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Introducing GCMA Mentor
Supporting the next generation of CLUB MANAGERS
GCMA Mentor will bring together the industry’s best to help develop careers. Progrezo director, Biddy Lloyd Jones, explains more...
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Are you passionate about leadership, coaching and development? GCMA Mentor could be for you. The scheme, launched by chief executive Tom Brooke last month, will draw on the best in our industry to nurture the next generation of industry professionals and the Association is hugely excited about its impact.
Business and people consultancy firm Progrezo will support the selection and training of Mentors and we asked director Biddy Lloyd Jones to go into more detail about the scheme and explain the importance of mentoring...
How did you get involved with the GCMA Mentor programme and what will be your role in it? Progrezo is a ‘niche’ people consultancy, focussing primarily on leadership coaching for individuals and teams, specialising in attitude, behaviour and culture. We were introduced to the golf industry when we worked with CMM, originally to support their efforts to understand personal development, attitude and behaviour in their candidates. They recognised that with all the skills and experience in the world, without the right attitude, these are of little use. They introduced Insights Discovery profiling into their interview process, which is used for most short-listed applicants so that the club understands not only how to get the best from their new hire but also how they will gel with the team, the members and the culture of the Club. Through CMM, we were introduced to great golf clubs large and small and to the GCMA. Some of the challenges I noticed for golf club managers when I became involved some years back was the need for them to not only be technically sound and operationally intelligent, but also to have the ability to manage an enormous amount of stakeholders and build strong and long term relationships with them. Members are not customers or even clients – they are a step closer than that, sometimes owners, sometimes both your boss and your customer, and need to be heard, nurtured and satisfied – and they all want different things! Quite a challenge and, on top of that, the golf club manager often has a lot of responsibility but not much authority AND their boss changes every couple of years. That’s tough and I think they do an admirable job!
Our role will be to support the selection and training of the Mentors. We will be a part of the interview board and we will run the three day training for all Mentors.
How will the programme work? We envisage that six Mentors will be created each year and each of them will have five Mentees. The Mentees will have a series of 1-2-1 sessions with their Mentor as well as group facilitated sessions with other Mentees to learn from each other and share their experiences. The Mentors will use a coaching style for the individual sessions and will facilitate the group sessions as well. The GCMA will speak to the Mentees regularly to understand their experiences of their Mentors, and the Mentors themselves will also have a support framework that will act as a confidential service to them.
How important is mentoring – both to the Mentor and the Mentee? How can it help the development of both parties? The programme is to recognise that the golf club manager is at the heart of the future of golf. It also recognises that personal and professional development are different and that a mentor can support both elements for a mentee in terms of technical skills but also supporting development in their emotional intelligence.
For a mentor, there is a great responsibility to support the growth of others over and above themselves. And not everyone is suited to being a mentor! But there is an enormous reward in seeing others succeed and feeling at the heart of the growth of golf. The Mentors will have three days of training invested in them too, which will give them an in-depth understanding of themselves and how to bring out the best in others. As a coach, I can also say that it is my privilege to learn from
my coachees as we often also learn so much about ourselves in the process of coaching. Mentoring brings a real sense of achievement to the mentor and mentee.
For the Mentee, having a Mentor who ‘gets’ you, who can act as a critical friend, support and challenge you in equal measure and who you know is absolutely on your side, is an invaluable support mechanism. It is a truly satisfying experience for both parties. In a recent survey by Guider (2021 Mentoring Benchmarking) 100% of respondents said Mentoring was beneficial to individuals and that they highly valued improvements in self confidence and exposure to different perspectives. Other benefits were also improved leadership skills, setting and achieving goals, self-awareness, feedback and networking.
What type of people are you looking for to take on this role? We are looking for people who get as much from others succeeding as they do themselves. We want those who are humble enough to recognise their own mistakes and share those with their Mentee to support their learning, as well as being able to coach the Mentee to use their experience and brains to make the right decisions for themselves. They need to be credible and trustworthy - we want people who can be confidential and discreet, who care passionately about the future of golf and who recognise the strengths in others and want to bring out the best in them. We are NOT looking for advisors! We do not want people who think they have all the answers and will direct their Mentee to the ‘right’ course of action. We need people who can use a coaching style, ask intelligent and appropriately deep questions to support the mentee to make their own decisions
What is the desired result of the programme – both from the view of the participants and that of the GCMA? Tom Brooke feels passionately that golf club managers are at the heart of the future of golf. The Guider survey established that Mentoring is not formally happening in small organisations (under 500 employees) but it is in larger organisations across the UK (outside the golf industry) so there is a benefit to golf in general and to individual participants too to bring in a Mentoring programme that goes across the industry rather than being contained within an organisation. There is so much experience, expertise and talent in the golf industry but due to the silo’d nature of golf clubs, this isn’t shared. For golf club managers to learn from each other and to share best practice seems an obvious solution. Coaching in soft skills is also not common in the Golf industry. So mentoring meets both these needs.
