Sept. 15, 2025
460: Imposter Syndrome at the Top w/ Kent Johnson CCM, CCE, ECM
Ever feel like you are not good enough, even when you are? In this episode, GM Kent Johnson opens up about his personal experience with imposter syndrome as a leader in the private club world. We talk honestly about the voice of self-doubt that can show up even after years of success, and what it really takes to lead with vulnerability, clarity and confidence. Kent shares how imposter syndrome shows up at the GM level, why it often goes unspoken, and how he works through it without letting it...
Ever feel like you are not good enough, even when you are?
In this episode, GM Kent Johnson opens up about his personal experience with imposter syndrome as a leader in the private club world. We talk honestly about the voice of self-doubt that can show up even after years of success, and what it really takes to lead with vulnerability, clarity and confidence.
Kent shares how imposter syndrome shows up at the GM level, why it often goes unspoken, and how he works through it without letting it take over. We also discuss personal growth, leadership style, and learning to stop chasing perfection.
If you have ever questioned your own success or felt like a fraud in your role, this episode will remind you that you are not alone.
Follow us on the socials
Private Club Radio Instagram
Private Club Radio Linkedin
Denny Corby Instagram
Denny Corby Linkedin
00:00 - Meet Kent Johnson: Leadership Journey
07:32 - Confronting Imposter Syndrome
14:04 - Finding Support Systems
19:56 - Speaking Truth: Effective Leadership Communication
26:54 - Defining Your Own Success
35:42 - Values Over Titles and Paychecks
40:24 - Closing Thoughts and Gratitude
WEBVTT
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:14.704
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs From mastering leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, member engagement secrets, board governance and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light.
00:00:14.704 --> 00:00:20.364
Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place.
00:00:20.364 --> 00:00:22.088
I'm your host, denny Corby.
00:00:22.088 --> 00:00:23.551
Welcome to the show.
00:00:23.551 --> 00:00:35.707
In this episode, we are going to chat with someone who's been quietly shaping the future of club leadership and club culture in a way that feels real, honest and incredibly impactful.
00:00:36.008 --> 00:00:56.366
I get to sit down with Kent Johnson, gm of Baltimore Country Club, and his story isn't your typical rise through the ranks and I know he's been doing a lot and speaking more and being open more with the club community, speaking at BMIs, cmaa events all over and of course, I wanted to talk and learn more about him and his story.
00:00:56.366 --> 00:01:30.641
But I didn't want to have him come on and talk about some things that he would maybe speak about, because I want you to hear that come from him when you see him in person and you see him speak in person and when we were chatting and game playing the episode he brought something up and the light bulb went off for me because I thought it was something that a lot of people don't talk about often and it's something that I struggle with myself, have been for years and still do today and that is imposter syndrome, that inner voice that tells you you're not good enough, you're not qualified enough, you're not ready, you're never going to make it.
00:01:30.641 --> 00:01:31.903
This is you're going to bomb.
00:01:31.903 --> 00:01:43.004
That inner voice that tells you all those bad, negative things, even when you know you are ready, and you know you are good enough and you know you're qualified and you know you're the right person for it.
00:01:43.004 --> 00:01:57.763
So it's something that I've struggled with myself and I know I'm not alone and you know we're bringing and talking about mental health and wellness not just in the club space a lot, but also just in the world, and this is something maybe we don't talk about enough either because it kind of does relate to mental health and wellness.
00:01:57.763 --> 00:02:03.915
But so when he brought that up I was like, yes, this is what I want us to dive in on and he was all in on it.
00:02:03.915 --> 00:02:14.086
So I'm super stoked to be chatting with him today here on Private Club Radio about imposter syndrome, because it's something that it wasn't just early on in his career.
00:02:14.086 --> 00:02:34.170
But even after reaching milestones and accomplishing so, so much, you still feel it, and he still feels it and I still feel it, and we talk about working through it and ways to get over it and how to you know, calm down that voice in your head that tells you, man, you're not good enough for this, when really you are and you're probably going to kill it.
00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:54.175
I think that's what makes this episode so special is it's not just Kent's resume, it's it's his openness, and we just dive into more about his leadership and culture style and how he's just learned to work through it and help others work through their own limiting beliefs and mindsets.
00:02:54.175 --> 00:03:07.985
Also, how to recognize self-doubt, not in yourself but also in your team, and how to support them through it.
