July 21, 2025 • 46 mins
Nicole Wasserman isn't your typical club professional. At an age when most are still figuring out career basics, she's already compiled a resume that reads like a hospitality industry scavenger hunt—Augusta National, the Governor's Mansion, Hershey, Roaring Gap, wedding planner, and more. Now serving as Food and Beverage Manager at Daniel Island Club, Nicole brings a refreshingly grounded perspective on what it means to build a meaningful career in the private club world.
Our conversation explores Nicole's unconventional path into club management, beginning with her early wedding planning experience where every minute detail was scheduled down to bathroom breaks for the bride. This meticulous background created an unexpected culture shock when she first encountered club operations, initially believing BEOs were missing crucial information that wedding timelines would have included. Her transformative experience with The Players Championship, where she witnessed extraordinary service training that created genuine enthusiasm among staff, ultimately sparked her passion for club management.
What truly distinguishes Nicole's outlook is her thoughtful approach to leadership development. Rather than chasing titles or being the "youngest GM," she focuses on becoming the kind of leader others call for guidance and mentorship. "I want to look back on my career and say I did something that really changed people's lives," she explains, highlighting the value she places on making meaningful impact over rapid advancement.
For club leaders wondering how to connect with the next generation of talent, Nicole offers invaluable insights. Young professionals seek consistent, supportive leadership that provides hands-on opportunities while offering guidance when needed. They want authentic connections rather than superficial engagement. And most importantly, they want to be at clubs where the cultural fit aligns with their personal values and communication style.
Whether you're a seasoned club professional looking to better understand your younger team members or an emerging leader seeking to navigate the club industry, Nicole's blend of youthful enthusiasm and mature perspective provides a roadmap for bridging generational gaps while preserving what makes club culture special.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club
Radio Show where we give you thescoop on all things private
golf and country clubs, frommastering, leadership and
management, food and beverageexcellence, member engagement
secrets, board governance andeverything in between, all while
keeping it fun and light.
Whether you're a club veteranjust getting your feet wet or
somewhere in the middle, you arein the right place.
(00:20):
I'm your host, denny Corby.
Welcome to the show.
In this episode we are hangingout with someone who's been
everywhere and done everythingin clubs, for the most part
before most people even figureout what side work means.
We have Nicole Wasserman andshe is the current food and
beverage manager at DanielIsland Club.
But her resume leads like ahospitality scavenger hunt
(00:43):
Augusta, governor's Mansion,hershey, roaring Gap, wedding
planner, cheer coach,photography assistant and that's
before she graduated college.
We talk about her start inweddings, her time learning to
hustle with hospitality legendsand what made her fall hard for
the club world.
She shares the culture shocksof moving from events to clubs
(01:04):
and new places, why she used tothink BEOs were missing half of
the details and how the playerstournaments gave her a playbook
on how to lead with energy andcoach with purpose.
We also chat and learn aboutwhat young professionals
actually want from clubleadership, how to earn your
team's respect when you're thesame age or younger.
And one of my favorite parts iswhy Nicole doesn't want to be
(01:27):
the youngest GM.
She wants to be the best.
This is a wonderful episodetalking with someone.
This is a great episode becausewe're talking with the youth.
We're talking about the youthof today and someone who's
living it and going through it.
So I am super stoked.
Nicole is sharp, she's grounded, hilarious and has more
(01:48):
perspective at her young agethan most people do in all of
their life.
So cannot wait to dive in.
Before we do a quick shout out,a quick thank you to some of
our show partners.
Members, first, kenneth'sMember, vetting Golf, golf life
navigators, as well as myself,denny Corby, the Denny Corby
experience.
There's excitement, there'smystery.
(02:09):
Also there's magic, mindreading and comedy.
A ton of laughs, gasps and holycraps.
If you want to learn more, headon over to dennycorbycom.
And I got to tell you about mymanagement in motion.
One of the most fun leadershipand management events in the
club space guaranteed happeningseptember 22nd at monticello
(02:31):
motor club.
We are taking the day rippingup bmw m2s, 3s and 4s, doing
auto x drag racing, drifting andso much more, all while weaving
in and interlacing educationfrom fellow club leaders who
also spend time on the track andhow that relates to club
leadership and club management.
It's going to be so amazing.
(02:52):
If you want to learn more, headon over to privateclubradiocom
slash MIM for Management inMotion.
Privateclubradiocom slashManagement in Motion, or MIM.
It'll give you all the detailsEnough about that.
Though let's get to the episode.
Private Club Radio listeners.
Let's welcome to the showNicole Wasserman.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I just got back from Long Island on my days off I
went to NOIAC.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
And what just hung out?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Mm-hmm.
I have friends from school thatgo all over, so on my days off
I like to visit them, theirclubs and see what they're
getting into.
You know, because all 21 yearolds don't have hobbies and just
like touring other places thatdo the same thing that they do.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Yeah, yeah, no yeah, I was doing the same just like
other people's shows, so I wouldjust go like hang out with like
other magicians like at theirshows and shit.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Maybe I'll go to a cheer gym or something.
That's a hobby I used to have.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
So you just like show up and like they're like ah, so
like how high can you kick yourshow?
I'm like oh, okay, yeah, comeon.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
She's good.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
She's in, is it like?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
a it's like a secret handshake or something.
I think I need to bring a kidnowadays if I go to one of those
places maybe I'll borrowco-workers you're getting right
around the age where it's like,yeah, if you don't show up with
a kid, yeah, maybe call inadvance, don't just show up
unannounced but the airport.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
They said honey 12 and under this way.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
So I feel like I kind of blend in five foot two next
thing you know you're on like aschool bus that you can't get
off.
Like no, no, like I I drovehere, like okay, and like let's
find your parents that thatcould possibly happen.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I feel like one day that's funny, so so you got
started in weddings yes, I umworked for my grandparents
entertainment agency and thenwent straight into wedding
planning.
I worked at a boutique for alittle bit, but that wasn't part
of my club path really reallyfun job like a clothing store it
(05:07):
was altered state.
It's a christian clothingboutique.
I like to joke and say I wastheir diversity hire because I'm
not christian.
But, oh my goodness, I loved it.
And my boss there, um, hired mebecause I was pursuing
hospitality and they were toldin their meeting that week that
they needed more hospitality atthat outlet.
And she said well, it's on yourresume, well, I haven't started
(05:29):
, that this was senior year ofhigh school.
She's like close enough, youwant it?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
and then and then.
What was your first taste into?
Like the club space?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
the players.
That's one of my favoritethings ever that golf tournament
.
They do a really good job ofgoing above and beyond.
It's the most impressive thingwatching how they train everyone
up for the one week of service.
But that's kind of how I gotinto it.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Got it.
Was there something else fromweddings that actually helps you
now in the food and beveragespace?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Oh, a ton.
It taught me to think on myfeet.
It taught me to work with otherpeople.
That you're not over in thesense of when you're working a
wedding.
If there's an issue withcatering and you're the planner,
I need to go to the manager, Iguess, of catering and work
through them, to the manager, Iguess, of catering and work
(06:27):
through them.
So, like if I had an issue withthe lifeguards at work because
I'm the cabana manager we workwith the pool people I wouldn't
tell a lifeguard not to dosomething.
I learned kind of the order ofoperations and respect for other
teams' leadership, which Iwouldn't have automatically
known to do if I hadn't had thatexperience of weddings and that
(06:49):
kind of thing yeah, and you'vedone augusta and then you were
at the governor's mansion.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
I think there's a couple other like cool, cool
spots, any weird, like cultureshocks or shifts or differences.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I'm trying to think.
Well, the biggest shock, Ithink, was when I went from
weddings to clubs the very firsttime the Roaring Gap event
planner handed me a BEO.
I immediately thought shemissed so much stuff.
There was, you know, this linen, these tables, here's a floor
(07:29):
plan.
And I said, well, what time dothey walk in, what time are they
peeing, what time are where?
I mean the wedding plan, wherethey schedule bio breaks and so
like for the bride to go to thebathroom, and for we had
everything planned down to theminute.
And so when I saw a BEO for thefirst time, I assumed it was
(07:49):
the same as a timeline.
So I said this is missing a lot.
And then I realized that'stotally normal and she actually
had extremely well thought outand thorough BEOs.
And I mean, when I worked atPalmetto club they looked the
exact same, like they.
That's typical in the industry.
But coming from events straightto clubs, I thought that they
just were missing a lot ofdetails which apparently I just
(08:12):
was used to weddings.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Any other weird moments or shifts or just things
that Each state has verydifferent personalities, like
when I worked in hershey.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
They're very northern , very yes, sir and ma'am, but
it's not.
