Club Management - September/October 2007 - (Page 42) Stress Management Skills Of all the EI competencies, stress management may be the most visible. In our study, stress management was assessed using five items, and focused on the development of constructive solutions for frustrations, management of highly demanding workloads, acting professional and being a calming influence for staff members. Stress management was targeted to the ability to manage stress in the workplace, not necessarily personal stress management, although the two are usually related. After measuring participants’ stress management skills using five questions in our survey, we discovered that there was a high correlation between EI and stress management. Further, those in the high EI group were better at managing stress than those in the low EI group. One COO/GM advised, “Think before you act, and don’t be afraid to reach out to people you respect to seek advice. Learn from your own mistakes and those of others.” Another wrote, “Look at the ‘real issues’ and don’t focus on the things you cannot control. Be persistent.” And a third pointed out that “It is a tough business, but it has its rewards. Stay true to yourself; keep up with your continuing education, trends, and perfecting your skills.” What Does This Mean for You? A number of our fi ndings give insights into a set of required skills to be an effective COO/GM club leader. Certainly, Emotional Intelligence capabilities are essential in club organizations, since there is such a heavy reliance on building and strengthening long-term relationships. Members not only expect satisfying relationships in their clubs; in many respects, this is what they are paying to experience. Social skills are critical for a club professional and the development of these skills is enhanced when the individual builds EI abilities. The two skill sets are highly correlated. Some chose careers as club professionals because these careers provided a venue in which to develop and demonstrate their own social skills. Some members join a club primarily due to the social activities the club offers. Social skills in the context of this study are related to your ability to clearly express yourself, feel where others are coming from, and achieve desirable and effective results from these interactions. Stress management is all about how you react to the inevitable demands, frustrations and pressures that you and others experience in your club. When the response is calming and settling for others, focused on getting done what needs to be done, and the identification of constructive solutions for what at first pass seemed overwhelming, you are on your way to successfully managing workplace stress. Our study suggests that those who have higher EI are more capable of managing stress. Phase III In phase III of our study, which is under way, we will continue to refine the EI scale. One of our goals is to develop a practically short EI assessment that you can use in your club as one of the tools you use during the recruitment and selection of club staff members. We also envision the applicability of a short assessment during the vetting of club volunteer board and committee leaders. Our thinking is the more alignment with EI there is among the board, committees, staff and COO/GM, the more the club will be able to achieve in terms of strategic direction and goals. Since we do not have e-mail addresses for volunteers, much of our ability to gather this needed information from club volunteers depends on the cooperation and commitment from you and your COO/GM colleagues. We need your help to be able to make phase III of the research meaningful for the entire club industry, as well as for your own professional development. Thank you in advance for your ongoing cooperation. ❚❘ About the authors Ronald F. Cichy, Ph.D., is director and professor of the School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University. James B. Singerling, CCM, CEC, is chief executive officer of Club Managers Association of America. Jaemin Cha, Ph.D., is assistant professor at the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Niagara University. Seung Hyun Kim, M.S., is a doctoral candidate at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University. Ann Doré is a Michael L. Minor Master of Science student at the School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University. This research was supported in part by a grant from The Club Foundation.❘ REFERENCES • Cichy, R.F., Singerling, J.B., Cha, J., and Kim, S. (August 2005). “The Emotional Intelligence of Private Club Leaders.” Club Management. Volume 84. No. 4. pp. 38, 40. • Cichy, R.F., Singerling, J.B., Cha, J., and Kim, S. (July/August 2006). “Emotional Intelligence and Your Feelings About Your Volunteer Board Leadership in Your Club.” The BoardRoom. Volume X. pp. 26, 28, 74. Cichy, R.F., Cha, J., & Kim, S. (February 2007). “Private Club Leaders’ Emotional Intelligence – Validating a New EI Scale.” Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. Volume 31. No. 1. pp. 39 – 55. Effective club leaders are cooperative and usually are optimistic. … Positive, meaningful dialogue with others allows others to see the COO/GM as someone who they can rely on and trust. 42 • CLUB MANAGEMENT •
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.