In the private club industry today, “strategic leadership” has become a dominant theme. Boards want master plans, long-range plans and future-focused thinking. Managers are pushed to operate like CEOs who are continuously elevating the business side of the club. While all of that is important, none of it matters if the day-to-day operation isn’t functioning effectively.

If the dining room is inconsistent, the golf carts aren’t clean, communication is lacking, or the service falls flat, no strategic initiative will ever gain traction. You can’t build a five-year plan on top of a crumbling foundation. Before a leader can shift their focus to strategy, they must first ensure the fundamentals of hospitality, service, and culture are effectively in place. Operations aren’t separate from strategy. They are the runway that allows strategy to take flight, and this is where some leaders have drifted off course.

In a race to focus on strategy, some leaders have moved too far from the heart of what made them effective: presence and operational excellence. Before a manager can lead new initiatives or shape the future, he or she must first earn the trust of members and staff in what’s happening at the club today. Without that foundation, strategy is just theoretical.

Simply put: you cannot lead strategically until you are trusted culturally. And, you cannot earn that trust until your daily operation is in order.

THE FOUNDATION COMES FIRST
When a GM or COO arrives at a new club, the pressure is immediate. Boards want momentum. Members want answers. Staff wants clarity. Too many leaders respond by rushing into strategic discussions—new org charts, new dashboards, new committees—but what the club really needs is a leader who is walking the floor, learning the people, and stabilizing the operation.

The best managers begin with service and connection. They spend time in the dining rooms. They talk to staff in their areas. They learn what’s sacred about the culture. They listen far more than they speak. They fix small operational issues that matter. The things members feel and the team notices.

Unfortunately, we’ve all seen the following scenario: a manager arrives at a new club with strong ideas, but he or she can’t gain traction. The plan is right, but the people aren’t ready and the operation isn’t sound.

Before someone can lead change, they must prove they understand the operation and respect the culture. Before one can ask for trust with the future, they must deliver consistency today. This isn’t soft leadership, it’s the most strategic work one can do early on.

You can’t introduce long-term strategy when the short-term experience is suffering.

You can’t ask members to think about the future when they’re unhappy with the present.

You can’t ask staff to embrace exciting changes when they’re overwhelmed by daily dysfunction.

Trust and operational consistency create the emotional and organizational runway that strategy needs.

THE REAL PILLARS OF HIGH-PERFORMING CLUBS
KK&W along with the Club Leadership Alliance, emphasizes the essential disciplines of a successful club: Informed leadership, strategic stewardship, empowered management and team, and a compelling member experience.

These elements are the architectural beams of a great club. But none of them will stand strong if the day-to-day experience is weak. No club has ever “strategized” its way out of poor operations. Operational strength must come first.

When leaders win the hearts and minds of members and employees by stabilizing operations, these pillars begin to function as intended. Resistance fades, alignment strengthens, and momentum builds toward the future.

Hospitality isn’t the opposite of strategy, it’s the foundation of it. Leadership is not earned through documents. It’s earned through…

• Presence
• Walking the clubhouse
• Learning names of members
• Fixing the little things members complain about
• Supporting line-level staff.

Presence communicates priorities more clearly than any document ever can. If you want members to embrace a vision, show them you care about their daily experience. If you want the team to commit to excellence, show them you’re willing to roll up your sleeves with them. You cannot demand standards that you don’t personally demonstrate.

THE SEQUENCE MATTERS
Great managers understand sequencing:

1. First stabilize operations.
2. Then build relationships and earn trust.
3. Then craft strategy.

In nearly every board retreat we facilitate we see that the clubs that struggle with strategy are also grappling with operational challenges or misalignment. By contrast, clubs that advance quickly are led by teams that first establish consistency, connection, and clarity in the daily member and employee
experience.

Every leader should regularly ask themselves: Have I earned my team’s trust? Have I earned the membership’s confidence?

If your operations are tight, members trust you.
If your staff feels supported, culture strengthens.
If the experience is consistent, strategy accelerates.

You win hearts with humility. You win minds with clarity. You win loyalty with operational excellence.

This is how discretionary effort is unlocked. This is where people give more because they believe in the leader, not because they feel they have to.

As our industry evolves, we must protect what makes private clubs special: relationships, experiences, and the daily moments that define hospitality. Strategy matters. Governance matters. Financial discipline matters. But none of it succeeds without daily operational excellence, presence, and connection.

The next generation of leaders must be able to do both—execute the operation today and envision the club tomorrow. But the order is not interchangeable:

Operations -> Connection -> Strategy

Run a tight operation, build relationships, earn trust, and everything else will follow.

THE BOARDROOM MAGAZINE – April 2026

Richard M. Kopplin, CMAA Fellow, Kurt D. Kuebler, CCM, CMAA Fellow and Thomas B. Wallace III, CCM, CCE, ECM and the principals with KOPPLIN KUEBLER and WALLACE.