How are y'all doing tonight,where when I worked in south
carolina I'd notice a lot of myteam struggling to not say the
word y'all and um they're?
I guess each place is verydifferent and it's hard to put
(08:49):
an exact word on how we're likethe governor's mansion, a lot of
the team's college students andthey're all very passionate
about service.
They take it all from theschool where other jobs might
not have been recruited straightout of a college.
So like that's why I think theplayers is super successful,
because they recruit all from umhospitality school programs and
(09:13):
I think those are the bestpeople to have as servers
because they have something toprove where it's not a
money-making job for them, it'sa educational, prove a point
kind of job.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
And then you did go to school, right?
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yes, I went to university of South Carolina and
I majored with club management,but that originally I wanted to
be a wedding planner.
I had the club management on mydegree to get in state tuition.
They don't offer it in Maryland, but then, um, the guys
recruiting for the players cameto one of my classes because I
was in the club managementclasses for that, and I ended up
(09:47):
falling in love with it.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
And you get a discount.
I'm in.
When we were chatting, youmentioned something.
I don't have the couldn't edit,don't have my notes in front of
me, but it was something alongthe lines of you didn't want to
be the youngest, like the GM, oranything like that, but you
(10:09):
just wanted to be the best.
Where did that mindset comefrom?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
I think it's more looking back at the moments that
brought me to where I am, inthe sense of one of my favorite
things I ever talk about is mymentors, which I wouldn't say.
I have one mentor I call.
I have mentors that if I'mworking an event like, let's say
, di is having an event andsomehow I'm in that department
(10:38):
If there's an issue, I'm notgoing to call my old boss from
Roaring Gap, I'm going to callthe wedding planner I used to
work for, that knows how Iprocess as an event planner and
that kind of thing.
But there's so much leadershipin the industry and if I'm going
to be in the industry I want tobe able to coach people and
(11:00):
mentor in whatever capacity Ithrive at, mentor in whatever
capacity I thrive at.
And so if I'm the youngestmanager or whatever, no one's
going to be reaching out to mesaying how do I do this?
I'm going to be the onereaching out, which I love to
ask questions, I love to learn,but eventually I really value
being that coach, the mentor.
I want to look back on mycareer and say I did something
(11:24):
that really changed XYZ people'slives and I want to get those
phone calls saying what I do inthis situation or I had an event
, here's how I handled it,here's how I could handle it in
the future and whatnot.
I like those coaching moments.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Yeah, what does a good coach look like, a good
mentor look like, and what doesa not so good?
Or are there any not?
Great coach mentee red flags orstuff that maybe you've seen
Because you worked at a ton ofplaces everywhere doing a lot of
(12:01):
stuff staying busy, so I'm sureyou've seen all of it.
It's like what separates thegood from the bad.
What are some like red?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
flags maybe to that you're like ah, that's so great
so some of my favorite leaders,I think, show their drive, their
passion and their humility.
So my favorite story is thereis this one wedding.
I was working for a guy namedkirsten rowe we.
I was a photography assistantas well and what I noticed is
(12:29):
after the kiss, when they walkeddown the aisle, he always
looked very frustrated and Ialways saw the pictures and I
looked absolutely delightful andI always asked him what's wrong
.
And he just wants to get thatabsolutely perfect shot and he
takes his work very seriously.
And when he doesn't get thatperfect shot in his mind you can
(12:51):
see it a little bit.
But um, I just really admire the, the caring in his um efforts.
And then I also really like umhow he talks me through his
reasoning behind everything andvery patient and like we would
do boys hockey and I loved howyou know every single time he'd
(13:13):
check in with me, make sure I'mokay when I was just lining
people up.
But also it's the coachablemoments where, like in clubs,
being present, being on thefloor.
I really admire when there's abig club event and let's say
it's club bingo or club triviaor some later night activity.
(13:33):
They're when the generalmanager is there like present,
for even if it's not theirtypical nine to five or whatever
most gms work probably no oneworks a nine to five but like
when they're there for theirteam they're with them, like
they don't have to be bussingtables but it shows a lot when
they're present and knowinglittle things.
(13:55):
I love when they ask me about.
I know I don't have much goingon outside, but like if they ask
about one of my food runners,soccer practices or just
remembering those kinds ofthings.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yeah, yeah With, with so much of your background.
Looking back, is there anexperience or, like, I don't
want to say an industry.
It's all been like hospitalityish, but like, is there
something that you look back andyou see?
Maybe you tend to lean on morethan others?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Like a type of coaching.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Or yeah, I don't know .
I'm thinking in my head likeyou've worked at and done so
many different experiences, jobs, positions, like all that Like
and not just at clubs, but doingother different avenues as well
like is there like looking backon what you've done so far,
like is there maybe somethingthat you've leaned on more?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
like you're like looking back at that experience,
like, oh, that was like superhelpful I think the players has
been a really big baseline forhow I am as a manager.
Where they do this coachingthing, where they go through a
whole PowerPoint on theirexpectations and then they split
you into groups based on yourposition.
They teach you the I guess, theactual day to day how to place
(15:13):
a plate, how to clear, but thenthey do it as a group and it's
exciting and it's fun.
It feels like you're at a well,I don't know what this would
feel like, but you know, beforea football game in the locker
room cheering each other on thatkind of vibe, where you are so
pumped up to clean those tables,I've never felt more excited to
(15:34):
chase someone for a piece oftrash, which they do an
incredible job.
I think they should sell thisas a hospitality training group.
It's just very impressive howthey can motivate an entire new
group of people every year to dothis and do it at that high
level for a whole week.
It takes people years to traina staff to that level.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
I mean for a person, for anybody.
It's a huge, huge undertaking.
You've seen and experienced somany different leadership styles
already.
What kind of leader do you orare you trying to work towards
to be?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I think it's different based on where I am,
because, depending my team, theyneed a different kind of leader
.
So where I'm at right now, it'sa lot of people similar to my
age, maybe a few high schoolers.
They need someone that's goingto be relatable, someone that's
in the trenches with them,someone that's there when they
need things and they're just tolisten if they have frustrations
(16:38):
.
If I was back at Hershey, whereit's a unionized tenured staff,
they just want someone that'sgoing to step back and let them
do their thing and not get intheir way when be encouraging,
be present but not be touchingtheir tables as much as they
want to be in control.
So I think it's more.
I'm the kind of leader thatgets to know my staff and sees
(16:58):
how they thrive.
And even within a staff there'sdifferent personalities that
you have to adjust to.
Where some people like to talkabout their weekends, some
people like to dive straightinto work or be coached on how
to do something or be shown orlearning.
Their learning type isimportant, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
What's an average day ?
Look like now for you.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I wake up at about 12 o'clock because now I don't
have work in the morning andthen I I've been trying to
adventure charleston, learningthe area.
Um, found mount pleasant theother day apparently that's a
big area and then, um, normalday when I get to work I'm sure
(17:48):
that's what you were asking, butI get there and I always make
it a point to say hi to everyonewhen I get there, to not just
say hi but also to play catch up, see where things are, since
I'm not doing the lunch service.
So when I get there I first sayhi to the kitchen staff as I
walk in, put my bag down, I gooutside, I say hi to whatever
(18:12):
servers are in the serverstation, see if they're okay,
then table touch, check on thebar, see if they need anything
restocked, circle both pools andonce everything's squared off,
kind of dive right in, help outin whatever way.
So restocking ice, restockingcups, if there's something with
a member handling the membersituation, and then we do lineup
(18:35):
.
What I really like about ourlineups is the back of house is
very involved in it.
They like to show off thespecials, talk about the food,
which I think is very helpful,to educate our team on selling
the food and educating themembers about what they're
ordering, and so I love howinvolved front and back of
houses together and they getalong incredibly well, which I
(18:59):
think is really, reallyimportant.
And then, you know, run throughservice.
We have a lot of events.
We do movie nights, trivia andwe do pre-concert.
So we do live music anddepending on what the kind of
night is, we'll depend thevolume.
Now, when it rains, noteveryone's gone.
We're a fully outdoor outlet,but most people do leave when it
(19:21):
rains.
But we have a few people campedout under a cabana.
It's like a little covered area.
People camped out under acabana, it's like a little
covered area, and um, that isvery um, like we'll get a few
people drinkers at the bar orwhatnot.
But, um, I do feel bad for umthe staff when it's that slow,
because then there's no onethere to serve.