00:03:07.985 --> 00:03:21.383
Why it's important to choose values over titles and paychecks and why success doesn't have to be loud and powerful, and how it's very particular and specific to you it doesn't have to be about anybody else.
00:03:21.383 --> 00:03:23.608
This episode is so, so good.
00:03:23.608 --> 00:03:27.003
I cannot wait for us to dive in really, really quick.
00:03:27.003 --> 00:03:28.949
A big thanks to some of our show partners.
00:03:28.949 --> 00:03:31.044
As always, you're going to hear their ads.
00:03:31.044 --> 00:03:32.949
You're going to see me post about them.
00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:48.847
All I ask is if you ever want to use their products or if you're in the market for their product or their service, give them a shout, give them an at bat and if you can say, hey, we appreciate you supporting Denny and Private Club Radio, because that means the absolute world.
00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:56.728
Speaking of Private Club Radio, I have my Management in Motion Leadership event coming up very, very soon, september 22nd, monticello, new York.
00:03:56.728 --> 00:04:07.828
It's gonna be so much fun a day of ripping up amazing, beautiful vehicles, bmws and while learning relevant information about what we're doing on the track and how that relates to cloud leadership and management.
00:04:07.828 --> 00:04:09.586
It's gonna be so much fun.
00:04:09.586 --> 00:04:15.228
Head on over to privateclubradiocom slash management in motion to learn a little bit more or to sign up.
00:04:15.228 --> 00:04:16.466
We have a few more spots left.
00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:22.987
And quick, shameless plug for myself the Denny Corby Experience it's a comedy, magic and mind reading show.
00:04:22.987 --> 00:04:25.899
Very crowd work focused experience.
00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:27.764
It's a comedy, magic and mind reading show, very crowd work focused.
00:04:27.764 --> 00:04:29.567
2025 is pretty much sold out.
00:04:29.567 --> 00:04:34.766
I have very, very, very few dates left but, more importantly, I am booking for 2026 and well into the year.
00:04:34.766 --> 00:04:39.124
So if you want to head over to dennycorbycom, fill out the form reach out.
00:04:39.124 --> 00:04:44.165
We'd love to have a conversation about what it looks like to bring me into your club for a really fun evening for your members.
00:04:44.165 --> 00:04:45.769
So enough about all of this.
00:04:45.769 --> 00:04:47.011
Let's get to the episode.
00:04:47.011 --> 00:04:48.394
Private Club Radio listeners.
00:04:48.394 --> 00:04:56.362
Let's welcome to the show Kent Johnson For Private Club Radio listeners people who don't know who is Kent Johnson.
00:04:57.805 --> 00:04:58.687
Who is Kent Johnson?
00:04:58.687 --> 00:05:00.391
That's a great question, Danny.
00:05:00.391 --> 00:05:05.148
Well, I guess I would tell you, first and foremost I'm a husband and a father.
00:05:05.148 --> 00:05:17.687
So my wife, Shannon, is very patient, very understanding about the trials, tribulations and hours that are associated with this particular career choice.
00:05:17.687 --> 00:05:19.932
We have three kids Jimmy, Max and Bella.
00:05:19.932 --> 00:05:23.004
So this is second marriage for Shannon and I.
00:05:23.004 --> 00:05:26.473
So we've been together now, I guess, 16 years.
00:05:26.473 --> 00:05:29.930
So we she had two kids from her previous marriage, I had one.
00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.730
But the interesting part about that, Denny, is our boys are the same age.
00:05:33.730 --> 00:05:45.589
They're literally two weeks apart, went to the same high school, same group of friends, but the kids couldn't be any more different from one another, so there was never any competition or anything like that.
00:05:45.589 --> 00:05:53.127
The most interesting part of that is Shannon and I met when she was my son's football coach, so kind of a funny little thing there.
00:05:53.127 --> 00:05:55.988
And then Bella is the youngest, Bella's, 20.
00:05:55.988 --> 00:05:57.826
She's now a junior at Mount St Mary's.
00:05:57.826 --> 00:06:02.211
So we're definitely in a different phase of life at this point.
00:06:02.211 --> 00:06:06.089
So we're really just adjusting to what that looks like.
00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:11.649
And you know, if I'm not here at the club then you can probably find me sitting in a tree somewhere.
00:06:11.649 --> 00:06:14.446
So that's, that's kind of my, my hobby.
00:06:15.930 --> 00:06:16.451
Tree sitting.
00:06:17.661 --> 00:06:21.050
Tree sitting, so you know hunting hunting those kinds of things.
