If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That might have been a popular theory in the past, but not anymore.
Michael Muetzel, founder of MX Marketing, Management Solutions Muetzel believes in “fix it, always.” The world is always changing, he says, and management has to keep up or get left behind. Muetzel spoke about calibrating management skills at the Golf Industry Show in Atlanta.
Previous working models tended to point a superintendent toward underachieving employees. Like a performer spinning 10 dishes on a stage, he must constantly aid the plate that’s slowing down. That might keep the plates spinning, but it takes an extraordinary amount of time and effort.
“You can spend all your time on the group not working well and neglect the one that’s performing well,” he says. “This can lead to negative perception or hurt the performance of the quality employees.”
Muetzel stresses golf course superintendents are extremely valuable members of the golf course management team and should hold themselves in that manner.
“At the end of the day, you’re not just superintendents,” he says. “You’re managing assets that range from $2 million, to $5 million and up.”
He also says superintendents spent too much time worrying about things they can’t control – weather, board of directors, green committees, etc. – and should focus on the task at hand: managing their staffs.
Superintendents need not look further than the 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. hockey team as an example of what a successful team can accomplish. Though they were outsized and much less experienced than any of the European teams, a common mission pushed them to ultimate success.
Communication
Muetzel also emphasizes communication. He says more than half (55 percent) of what is sent by a message is from body language, and only 7 percent is sent via words. Tone of voice (38 percent) is important, too.
With that in mind, telling an employee to do something is necessary, but how that employee is told is extremely important. Also, at the time one is exposed to information, seeing the task is more effective (83 percent) than just hearing what needs to be done (11 percent).
As for retention, Muetzel says an employee retains 90 percent of what’s discussed and worked with and 70 percent of what’s discussed and repeated. Conversely, employees retain only 10 percent of what they read and 20 percent of what they hear.
Change
Whether it’s personnel moves, attitude adjustments, financial factors or a shift in rules, teams change. It’s a fact of life. Muetzel characterizes the evolution of change as “grow.”
The first step: Teams get to know each other. That’s followed by the realization that the current method isn’t working. The third step is to organize or reorganize. Lastly, working successfully toward a common goal is achieved. Success is found when the purpose becomes more important than the people. GCN
