Finance

Most of this column has been about the words we choose. The phrases that slip out, the framing that reveals what we actually think, the language that lands differently than we intend. This time I want to look at the other side of it. Not the words we say, but the ones we never get around to saying, and the messages we send without speaking at all. Culture is built as much from absence as from presence. If appreciation is never spoken, the staff concludes it is not part of the deal. If good work is noticed silently and corrected loudly, people learn that the fastest way to get the leader’s attention is to make a mistake. None of that requires a single harsh word. It only requires silence in the places where words belong.

Start with appreciation, because it is the easiest thing to withhold without noticing. Do the people working for us know that they are valued, not in the abstract but in the ordinary course of a week? When a member stops you in the hallway to say the service at last night’s event was flawless, does that praise ever reach the server, the captain, the kitchen? Or does it evaporate the moment you nod and move on? Acknowledgment that stays trapped at the top never happened as far as the staff is concerned.

A club runs on cross-functional work in a way few businesses do. The dinner that delights a member begins long before the meal arrives. The valet who greets the car, the front desk that knows the member by name, the host who seats them at the right table, the server who reads the room, the server assistant who keeps the water filled and the bread coming, the kitchen staff who time every plate to the floor. Every one of those people made someone else’s job possible. The question for leadership is whether the team understands that interdependence, or whether each department experiences itself as an island that happens to share a clubhouse. People who can see how their work lifts someone else’s work cover for each other, flag problems early, and stop keeping score.

That awareness does not happen on its own. It is taught and modeled, and most of the modeling is done by what leadership chooses to notice out loud. When a manager says, in front of the team, that the smooth event happened because the office and the kitchen were talking all afternoon, that manager is teaching the room how the place actually works. When a manager says nothing, the lesson is that the work is invisible and the credit is private. There is a member-facing version of this too. Members take their cues from leadership. A club where leadership models gratitude becomes a club where members say thank you. Leadership cannot mandate that members be gracious, but it can make graciousness the obvious house style, and most members will follow the house.

Now let me turn to the part of this I have to watch in myself, because watching our language means watching the language we are not speaking aloud, the kind that lives in the body rather than the mouth. I hold a master’s degree in speech, rhetoric, and interpersonal communication. I wrote my thesis on communication in the workplace. I have studied this, taught it, and researched it, and I still have to keep myself in check. Early in my career, I was a serious eye roller. I am sure I relapse now and then, but I worked hard to stop, because I came to understand what that small gesture announced to the person across from me. An eye roll says, without a word, that what you just said was not worth my respect. No amount of careful verbal language survives that.

So consider what our bodies are saying while our mouths say the right things. When an employee is talking to us, are we looking at them, or are we glancing at the phone? Do we tell ourselves that we are simply too busy, too pulled in ten directions, to give one person our eyes for ninety seconds? The employee hears that excuse perfectly, even though we never said it out loud. The unspoken sentence is, I am too busy to give you my full attention, and our behavior delivers it cleanly. The crossed arms, the half-turn back toward the computer, the impatient nod that is really a request to wrap it up, all of it speaks.

The same goes for the balance of what we choose to mention. A leader who only ever speaks up to correct and goes quiet when things go well is sending a message through the asymmetry. The message is that good work is expected and therefore unremarkable, and that the leader’s voice exists mainly to find fault. People stop bringing that leader good news. They brace when the leader approaches. The silence around the positive is its own kind of language, and it is rarely the language we intend.

Pass the praise down, by name, the same day you hear it. None of this is solved by a recognition program or a poster in the break room. It is solved in the small, repeated moments where a leader makes the unspoken spoken. “A member told me the dinner service last night was perfect. That was your table, Chris. I wanted you to hear it.” Specific, attributed, prompt. Praise that travels loses its power with every hour it sits. Name the handoff while you are at it, not just the hero. “The event ran smoothly because the office and the kitchen were talking all afternoon.” Thanks people and teaches the room how the work connects, which is the thing that makes the next event run smoothly too.

Make appreciation a standing question rather than a special occasion. “Who made your job easier this week?” asked in a pre-shift or department meeting turns acknowledgment into a habit the staff owns. Set the tone for members out loud as well. “Our team put a great deal of work into tonight, and I know they would appreciate hearing it from you,” said to the right member, does more to build a culture of mutual respect than any policy.