00:06:21.050 --> 00:06:28.004
Yeah, you never know how people are going to respond to that, so Well, I was like tree sitting.
00:06:28.045 --> 00:06:28.968
I was like it could be a.
00:06:28.968 --> 00:06:30.411
You know, I don't know birdwatching.
00:06:30.411 --> 00:06:32.928
There's a lot of ways you could take sitting in a tree.
00:06:32.928 --> 00:06:49.184
Yeah, exactly, and you've been doing a lot more speaking the last couple of years through different CMAA events, chapter events, conference, bmis, all that fun stuff.
00:06:49.184 --> 00:06:51.971
What are some of the things that you've been speaking on?
00:06:54.199 --> 00:07:01.362
Mostly it's leadership and culture, and those are two things that we focus pretty heavily on here at BCC.
00:07:01.422 --> 00:07:23.127
And it's an interesting thing on our side and even on my side personally too, because I hate public speaking in more ways than I can tell you and it's something that takes a lot of work on my part to have the courage to be able to do that, and that's a relatively new development, I'd say, probably in the last four years.
00:07:24.389 --> 00:07:55.211
I guess the only good part about that is, you know, we believe that things should be built organically, so we don't do a lot of posting about the different things that we do, but I think we found that the message and the way that we do things has sort of resonated with people, which I think has been really awesome to see that that's happened and so to be able to use, you know, a platform to be able to share what we do and how we do it, and if that helps others, then that makes it pretty well worth it.
00:07:55.211 --> 00:08:00.031
So I'm going to ride this train as long as I can because it is truly rewarding.
00:08:00.031 --> 00:08:07.814
I think if I could have another career path outside of, you know, doing what I do now teaching would probably be at the top of the list.
00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:17.225
And I shouldn't say but funny enough, you didn't even go to college, Wasn't that a big thing?
00:08:19.502 --> 00:08:20.425
I did go to college.
00:08:20.425 --> 00:08:23.466
I want to be clear I did not graduate from college.
00:08:23.466 --> 00:08:27.942
That was it, college.
00:08:27.942 --> 00:08:28.463
I want to be clear.
00:08:28.463 --> 00:08:33.532
I did not graduate from college because at the time I was working for a restaurant and the owner said, hey, I need a GM, would you do it?
00:08:33.532 --> 00:08:42.505
And at the time I'm kind of thinking to myself well, I didn't even know that a hospitality degree was a thing, or maybe I would have actually stayed in school.
00:08:42.505 --> 00:08:45.191
And so I was like, well, why am I?
00:08:45.191 --> 00:08:46.474
This is what I want to do with my life.
00:08:46.474 --> 00:08:47.725
I want to own my own restaurant.
00:08:47.725 --> 00:08:49.947
Why am I wasting my time and my father's money?
00:08:49.947 --> 00:08:52.548
And so that's exactly what I did.
00:08:52.548 --> 00:09:01.488
I dropped out and then things didn't work out from that perspective, but I had already made that decision and you know, here I sit a number of years later.
00:09:01.567 --> 00:09:06.852
So yeah, but you're crushing it, Like I said a number of years later.
00:09:06.852 --> 00:09:13.846
So yeah, but kind of crushing it, like you know your CCM, you know you got all of like your creds, you got the, you know you're, you're still crushing it.
00:09:13.846 --> 00:09:14.125
Did was did.
00:09:14.125 --> 00:09:17.614
Was there any feeling of not finishing?
00:09:19.721 --> 00:09:37.625
In fact, it's something that I struggle with all the time, denny, to be honest, you know, it's kind of that one nagging question that, denny, to be honest, it's kind of that one nagging question that hopefully I don't ever have to go through another job interview again, but it's that one question that I know that I'm going to have to answer or address that says, well, why didn't you finish your college degree?
00:09:37.625 --> 00:09:42.543
And, like I said, the answer is really simple I thought I was wasting my time and my father's money.
00:09:42.543 --> 00:09:52.649
So, yeah, it's definitely a dark cloud that hangs there, and I'm not sure that there's a specific certification that I could achieve.
00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:54.472
That's going to make me feel differently about that.
00:09:54.472 --> 00:09:58.447
It's a source of a little bit of conflict with my wife and I.
00:09:58.447 --> 00:10:00.732
Really, it just hangs there, yeah.
00:10:03.243 --> 00:10:08.323
So even if you got your MCM, you'd still be like you know what Never got that bachelor's degree.
