April 2009 -- This is the final column on leadership, with a focus on networking and making things happen in your community.
Question: I have seen some outstanding USPTA pros prove their leadership abilities in promoting our PR initiative,
Tennis - for the health of it! SM Can you explain what it takes to increase business for ourselves and build community interest in tennis?
Answer: To summarize my last two columns, leadership involves the establishing of direction, the ability to influence and align others toward common goals, motivating them to make change (or to at least move in the right direction), and holding people accountable for their actions. This all suggests that leadership must be defined by actions, rather than words. This is a key point because many people believe that leadership is merely motivating others through the words we speak but, in actuality, leadership truly involves one's behaviors much more than words. To quote Buchholz and Roth: "The mediocre leader tells. The good leader explains. The excellent leader demonstrates. The great leader inspires."
To be a great leader, you have to connect with people; network, if you will. In my last two columns, we alluded to this briefly but let's go deeper into what it takes to be successful at networking.
First, I need to say that I do not maintain (nor does the leadership literature say) that you need to have a great personality. Some people simply don't try to network because they struggle with being introverted, or quiet, or whatever might be limiting them. I believe that being a networking genius is not about personality but much more about the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In an academic sense, this likens itself to the principle of reciprocity, or "treat others as you would like to be treated."
At two USPTA division conventions that I attended this year, I was asked a question that we all might be asking ourselves in a troubled economy or under any stressful circumstances: "How can I build my business when everything seems so down?" My feeling is that you have to literally share with other people what you have, what you know and what you learn. This is especially true if it is something that would be helpful or meaningful to someone else or if you have a product that others need to know about; you must share it, tell them about it, advertise it, and on and on. As professionals who care about the game of tennis, this means we have to tell the world about Tennis
- for the health of it! Little Tennis
®, Tennis Across America™, Cardio Tennis, and QuickStart Tennis, to name a few!
Now enters the real issue, however. You have to be able to give it away
at first! I know this is arguable, but if you need to get the word out on something, and it is the "best-kept secret," you need to give it away. In fact, I believe that the more difficult things are, the more you have to be willing to share what you have. So, I am encouraging you to organize activities like Tennis Across America clinics and
Tennis - for the health of it! outreach programs and advertise them using USPTA's many PR tools that you have at your disposal. Energize your courts with Little Tennis programs, combined with QuickStart Tennis Play Format, and tell every parent in town what their children are missing. To some this might seem almost evangelistic but, yes, that is what I am saying. If tennis is your livelihood and you have a great product, you need to let people know about it. You can do this in three fundamental ways.
In a 2007 article on "Leadership and Networking," Clarry wrote about operational networking, personal networking, and strategic networking. Operational networking involves building relationships with people who can help you do your job. In other words, who are the stakeholders in your community who would care about what you want to build? In my last column, I wrote about how the South Texas pros have organized themselves to help each other grow their own businesses, making the entire pie bigger, if you will.
Personal networking involves building relationships outside your own circle through professional associations and personal interest communities. This might be a local hospital or a physical therapy business that could truly partner with you on many programs and help you publicize them. It could also involve joining your local chamber of commerce and connecting with other community leaders so people become aware of what is possible through tennis in general and through your specific programs at your facility.
Strategic networking involves building relationships that are oriented toward the future, and their immediate relevance may not be clear. This might involve Rotary, Kiwanis or other professional organizations in your community. Who knows, you might meet a local business owner who loves to watch tennis, is an aficionado of the game and would like to help you in sponsoring and publicizing your programs. And, all these types of relationships can occur at a regional and national level as well.
Clarry feels that whatever your approach is to creating a strong network, always ask: "What can I do for you?" And, be sure to ask this in the spirit of helping others achieve
their goals. Yes, I am saying to help others first, and you will, in fact, help yourself! This, according to Clarry, is the essence of good networking: Always think of giving back, in the spirit of "What can I do for you?" Then your business will grow faster than you can imagine.
Other networking thoughts, in addition to the ones noted above, were offered by Lonier, who specifically recommended that you share your knowledge freely, recruit cheerleaders for your programs, create an informal advisory board, always do a good job for your clients, maintain visibility at the local level, put technology to work for you and stay connected in your community. Finally, Lonier admonished readers to be sure to ask people to get on board with you.
I will close this series of columns on leadership with a quote from leadership guru Arthur F. Carmazzi: "Leadership does not involve changing the mindset of the group, but the cultivation of an environment that brings out the best and inspires the individuals in that group to do what needs to be done." May you be able to do that in your community to build and grow your business!
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