Then watch the body. Put the phone down when someone is speaking to you. Turn your chair all the way around. Give the ninety seconds. If you catch the eye roll forming, and you will, stop it before it lands. The goal is not perfection, because none of us manages that. The goal is to make sure that what we say without words is what we would be willing to say with them.

Culture is the sum of what a club chooses to make audible. The appreciation we voice, the connections we name, the attention we visibly pay, all of it teaches the team what kind of place they are working in. So does everything we leave unsaid. So, watch your language. Then watch the language you never say out loud, because your team has already heard it.

BoardRoom Briefs – 2026

Michelle A. Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC, CJSS is a Career Strategist, Search & Consulting Executive at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE (KK&W). KK&W is the leading executive search and consulting firm in the private club industry. Michelle can be reached at 833-KKW-HIRE (559-4473) ext. 717 and at michelle@kkandw.com.

The role of the chief financial officer has never been more consequential, or more misunderstood. As private clubs face increasing complexity in operations, capital planning and member expectations, the demand for financial leadership that extends well beyond the balance sheet has never been greater.

Still, many clubs find themselves working alongside a CFO who defaults to constraint rather than possibility. The difference between those two orientations isn’t technical; it’s philosophical. As general managers, CEOs and club leaders responsible for driving organizational performance, you must recognize that distinction and demand better.

The shorthand is simple: the CFNO says no. The CFKNOW leads with knowledge.

UNDERSTANDING THE CLUB’S UNIQUE FINANCIAL DNA

Private clubs don’t operate like corporations, and their financials shouldn’t be evaluated like those of corporations. Yet finance committee and board members who arrive from Fortune 500 backgrounds often bring assumptions that simply don’t translate. One of the most persistent and damaging beliefs is that food and beverage losses represent operational failure.

As Club Benchmarking notes, this is what they call the “F&B Trap,” incorrectly believing that corporate profit-and-loss logic applies to an environment where F&B functions as a member amenity, not a revenue engine. Dues are the economic engine, and capital reserves are the measure of long-term health. Member retention is the metric that matters most.

A CFKNOW understands this instinctively, and more importantly, can articulate it clearly to a boardroom full of intelligent people who may not. That interpretive function isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the job.

THE CFO AS ORGANIZATIONAL CREDIBILITY

Have you watched a well-intentioned budget conversation derail because a board member is applying the wrong mental model to the right problem? This can be frustrating. The CFO who can avoid that by translating club financial reality into language that resonates with experienced executives becomes one of the most valuable assets in the room.

That kind of credibility isn’t established by credentials alone. It’s built through demonstrated operational fluency: understanding the golf course as well as the general ledger, grasping the connection between an F&B labor ratio and a member satisfaction score, and seeing a capital reserve projection not as a spreadsheet but as a promise to future members.

The CFKNOW earns the seat at the table by showing up prepared to lead, not just report. For GMs/CEOs evaluating or developing their CFO, that distinction is worth examining closely.

FROM GATEKEEPER TO GROWTH PARTNER

Department heads, whether in golf, F&B, or facilities, operate in an environment that is often defined by uncertainty. Equipment may fail mid-season, product costs rise and member expectations shift. A vendor brings a compelling opportunity with a short window. In each of these moments, the CFO either accelerates the organization’s ability to respond or becomes its bottleneck.

Consider three scenarios every club leader will recognize:

• The urgent equipment request. A CFNO cites the budget and closes the conversation. A CFKNOW has an “eagle eye.” They evaluate lease options, understand capital cycle timing, review budgets and assess operational risk. Then, they find a path forward that protects financial integrity without penalizing the operation.
• The F&B investment case. When an executive chef requests new kitchen technology or additional staffing, a CFNO sees cost. A CFKNOW looks at member satisfaction data, labor efficiency, service quality metrics and retention implications, and builds the business case rather than shutting it down.
• The time-sensitive vendor opportunity. A CFNO rejects it because it wasn’t in the plan. A CFKNOW evaluates long-term maintenance savings, operational benefit and budget flexibility, and recognizes that the plan exists to serve the club, not the other way around.

In each case, the CFKNOW arrives at the conversation with a 360-degree view of the organization. The result isn’t reckless spending; it’s confident, informed decision-making.