(19:42):
And I can agree that the wholeteam loves when there's people
because that brings excitement,something to do, people to serve
, memories to make formembership.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
You can't provide good experiences if there's no
people to provide them to.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
And then there's like four people there and then you
like just over, deliver too much, like there's nothing else to
do.
They love bomb them yeah.
Yeah do they love bomb them now.
Yeah, you, you, you do a lotand are involved and engaged
with the youth cmaa and all ofthat as well, right, yes when
(20:17):
did that come into play likethat?
That wasn't high school, right,that was like college college.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
So I joined my freshman year because it was on
my degree and I said, well,close enough, I mean it was on
my degree.
And I said well, close enough,I mean it is on my degree, I
should probably be involved init.
And then I started gettingactive in it.
Once I did the players andrealized I liked clubs and
started to go to everything Icould would go to all the
conferences, all the trips.
There's a lady named JessicaChavis.
(20:43):
She's one of my mentors, and soshe used to be a manager in the
industry and life brought herinto teaching, and so she does
an incredible job of taking hervalues from and her experiences
from being in clubs and not justcoaching people who already
have that passion, but helpingcreate that passion for clubs to
(21:04):
her classes, where it's peoplelike that who are passionate and
love something that makes youwant to be passionate and love
that same thing.
It's contagious, and she'ssomeone that genuinely cares
about and is there for each andevery one of her students.
I guarantee you half the peoplethat have jobs in the Carolinas
and clubs wouldn't have themwithout Jessica Chavis.
(21:25):
She is a woman that knowseverybody and loves everybody
and coaches everybody when wework a golf tournament from the
school.
If the school sends us, shedoesn't just go to the
tournament, she checks on us, isthere for us.
One of my good friends left itwas, I believe, the Masters in
(21:45):
an ambulance.
She was not doing okay, hadnothing to do with the masters.
My friend was just having amoment and Jessica rode in the
ambulance with my friend, whichit's moments like that where it
doesn't matter what's going onwith the student, but she's
always there for everyone.
I mean she'll text me ifthere's something that I might
(22:08):
be she thinks I'd be interestedin.
One of my friends recently quither internship and she was
coaching her through thatdecision, and so it's really
nice that there's someone thatall the students have to lean on
.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah, was it that one that she was doing the same
duties as her last one and wasjust bored?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
She dipped.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
She did.
She sent it last week.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Done for the day.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Honestly, it was nothing against the club, I
think it was more paying the tworents and she felt she could
get that back at.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Of course, yeah.
So what you know, seeing thatyou've done so much and have
been involved, you know in thechapter and just for a bunch of
different perspectives from ayounger age, what do younger
people in this space want fromtheir?
I don't want to say like seniorleaders, but like what are they
(23:12):
looking for?
What do they want?
How you know, like what does,like, what's that playing field
look like?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
So I think everyone looks for different things based
on who they are, where it'sfully dependent on the person,
but there's a few things thatoverarch.
Like one of my friends, jack.
He wanted golf something.
I don't understand the wholegolf thing, but he really wanted
like a PGA someone who wouldcoach him in the golf
(23:41):
shenanigans.
Where I wanted someone with alot of food and beverage
experience as a leader.
I look for the leadership, thepeople, and that's the
overarching topic.
Everyone's looking for a strongleader who cares.
No one wants to work forsomeone that wakes up in the
morning, rolls over and says Idon't want to be here.
(24:01):
No, you can still be thatperson.
It's the consistency, day in,day out, of acting like you
actually like it.
We're not everyone's going tolove what they do every single
day, but your team shouldn'tknow that.
Your team should see you assomeone that's always excited to
be there.
If I look to you as a leaderand say I need help, please,
please, please, come help me.
I need you.
I want someone that's going tosay of course, that's what I'm
(24:23):
here for, not not.
So it's the kind of leadershipthat you're happy to serve your
team, that servant leadershipthat's trending all over
LinkedIn right now.
I think it's the funniest thing, but it's true.
I mean, people want a leaderthat's there to support them and
(24:43):
that's how everyone, I think,should strive to be like, and I
think that most of my friendswho've had successful
internships have worked atinternships that are hands on,
with a lot of room foropportunities to be hands on and
make the mistakes, but a hugenet so they can't mess anything
(25:04):
up royally.
Mess anything up royally, likelead a team, but have your boss
standing right there making sureyou don't say anything stupid
or miss something important.
Have a lot of support, but alot of room to actually be the
leader.
I got a text this morning frommy friend working at I'm trying
to remember her club Ansley inAtlanta, and she was so excited.
(25:27):
She said 4th of July I'm goingto be in a supervisor role.
She's so excited and she's overthe moon to have the supervisor
role and they've been trainingher up to it.
Which incredible job with thisprogram where she's been
bartending, she's been serving,she's touched events, she's
(25:50):
touched maintenance and nowshe's kind of worked her way up,
gotten to know the team, workedalongside them, and now she
finally it's kind of.
She has this opportunity to bein a supervisor role, but
they're also all still going tobe there and supporting her.
So it's internships like thatthat I've noticed people love
(26:12):
and have great experiences at.
And same thing with my friendwho's at country club of Buffalo
right now.
She's touching florals atevents, she's helping with the
execution, she's talking to thevendors, she's doing all the
things and her big thing is shewants to be in events at clubs
and they're tailoring thatinternship to her, where I think
(26:34):
it's understanding who'sinterning for you, what their
goals are, where.
If I was interning somewhereright now, I would love to touch
the golf department, but Iwould hate it if I was there
multiple times throughout eachweek, every week, because that's
not my path.
But getting to know who it isand what fills their cup, I
(26:56):
think, is what's important.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Well, and you know, making sure that both find each
other and you know, just likeyou said, have that expectations
and whether it's with theinternships or jobs, like
anything, it's just really justnot taking anything.
You're just going, hey, is thisreally a good fit?
And then, kind of seeing it,how long do you think is the
proper amount of time to give itbefore you're like, all right,
(27:20):
I think I don't think this islike the best fit.
Like no, cause you know, causesome people might you know.
After a day you're like okay,listen, you really can't.
You know, once in a blue moonyou could, you know, if you give
it one day you can tell.
But like what do you think is aproper amount of time to give?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
I think it depends how bad it really is and what
kind of way.
Like, if someone doesn't feelsafe which I don't know, anyone
that hasn't felt safe, get outright away.
If it's a scenario where maybeit's not the right culture fit,
that takes time.
Where, um, there's been jobsthat when I first started I
(27:53):
didn't think it was a fit for me.
Now I look back and it's someof my favorite places I've
worked but, um, there was oneinternship I did that I did end
up quitting, I didn't finish it.
It was, um, a weddinginternship which I already had
my other wedding job that I'vehad for five years straight in
DC, but the one internship Iquit.
The reason I decided to pullthe plug was I was crying Well
(28:18):
one.
I was crying every day, butit's a matter of.
I think people want to feelrespected and valued and I just
felt very undervalued and Ithink that what's important when
deciding to do something is ifyou're burning a bridge that you
(28:38):
need.
If it's a CMA verified club,it's a very small industry.
You do not want to burn thatbridge.
All clubs know each other, knowhow each other works.
I think you can gain as muchfrom a bad leader as a good
leader, and so I mean there'sbeen jobs everywhere where
(29:01):
there's a few good managers, afew bad managers and same with
employees.
No place is going to have theperfect staff, and I think it's
as long as you're able to go towork and some days have a good
day and not consistently havebad, bad, bad days and be hiding
in a bathroom crying, then youshould stay yeah, how do?
Speaker 1 (29:24):
how do clubs attract and get younger people who
actually care?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
What are?
Speaker 1 (29:32):
the good ways?
What are the ways to change?
What are any things clubs thinkare good things but should stop
doing?
Speaker 2 (29:41):
I would say recruiting from these programs
where not just the hospitalityprograms with club management,
but hospitality in general,because there's a huge
demographic that don't knowclubs are out there.
But all these students, theyjust want to learn something, to
prove something.
And the reason I sayhospitality students is there
(30:04):
are already people who aremotivated, the people that work
these golf tournaments.
There's a huge community ofstudents that all hop tournament
to tournament and they lovethat week long of service.
They don't even know thatthere's a way to do that as a
career, full time.
They think tournaments are whatthey like, when really could be
(30:24):
clubs?
And I think the most importantthing when hiring an intern is
to make sure it's a culture fitwhere, um, I have a very
outgoing, personable personalityand I personally think I thrive
with a more family-centric clubwhere there's kids and families
and I want to see thegrandparents bringing the
(30:46):
families in town for visiting orwhatever, not, um, like the
high tie jacket clubs, they'reawesome clubs.
