(Editorial) Movin' on up

In a way, golf course superintendents can be grouped into two categories – those who choose to remain superintendents and those who want to move into management, which can be as the general manager of a club or as a regional superintendent who oversees and manages several courses.
Sitting in a room full of superintendents at the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Conference & Trade Show in Myrtle Beach, S.C. in November, I watched as only a few superintendents out a couple hundred raised their hands when Saaed Assadzandi, general manager of Champion Hills Country Club in Hendersonville, N.C., asked the group who wanted to be or thought about becoming a general manager some day. I was surprised. I thought I would have seen more hands.
The decision to move into management is not as great a leap as some superintendents might think. Superintendents and general managers are well-educated people. Superintendents also are managers of turfgrass, equipment, budgets and people. In fact, a major task for any superintendent is training and motivating people successfully – a skill also necessary for an effective general manager.
So, what does it take for a superintendent to seriously consider becoming a general manager? What management skills do they need to master?
Assadzandi, who’s a certified golf course superintendent and who has made the transition to general manager, says there are several personal qualities a superintendent needs to have to become a successful general manager. They include:
• Possessing a desire to serve others;
• Being a problem-solver on all levels;
• Being a communicator;
• Seeing the big picture;
• Having a thorough understanding of country club management; and
• Having the ability to make people work together in harmony.
Many superintendents already have these desirable traits. However, Assadzandi says challenges superintendents might not be aware of include: every customer should be treated like an employee; a lack of continuity in management; and balancing time at work and home – it takes an understanding family to cope with the demanding job.
Does a superintendent need the complete package before making the move? Assadzandi says most general managers never have been a golf professional, golf course superintendent or food-and-beverage director all before becoming a general manager. So it shouldn’t scare superintendents who want to become general managers who haven’t served in all of these positions.
Despite the challenges superintendents face to becoming general managers, there are traits they have that help qualify them for such a position. Those include:
• Being well educated;
• Managing a large budget and employees;
• Managing a facility’s greatest asset; and
• Being results driven.
Another consideration is what type of club would suit superintendents best. That would be country clubs and golf clubs because they have a golf course that’s a main component or driver of the club.
That said, one might wonder where to start. Assadzandi suggests:
• Joining the Club Managers Association of America because the more superintendents that join, the more the association will recognize superintendents;
• Taking advantage of CMAA’s educational opportunities;
• Acquiring more knowledge of accounting principles; and
• Choosing a respected general manager as a mentor.
Having a mentor is an important aspect of making the transition from superintendent to general manager. Assadzandi says he had a mentor that he respects who helped him make the transition.
It’s not for everybody, but if superintendents are thinking about this type of move, they should reflect on their skills and responsibilities, see how they can help advance their careers and find mentors who can help them make the transition.
When making this transition, it’s also helpful to know some keys to success. Assadzandi offers a few: hire highly qualified people; let them do their jobs and don’t micromanage them; inspect what you expect from them; and share the credit and take the blame.
It would improve golf if more superintendents became general managers. Besides, learning about what it takes to become a general manager might make superintendents better. GCN