What does this say about the GCMA’s commitment to professional and personal development? Mentoring in its purest form has been a natural part of society forever. Tom feels that whilst there is much focus on professional development in the golf industry, it is behind in training and coaching personal development such as emotional intelligence which, interestingly, is responsible for 85% of our earning potential. It is the emotional intelligence required by golf club managers in managing their own teams, suppliers, visitors, committees and members that sets a great golf club manager apart from a good one. This is where the GCMA sees the real area for growth and how it will benefit both individuals and the industry as a whole. Golf is the one pastime that brings together old and young, families and professionals, the wealthy and less wealthy and they share a passion. It forges society and relationships. It enables families to share time together, busy people to relax, people to meet new people and supports communities to thrive. Why would you NOT develop golf club managers to be able to professionally and personally develop to support this? The GCMA are visionary in their approach and determined in outlook to change the face of the industry to enable more talent to shine and naturally therefore bring the benefit to the members and visitors the world over.
What is GCMA Mentor?
GCMA Mentor will support the professional and personal development of experienced and successful golf club managers, to develop leadership, communication and coaching skills as they take on the role of guiding the next generation of leaders. GCMA Mentors will help up-andcoming golf club managers and those new to the industry looking to develop their careers and become golf club managers. They will be involved in group and 1-2-1 sessions as well as the GCMA education programme. To register your interest to become a GCMA Mentor, or a GCMA Mentee, contact memberservices@gcma.org.uk
GCMA Manager of the YEAR AWARDS
Time is running out to put forward names for the prestigous prizes, whose winners will be revealed at GCMA 2021 Conference
The clock is ticking for nominations to be made for the GCMA Manager of the Year Awards. You must get your proposals in by Friday, September 17 if they are to be considered for the most prestigious prizes in golf club management..
The GCMA Manager of the Year Awards are the centrepiece of the second day of GCMA 2021 Conference, which is being held at Wyboston Lakes Resort, in Bedfordshire, from November 21 to 23. They will reward the successes in our industry and we’re sure to hear some inspirational stories following the challenges of the last 18 months.
Two years ago at De Vere Cotswold Water Park, Enville general manager Heather Mulley was a popular winner of the Manager of the Year prize, while Redditch’s Kerry Alligan-Smith was named Newcomer of the Year and Llanishen continued the theme of recent Welsh dominance when named Team of the Year.
To follow in their footsteps, or reward those you feel have made a difference, make sure you’ve got your nominations in. For 2021, the awards categories are as follows:
GCMA Manager of the Year – Available to full members only and those currently in the role of General Manager, Club Manager, Club Secretary or similar
GCMA Future Leader of the Year – Available to full members only and for those within their first two years of club management
GCMA Team of the Year – Should include Club Manager, Golf Professional, Food and Beverage and Head Greenkeeper. At least one member of the team should be a full GCMA member
Shortlists will be drawn up for an interview and selection process, with club visits and interviews with final candidates taking place during October.
If you would like to nominate anyone for one of our Awards, please email us at memberservices@gcma.org. uk with the following details: Name of the Nominee Name of Club Award Category A brief summary of why you think they deserve to be nominated. Key achievements, contribution to the club etc. Your name and contact details
Are you coming to GCMA 2021 CONFERENCE?
Make sure you book your spot for three days of inspirational learning at Wyboston Lakes Resort in November
Delegate spots are being snapped up quickly as the countdown continues towards GCMA 2021 Conference in
November.
The event, at Wyboston Lakes
Resort, in Bedfordshire, and staged from November 21 to 23, will focus on the key themes of Leadership and Wellbeing, Sustainability, and
Technology under the GCMA
Inspire, GCMA Hot Topics and
GCMA Know How banners.
Former European Tour referee
John Paramor will kick off proceedings on Sunday night with memories of his time on tour, while elite athletes Chris Cook and
Danielle Brown will be joined by the likes of industry giants Kevin
Fish, Peter Kirk and Scott Seaborn to deliver three days of education and networking. Alongside the speakers, workshops will give attendees the tools to develop in their roles as golf club managers and a gala awards dinner on
Monday night will showcase the best in the industry.
