it can be done, congratulations for hard work, encouragement for giving best efforts, reinforcement of our vision and rules and an opportunity for employees to voice comments, suggestions and/or questions. These meetings are an important facet of our philosophy because it is a structured reminder of the philosophy and expectations of our department.
We focus on these skills:
- Interpersonal skills - proper introductions when greeting someone or meeting someone new and how to effectively communicate with others.
- Intrapersonal Skills - techniques for managing thoughts and emotions.
- Goal setting - setting attainable milestones to reach desired goals and dreams.
- Resiliency - strategies to adapt, manage and overcome challenges.
Our employees are offered opportunities to acquire skills beyond just their job specific duties such as classes to build and improve English skills, computer skills and cross training that can translate into other areas of their life and create employees that are more well-rounded people. A strong philosophy should focus on developing a company's greatest asset, its employees.
A well-treated and motivated staff will develop loyalty and remain with a company for a long time. The goal is to create a culture of gratitude within your department. The role of the leader of the department is to effectively role-model the ways to show gratitude at all possible times. Here are three strong examples of ways you can establish a culture of gratitude within your organization or department. The first example is to encourage employees to celebrate each other This could be done by some type of structured recognition program where people can praise co-workers for specific behaviors or attitudes or another option would be a more anonymous recognition program where employees are encouraged to leave notes of gratitude for other employees in a designated location.
The second example is to show your appreciation for the entire team by hosting special events or activities. I do this in my department by having a monthly luncheon to show appreciation for my staff and their hard work. Another major event was a scramble tournament for employees that we planned. This allowed the employees to play golf on the course and increase team building skills while experiencing the importance of etiquette and safety, seeing things from the perspective of a member or guest on the course and recognizing what guest/member needs are. The main guideline for the scramble tournament was be positive, enjoy what you do, have fun, be happy and you will be successful. Last, but not least, make "thank you" a phrase heard daily. These two simple words have a significant impact on making employees, and people in general, feel valued and appreciated. By establishing a culture of gratitude, you will not only have happier employees, but employees who are more engaged, motivated, and loyal.
My philosophy focuses on teaching and demonstrating to my employees the values for life, teamwork, etiquette, communication, leadership and motivation and then most importantly, having the expectation that they put these skills to use every day on the job. Richard Branson once said: "Train people well enough so they can leave; treat them well enough so they don't want to."