After posting my When It Comes Time to Play Golf with the Boss? blog, I received a few emails from Bosses interested in knowing how to play with their employees.
Naturally, there were several reasons given why they needed to know, but overall I found the interest in wanting to know how to play golf with an employee was confirming there must be as many Bosses who want to play with employees as employees wanting to play with bosses.
So, I decided to break it down for the bosses who are asked by an employee to play golf or is intending to ask an employee to play golf, on how to use this opportunity to their benefit.
From the Get-Go!
First, I will take it that most bosses who ask an employee to play golf are doing so to enjoy a day of golf and a getaway from the office to get to know each other better. If there is another motive, like covering business issues while playing golf I suggest you stop there and revisit the need to play golf with the employee.
It is true, playing golf with someone opens up a window to a person’s true character and does build a closer relationship. However, bosses have to be very careful with this very powerful tool.
In the right hands and used for the right reasons business golf can solve a lot of personnel issues and improve productivity. Used incorrectly, or outside the standard procedures outlined in playing business golf, the golf outing could cause more problems than initially were there before the round of golf. So, from the very beginning of the round of business golf use caution, but have fun.
How a Boss Should Play
I am an advocate that all things risky have a higher reward if done successfully and have double the negative impact of the reward if done wrong.
Playing golf with an employee is risky but has a very high reward. However, done wrong, you have compounded the problem or created more problems.
Fortunately, playing golf with the employees is a very good move and here is how a boss should go about safely playing with the troops.
Ground Rules
Make it clear from the invitation exactly what to expect. If there is a business issue you want to discuss or if you just want to get out of office for a round of golf, state the intention and stay with it. Do not change in the middle of the stream. This builds unnecessary anxiety on the employee’s part.
Reiterate the intentions of the round again on the first tee and make it clear there will be no business talked during the round. I suggest you propose a game that keeps the focus on the golf so there is no urge to fill the idle time with business questions.
Take the opportunity to relax, but yet guarded to not look or present yourself as a slouch. Dress comfortably professional but appropriately. Never dress up or in exorbitant priced fashion. Unless you are known to play golf in a suit and tie like Bobby Jones, don;t try to pull that off. Both of those images will leave a bad impression in your employees’ eyes.
Friendly Non-Friend
As I mentioned on how an employee is to play with the boss, the same goes for the boss playing with the employee..never think it is a good idea to become friends.
Naturally, being friendly..slapping each other on the back and telling jokes is OK, but only to a point. It should never appear that all of the friendliness displayed is part of developing a very close friendship. That never works.
There are exceptions, but they come only after years and years of relationship building. It is a very rare occasion where a boss would every think of one of his employee’s as a close friend. The relationship gets very complicated quickly when something demanding happens and the boss has to demonstrate leadership within the company.
If the boss gives his presumed friend a crappy project the employee who thought they were friends will think other wise and perform poorly. If the boss gives his presumed friend a cake project the others on staff are going to react to it as being brown nosing.
There is a fine line between a boss and employee and is best for each to stay on their side of the line to make the golf outing work.
Benefits
Of course, there are many benefits to playing golf with an employee. If there wasn’t, this would have been a very short blog. There are things playing golf with an employee can achieved that are very worth the while.
Get the Word Out
One of the things playing golf with anyone can do is build trust. If there is a problem in the workforce concerning the boss’ trustworthiness playing a round of golf with a few key personnel will get the word out on the boss’ intention or trustworthiness.
Many times a round of golf can speed up communications about a concern employees have…like a rumor of layoffs or downsizing. There are many cases I have been a part of where the boss needed to promote someone to a tough job and needed to see a person’s REAL character. Business Golf is the perfect tool for seeing what is real.
Needed Feedback
If the boss plays his cards right..or in this case, plays business golf correctly, he or she can received some very frank feedback.
This is good for bosses to hear. To many times what the staff reports is not what is actually going on out in the workforce.
The opportunity for the employee to be frank and provide straight-up feedback to you is unique to them so their openness is going to be guarded but factual. What you can learn could make a difference in how you should be doing business.
During my days in the corporate world, I personally enjoyed taking employees out for a round of golf. I knew it was a pressure situation for them but watching how they dealt with it and finding out more about how they were as a person made it easy for me to make business decisions based on what my employees are capable of doing or really wanted to do for the company.
Try playing business golf with your staff sometime, and see what you achieve.
Let me know how I can help.