One of my like Augusta national, one of the greatest clubs out
there they do very well.
I actually don't know serviceslike I only know during the
(31:07):
masters, but, um, you know thevibe where a club that's known
as predominantly golf or talkingabout golf.
I don't really understand golf.
I want to talk about you.
I want to get to know you.
Some people when I worked atPalmetto Club it's a city club,
they're businessmen looking forbusiness meetings and I still
loved it because my membersstill wanted to be personable,
(31:31):
get to know me and everything.
But another city club mighthave members that really just
want to focus on their meetingand there's different
personalities of each club andkind of figuring out what your
club is and what the potentialintern's looking for is almost
as important as experience,because if it's not a vibe or
(31:54):
atmosphere that they're going tolike, they're not going to be
excited to provide that service,if that's not who they are
rooted down.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yeah, is there anything?
Speaker 2 (32:05):
maybe something older leadership, older people don't
fully maybe grasp about youngerpeople, younger culture, younger
hospitality, people coming up Ithink it's um preventing
mistakes that they've probablymade as well themselves where
(32:25):
I've noticed some of my biggestchallenges.
All my friends are seeingacross the board.
Where you know I, I just gotout of college, people, people
say y'all in South Carolina,people say are personable,
they're young, they're friendly.
It's bridging that gap betweenspeaking professionally but not
(32:45):
feeling like you're not beingyourself and making, I guess,
normal judgment calls, whereit's obvious to teach someone
the proper steps of service, theproper drinks, but I feel like
it's not as obvious thinkingback in your career where things
went wrong and how you learnedfrom that.
(33:08):
And I think those are the bestcoaching moments, the whoopsie
moments I call them.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Have you been able to find yourself coaching younger
people now that you've beenthrough the program, been
through the ringer a little bitand now made your way out and
into the real workforce, thework field doing it?
Speaker 2 (33:31):
I think it doesn't matter your age or your
experience.
I think everyone can coach andsupport everyone.
It's the same idea as calling afriend when you need help or
advice, where I'll call myfriends who are in their
internships and they'll tell mewhat's going on and I'll say how
I would handle the situation.
And I have some of my oldmanagers who still call me and
say this is what happened at theclub, here's how I handled it
(33:53):
and I explain how, even thoughthey're much older than me and
they were my boss, it's havingsomeone to bounce those ideas
off of, just because, regardlessof your age, your level, your
anything, having an outsideperspective is always so nice to
have when faced with adversity,because everyone sees things
completely different.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Yeah, is it difficult being a younger person in the
industry sometimes?
Speaker 2 (34:21):
I would say when you first start anywhere, every
single internship I've done, Ihonestly started off There'd be
a few people.
Well, I think the hardestadjustment was hershey, because
that was my first food andbeverage role.
That wasn't a wedding, wherethat was my first time being in
a restaurant and I like ifsomeone said, run this food, I'd
(34:45):
you know, put it across thetable and make it run and I'd
say, did I do it?
Or it's that kind of thingwhere it I honestly think the
best adjustment for that istelling your team to have
patience, where everyone hasdifferent skill levels, where
back then I knew absolutelynothing and while the team was
(35:05):
very patient with me, at HersheyI think it was more stepping
straight into a leadership roleand knowing nothing.
I personally I'm very hard onmyself.
I wanted to feel helpful and Ifelt like I didn't have any
tools to help people.
I learned very quickly.
But I think with the age thingevery place it's honestly less
(35:28):
the older people that I've hadnot trouble with, but I've
noticed it's more of anadjustment with people your own
age, because it's proving why amI here, why am I in this role,
and I've noticed the best way todo that is, to stay consistent
and stay true to yourself.
So there's been moments whereyou no one says anything, but I
(35:53):
can feel it where I know, thatexactly.
And so being there and workingwith them when it's absolutely
slammed and you're cleaningtheir table with them, you're
running their food, everyone'sdripping in sweat.
Those are the moments thatreally build a connection and
build a reputation.
Where you're not going to noone's going to respect or not
(36:17):
respect, but no one's going tolook at you and think that
person's there for me, foreverything.
Right away, you have to earnthat, you have to work for it.
You can't just say I'm going tobe here to support you.
You have to show it and day in,day out.
Consistent.
I think consistency is the mostimportant thing.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
It's a lot easier.
I don't know if you've heardthe saying with um, a lot of
good days can be thrown away byone bad day.
So cause people like toremember the bad things more
than the good.
So it's really important tomake sure that you stay the same
throughout.
Also, another thing I tell myfriends when they're frustrated
(37:01):
with where they work is have youever heard the water bottle
theory?
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Which one?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
So it's when you go to the movies and you're thirsty
and you buy a water bottle,it's maybe seven $8.
But then when you go to the gasstation, it's like $2.
And so if my friend'sfrustrated, saying I'm so bad at
my job, I'm not succeeding.
You're at a gas station, get tothe movies because you're a $9
bottle of water, and I thinkthat some people, wherever
(37:32):
they're working, it's not sayinganything about the place, it's
just not a right fit.
You're at the wrong venue, andso I think it's really important
to find the right people forthe right places.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's good, that was just.
It was a random school showthat I performed at and right
when you first walk in it wasthat same thing.
But it was a really nice poster.
The one teacher made for thekids and it was like it
summarized that it was like abottle of water and it had it
(38:05):
all like every scenario at Sam'sClub 10 cents and then just did
the whole thing and it was allabout that.
Yeah, no, it was all about that.
Yeah, no, it was.
It was.
Yeah, you know, fast forward,you're running your own club.
Your general manager, you gotthe reins.
(38:31):
You know what kind of stuffwill you do differently or make
sure it gets done, or you do dothat.
Do.
That's maybe not commonplace intoday's current leadership
toolbox or arsenal.
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
I think my leadership when I'm a GM is going to be a
total blend of all my favoritepeople where I really admire
Joshua Baskey's enthusiasm forthe industry he's very
knowledgeable.
When I think of him, I think heknows his stuff.
He's enthusiasm for theindustry he's very knowledgeable
.
When I think of him, I think heknows his stuff.
He'll have all the answers.
And Jen, the head of my clubnow, she's very similar in the
(39:06):
same way.
But then Dan at Palmetto Club,he's very personable, very fun
and very hands-on, very therewith you.
I like his approachability andhis personality.
Where I still want to bepersonable and approachable.
And this guy, steven Hetzer.
He's a very strong mentor, verycoaching, he's very well-spoken
(39:30):
and I love how he takes time toget to know people and speak
with people.
And also I would want, if I hada seasonal outlet, a big
training thing before, verysimilar to the player style.
I love the idea of peoplewanting to be there.
(39:52):
So I think we would recruit outof more like college style or
people pursuing the industry.
And also I would want to becurrent with the trends.
So I feel like a fun positionto have is like a trend follower
, like someone who's a littlelike social media savvy and
their whole job kind of like inunreasonable hospitality, the
(40:14):
the dream weaver, where theirwhole job could be thinking of
ways to keep up with the trendsbut also keep up with the
members going above and beyondsomeone whose entire job is to
like an outside the box thinker,like my creative person I got
you and like I feel like a funidea would be to have like idea
(40:35):
powwows.
I where there's always food andbeverage meetings at every
single club where they talkabout what their outlet needs to
improve, what's happening,current events, upcoming events
but I've noticed a lot ofmembers at every club has a
whole list of all these grandideas Some not so grand, but
(40:59):
well, that's typically.
I feel like a good box outsidethe GM's door that's never going
to actually be opened.
I feel like that's a great ideafor the member ones.
But also some people really dohave great ideas and I think it
could be a total train wreck.
But I do want to see one daysomeone just have a whole, maybe
(41:20):
like a town hall, of justpeople sharing their ideas and
we time them all saying you gotthree minutes each idea, that's
all you get.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
I think if you just sit in the bar after 11 pm, I
think you'll get a lot ofinteresting stuff from the
members at that point of whatthey're looking for.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
There's always so many ideas, so many, my favorite
response is that is a greatidea.
I've never heard anything likethat before.
My favorite idea that's beenkind of trending that I've
noticed is all members areobsessed with these wraps.
Everything has a wrap.
Caesar salad put it in a wrap.
They would put a burger in awrap if they could.
(42:04):
They love these wraps called thequesadilla so I think it's
definitely interesting to hearall the ideas, but I'm excited
to see where the trends of clubsgo in the future.
The AI thing kind of scares me.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Why.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
I don't know.
I think it takes the people outof it.
Where I see how it can help,where there was this one
conference I went to where itshowed a general manager being
translated into Spanish so theycould welcome their H2Bs and
their native language.