00:10:09.186 --> 00:10:13.562
Yeah, and so, and I do have the intention of finishing or doing my MCM.
00:10:13.562 --> 00:10:16.788
So, um, I'm just now at the point where I can do that too.
00:10:16.788 --> 00:10:29.224
Um, but yeah, I think at some point, if I can find the time to do it, I'll do it, and you know, then I can at least check the box and make sure that I accomplished something that I should have done a long time ago.
00:10:29.923 --> 00:10:30.144
Yeah.
00:10:30.604 --> 00:10:30.764
Yeah.
00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:53.774
And I and, and when we chatted a few weeks ago before the recording, there was a common theme and correct me if I'm wrong but almost this, and I think we touched on it a few minutes ago but this imposter syndrome, a little bit almost, and I know, for me it's not something I talk about, I know I have it to the nth degree.
00:10:53.774 --> 00:10:55.650
It's like who am I to be doing?
00:10:55.650 --> 00:10:57.176
X, y and Z and blah, blah, blah.
00:10:57.176 --> 00:11:02.937
And just hearing you open up to me about it and share with it, I was like, oh my goodness, like you know, I was like you.
00:11:02.937 --> 00:11:07.865
I was like you know you've you've led some of like you know, some great big historic clubs in the country.
00:11:07.865 --> 00:11:22.433
You know, when people look at your, your resume, they're probably never assumed there's any imposter syndrome or like, anything like can you share, like when, when that like started to come up, and like why you maybe got that um, I think it's.
00:11:22.714 --> 00:11:38.519
It's probably been a chip that I've carried on my shoulder for a long time, and I shared with you a story about the transition between jv football and varsity football what you know, back right as I was getting ready to go into high school, and I think things probably started there, do you want to share the story here?
00:11:40.865 --> 00:11:41.929
So okay.
00:11:41.929 --> 00:11:51.514
So interestingly enough, I was actually a pretty good athlete, growing up Compulsively competitive, I think is probably the best way for me to say that.
00:11:51.514 --> 00:11:55.625
But at the end of the day I wasn't the most popular kid in school.
00:11:55.625 --> 00:12:00.424
I certainly wasn't the least, but you know, a lot of the popular kids were football players.
00:12:00.424 --> 00:12:15.777
And so here came my time to transition into varsity, from junior varsity and there really wasn't a coach, so most of the practices were kind of player-led and I didn't think that putting myself into that situation was going to be a good thing.
00:12:15.777 --> 00:12:22.417
So I stayed on JV and you know, of course, in hindsight that probably wasn't the best decision for me to make.
00:12:23.902 --> 00:12:30.256
So in getting into my freshman year of high school and playing football, fine, I've still excelled.
00:12:30.256 --> 00:12:32.006
Same thing in my sophomore year.
00:12:32.006 --> 00:12:46.192
But then junior year comes and you know, going from being a leader on those lower level teams to all of a sudden being on varsity, and so I get up to start leading the exercise and the coach put me right in my place and I think that's probably a lot of of where that started.
00:12:46.192 --> 00:13:08.116
And so for me it was just I'm going to work really, really hard and do the best that I can do and whatever that situation was going to be and for me that happened to be working in restaurants, which was that's kind of where it came from, and so there's always been sort of this desire that I have to continue to prove myself and so on.
00:13:08.177 --> 00:13:25.333
But it also has manifested itself into this fear, right, like I remember the very first CMA event that I ever went to and I was just wildly uncomfortable that I was going to be judged, for you know the fact that I didn't have a degree that that was going to.
00:13:25.374 --> 00:13:30.395
Somehow, advice that I give to young people is, you know, address that fear head on.
00:13:30.395 --> 00:13:55.490
And you know where I would have never gone up to a me to start a conversation, or to you know, the Mitchell Platts, the Joe Fulcos, the Michael Wheelers, any of those guys that I always felt were, you know, just the gods.
00:13:55.490 --> 00:13:59.479
Know the gods for lack of a better word of of our, of our industry.
00:13:59.479 --> 00:14:13.750
I would have never, I would have never addressed that and you know, hindsight being what it is, would have said you know, those are some of the best guys in the industry that would have put their arm around you and, and you know, walked you through any of those things and you know.
00:14:13.750 --> 00:14:16.677
So yeah, so that's, that's kind of.
00:14:16.677 --> 00:14:20.725
I want to be different than that in my more wiser years.
