Attendees at the fourth annual Women's Leadership Academy discussed the value of using the lessons they've learned to build others up. Photo by Rafael Almeida
Carol D. Rau, PHR, laid out the goals of the fourth annual GCSAA Women’s Leadership Academy early on.
“Our aim is that you leave more confident in yourself, that you leave more connected, and that you are equipped with practical tools you can use immediately so you can become the leader you want to be,” Rau told the group during Tuesday night’s opening dinner.
That last element — practical application and paying those lessons forward — made up a large portion of the education and discussions this week at GCSAA Headquarters in Lawrence, Kan.
“Each of you have taken your first step by choosing to be here. Now it's up to you to take this and do something with it,” Rhett Evans, GCSAA CEO, told the women. “You can take those lessons for yourself and that's great. But you may not just be there for that. You're also here for those conversations you have in the hallway between sessions. Those conversations that can make people's lives.”
Past iterations of the Women’s Leadership Academy have emphasized self-care and building community as important elements of leadership. Education topics at this year’s event included communication skills, self-discovery and salary negotiation—topics in line with the previous events’ focus. This year, however, those discussions included making sure the information shared can go on to inspire individuals beyond the attendees in the room.
Lindsay Tucker, marketing communications manager for The Toro Company’s commercial division, reminded the group on Wednesday morning that those gathered at this week’s event are the beneficiaries of the efforts of women who came before them.
Women's Leadership Academy participants take part in a demonstration led by speaker Passion Graham, CCM. Photo by Abby Olcese
“Generations of women planted seeds for trees they never got to witness grow. Because they fought for opportunities they never got to enjoy, because they opened doors they never got to walk through, they planted trees under whose shade we now sit,” Tucker said. “This week while we think about self-confidence and being in our power, I hope we take away the responsibility that we need to be planting seeds of our own however we can.”
Passion Graham, certified club manager, echoed that sentiment in her Wednesday morning leadership session. “We’re all here for a reason, and that reason is to build and impact one another for the better,” Graham said. “I promise to deliver you all information, education, a little inspiration and motivation. But all that means nothing if when you leave this conference there’s no transformation.”
Transformational leadership skills are precisely why Lucy Sellick, superintendent at Wenvoe Castle Golf Club in Cardiff, Wales, applied to attend this year’s event. “I can learn grass at home, but you guys are great at personal development,” Sellick, a board member of the South Wales Section of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), says. “I knew I needed to be better as a manager.”
Sellick says she found the lessons at the Women’s Leadership Academy to deliver applicable strategies to her role, as well as provide some much-needed community.
“Meeting people who’ve had similar challenges to me has been great,” Sellick says, “I’m realizing I’m not alone in the things I go through.”
Arielle Gardner, superintendent at Shelter Island Country Club in Shelter Island Heights, N.Y., and two-year GCSAA member, says she was also refreshed by the emphasis on accountability. “I think sitting in spaces that make me a little uncomfortable will benefit me the most,” Gardner says. “I look for challenges so I can get to a better place professionally.”
For Gardner, the experience reflects the nature of the turfgrass industry as a whole. “Everyone is so nice in turf, and this event is an excellent example of that,” she says. “It’s a nice feeling in an industry where the work can be pretty tough.”
Abby Olcese is GCM's online editor