WHAT CLUB LEADERS SHOULD EXPECT—AND REQUIRE

The modern CFO in the private club space must function across four dimensions simultaneously:

• As a strategist, shaping tomorrow’s decisions—not just summarizing yesterday’s results
• As a communicator, translating financial complexity into organizational clarity
• As a partner, building trust with department heads and the GM/CEO alike
• As a business builder, asking “how do we get there?” before defaulting to “we can’t.”

For GMs/CEOs, this means recalibrating what success looks like for the CFO role. Technical competence is the baseline. What separates an effective CFO from an exceptional one is the willingness—and the skill—to lead across the organization, not just managing within a function.

When that leadership is present, the impact is measurable: Boards gain confidence, and department heads gain a genuine partner. The GM/CEO gains an ally who extends their reach into financial strategy. And members, ultimately, experience the difference in the quality and consistency of their club.

The private club industry is evolving quickly. The clubs that thrive will be led by teams where the CFO isn’t just keeping score; the CFO is helping shape the outcome.

The BoardRoom Magazine – May/June 2026

Michelle A. Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC, CJSS is a Career Strategist, Search & Consulting Executive at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE (KK&W). KK&W is the leading executive search and consulting firm in the private club industry. Michelle can be reached at 833-KKW-HIRE (559-4473) ext. 717 and at michelle@kkandw.com.

Picture two clubs, an hour apart. Same size, same kind of membership, similar budgets. One hires a finance leader who becomes indispensable within a year, a true partner in the room where decisions get made. The other hires someone equally credentialed who is gone in eighteen months, quietly frustrated, never quite fitting. Same model. Different result. Why?

Ask Club Benchmarking and the first half of the answer becomes clear. From a financial standpoint, clubs are far more alike than they are different. Ray Cronin’s Available Cash Model showed years ago that every club, regardless of size, geography, or “personality,” draws its operating cash from the same sources and spends it on the same handful of uses. Dues are unencumbered cash. Food and beverage, for all the energy it consumes in the boardroom, contributes less than ten percent of available cash at roughly seventy percent of clubs. The business model is common to every club.

So if the numbers are this consistent, why does a head of finance celebrated at one club so often struggle at the club down the road? The answer is almost never technical skill. It is culture and governance, and it is the most underestimated variable in any finance search.

When Governance Defines the Role
Whether the title is Controller, Director of Finance, or Chief Financial Officer, every club has someone leading finance and accounting. What differs is how much the club actually wants that person to lead. In a recent whitepaper I co-authored with the late Phil Newman of RSM and Ray Cronin, and in our CMAA World Conference work on hiring a true CFO, we made the point bluntly: not every club should hire one.

When a board prefers to run the club itself, setting the operational agenda and holding the strategic pen, it cannot also deploy a CFO at the top of their game. You cannot ask someone to think like an executive, then decline to seat them at the executive table. Clubs that govern strategically can make full use of a strategic finance leader. Clubs that govern operationally may be better served by a strong controller. Neither is wrong. What creates failure is the mismatch, hiring for one model while operating as the other.

Fit Runs Both Ways
Here is the part that matters most to you, the finance professional reading this. Because the financial mechanics are so consistent across clubs, the real question in any search is rarely “can this person do the work?” It is “will this person thrive in this culture?”, and that question has two sides.

Clubs evaluate you exhaustively. Evaluate them just as carefully. How mature is the governance? Does the board understand the difference between oversight and management? Is there stability in the GM seat, or a revolving door? A talented finance leader dropped into a culture that does not want strategic finance will not last, and that is not a failure of the individual. It is a failure of fit. Success at one club is not portable proof of success at the next.

What Happens When the Direction Shifts
Now the harder problem. Picture a board and a GM who decide they want an executive-level CFO. They make the hire, and for two years it works beautifully. Then the GM moves on. The incoming GM has never had a “real” CFO and does not see the value. Or a new board president arrives who does not grasp the return. Suddenly the person who was a perfect fit two years ago is a misfit, not because their performance changed, but because the culture around them did.

This is the quiet risk in every senior club hire. When boards turn over annually and the rationale for a role lives only in one departing leader’s head, even an excellent hire becomes vulnerable. Role clarity has to be documented, the value of the position made visible to each incoming board, and continuity treated as a governance responsibility, not a burden the employee carries alone.