00:14:21.347 --> 00:14:28.269
Yeah, yeah, and and and I don't know if you have experienced this or you know might might be able to agree to, but it's, you know.
00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:34.913
You see, some of those people you know, I just know, if I'm like my own experience, and it's like you finally get the courage to go up and they're like amazing and nice.
00:14:34.913 --> 00:14:36.355
And you're like, oh, why'd I wait so long?
00:14:36.355 --> 00:14:46.548
And then there's the other ones who you like looked up to and when we went to go chat or say hi or introduce or whatever, and they just blow you off or they're just rude or arrogant and you're like why'd I wait so long?
00:14:46.548 --> 00:15:00.600
And still look up, like if I would have just reached out sooner, I would have known focusing on other people or putting my eggs, or, you know, farming and harvesting with different, better like relationships and stuff.
00:15:01.245 --> 00:15:05.716
Yeah, 100%, and that's fully accurate and I, you know that's, I've certainly experienced that too.
00:15:05.716 --> 00:15:13.278
But that's one of the things is that I just I never, I never want to be that guy Right?
00:15:13.278 --> 00:15:38.259
So any time that I've had the good fortune of being able to speak or teach or, you know, engage with somebody, I'm always free to give my contact information and when I tell people that I want them to reach out, I absolutely will make sure that I stay in contact with those folks Because, again, I just I think back to you know the situations that I put myself in and I would just prefer to be more helpful than not.
00:15:39.846 --> 00:15:46.339
Yeah, seeing as you've been able to be open about this and recognize it as as a leader.
00:15:46.339 --> 00:15:49.774
You know you guys have a, have a, have a great culture, you know, and all that fun stuff.
00:15:49.774 --> 00:15:51.969
And you know, I know you talk about that and do all that.
00:15:51.969 --> 00:15:56.938
And then I didn't want to dive into that on this cause it's, you know, people would have maybe heard it or whatever, and plus, I don't want to.
00:15:56.938 --> 00:15:59.083
You know, it's almost like the you know doing like a magic show.
00:15:59.083 --> 00:16:00.467
I don't want to give away like the tricks.
00:16:00.467 --> 00:16:00.889
You know what I mean.
00:16:00.889 --> 00:16:04.792
I want people to hear from you in person, like live on stage so you know but.
00:16:04.993 --> 00:16:08.585
But so I want to dive into more of like the imposter stuff, like when we were talking.
00:16:08.585 --> 00:16:16.434
So as a, as a leader, are you able to now also almost see it with younger people?
00:16:16.434 --> 00:16:24.399
Can you see when somebody maybe has it and maybe they, you know, you can kind of see not like your younger self, but you can just almost see the like same.
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:32.707
I don't know if it's hesitations or whatever, but like that same feeling, and you know, maybe they don't always say it out loud or ask for help, but like you know, how do you kind of support those team members?
00:16:32.707 --> 00:16:43.692
You know those, those younger ones or younger, older, cause you know it could be any age Like how do you see it, find it, support it and like make them comfortable enough to come out of like a little bit there.
00:16:44.775 --> 00:16:48.226
Yeah, I think, um, you know, there was an experience at conference this year.
00:16:48.287 --> 00:17:03.549
I met um, a young woman that um clearly had some confidence struggles, um, and in hearing this young woman speak you realize just how incredible this woman is and the potential that she has.
00:17:04.290 --> 00:17:21.739
And so being able to just reach out and just say, hey, look, you know, I believe in who you are as a person and you know what I think that you know you can be doing, and so on and so forth, and being able to continue that conversation and then having this individual literally hadn't heard from them for a while.
00:17:21.739 --> 00:17:32.320
And then I reached out, maybe I don't know, six weeks ago or so, had a nice conversation with them and I got a text back maybe a week or so later that says, hey, can I ask you a question?
00:17:32.320 --> 00:17:35.486
And I said sure, and she said, would you be my mentor?
00:17:35.486 --> 00:17:52.135
And so when you look at those kinds of situations and I think we could all hope that there's going to be that one person or two people that they're going to look back on their lives and say, you know, wow, whether that's you know through doing what we do or you know just by trying really hard to be a good human most days yeah.
00:18:05.365 --> 00:18:05.566
What?
00:18:05.566 --> 00:18:10.837
What conversations do you have with you know team members or just other people?
00:18:10.837 --> 00:18:15.204
Like what are those conversations that you have when you know people are doubting themselves?