But also that's kind of cool.
But I'm just nervous that ifyou automize everything and take
(42:45):
the people out, it's going tolose the emotions.
And what makes clubs differentthan going to?
I hate when you go to theBojangles and the robot says
what do you want to eat?
And it never understands my Iwant two legs and French fries.
It never gets that.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Because freedom fries .
No Hope you all enjoyed thatepisode.
If you want to learn more aboutmanagement and motion, head on
over to privateclubradiocomslash mim M-I-M.
If you want to learn more onhow to book me for your club,
head on over toprivateclubradiocom slash mim
M-I-M.
If you want to learn more onhow to book me for your club,
head on over to dennycorbycom.
Enough about that, though.
(43:21):
That's this episode Until nexttime.
I'm your host, denny Corby.
Catch y'all on the flippityflip.
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club
Radio Show where we give you thescoop on all things private
golf and country clubs, frommastering, leadership and
management, food and beverageexcellence, member engagement
secrets, board governance andeverything in between, all while
keeping it fun and light.
Whether you're a club veteranjust getting your feet wet or
somewhere in the middle, you arein the right place.
(00:20):
I'm your host, denny Corby.
Welcome to the show.
In this episode we are hangingout with someone who's been
everywhere and done everythingin clubs, for the most part
before most people even figureout what side work means.
We have Nicole Wasserman andshe is the current food and
beverage manager at DanielIsland Club.
But her resume leads like ahospitality scavenger hunt
(00:43):
Augusta, governor's Mansion,hershey, roaring Gap, wedding
planner, cheer coach,photography assistant and that's
before she graduated college.
We talk about her start inweddings, her time learning to
hustle with hospitality legendsand what made her fall hard for
the club world.
She shares the culture shocksof moving from events to clubs
(01:04):
and new places, why she used tothink BEOs were missing half of
the details and how the playerstournaments gave her a playbook
on how to lead with energy andcoach with purpose.
We also chat and learn aboutwhat young professionals
actually want from clubleadership, how to earn your
team's respect when you're thesame age or younger.
And one of my favorite parts iswhy Nicole doesn't want to be
(01:27):
the youngest GM.
She wants to be the best.
This is a wonderful episodetalking with someone.
This is a great episode becausewe're talking with the youth.
We're talking about the youthof today and someone who's
living it and going through it.
So I am super stoked.
Nicole is sharp, she's grounded, hilarious and has more
(01:48):
perspective at her young agethan most people do in all of
their life.
So cannot wait to dive in.
Before we do a quick shout out,a quick thank you to some of
our show partners.
Members, first, kenneth'sMember, vetting Golf, golf life
navigators, as well as myself,denny Corby, the Denny Corby
experience.
There's excitement, there'smystery.
(02:09):
Also there's magic, mindreading and comedy.
A ton of laughs, gasps and holycraps.
If you want to learn more, headon over to dennycorbycom.
And I got to tell you about mymanagement in motion.
One of the most fun leadershipand management events in the
club space guaranteed happeningseptember 22nd at monticello
(02:31):
motor club.
We are taking the day rippingup bmw m2s, 3s and 4s, doing
auto x drag racing, drifting andso much more, all while weaving
in and interlacing educationfrom fellow club leaders who
also spend time on the track andhow that relates to club
leadership and club management.
It's going to be so amazing.
(02:52):
If you want to learn more, headon over to privateclubradiocom
slash MIM for Management inMotion.
Privateclubradiocom slashManagement in Motion, or MIM.
It'll give you all the detailsEnough about that.
Though let's get to the episode.
Private Club Radio listeners.
Let's welcome to the showNicole Wasserman.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I just got back from Long Island on my days off I
went to NOIAC.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
And what just hung out?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Mm-hmm.
I have friends from school thatgo all over, so on my days off
I like to visit them, theirclubs and see what they're
getting into.
You know, because all 21 yearolds don't have hobbies and just
like touring other places thatdo the same thing that they do.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Yeah, yeah, no yeah, I was doing the same just like
other people's shows, so I wouldjust go like hang out with like
other magicians like at theirshows and shit.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Maybe I'll go to a cheer gym or something.
That's a hobby I used to have.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
So you just like show up and like they're like ah, so
like how high can you kick yourshow?
I'm like oh, okay, yeah, comeon.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
She's good.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
She's in, is it like?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
a it's like a secret handshake or something.
I think I need to bring a kidnowadays if I go to one of those
places maybe I'll borrowco-workers you're getting right
around the age where it's like,yeah, if you don't show up with
a kid, yeah, maybe call inadvance, don't just show up
unannounced but the airport.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
They said honey 12 and under this way.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
So I feel like I kind of blend in five foot two next
thing you know you're on like aschool bus that you can't get
off.
Like no, no, like I I drovehere, like okay, and like let's
find your parents that thatcould possibly happen.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I feel like one day that's funny, so so you got
started in weddings yes, I umworked for my grandparents
entertainment agency and thenwent straight into wedding
planning.
I worked at a boutique for alittle bit, but that wasn't part
of my club path really reallyfun job like a clothing store it
(05:07):
was altered state.
It's a christian clothingboutique.
I like to joke and say I wastheir diversity hire because I'm
not christian.
But, oh my goodness, I loved it.
And my boss there, um, hired mebecause I was pursuing
hospitality and they were toldin their meeting that week that
they needed more hospitality atthat outlet.
And she said well, it's on yourresume, well, I haven't started
(05:29):
, that this was senior year ofhigh school.
She's like close enough, youwant it?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
and then and then.
What was your first taste into?
Like the club space?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
the players.
That's one of my favoritethings ever that golf tournament
.
They do a really good job ofgoing above and beyond.
It's the most impressive thingwatching how they train everyone
up for the one week of service.
But that's kind of how I gotinto it.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Got it.
Was there something else fromweddings that actually helps you
now in the food and beveragespace?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Oh, a ton.
It taught me to think on myfeet.
It taught me to work with otherpeople.
That you're not over in thesense of when you're working a
wedding.
If there's an issue withcatering and you're the planner,
I need to go to the manager, Iguess, of catering and work
through them, to the manager, Iguess, of catering and work
(06:27):
through them.
So, like if I had an issue withthe lifeguards at work because
I'm the cabana manager we workwith the pool people I wouldn't
tell a lifeguard not to dosomething.
I learned kind of the order ofoperations and respect for other
teams' leadership, which Iwouldn't have automatically
known to do if I hadn't had thatexperience of weddings and that
(06:49):
kind of thing yeah, and you'vedone augusta and then you were
at the governor's mansion.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
I think there's a couple other like cool, cool
spots, any weird, like cultureshocks or shifts or differences.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I'm trying to think.
Well, the biggest shock, Ithink, was when I went from
weddings to clubs the very firsttime the Roaring Gap event
planner handed me a BEO.
I immediately thought shemissed so much stuff.
There was, you know, this linen, these tables, here's a floor
(07:29):
plan.
And I said, well, what time dothey walk in, what time are they
peeing, what time are where?
I mean the wedding plan, wherethey schedule bio breaks and so
like for the bride to go to thebathroom, and for we had
everything planned down to theminute.
And so when I saw a BEO for thefirst time, I assumed it was
(07:49):
the same as a timeline.
So I said this is missing a lot.
And then I realized that'stotally normal and she actually
had extremely well thought outand thorough BEOs.
And I mean, when I worked atPalmetto club they looked the
exact same, like they.
That's typical in the industry.
But coming from events straightto clubs, I thought that they
just were missing a lot ofdetails which apparently I just
(08:12):
was used to weddings.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Any other weird moments or shifts or just things
that Each state has verydifferent personalities, like
when I worked in hershey.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
They're very northern , very yes, sir and ma'am, but
it's not.
How are y'all doing tonight,where when I worked in south
carolina I'd notice a lot of myteam struggling to not say the
word y'all and um they're?
I guess each place is verydifferent and it's hard to put
(08:49):
an exact word on how we're likethe governor's mansion, a lot of
the team's college students andthey're all very passionate
about service.
They take it all from theschool where other jobs might
not have been recruited straightout of a college.
So like that's why I think theplayers is super successful,
because they recruit all from umhospitality school programs and
(09:13):
I think those are the bestpeople to have as servers
because they have something toprove where it's not a
money-making job for them, it'sa educational, prove a point
kind of job.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
And then you did go to school, right?
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yes, I went to university of South Carolina and
I majored with club management,but that originally I wanted to
be a wedding planner.
I had the club management on mydegree to get in state tuition.
