your staff if you just ask them for their help. Self appraisal is a great way of finding out how you are perceived by your staff and, if you ask for their honest opinion and assure them there will be no repercussions, you can learn a lot.
Employers and colleagues. In the same way, seek the opinions of employers and colleagues, listen to them, then take on board what they say and become a better communicator and presenter. Where to go for training. It is always very difficult to recommend specific trainers but in this case I have no problem in recommending Frank Newberry whom many will know and can verify my recommendation. Frank has now been working within the industry for twenty years and can empathise with us in a way that I have not experienced with any other individual. To back up my observations, here
are two scenarios involving two real people, one of which is me! Kerran Daly (Course Manager at Gog Magog and a past BIGGA Chairman) is one of the best presenters in the business. He has always been very knowledgeable but, until a training session in presentation, he was so shy and self conscious he could not even stand up in at his wedding and thank the bridesmaids! He now not only presents well, he even recites poetry and sings songs - confident enough you may think … but he can’t sing! Now me! I was the opposite of
Kerran. I did stand up in front of people and talk. I thought I was good, but everyone else thought the opposite! So, effectively, whatever I wanted to achieve could not be achieved because I could not present myself properly, whether at work talking to my employers and staff or in conference talks (described as arrogant and all knowing, something you do not find out until someone tells you - Frank and my fellow trainees on the training course did!). Those are the two extreme
examples at each end of the spectrum - everyone else is positioned somewhere between, and I can guarantee if you make the effort to be trained to communicate and present yourself well, you will never regret it. Proof that it works - if you need
proof that training works just talk to the winners - the successful have been trained, so seek them out and talk to them - ask for their help and they will gladly give it.
Mutually beneficial partnerships
In the same way as we as a company forge partnerships with other companies in an atmosphere of trust and loyalty, our aim is to forge partnerships with customers. Customers such as DeVere Oulton Hall, where Jim Brown is Estates and Golf Courses Manager, are important to our future business and it makes perfect sense to work together to ensure he gets value for money and
exceptional service and, by providing this, we can be sure of future business. I believe the companies who will thrive in the future will be the ones who will have an open book policy allowing customers access to company information regarding environmental and financial matters. Those who try to hide information will not be trusted to serve the needs of their customers and clients.
Making your position more secure
It is a simple fact that, if you manage your golf course or sports ground, you are the most important person in the organisation. Without acceptable surfaces to play on the organisation will not survive. We know our employers should know this but many do not because we have not communicated it effectively in the past. It is not their fault, but ours. With good communication and personal presentation you will succeed in getting this message across; the rest is easy, well, easier! Remember you are the best, and most important, person in your organisation. Control your own department. In every way possible convey what you do within your department to make it successful - the way you manage staff, time, budgets, communications, equipment etc. etc. the list is endless - if you convey this information before being asked (as you surely will be at some point in the future, usually when things are not going too well!) you will be permitted to be in control of your department and manage it in the proper manner. Take responsibility. When you are
wrong (it happens to all of us unfortunately) say you were wrong, learn from it and move on. Everybody makes mistakes - the secret is not to make the same mistakes again. When things are not quite going well don’t hide in your office or workshop, confront it, there are real reasons for what has gone wrong and usually it is something out of our control. Don’t convey a list of excuses, just simple reasoning of the situation and the likelihood of the same thing happening again in the future will be minimised.
In summary
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help from wherever you believe you will get it - you will not be disappointed
• If you are not the best at what you do already, plan to be the best
• Communicate and get involved • Present yourself professionally
• Take control and, above all, stay positive
Good luck, and we will see you on the other side, a battered and bruised individual maybe, but a much stronger and wiser person I am sure.
Duncan McGilvray, Managing Director, Enviropro H2O Ltd
FAVOURITE
When asked what his favourite piece of equipment was Dave Roberts, Grounds Manager at Charterhouse School in Surrey, came up with a rather novel answer!
KIT?
My favourite bit of kit is my new dog, she is a Brittany Spaniel which my daughters have called Bandit. She is very useful as she gets me out of my office and walking the grounds far more
frequently than I used to. The walk in the
morning is a great way of mulling over the tasks of the day and also to look around to see what needs attention.
Charterhouse have some pretty steep banks on them, I go armed with a folding pruning saw and have opened up a lot of old paths that had got overgrown, and also keep the cross country course clear. I also get to see many different corners of
She helps me keep fit, the woods at
the grounds, especially when she has run off chasing blackbirds in hedges and bushes and I have to go in looking for her!
Vic Demain, Head Groundsman at Uxbridge Cricket Club - doesn’t do photos, but does like his old SISIS Lawnman ... and a natter with Toby Clarke!
A few years ago I would have answered I love my Dennis Premier 36” used for mowing the outfield. This was such a relaxing job and always relieved stress. Added to that, the fact that Dennis rep, Toby Clarke, would come around for a coffee and a yarn. Unfortunately, now speed is of the essence and we have to use a triple. I guess now it would have to be a very old Sisis Lawnman Handframe with brush and rake attachments. Used everyday in pitch preparation. A good test of the calf muscles when used properly, but so much easier than a yard brush. Allows one to get down close to the turf.
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