00:18:15.204 --> 00:18:19.852
Like how do you normalize those feelings for them without letting it stall their growth?
00:18:22.326 --> 00:18:56.471
For me, it's a lot about drawing on past experience having been into those and been in many of those situations that have zapped my confidence for one reason or another, or mistakes that I've made or, frankly, successes that I've experienced and being able to make those relatable to the individual and trying to break things down in a way that are that it's digestible and human, frankly, and you hope that that's what has, that, that's ultimately what makes it, what makes it resonate with that person.
00:18:57.233 --> 00:19:08.490
Yeah, yeah, yeah Do you have any tools or habits that help you kind of quiet that imposter voice?
00:19:08.490 --> 00:19:14.073
Yeah, I just, whatever the situation is, I just need to do it and just be me.
00:19:14.073 --> 00:19:37.426
And if I can do that and be true to myself, then I find that, you know, most things are going to be pretty good, and at times you have to quiet things the other way too, that says, hey, look, you know, we've done some really good things, We've gotten recognized for some really cool things, but you know, don't forget all the things that you did to get to where you are, and so that's on both sides of that, Right.
00:19:37.426 --> 00:19:54.126
So, um, yeah, I mean absolutely you have to quiet the noise and and just realize that you know you want to be the guy that you've told everybody that you are and that you've spent your entire life being that you've spent your entire life being.
00:19:54.146 --> 00:19:58.920
Yeah, yeah, I know, for me it's definitely probably having that.
00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:05.693
I was gonna say that that like I-S, but then it sounds too much like I-B-S and I don't wanna say that.
00:20:05.693 --> 00:20:10.679
Got that I-S acting up again.
00:20:10.679 --> 00:20:25.614
Yeah, no, I know, for me I think it's helped a bit because you know, you know, after like a show for me, you know it could be a killer show, be like that was great, like the back of my head, I'm like you have that one moment you know I could have, or like, oh, still so, and so is better.
00:20:25.614 --> 00:20:28.461
Like whatever you know, do you ever find it's helped?
00:20:28.461 --> 00:20:36.874
You keep you humble and just, you know, for, for me, I know it keeps me hungry, keeps me learning, keeps me relatable.
00:20:36.874 --> 00:20:38.096
Do you think like the same?
00:20:39.238 --> 00:20:40.320
Absolutely, um.
00:20:40.320 --> 00:20:41.583
I mean, I think it's.
00:20:41.583 --> 00:20:52.901
I think it wouldn't be normal if you just got off stage or did whatever and didn't look and say, oh my gosh, I missed making this point or I missed that part, this trick was supposed to go that way.
00:20:52.901 --> 00:21:09.595
Yeah, 100%, I do that, and I'll kind of kick myself if there are days that I didn't prepare for something as well as I should have, but I also, at the same time, I want to be prepared, but I don't want to be rehearsed, if that makes any sense too.
00:21:09.595 --> 00:21:18.616
So I think I think probably I'm hardest on myself, um, with those kinds of situations, and that definitely helps, helps keep things in check.
00:21:19.239 --> 00:21:20.300
Yeah, are you.
00:21:20.300 --> 00:21:23.095
Are you a journaler, like, like, what do you?
00:21:23.095 --> 00:21:24.398
What do you lean?
00:21:24.398 --> 00:21:27.692
Lean into when you, when you need it the most, like you know, are you a journaler?
00:21:27.692 --> 00:21:28.954
Do you lean to mentors?
00:21:28.954 --> 00:21:32.701
You know you're like groups, like what's your, what's your go-to muse, so to speak.
00:21:36.124 --> 00:21:43.587
Well, that allows me to sort them some things out, just because you know you're sitting in a tree for hours on end by yourself, so nothing with your, but your thoughts.
00:21:46.173 --> 00:21:54.191
I just see, I just have a visual now of you in a tree Doing like duck calls, sorry, doing like duck calls.
00:21:54.211 --> 00:22:11.900
Sorry, no, it's kind of funny because, you know, if you see the bowtie version of me right and then you see the unshaven, camouflaged version of me, and it's, it's a tale of two individuals um, shannon and I get a good kick out of that still wearing a camo bowt, but still on brand.
00:22:11.900 --> 00:22:15.445
Funny, I get that comment quite a bit.
00:22:18.691 --> 00:22:21.496
Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt no, no, no, no.