The GCMA is dedicated to delivering progressive, industry specific education programmes and networking opportunities whilst offering high quality personal services and support for the development of its members. This year’s Conference will aim to deliver all. Tom Brooke, GCMA chief executive, said: “We’ve carefully selected the headline themes that we believe are going to be the key topics in the golf industry for the years ahead: Leadership and Wellbeing, Sustainability and Technology.
“The 2021 Conference is going to provide the perfect opportunity for our members, industry professionals and our business partners to reconnect after the pandemic and spend a few highly valuable days investing in personal development, networking, socialising, and celebrating success!
“Wyboston Lakes is a superb venue and we can’t wait to welcome you there.”
For all the latest news from GCMA 2021 Conference, and how to book, visit our dedicated website at https://cvent.me/ A3v7Bb
The venue Wyboston Lakes is the largest independently owned business and leisure destination in Northern Europe. Set in 380 acres of rural countryside, on the edge of the historic market town of St Neots, the resort was founded in 1983 by Peter Hutchinson. An awardwinning conference and events venue, Wyboston Lakes Resort has more than 50 meeting rooms, including two large flexible function rooms that can cater for up to 620 delegates.
Can Golf help with economic growth in the UK?
Are you ready to put corporate golf club membership at the top of your to-do list?
Roger Brown, Chief Commercial Officer, Fairway Credit
Covid-19 has been spoken about for what seems like an eternity and from what we hear from the government and health officials, it could be here to stay. So, what do we do now? Experience says we need to look at the positives, and the one defining positive is that golf has grown in popularity exponentially! How do we keep this growth trajectory? We think it could be looking at how to support the growing “working from home” push from businesses. With the change from large office spaces to small home offices, something is missing and that is a place to meet and conduct business, whether it is a sales meeting or an account review, there is a premium for meeting spaces that golf clubs can tap in to.
With golf having the ability to bring together people from all walks of life, golf also has the capability to bring businesses together. So, does golf hold the key to pushing economic growth for the UK? Quite possibly as there is a huge gap for where firms can conduct their business, with meeting space and entertainment venues sought after, could the golf club be the place?
The simple answer is, YES!
Over the last few months, we have shared different ways you can develop your membership base and entice some of those 2.6 million extra golfers that played in the last 12 months. This year we have seen new golf clubs wanting to work with us with some very interesting developments to their membership offer. One development that immediately shows potential is, corporate memberships.
The time is right It has been widely reported in the golfing press that interest in corporate membership is increasing and there are numerous reasons for this. With large numbers of professionals continuing to work from home post lockdown, meeting existing clients and prospects at their local course has become an easier option, and is a trend that looks likely to continue. With the surge of people moving from city locations to the country and closer to golfing facilities, city centre hospitality or meeting spaces remain off
Can Golf help with economic growth in the UK?
limits for some and not used due to the exodus of many businesses. As such, clubhouse restaurants or club conference rooms provide an attractive alternative for entertaining. Golfs open air facilities are also a consideration too, especially during Covid. A plus point with corporate membership comes in the form of potential tax relief for those businesses joining your club and can be used as a great way of enticing these new members.
Corporate membership could be a key part of your growth Recruiting for any type of membership can be time consuming, so over the last year, many progressive clubs have been concentrating their efforts on securing additional corporate golf memberships. Corporate memberships help golf clubs to quickly increase their membership numbers and the income that comes with it. With this type of membership, you are not only helping your club, but also helping the wider economic growth for those businesses who join your club to use your facilities to conduct their business dealings.
Using a credit option to pay for membership Recent economic uncertainty has made the financing of corporate golf club memberships, through convenient monthly repayments, an even more attractive option.
Corporate customers taking this finance option is also beneficial for clubs too as it provides them with a smooth, reliable and regulatory compliant cash flow. With memberships paid to the club in full at the start of each membership year, the club can better manage their own financial planning.
Fairway Credit, a trading name of Premium Credit, is a market leading brand offering this service to the golf market for over 25 years. We are a popular option, with 1 in 4 fee paying golf clubs working with us, and almost 20% of members at these clubs choosing Fairway Credit to finance their memberships. In short, we’re proud to provide our service to nearly 40,000 golfers each year with this set to increase in the coming years.
If we can offer assistance in this area, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the Fairway Credit team on 0344 736 9818.
