January 2009 -- Question: I have seen where several USPTA pros have been really stepping up in their communities with our PR initiative, Tennis - for the health of it!?SM Can you share some of the activities and specifically how they are getting started in their communities?
Answer: First, it will take me several columns to fully answer your question. I say this because your question refers to more than just explaining where and how people are getting involved; it takes us to the
core of leadership! I believe that we, as USPTA professionals, can and should be leaders in each of our communities. At the risk of sounding like I am preaching to our membership, I am going to step out and say that we could, as a group and as individuals, be much better leaders! I believe that our growth as individuals and our growth as an organization depend on how we develop our leadership skills and our future leaders. So, before answering your question specifically, I would like to discuss USPTA professionals as leaders in their communities, and how you can get started building your leadership skills. Our PR initiative,
Tennis - for the health of it!, is one great vehicle through which we can draw people to tennis, but we still must learn how to LEAD, in this or any other endeavor we choose.
Well-known leadership guru John Maxwell has said that "the true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less." In my next column, I will discuss all the various definitions of leadership and how they might pertain to us as members of USPTA but, for now, let's assume that John Maxwell is right. Leadership is, in its simplest form, influencing others. Where this column will go now may seem like a far step from hitting balls and teaching forehands and backhands. I want to discuss how you can make a difference! Yes, there are many of our professionals who have already made a big difference in their communities and to the nation, but I also believe that there are a lot of us who can do more, and, some of us need to take that first step to get involved.
Each and every one of you is "connected" in your community. Gary Trost, USPTA Missouri Valley president, has an amusing, yet very true, perspective on how well you are connected. He uses the six degrees of separation analogy; you know, the game with Kevin Bacon. You are six degrees of separation from almost anyone in the world. Gary says that, "the greatest asset of who we are (USPTA professionals) is in networking. It is like the Kevin Bacon game - you can take any actor and in six steps connect them to Kevin Bacon. The USPTA is just like that!" But, Gary also admonishes us to "pick up the phone and ask someone to help. With any project you have to get started and take the first step. We have 15,000 members; you do the math! Every one of us knows a few people who can help. It's mind boggling if you think about it!"
The question then becomes, "How are you using your influence? Or, more importantly, are you using your influence?"
Some say that leadership is a process, others say that it is an ability while others say that leadership is about relationships and how your build them. From a community perspective, there is ongoing research to identify effective community leadership as an important contribution to local social development. In Australia, Communitybuilders.com (http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/) reported that enabling people to express their views and incorporate their views into future development and planning are key requirements to community leadership. To ensure that we are not talking about politics here, the researchers cited that this community leadership can be expressed as individuals who "act as social entrepreneurs."
I felt the comments about community leadership were so spot on as it pertains to USPTA members, that I continue their line of thinking. The following is from the Web site noted above. As you peruse this information, please note that the authors are not discussing political leaders in a community but anyone, especially people who volunteer to lead in a community. As you read this excerpt, think about yourself, your role as a USPTA Professional and how you could use USPTA's PR tools to open doors, get involved in your community, and improve your business and your standing in your community.
"To be an effective community leader in a modern Western society requires a diversity of qualities that have identifiable indicators. The leader acts as the social entrepreneur, using resources in new ways to maximize productivity. 'Social entrepreneurs push the circle of trust and community activity outwards.' Support is thus generated from within a community for its (community's) own members.
A leader should be capable of making the whole greater than its parts. In this way, also, the leader provides a legacy as the investment has been made in encouraging people potential. If a leader has the good sense to encourage, value and utilize the varied expertise in the group, then "community leadership" remains even when the initiating leader has departed. Mentoring and delegation are essential components of this process.
Leadership involves commitment, usually emotional commitment. Commitment is ineffective unless it is combined with specific objectives or a more general vision. Such objectives or vision should be community-centered, not self-centered.
Trust is also a major indicator of effective leadership. Such trust can come from the personal integrity of a leader, from his or her hard work or from previous engagement with the community.
Vision, collaborative planning and collaborative partnerships are the essence of effective community leadership. It must be recognized that, although it can be learned, community leadership is not a science. There is no one set of practices that ensure effective leadership."
USPTA's PR tools are immediately at your disposal and can help you. I recommend you study them and utilize what will work for you and in your community.
Tennis - for the health of it! can provide a great vehicle to open doors for you to get involved as a leader in your community. And, some of our pros have already done just that!
Britt Feldhausen, from the Southwest Division, for example, created an actual prescription form around
Tennis - for the health of it! When I asked him how he came up with the idea and how he is using it, he replied, "Once given
Tennis - for the health of it!, my wife and I realized that doctors were sending us people already but we could facilitate the process with a prescription. The doctor could now give out a "nondrug" prescription. We are reaching out to a totally new market. The doctor can now offer treatment for a variety of ills from lack of fitness to a family needing something in common to do together. So often it seems we just try to divide the pie a different way; now we are expanding the pie."
My next question to Britt was obvious: How successful has your promotion been? He said, "I have been friends with several doctors for many years who have referred many clients to me who did not always take to tennis in a huge way at first but were very steady and persistent in changing from a nontennis lifestyle to one where tennis became a major form of recreation. So I would say very successful, and with this approach I'm looking for even more growth." Britt's advice to all of us on how to become more entrepreneurial is, "Make your own prescription, contact the doctors you use or the doctors of your students and, then, good luck. Try it."
I believe this kind of leadership "injection" is just what we at USPTA need. It could and should be a very interesting debate to determine what USPTA's future leaders should depict. In my next column, I will discuss the various definitions of leadership and specifically highlight some of our members who are "answering the call" to lead in their communities. I will close this specific column, however, with another quote from John Maxwell, just to peak your interest: "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk!"
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