00:22:21.496 --> 00:22:32.355
Um, you know, certainly with any struggles or you know questions and things like that, I lean into Shannon a lot, who is, um, she's successful in her career too, and and so she's, she's.
00:22:32.355 --> 00:22:37.505
She's a really good person to help help me reason through some things.
00:22:37.505 --> 00:22:46.065
And then you know there's a network of some individuals that you know I can pick up the phone and call and say hey, how would you handle the situation?
00:22:46.065 --> 00:22:46.691
What would you do?
00:22:46.691 --> 00:22:48.355
Am I thinking about this the right way?
00:22:48.355 --> 00:23:18.042
And I find that I use that more frequently than not to, and I find that I use that more frequently than not to and I've talked about this in a lot of the talks and presentations that I've given is easiest thing to cancel.
00:23:18.084 --> 00:23:20.109
And so for the first year of the program, I don't think I attended a single thing.
00:23:20.871 --> 00:23:28.882
And then, finally, I was just I've got a little whiteboard here in my office that keeps my schedule on it, and so I looked up and there was one of the extraordinary leader calls.
00:23:28.882 --> 00:23:31.775
I'm like, oh my gosh, let me just, I've got some time, let me get into this.
00:23:31.775 --> 00:23:43.239
And so I did it, and I'm so glad I did, because I think that has significantly helped dealing with the imposter syndrome, dealing with fear and some of those things.
00:23:43.239 --> 00:23:48.981
And frankly, I wouldn't probably be talking to you if I had not been on that, been involved in that program.
00:23:48.981 --> 00:23:55.011
So I'm really fortunate that I've done that coaching, done that coaching too, and you know, frankly, the group.
00:23:55.011 --> 00:24:02.820
You know you get on that call and you could be with GMs, you could be with head pros, you could be with, you know, servers and bartenders and different things like that.
00:24:02.820 --> 00:24:06.343
You just never know and I think that's one of the most rewarding pieces of that.
00:24:06.343 --> 00:24:10.553
So I've counted on that group in more ways than I can, than I can tell you.
00:24:11.273 --> 00:24:34.598
Yeah, and it's probably nice having such an eclectic, wide range of the people in the club spectrum because you get that perspective and and and you know it could be, I could be wrong but it you probably have had one of those moments where someone who you would have never thought like the bartender just chimed in and maybe said that one thing and you're like SOB, that was really good, like that's exactly what I needed.
00:24:34.598 --> 00:24:37.893
You know, it's not always some something from like the top of the top or the best of the best.
00:24:37.893 --> 00:24:46.070
Sometimes it's from the person you like least expect that gives you that one little nugget or that one thing and you're like that was, that was exactly what I needed.
00:24:46.853 --> 00:24:47.453
Yeah, that's it.
00:24:47.453 --> 00:24:50.142
I mean, you never know where the next great idea is going to come from.
00:24:50.142 --> 00:24:55.557
Next great idea is going to come from right, or in some cases there's a little story that I tell there was.
00:24:55.557 --> 00:25:09.073
You know, a lot of folks have what are called like comparative shopping allowances, where you know the club wants to go out and experience what's going on in other restaurants, and so my last club they had said, oh, you got to go, you got to go try this restaurant up in, like Haverd or Grace or wherever it was.
00:25:09.073 --> 00:25:16.974
So you walk into this place and it's like where in the hell am I Like this cannot be the place that you know?
00:25:16.974 --> 00:25:23.173
They felt that I should go and very quickly it was confirmed that it was not a place that I should have gone.
00:25:24.296 --> 00:25:28.310
But I learned one very important thing that I was able to pull out of that.
00:25:28.310 --> 00:25:38.377
There's one sandwich that had blackened tomato slices, which I thought was, you know, maryland is known for tomatoes and so on and so forth, and blackening was just a different approach to it.
00:25:38.377 --> 00:25:43.362
So I'm like, oh, so that made the trip kind of worthwhile and got to laugh about some of the other things.
00:25:43.362 --> 00:25:50.118
But you know, so you do you never really know in the experiences of life where that, that thing that's going to help you.
00:25:50.118 --> 00:25:58.059
You know, learn something or do something differently than what you do it, and so you just have to be open to some of those things at times.
00:25:59.111 --> 00:25:59.652
Yeah, what do you?
00:25:59.652 --> 00:26:19.976
You know you've, you've been able to work with your own people, people across the industry, conference, what, what when you're talking to young managers and and and I should young is young as an age, but you know, maybe somebody who's moving up the career ladder, cause everyone starts at different points in their, in their lives and careers what do you tell somebody?