So How Do We Attract and Keep Top Talent?
If the private club world wants to draw and keep high-caliber finance leaders, it must offer more than competitive compensation, though that matters. It must offer role stability, clear expectations, and genuine professional respect. That means defining the position honestly before the search begins, educating each new board on why the role exists and what it returns, and protecting the seat through leadership transitions so a strong leader is not quietly demoted by a change in personalities. It means treating finance professionals as the strategic partners we keep saying we want them to be.

The numbers across our industry are remarkably alike. The cultures are not. Until we recruit for that reality, and protect the people we hire into it, we will keep losing good leaders to the gap between what clubs say they want and how they choose to be run.

HFTP Clubs Online – June 2026

Michelle A. Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC, CJSS is a Career Strategist, Search & Consulting Executive at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE (KK&W). KK&W is the leading executive search and consulting firm in the private club industry. Michelle can be reached at 833-KKW-HIRE (559-4473) ext. 717 and at michelle@kkandw.com.

What do I need to do to be invited into the boardroom?

It is a fair question. It is also often the wrong focus.

I have heard this question often from early-career to mid-level professionals. Many are talented and progressing quickly. The desire to grow is not the issue. The misunderstanding lies in what it actually takes to be invited into the boardroom.

Because a seat at the table is not something you ask for. It is something you are trusted with. Trust, especially in private clubs, is earned over time, not declared in a moment.

Know the Room Before You Try to Enter It
Boardrooms in private clubs are not casual environments. They are composed of highly accomplished individuals. CEOs, founders, investors and senior executives who have spent decades making complex, high-stakes decisions. Many have built, led or sold companies. They understand risk, governance and accountability at a level that only experience provides.

When they evaluate a finance leader, they are not asking, “Are they smart?”

They are asking:

• Can this person think at our level?
• Can they exercise sound judgment under pressure?
• Can they represent this organization with credibility, both inside and outside the room?

If the answer is unclear, the invitation does not come.

Technical Skills Are Expected. Judgment Is Evaluated.
Clean audits, accurate reporting, and GAAP compliance are not differentiators. They are the baseline. What separates those who are invited into the boardroom is something far less tangible and far more important: Judgment.

Judgment shows up in:

• What you say and what you choose not to say
• How you handle sensitive information
• How you navigate gray areas, not just black-and-white rules
• How you conduct yourself when no one is formally evaluating you

Because in reality, you are always being evaluated.

You Are Representing More Than Yourself
If you aspire to sit at the executive table, understand this clearly: You are not just an individual contributor. You are a representative of your club, your leadership team and your profession. That responsibility extends beyond the office.

How you present yourself matters
Executive presence includes how you dress, carry yourself and show up in professional environments. You do not have to lose your personality, but you do need to understand the expectations of the room you want to be in.

What you share matters
Social media is not private. It is searchable, shareable and permanent. Board members, search committees and peers look. Anything you put in writing, texts, emails, messages or images can be forwarded, screenshotted and shared beyond your intended audience. Once it is out there, it is no longer within your control.

Sound judgment includes understanding that your digital footprint is part of your professional reputation.

What you say in public settings matters
Industry events, conferences and open forums are professional environments where impressions are formed quickly and often last longer than intended. The most respected leaders in this industry understand this intuitively. They do not turn it on when they walk into a board meeting. They live it consistently.

You Are Always Being Evaluated
A seat at the table is not determined in a board meeting. It is determined long before you ever enter the room.

Leaders are paying attention to:

• How you communicate in group settings
• How you handle yourself in public forums and industry events
• What you share and engage with on social media
• How you present yourself professionally
• Whether your behavior reflects sound judgment and discretion

Credibility is not situational. It is cumulative.

If your goal is to be trusted in the boardroom, understand this: Your judgment is being assessed every day, in every setting, whether you realize it or not.

Executive Presence Is Quiet, Not Announced
Executive presence is often misunderstood as confidence or polish. In reality, it is demonstrated through consistency over time.

It shows up in:

• Preparation that is thoughtful and thorough
• Communication that is clear, concise and grounded
• Composure when challenged
• Confidence without arrogance

It is reflected not only in how you speak, but in the quality of what you put in front of leadership. Your financials, your reports, and your presentations all signal your level of professionalism and care. Nothing goes unnoticed.

