Comment
How do we stop being taken for granted?
Former BIGGA Chairman, Paul Worster, offers some advice on gaining more recognition of your skills and importance to your facility
Have you ever wondered what groundsmen and greenkeepers can do to gain more recognition for their efforts, and more respect for their positions and experience?
Like me, you put in your forty hours (and often more), get on with the job, don’t cause waves and everyone likes you; but you, somehow, get taken for granted, as players don’t always notice what a good job is being done until something actually goes wrong. And, when you consider that, as managers, we are setting and controlling budget, responsible for site safety and security, coordinating the movements of others and taking responsibility for their output and standards, suddenly this becomes a very serious proposition.
I hear all too often from greenkeepers and groundsmen that their requests never quite seem to be realised; better work equipment somehow never quite materialises, work conditions never seem to improve, career steps are difficult to make ... yet, we plough on doing our best.
How then to change this? How then to raise your profile within your organisation so that it becomes commensurate with the responsibilities?
Let’s take a look at what successful people do to ensure they continue to move forwards. Take business people and entrepreneurs - say, Richard Branson as an example. He keeps a high profile by involving himself in public life. He watches what is happening and he ensures pieces of information and carefully worded statements about his business are released in a timely and appropriate fashion. He thinks about PR and probably regards it as a major component of his business (and no doubt has a handsome PR budget!). In short, he works on raising his profile because that is good for his company, and he does it through positive and precise communication.
Bear witness to how negative and careless communication can adversely affect reputation and opportunity. Take Gerald Ratner of 1980s cheap jewellery fame. He had a flourishing chain of stores selling cheap jewellery - all it took was one ill-advised comment when he laughed at someone who had just bought a necklace from one of the stores, describing it as “cheap crap”; the inference being that all his products were of a similar dubious stature. Unsurprisingly, the bottom dropped out of his stock exchange
value because people stopped buying almost overnight and, eventually, he lost a fortune.
So, take every opportunity to communicate positively with those around you. Whether it’s your Bursar, your Greens Chairman, General Manager, your staff, customers or whoever, keep the communication going. It’s got to be useful and valuable; the information you pass on saves them time, helps them enjoy what you’re doing, and, eventually, brings the realisation that you are the main man on the job.
You probably won’t change the world overnight but, eventually, the people around you will come to look to you for leadership; to solve problems; to save them time and money.
Use industry blogs, emails, memos and any other type of media you can access for positive communication. But, a word of warning. Ensure you keep your professional life entirely separate from your personal life. You are well advised not to put into print anywhere, no matter how secure you might think it is, any personal feelings which may be, in any way, misconstrued as detrimental to your employer, or anyone else come to that. This is defamation
Well spotted!
Pitchcare’s occasional Spot the Ball competition off to a winning start in May
Our occasional ‘Spot the Ball’ competition was launched in May and, to coincide with the FA Cup Final, the theme was football.
The free to enter competition featured a match between Wolves and Peterborough, with Wolves’ Danny Batth and Peterborough’s
10 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014
Tommy Rowe contesting for the ball in a fiercely competitive match that Wolves won 2-0.
Tom Nutting, Head Groundsman at Penn Cricket Club, was the closest to the centre of the ball and he wins a £50 Pitchcare Gift Voucher to spend in the shop.
There’ll be further opportunities to play Spot the Ball over the coming months centred around major sporting events, both here in the UK and further afield.
Terms and Conditions apply.
and libel and you can be held liable in law - even if it is your Facebook page, your friends, your family etc. The internet is so diverse that your comments can easily leak out and you will be held to account.
Take Sally Bercow. I had to read her Twitter post two or three times (and still didn’t fully get it), but Lord McAlpine got it alright, and sued for thousands of pounds.
So, positive communication is the modern tool which we must all use. Personal visibility is all- important; ensure your details are on your company website page so people can “see” you and know how to find you. Make sure you contribute positively to the business objectives of your company as a team-leader, as well as a team-player. This makes it easier for others to buy into your work which, after all, is to prepare great pitches and golf courses! This way you really do become the “Main Man”.
About the author: Paul Worster is Course Manager at Minchinhampton Golf Club and a former BIGGA Chairman. He is now a director of FEGGA and believes in strong Greenkeeper Associations preparing and equipping their greenkeeper members for management.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156