They don't offer it in Maryland, but then, um, the guys
recruiting for the players cameto one of my classes because I
was in the club managementclasses for that, and I ended up
(09:47):
falling in love with it.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
And you get a discount.
I'm in.
When we were chatting, youmentioned something.
I don't have the couldn't edit,don't have my notes in front of
me, but it was something alongthe lines of you didn't want to
be the youngest, like the GM, oranything like that, but you
(10:09):
just wanted to be the best.
Where did that mindset comefrom?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
I think it's more looking back at the moments that
brought me to where I am, inthe sense of one of my favorite
things I ever talk about is mymentors, which I wouldn't say.
I have one mentor I call.
I have mentors that if I'mworking an event like, let's say
, di is having an event andsomehow I'm in that department
(10:38):
If there's an issue, I'm notgoing to call my old boss from
Roaring Gap, I'm going to callthe wedding planner I used to
work for, that knows how Iprocess as an event planner and
that kind of thing.
But there's so much leadershipin the industry and if I'm going
to be in the industry I want tobe able to coach people and
(11:00):
mentor in whatever capacity Ithrive at, mentor in whatever
capacity I thrive at.
And so if I'm the youngestmanager or whatever, no one's
going to be reaching out to mesaying how do I do this?
I'm going to be the onereaching out, which I love to
ask questions, I love to learn,but eventually I really value
being that coach, the mentor.
I want to look back on mycareer and say I did something
(11:24):
that really changed XYZ people'slives and I want to get those
phone calls saying what I do inthis situation or I had an event
, here's how I handled it,here's how I could handle it in
the future and whatnot.
I like those coaching moments.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Yeah, what does a good coach look like, a good
mentor look like, and what doesa not so good?
Or are there any not?
Great coach mentee red flags orstuff that maybe you've seen
Because you worked at a ton ofplaces everywhere doing a lot of
(12:01):
stuff staying busy, so I'm sureyou've seen all of it.
It's like what separates thegood from the bad.
What are some like red?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
flags maybe to that you're like ah, that's so great
so some of my favorite leaders,I think, show their drive, their
passion and their humility.
So my favorite story is thereis this one wedding.
I was working for a guy namedkirsten rowe we.
I was a photography assistantas well and what I noticed is
(12:29):
after the kiss, when they walkeddown the aisle, he always
looked very frustrated and Ialways saw the pictures and I
looked absolutely delightful andI always asked him what's wrong
.
And he just wants to get thatabsolutely perfect shot and he
takes his work very seriously.
And when he doesn't get thatperfect shot in his mind you can
(12:51):
see it a little bit.
But um, I just really admire the, the caring in his um efforts.
And then I also really like umhow he talks me through his
reasoning behind everything andvery patient and like we would
do boys hockey and I loved howyou know every single time he'd
(13:13):
check in with me, make sure I'mokay when I was just lining
people up.
But also it's the coachablemoments where, like in clubs,
being present, being on thefloor.
I really admire when there's abig club event and let's say
it's club bingo or club triviaor some later night activity.
(13:33):
They're when the generalmanager is there like present,
for even if it's not theirtypical nine to five or whatever
most gms work probably no oneworks a nine to five but like
when they're there for theirteam they're with them, like
they don't have to be bussingtables but it shows a lot when
they're present and knowinglittle things.
(13:55):
I love when they ask me about.
I know I don't have much goingon outside, but like if they ask
about one of my food runners,soccer practices or just
remembering those kinds ofthings.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yeah, yeah With, with so much of your background.
Looking back, is there anexperience or, like, I don't
want to say an industry.
It's all been like hospitalityish, but like, is there
something that you look back andyou see?
Maybe you tend to lean on morethan others?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Like a type of coaching.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Or yeah, I don't know .
I'm thinking in my head likeyou've worked at and done so
many different experiences, jobs, positions, like all that Like
and not just at clubs, but doingother different avenues as well
like is there like looking backon what you've done so far,
like is there maybe somethingthat you've leaned on more?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
like you're like looking back at that experience,
like, oh, that was like superhelpful I think the players has
been a really big baseline forhow I am as a manager.
Where they do this coachingthing, where they go through a
whole PowerPoint on theirexpectations and then they split
you into groups based on yourposition.
They teach you the I guess, theactual day to day how to place
(15:13):
a plate, how to clear, but thenthey do it as a group and it's
exciting and it's fun.
It feels like you're at a well,I don't know what this would
feel like, but you know, beforea football game in the locker
room cheering each other on thatkind of vibe, where you are so
pumped up to clean those tables,I've never felt more excited to
(15:34):
chase someone for a piece oftrash, which they do an
incredible job.
I think they should sell thisas a hospitality training group.
It's just very impressive howthey can motivate an entire new
group of people every year to dothis and do it at that high
level for a whole week.
It takes people years to traina staff to that level.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
I mean for a person, for anybody.
It's a huge, huge undertaking.
You've seen and experienced somany different leadership styles
already.
What kind of leader do you orare you trying to work towards
to be?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I think it's different based on where I am,
because, depending my team, theyneed a different kind of leader
.
So where I'm at right now, it'sa lot of people similar to my
age, maybe a few high schoolers.
They need someone that's goingto be relatable, someone that's
in the trenches with them,someone that's there when they
need things and they're just tolisten if they have frustrations
(16:38):
.
If I was back at Hershey, whereit's a unionized tenured staff,
they just want someone that'sgoing to step back and let them
do their thing and not get intheir way when be encouraging,
be present but not be touchingtheir tables as much as they
want to be in control.
So I think it's more.
I'm the kind of leader thatgets to know my staff and sees
(16:58):
how they thrive.
And even within a staff there'sdifferent personalities that
you have to adjust to.
Where some people like to talkabout their weekends, some
people like to dive straightinto work or be coached on how
to do something or be shown orlearning.
Their learning type isimportant, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
What's an average day ?
Look like now for you.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I wake up at about 12 o'clock because now I don't
have work in the morning andthen I I've been trying to
adventure charleston, learningthe area.
Um, found mount pleasant theother day apparently that's a
big area and then, um, normalday when I get to work I'm sure
(17:48):
that's what you were asking, butI get there and I always make
it a point to say hi to everyonewhen I get there, to not just
say hi but also to play catch up, see where things are, since
I'm not doing the lunch service.
So when I get there I first sayhi to the kitchen staff as I
walk in, put my bag down, I gooutside, I say hi to whatever
(18:12):
servers are in the serverstation, see if they're okay,
then table touch, check on thebar, see if they need anything
restocked, circle both pools andonce everything's squared off,
kind of dive right in, help outin whatever way.
So restocking ice, restockingcups, if there's something with
a member handling the membersituation, and then we do lineup
(18:35):
.
What I really like about ourlineups is the back of house is
very involved in it.
They like to show off thespecials, talk about the food,
which I think is very helpful,to educate our team on selling
the food and educating themembers about what they're
ordering, and so I love howinvolved front and back of
houses together and they getalong incredibly well, which I
(18:59):
think is really, reallyimportant.
And then, you know, run throughservice.
We have a lot of events.
We do movie nights, trivia andwe do pre-concert.
So we do live music anddepending on what the kind of
night is, we'll depend thevolume.
Now, when it rains, noteveryone's gone.
We're a fully outdoor outlet,but most people do leave when it
(19:21):
rains.
But we have a few people campedout under a cabana.
It's like a little covered area.
People camped out under acabana, it's like a little
covered area, and um, that isvery um, like we'll get a few
people drinkers at the bar orwhatnot.
But, um, I do feel bad for umthe staff when it's that slow,
because then there's no onethere to serve.
(19:42):
And I can agree that the wholeteam loves when there's people
because that brings excitement,something to do, people to serve
, memories to make formembership.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
You can't provide good experiences if there's no
people to provide them to.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
And then there's like four people there and then you
like just over, deliver too much, like there's nothing else to
do.
They love bomb them yeah.
Yeah do they love bomb them now.
Yeah, you, you, you do a lotand are involved and engaged
with the youth cmaa and all ofthat as well, right, yes when
(20:17):
did that come into play likethat?
That wasn't high school, right,that was like college college.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
So I joined my freshman year because it was on
my degree and I said, well,close enough, I mean it was on
my degree.
And I said well, close enough,I mean it is on my degree, I
should probably be involved init.
And then I started gettingactive in it.
Once I did the players andrealized I liked clubs and
started to go to everything Icould would go to all the
conferences, all the trips.
There's a lady named JessicaChavis.