Reading the Room Is Non-Negotiable
One of the fastest ways to lose credibility at the executive level is the inability to read the room. This is not a soft skill. It is a leadership requirement. It means understanding:

• The dynamics between board members
• The emotional temperature of a conversation
• When to go deeper and when to stay high-level
• When to push and when to pause

The most effective CFOs do not just present information. They manage the moment.

Experience Builds Credibility
Ambition is not the issue. Misalignment between ambition and readiness is.

Three to five years of experience can build a strong foundation. It does not typically build the depth required to:

• Navigate board-level governance
• Manage politically sensitive discussions
• Balance financial discipline with member expectations
• Lead through disagreement and uncertainty

That level of responsibility requires exposure, pattern recognition and time. There is no shortcut.

If You Want a Seat at the Table, Do This Instead
Shift your focus from access to readiness:

• Expand beyond accounting into strategy, forecasting and capital planning
• Build operational understanding so your insights are grounded in reality
• Develop communication skills that influence decisions, not just report results
• Seek exposure to leadership conversations and observe before you lead
• Learn from experienced executives, how they think, communicate and respond

Most importantly: Do the work long before you ask for the seat.

Final Thought
A seat at the table is not granted because you want it. It is not granted because you ask for it. It is granted when the people already sitting there trust, without hesitation, that you belong. If you are not in the room yet, the answer is not access. The answer is readiness.

HFTP Clubs Online – May 2026

Michelle A. Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC, CJSS is a Career Strategist, Search & Consulting Executive at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE (KK&W). KK&W is the leading executive search and consulting firm in the private club industry. Michelle can be reached at 833-KKW-HIRE (559-4473) ext. 717 and at michelle@kkandw.com.

In hospitality, we spend a great deal of time training our teams to speak with members and guests. We coach tone, refine phrasing, and focus on delivering the right experience.

There is another conversation happening every day that deserves the same attention.

It is how leaders speak to their teams.

The language used internally can shape culture faster than any training program. It determines whether employees feel respected and supported or start looking elsewhere.

Today, they are looking.

According to Gallup, 51 percent of U.S. employees are actively looking for a new job. In hospitality, turnover rates often range between 70 – 80 percent and annually.

Retention is not just about pay or benefits. It is about daily experience. That experience is shaped by leadership.

The Language Leaders Miss
Most leaders are not trying to frustrate their teams. They are focused on standards, efficiency and results.

Intent does not always match impact. Over time, patterns in language send clear messages:

• You are on your own.
• Your input is not valued.
• Your growth is not a priority.

Once that message is felt, disengagement follows.

What Leaders Should Keep in Mind
Strong leaders do not just focus on what needs to be done. They are equally aware of how their words are received and if they are understood.

They understand that language is not simply communication. It is leadership in action.

Effective leaders are intentional about communicating TRUST:

Tone: The same message can build confidence or create tension. Tone determines which one it becomes.
Respect: Every interaction should reinforce that the individual matters, not just the outcome.
Unambiguity: Clear expectations eliminate frustration. Vague direction creates it.
Steadiness: Unpredictable communication erodes trust. Steadiness builds it.
Thoughtfulness: Rushed or dismissive language signals that people are not a priority. Thoughtful communication signals that they are.

Why It Matters
Leadership behavior remains one of the primary reasons employees leave. People stay where they feel valued. They leave where they feel dismissed. Language is one of the clearest signals of that difference.

Every interaction matters. How you correct, respond, and guide matters. Over time, those moments define the experience of working with you.

A Leadership Reminder
Simon Sinek said, “Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”

That care is demonstrated in everyday conversations.

If we expect our teams to be intentional in how they speak to members, leaders must hold themselves to that same standard. The language used every day shapes how people experience the workplace and whether they choose to stay. In an environment where retention depends on trust and respect, the most effective leaders understand that their words carry weight and that it is their responsibility to “Watch Your Language.”

THE BOARDROOM Magazine – May 2026

Michelle A. Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC, CJSS is a Career Strategist, Search & Consulting Executive at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE (KK&W). KK&W is the leading executive search and consulting firm in the private club industry. Michelle can be reached at 833-KKW-HIRE (559-4473) ext. 717 and at michelle@kkandw.com.