by Michael McCall
It was during my three-year tour in the Navy as officer of the deck aboard the USS Independence that I first observed true leaders in action and began to gain experience as a leader. It never ceases to amaze me just how much responsibility is entrusted to young military personnel. (I was only 25 at the time.) Since then, I’ve observed and read many philosophies and strategies about becoming an effective leader. I have personally implemented many suggestions from the experts. There is no shortage of material on leadership, much of it in excruciating detail. (See “Good Reads on Great Leadership,” page 5.) But when all is said and done, I believe the very foundation of leadership—and any truly successful person—is integrity. Unfortunately, it seems this single word has diminished in value in recent years. When people describe a successful person, integrity is rarely on the list of necessary attributes. Golf is a game that holds integrity as its keystone. Yet how many times do you see golfers violating the rules of golf and proper etiquette on the course? As golf course superintendents, we can ensure our success by maintaining a high level of integrity in our dealings with colleagues, members, vendors, and, probably most important, in how we lead our people. How do we lead with integrity? Here’s what I’ve learned firsthand: 1. Be Honest We can begin by being honest to our staff and to our colleagues. It’s an act of respect that will go a long way toward creating a motivated and cohesive team—and overall work environment.
2. Take Responsibility “You are the problem; you are the solution.” In the Navy, the captain of the ship is ultimately responsible for any mishap under his command. The same applies to our industry. All problems come back to the superintendent. If your pesticide applicator makes a mistake, the blame falls on your shoulders. It could be that you didn’t train the person adequately or double check his or her calculations. Maybe the sprayer wasn’t calibrated properly. There are myriad things that can go wrong on a golf course, but it’s up to you to take responsibility and move on. Your employees will respect you if you take this approach rather than assign blame to them when talking to your superiors. A few years ago in September, we were aerifying tees. I went to play golf in a superintendent outing. After nine holes, I could tell that it was a very drying day. I came home to black and blue tees. Yes,my assistant should have stopped aerifying to begin watering, but I took full responsibility. I could have provided better guidance, after all, by putting a limit on the number of tees to be aerified or by calling in after my first nine holes.
3. Lead by Example How can you ask your employees to keep their carts and break room clean if your cart and office are not clean and organized? How can you ask your employees to be on time in the morning if you can’t be there on time? If you are going to be late— whether it’s because you had a late meeting the night before or you’ll be staying late that day—make sure your staff knows. The same principle applies to your appearance, attitude, and enthusiasm. How you look and behave sets the standard. One of my pet peeves is trash on the golf course. I have a standing order that if there’s not a fire or a major irrigation leak that no one—including me—should drive by a piece of trash without picking it up. While our administrative duties have increased over the years,we must still get out of the office and spend time with the troops. You can’t provide good leadership if you’re not there to lead.
4. Hire the Right People No other investment of time will go as far as hiring the right people. There will always be times when people you hire don’t work out—no matter how hard you try to train or motivate them. If they are unwilling or unable to perform their job, it’s your responsibility to prevent disruptions in your ability to achieve your overall goal. I started my first job as superintendent during the month of May. My first assistant and the general manager warned me about the personality of the second assistant, but I’ve always been one to give an employee the benefit of the doubt. In this case, however, it didn’t take me long to realize that this person was not going to mesh with the team I wanted to build. He did not have the necessary technical or managerial skills when given the position, and worse, the entire grounds crew disliked him. He was not a bad person. In fact, he had had his church prepare meals for my wife and me when our first daughter was born in June. Nevertheless, I knew I had to terminate him. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. It also meant going through my first summer on the job without a second assistant. I survived, and I have no regrets. He’s much happier, now, in his new career as a carpenter. Part of having integrity—and good leadership ability—is having the courage to do what you know is right, no matter how difficult or unpleasant.
5. Take Care of Your Employees I believe in supporting my staff both personally and professionally. Whether an employee is struggling with a health issue, a death in the family, an income tax problem, or a personality conflict on the job, I believe in standing by and doing what I can to guide that person through any trouble spots. That’s not to say you should have to fight all your employees’ battles, but there are some situations that clearly warrant— and could genuinely profit from—your involvement. Even if you lose the battle, your people will respect you for your concern and efforts. My first chief engineer on the USS Independence was a screamer. I learned this firsthand when someone had made a fuel transfer within the ship without his authorization, and I, as a junior officer, had to deliver the bad news. I had never—and to this day still haven’t—been so verbally abused in all my life . . . and for someone else’s mistake. Despite this character flaw, the engineering officers admired this man, partly because he never stayed angry for long, but more because he went to bat for us—for liberty, promotions, awards, and anything else we needed. At Casperkill, we have an Employee of the Quarter award. Before my arrival, only one ground’s staff member had won it in the past four years. When I got here, I lobbied for my staff. As a result, someone on my crew has won the award four out of the past six quarters. One of the crew members even went on to win Employee of the Year. Do you think that paid dividends to our department? You bet it did!
6. Love What You Do This may sound trite, but it has far-reaching effects—beyond your personal job satisfaction. Take my third chief engineer aboard the Independence. He was the most passionate leader I’d ever seen. He loved his job. He would spend many hours in his stateroom discussing how we were going to become the best engineering department in the Navy. I could not help but feel the energy radiating from him. Had he not liked his career, that would have been infectious too, no doubt affecting the morale and performance of everyone beneath him. It’s much the same in our profession— and especially during the height of the golf season. The long hours and daily pressures of our work are sure to deflate the spirits and motivation of a crew whose superintendent is deflated himself. If you don’t like being a golf course superintendent, you have two options: Change your career, or learn to love it. After managing turfgrass for four years, I went to work with some members from my country club in the financial services industry. It didn’t take long for me to discover that I did not like this field. I took a hard look at what I could do to change my perspective about being a superintendent. I realized that before entering the financial services industry I had been focusing only on the downside of being a golf course superintendent. I had forgotten the reasons I entered the profession in the first place. I was good at being a superintendent, and that brought me a sense of accomplishment. From my experience, increasing your professional knowledge and experience does breed confidence, and that, in turn, ignites a passion for the job.
7. Be Humble Most great leaders, but certainly not all, have a humble side to them. Good to Great by Jim Collins is the story of 11 companies that managed to make the leap from mediocrity to excellence, evidenced by stock price performance. One of the key components of these companies is that they had what Collins refers to as Level 5 leaders. A Level 5 leader is one who “builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.” Humility is a great virtue and probably one of the most challenging to master. Benjamin Franklin tells in his autobiography about his attempt to master many virtues. Humility was not among them—until a friend of Ben Franklin’s told him how annoying it was that he was bragging about mastering his virtues. Arrogance has no place in our industry. From the number-one ranked golf course to the mom-and-pop, nine-hole golf course, we are only providing a playing surface for people to enjoy. It is a noble profession but not one that warrants an inflated ego.
In the End Integrity is the common thread running through each and every one of these leadership qualities. It is the key to becoming a fair and effective leader—and a success on the job. A leader who is honest and fair can’t help but provide the kind of work environment that inspires staff to meet—and even exceed—expectations. And in the golf course industry, that means providing the kind of quality playing surface and surroundings that golfing members can be proud of and enjoy.