(20:43):
She's one of my mentors, and soshe used to be a manager in the
industry and life brought herinto teaching, and so she does
an incredible job of taking hervalues from and her experiences
from being in clubs and not justcoaching people who already
have that passion, but helpingcreate that passion for clubs to
(21:04):
her classes, where it's peoplelike that who are passionate and
love something that makes youwant to be passionate and love
that same thing.
It's contagious, and she'ssomeone that genuinely cares
about and is there for each andevery one of her students.
I guarantee you half the peoplethat have jobs in the Carolinas
and clubs wouldn't have themwithout Jessica Chavis.
(21:25):
She is a woman that knowseverybody and loves everybody
and coaches everybody when wework a golf tournament from the
school.
If the school sends us, shedoesn't just go to the
tournament, she checks on us, isthere for us.
One of my good friends left itwas, I believe, the Masters in
(21:45):
an ambulance.
She was not doing okay, hadnothing to do with the masters.
My friend was just having amoment and Jessica rode in the
ambulance with my friend, whichit's moments like that where it
doesn't matter what's going onwith the student, but she's
always there for everyone.
I mean she'll text me ifthere's something that I might
(22:08):
be she thinks I'd be interestedin.
One of my friends recently quither internship and she was
coaching her through thatdecision, and so it's really
nice that there's someone thatall the students have to lean on
.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah, was it that one that she was doing the same
duties as her last one and wasjust bored?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
She dipped.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
She did.
She sent it last week.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Done for the day.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Honestly, it was nothing against the club, I
think it was more paying the tworents and she felt she could
get that back at.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Of course, yeah.
So what you know, seeing thatyou've done so much and have
been involved, you know in thechapter and just for a bunch of
different perspectives from ayounger age, what do younger
people in this space want fromtheir?
I don't want to say like seniorleaders, but like what are they
(23:12):
looking for?
What do they want?
How you know, like what does,like, what's that playing field
look like?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
So I think everyone looks for different things based
on who they are, where it'sfully dependent on the person,
but there's a few things thatoverarch.
Like one of my friends, jack.
He wanted golf something.
I don't understand the wholegolf thing, but he really wanted
like a PGA someone who wouldcoach him in the golf
(23:41):
shenanigans.
Where I wanted someone with alot of food and beverage
experience as a leader.
I look for the leadership, thepeople, and that's the
overarching topic.
Everyone's looking for a strongleader who cares.
No one wants to work forsomeone that wakes up in the
morning, rolls over and says Idon't want to be here.
(24:01):
No, you can still be thatperson.
It's the consistency, day in,day out, of acting like you
actually like it.
We're not everyone's going tolove what they do every single
day, but your team shouldn'tknow that.
Your team should see you assomeone that's always excited to
be there.
If I look to you as a leaderand say I need help, please,
please, please, come help me.
I need you.
I want someone that's going tosay of course, that's what I'm
(24:23):
here for, not not.
So it's the kind of leadershipthat you're happy to serve your
team, that servant leadershipthat's trending all over
LinkedIn right now.
I think it's the funniest thing, but it's true.
I mean, people want a leaderthat's there to support them and
(24:43):
that's how everyone, I think,should strive to be like, and I
think that most of my friendswho've had successful
internships have worked atinternships that are hands on,
with a lot of room foropportunities to be hands on and
make the mistakes, but a hugenet so they can't mess anything
(25:04):
up royally.
Mess anything up royally, likelead a team, but have your boss
standing right there making sureyou don't say anything stupid
or miss something important.
Have a lot of support, but alot of room to actually be the
leader.
I got a text this morning frommy friend working at I'm trying
to remember her club Ansley inAtlanta, and she was so excited.
(25:27):
She said 4th of July I'm goingto be in a supervisor role.
She's so excited and she's overthe moon to have the supervisor
role and they've been trainingher up to it.
Which incredible job with thisprogram where she's been
bartending, she's been serving,she's touched events, she's
(25:50):
touched maintenance and nowshe's kind of worked her way up,
gotten to know the team, workedalongside them, and now she
finally it's kind of.
She has this opportunity to bein a supervisor role, but
they're also all still going tobe there and supporting her.
So it's internships like thatthat I've noticed people love
(26:12):
and have great experiences at.
And same thing with my friendwho's at country club of Buffalo
right now.
She's touching florals atevents, she's helping with the
execution, she's talking to thevendors, she's doing all the
things and her big thing is shewants to be in events at clubs
and they're tailoring thatinternship to her, where I think
(26:34):
it's understanding who'sinterning for you, what their
goals are, where.
If I was interning somewhereright now, I would love to touch
the golf department, but Iwould hate it if I was there
multiple times throughout eachweek, every week, because that's
not my path.
But getting to know who it isand what fills their cup, I
(26:56):
think, is what's important.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Well, and you know, making sure that both find each
other and you know, just likeyou said, have that expectations
and whether it's with theinternships or jobs, like
anything, it's just really justnot taking anything.
You're just going, hey, is thisreally a good fit?
And then, kind of seeing it,how long do you think is the
proper amount of time to give itbefore you're like, all right,
(27:20):
I think I don't think this islike the best fit.
Like no, cause you know, causesome people might you know.
After a day you're like okay,listen, you really can't.
You know, once in a blue moonyou could, you know, if you give
it one day you can tell.
But like what do you think is aproper amount of time to give?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
I think it depends how bad it really is and what
kind of way.
Like, if someone doesn't feelsafe which I don't know, anyone
that hasn't felt safe, get outright away.
If it's a scenario where maybeit's not the right culture fit,
that takes time.
Where, um, there's been jobsthat when I first started I
(27:53):
didn't think it was a fit for me.
Now I look back and it's someof my favorite places I've
worked but, um, there was oneinternship I did that I did end
up quitting, I didn't finish it.
It was, um, a weddinginternship which I already had
my other wedding job that I'vehad for five years straight in
DC, but the one internship Iquit.
The reason I decided to pullthe plug was I was crying Well
(28:18):
one.
I was crying every day, butit's a matter of.
I think people want to feelrespected and valued and I just
felt very undervalued and Ithink that what's important when
deciding to do something is ifyou're burning a bridge that you
(28:38):
need.
If it's a CMA verified club,it's a very small industry.
You do not want to burn thatbridge.
All clubs know each other, knowhow each other works.
I think you can gain as muchfrom a bad leader as a good
leader, and so I mean there'sbeen jobs everywhere where
(29:01):
there's a few good managers, afew bad managers and same with
employees.
No place is going to have theperfect staff, and I think it's
as long as you're able to go towork and some days have a good
day and not consistently havebad, bad, bad days and be hiding
in a bathroom crying, then youshould stay yeah, how do?
Speaker 1 (29:24):
how do clubs attract and get younger people who
actually care?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
What are?
Speaker 1 (29:32):
the good ways?
What are the ways to change?
What are any things clubs thinkare good things but should stop
doing?
Speaker 2 (29:41):
I would say recruiting from these programs
where not just the hospitalityprograms with club management,
but hospitality in general,because there's a huge
demographic that don't knowclubs are out there.
But all these students, theyjust want to learn something, to
prove something.
And the reason I sayhospitality students is there
(30:04):
are already people who aremotivated, the people that work
these golf tournaments.
There's a huge community ofstudents that all hop tournament
to tournament and they lovethat week long of service.
They don't even know thatthere's a way to do that as a
career, full time.
They think tournaments are whatthey like, when really could be
(30:24):
clubs?
And I think the most importantthing when hiring an intern is
to make sure it's a culture fitwhere, um, I have a very
outgoing, personable personalityand I personally think I thrive
with a more family-centric clubwhere there's kids and families
and I want to see thegrandparents bringing the
(30:46):
families in town for visiting orwhatever, not, um, like the
high tie jacket clubs, they'reawesome clubs.
One of my like Augusta national, one of the greatest clubs out
there they do very well.
I actually don't know serviceslike I only know during the
(31:07):
masters, but, um, you know thevibe where a club that's known
as predominantly golf or talkingabout golf.
I don't really understand golf.
I want to talk about you.
I want to get to know you.
Some people when I worked atPalmetto Club it's a city club,
they're businessmen looking forbusiness meetings and I still
loved it because my membersstill wanted to be personable,
(31:31):
get to know me and everything.
But another city club mighthave members that really just
want to focus on their meetingand there's different
personalities of each club andkind of figuring out what your
club is and what the potentialintern's looking for is almost
as important as experience,because if it's not a vibe or
(31:54):
atmosphere that they're going tolike, they're not going to be
excited to provide that service,if that's not who they are
rooted down.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yeah, is there anything?
