Lions Among Us

According to Mr. Edward Henderson, leaders are those people who can guide a work force into a path that leads to success and realization of goals by keeping the members of his work force committed, intact, and highly motivated. Moreover, managers of private clubs are those who extend their duties and responsibilities beyond the long-established and conventional roles of private club managers. They should be able to influence the members of their work force to create a reality out of their visions of success.

Furthermore, Henderson has also presented what he calls “success factors.” These success factors are supposed to be instrumental in making private club managers successful in their field. This valuable piece of information was based on a survey conducted in 1994, which was administered to several managers. They were the ones who were responsible of narrowing down eight valuable factors that influence success.

These success factors were also proven true by Henderson himself, as he has put great efforts to observe his colleagues who were private club managers themselves. In addition to the main success factors that will be discussed in the following statements, people who took the survey also included other factors that are important in success such as a reputable image, flexibility in working with diverse individuals or groups, communication and social skills, just pure luck, exerting effort and working hard, attitude and perspective in life, and continuous learning.

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Henderson has also noted that there is a strong connection between success factors and the successes of a leader. Although he himself, and all the managers who took the survey, could not argue with the fact that all success factors are significant in accomplishing success in their line of expertise. However still, everything depends on the work attitude and outlook of the manager. In addition, it is dependent on the nature and the background of the business that he is managing.

The first success factor mentioned in the monograph is operational knowledge. Operational knowledge received the highest vote as one of the most important success factor. However, overall the most important success factor, it ranked second. It requires knowledge of the ins and outs of business, such as the technical aspect and expertise in handling the club. Expertise and knowledge of the business is achieved over time. Being in the business in such a long period of time is a learning experience for private club managers, especially with their experiences in success and failures in the past.

The second success factor is integrity. It was the first most important success factor that was rated by the managers who took the survey. For those managers who took the survey, building a responsible and credible self as a private club manager makes one a true leader. Being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses, distinguishing right from wrong, expressing appreciation and gratitude to one’s constituents, exuding good morals and virtues, and working for the purpose of serving, are just some of the aspects of integrity that makes it a factor in a leader’s way to success.

The third success factor is being in the right club where a manager’s personality is suiting. In other words, private club managers must be able to be in position within a club that is fitting or appropriate for their personality and management styles. They attribute this idea with marriage. For them, being a private club manager is like building a relationship or marrying a person. There should be chemistry or the personality, style, beliefs, and attitudes of a manager must be in sync with the needs and nature of the club to succeed. Just as how two people should be in order to have a successful marriage.

The fourth success factor is acquiring financial skills. According to the managers who took the survey, being adept with finance and accounting enabled them to gain respect and trust from their colleagues. Needless to say, the finances of an organization are the indicator of its success or its failure.

The fifth success factor is intelligence. The challenges and the demands of the private club industry require broad knowledge and skills in order understand the comings and goings within the club and also to understand human behavior and predict outcomes. According to the managers who took the survey, intelligence coupled with the right experiences and skills acquired equals great leadership and success.

The sixth success factor is the ability to persuade others. Persuasion or the skill of one person to influence the behavior of a person is very significant in accomplishing success at present. A great leader must be able to persuade or influence others, his subordinates, colleagues, and everyone who he comes to work with, to lean to the direction of success and accomplish the vision of the club.

The seventh success factor is authority. Perhaps authority comes with the previous success factor, which is persuasion. The ability to persuade must be coupled with authority that is in order to persuade people, the leader must exude authority and firmness among them. Although there are several issues raised about authority and its limitations, people cannot argue with the fact that authority is very important in dealing with all aspects of the private club industry. However, with authority comes great responsibility and sound judgment.

The eighth success factor is social grace. Although several managers regard as least important in achieving success, they could not also deny the fact that being skilled in communication and interacting with other people is important.

After reading all the factors that influence success as a private club manager, I have come to understand the qualities and skills that one should possess in order to be a great leader for the club as a whole and his constituents. Although all the success factors and much more, are instrumental in the achievement of great personal and group success in the field of private club management, I feel that the most important of all is intelligence.

First, intelligence gets you to the position of a private club manager. As we all know, being intelligent and knowledgeable about the business makes one a potential and a strong candidate for a private club manager position. It is instrumental in getting one started, and intelligence keeps one going in the business. Moreover, intelligence equips you with the capacity to acquire all the other skills that are important in the business such as financial and social skills, being knowledgeable of the operations and processes that go on within the business, and even in the ability to persuade others, intelligence plays a role. Intelligence is also a major factor that spells out authority.

For instance, one becomes granted the opportunity to become a private club manager because of one’s knowledge of the business. Through this, one gains support, respect and trust from colleagues, subordinates, board members, and other people one comes in contact with because of one’s ability to be knowledgeable in all aspects of the business, even for example in finance and accounting. Essentially, it drives one to learn more about the developments and changes in the industry making one capable of dealing with future obstacles and challenges.

Therefore, one is able to persuade other people into working together as members of the club in order to attain their goals and objectives. Generally speaking, intelligence does not only get you the job, but it also guides you and lets you experience success and gets you out of failure. It lies in all aspects of the eight success factors that are why it is important.

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