Speaker 2 (32:05):
maybe something older leadership, older people don't
fully maybe grasp about youngerpeople, younger culture, younger
hospitality, people coming up Ithink it's um preventing
mistakes that they've probablymade as well themselves where
(32:25):
I've noticed some of my biggestchallenges.
All my friends are seeingacross the board.
Where you know I, I just gotout of college, people, people
say y'all in South Carolina,people say are personable,
they're young, they're friendly.
It's bridging that gap betweenspeaking professionally but not
(32:45):
feeling like you're not beingyourself and making, I guess,
normal judgment calls, whereit's obvious to teach someone
the proper steps of service, theproper drinks, but I feel like
it's not as obvious thinkingback in your career where things
went wrong and how you learnedfrom that.
(33:08):
And I think those are the bestcoaching moments, the whoopsie
moments I call them.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Have you been able to find yourself coaching younger
people now that you've beenthrough the program, been
through the ringer a little bitand now made your way out and
into the real workforce, thework field doing it?
Speaker 2 (33:31):
I think it doesn't matter your age or your
experience.
I think everyone can coach andsupport everyone.
It's the same idea as calling afriend when you need help or
advice, where I'll call myfriends who are in their
internships and they'll tell mewhat's going on and I'll say how
I would handle the situation.
And I have some of my oldmanagers who still call me and
say this is what happened at theclub, here's how I handled it
(33:53):
and I explain how, even thoughthey're much older than me and
they were my boss, it's havingsomeone to bounce those ideas
off of, just because, regardlessof your age, your level, your
anything, having an outsideperspective is always so nice to
have when faced with adversity,because everyone sees things
completely different.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Yeah, is it difficult being a younger person in the
industry sometimes?
Speaker 2 (34:21):
I would say when you first start anywhere, every
single internship I've done, Ihonestly started off There'd be
a few people.
Well, I think the hardestadjustment was hershey, because
that was my first food andbeverage role.
That wasn't a wedding, wherethat was my first time being in
a restaurant and I like ifsomeone said, run this food, I'd
(34:45):
you know, put it across thetable and make it run and I'd
say, did I do it?
Or it's that kind of thingwhere it I honestly think the
best adjustment for that istelling your team to have
patience, where everyone hasdifferent skill levels, where
back then I knew absolutelynothing and while the team was
(35:05):
very patient with me, at HersheyI think it was more stepping
straight into a leadership roleand knowing nothing.
I personally I'm very hard onmyself.
I wanted to feel helpful and Ifelt like I didn't have any
tools to help people.
I learned very quickly.
But I think with the age thingevery place it's honestly less
(35:28):
the older people that I've hadnot trouble with, but I've
noticed it's more of anadjustment with people your own
age, because it's proving why amI here, why am I in this role,
and I've noticed the best way todo that is, to stay consistent
and stay true to yourself.
So there's been moments whereyou no one says anything, but I
(35:53):
can feel it where I know, thatexactly.
And so being there and workingwith them when it's absolutely
slammed and you're cleaningtheir table with them, you're
running their food, everyone'sdripping in sweat.
Those are the moments thatreally build a connection and
build a reputation.
Where you're not going to noone's going to respect or not
(36:17):
respect, but no one's going tolook at you and think that
person's there for me, foreverything.
Right away, you have to earnthat, you have to work for it.
You can't just say I'm going tobe here to support you.
You have to show it and day in,day out.
Consistent.
I think consistency is the mostimportant thing.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
It's a lot easier.
I don't know if you've heardthe saying with um, a lot of
good days can be thrown away byone bad day.
So cause people like toremember the bad things more
than the good.
So it's really important tomake sure that you stay the same
throughout.
Also, another thing I tell myfriends when they're frustrated
(37:01):
with where they work is have youever heard the water bottle
theory?
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Which one?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
So it's when you go to the movies and you're thirsty
and you buy a water bottle,it's maybe seven $8.
But then when you go to the gasstation, it's like $2.
And so if my friend'sfrustrated, saying I'm so bad at
my job, I'm not succeeding.
You're at a gas station, get tothe movies because you're a $9
bottle of water, and I thinkthat some people, wherever
(37:32):
they're working, it's not sayinganything about the place, it's
just not a right fit.
You're at the wrong venue, andso I think it's really important
to find the right people forthe right places.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's good, that was just.
It was a random school showthat I performed at and right
when you first walk in it wasthat same thing.
But it was a really nice poster.
The one teacher made for thekids and it was like it
summarized that it was like abottle of water and it had it
(38:05):
all like every scenario at Sam'sClub 10 cents and then just did
the whole thing and it was allabout that.
Yeah, no, it was all about that.
Yeah, no, it was.
It was.
Yeah, you know, fast forward,you're running your own club.
Your general manager, you gotthe reins.
(38:31):
You know what kind of stuffwill you do differently or make
sure it gets done, or you do dothat.
Do.
That's maybe not commonplace intoday's current leadership
toolbox or arsenal.
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
I think my leadership when I'm a GM is going to be a
total blend of all my favoritepeople where I really admire
Joshua Baskey's enthusiasm forthe industry he's very
knowledgeable.
When I think of him, I think heknows his stuff.
He's enthusiasm for theindustry he's very knowledgeable
.
When I think of him, I think heknows his stuff.
He'll have all the answers.
And Jen, the head of my clubnow, she's very similar in the
(39:06):
same way.
But then Dan at Palmetto Club,he's very personable, very fun
and very hands-on, very therewith you.
I like his approachability andhis personality.
Where I still want to bepersonable and approachable.
And this guy, steven Hetzer.
He's a very strong mentor, verycoaching, he's very well-spoken
(39:30):
and I love how he takes time toget to know people and speak
with people.
And also I would want, if I hada seasonal outlet, a big
training thing before, verysimilar to the player style.
I love the idea of peoplewanting to be there.
(39:52):
So I think we would recruit outof more like college style or
people pursuing the industry.
And also I would want to becurrent with the trends.
So I feel like a fun positionto have is like a trend follower
, like someone who's a littlelike social media savvy and
their whole job kind of like inunreasonable hospitality, the
(40:14):
the dream weaver, where theirwhole job could be thinking of
ways to keep up with the trendsbut also keep up with the
members going above and beyondsomeone whose entire job is to
like an outside the box thinker,like my creative person I got
you and like I feel like a funidea would be to have like idea
(40:35):
powwows.
I where there's always food andbeverage meetings at every
single club where they talkabout what their outlet needs to
improve, what's happening,current events, upcoming events
but I've noticed a lot ofmembers at every club has a
whole list of all these grandideas Some not so grand, but
(40:59):
well, that's typically.
I feel like a good box outsidethe GM's door that's never going
to actually be opened.
I feel like that's a great ideafor the member ones.
But also some people really dohave great ideas and I think it
could be a total train wreck.
But I do want to see one daysomeone just have a whole, maybe
(41:20):
like a town hall, of justpeople sharing their ideas and
we time them all saying you gotthree minutes each idea, that's
all you get.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
I think if you just sit in the bar after 11 pm, I
think you'll get a lot ofinteresting stuff from the
members at that point of whatthey're looking for.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
There's always so many ideas, so many, my favorite
response is that is a greatidea.
I've never heard anything likethat before.
My favorite idea that's beenkind of trending that I've
noticed is all members areobsessed with these wraps.
Everything has a wrap.
Caesar salad put it in a wrap.
They would put a burger in awrap if they could.
(42:04):
They love these wraps called thequesadilla so I think it's
definitely interesting to hearall the ideas, but I'm excited
to see where the trends of clubsgo in the future.
The AI thing kind of scares me.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Why.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
I don't know.
I think it takes the people outof it.
Where I see how it can help,where there was this one
conference I went to where itshowed a general manager being
translated into Spanish so theycould welcome their H2Bs and
their native language.
But also that's kind of cool.
But I'm just nervous that ifyou automize everything and take
(42:45):
the people out, it's going tolose the emotions.
And what makes clubs differentthan going to?
I hate when you go to theBojangles and the robot says
what do you want to eat?
And it never understands my Iwant two legs and French fries.
It never gets that.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Because freedom fries .
No Hope you all enjoyed thatepisode.
If you want to learn more aboutmanagement and motion, head on
over to privateclubradiocomslash mim M-I-M.
If you want to learn more onhow to book me for your club,
head on over toprivateclubradiocom slash mim
M-I-M.
If you want to learn more onhow to book me for your club,
head on over to dennycorbycom.
Enough about that, though.
(43:21):
That's this episode Until nexttime.
I'm your host, denny Corby.
Catch y'all on the flippityflip.
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