00:26:19.976 --> 00:26:31.154
What do you tell people stepping into like that next important role, so it could be from banquet server to banquet captain, or to banquet manager, or maybe it's AGM, uh, you know.
00:26:31.154 --> 00:26:47.761
Finally, you know, to F&B director, what do you tell or you know, at least, like your own team you know for for experience, or just anybody, what do you tell, what advice do you have, you know, to kind of help them get through that next level and maybe dealing with those doubts, and that, you know, is.
00:26:49.009 --> 00:26:49.991
It's one.
00:26:49.991 --> 00:27:03.483
It's a lot of listening, because you do have to be able to listen and you have to ask a lot of questions, and so we do try to make sure that we're getting that point across as quickly as we can.
00:27:03.483 --> 00:27:09.522
And at times, like with, you know, with our own leadership team here, we have what are called huddles.
00:27:09.522 --> 00:27:23.873
So those are things that occur every three to four weeks that will address goals and different things of that nature, and that's a perfect opportunity for us to sit down with those individuals and say, hey, tell me, walk me through, why you made this decision this way.
00:27:23.873 --> 00:27:41.835
Or if I have somebody that I'm sitting across from that is maybe struggling with something, it's asking them if I have their permission to speak the truth to them, and then just kind of lay things out at that point, because you know, sometimes that's exactly what.
00:27:42.096 --> 00:27:55.990
You know, what we need to, what we need to convey is you know that there's, you know there's a different way, there could be a better way, and you know we have to be able to talk through what those, what those things are better way, and you know we have to be able to talk through what those, what those things are.
00:27:55.990 --> 00:28:21.236
Um, and you know, I think sometimes as leaders and I'm guilty of this too we can have a tendency to speak at people rather than with people, and you know, so just you try to make that as much of a two-way conversation so that you're open to listening, but at the same time, you know we have standards and expectations that we, you know, we expect are done in a very specific way, and you know, giving them the tools that they need to be able to achieve that in that fashion.
00:28:22.238 --> 00:28:30.222
How do you talk with people instead of to them Like, like, and how can you recognize if you're talking at them, not with them?
00:28:32.055 --> 00:28:54.753
just by how, pay attention to how much you're talking, right, and I know this is kind of like communications, one-on-one, right, but making sure that you're asking questions, and some questions that you know maybe you're asking because you want them to recognize why you're asking the question, and some questions that you know, walk me through why you made the decision that you made, some questions that you know, walk me through why you made the decision that you made.
00:28:54.753 --> 00:29:00.352
And then you know listening, truly listening, and not just waiting to respond.
00:29:00.352 --> 00:29:07.332
And so sometimes it'll be just making sure that I'm jotting notes down and so on and so forth so that I'm present in the conversation.
00:29:07.332 --> 00:29:21.426
But I mean, just you've got to be able to speak the truth to them and you know, sit back and understand that some days it's not about you being the one that's speaking.
00:29:22.711 --> 00:29:29.564
Yeah, did you ever run into a scenario where it's both people who are trying to like ask the questions but no one wants to like talk?
00:29:29.564 --> 00:29:31.932
So it's just two people like oh, so what do you think about this?
00:29:31.932 --> 00:29:33.496
Like oh, what prompted you to ask that question?
00:29:33.536 --> 00:29:40.791
it's just like it's the dance those are exhausting right at the end of the day.
00:29:40.791 --> 00:29:46.372
I mean, you know somebody's got to make the decision or the determination on what it is yeah and no.
00:29:46.872 --> 00:29:47.893
I was just busted on that.
00:29:47.913 --> 00:29:50.096
Yeah, it's true, though it's true, though it's true.
00:29:50.096 --> 00:29:52.057
Those can be really frustrating conversations.
00:29:53.439 --> 00:30:01.227
It's like you know, the last one to, or the first one to speak loses, so everyone just sits there in silence.
00:30:01.227 --> 00:30:03.652
No, yeah I know.
00:30:03.852 --> 00:30:19.077
I know I hope that at some point that I can be an example of you know that you don't have to be perfect to be successful, right, and success is a relative term, too, right?
00:30:19.077 --> 00:30:29.714
So everybody defines success differently and we choose to look at that here says that you know, success isn't what we can achieve in our own careers, but what we can help others achieve in theirs.
00:30:29.714 --> 00:30:32.138
That makes the difference and that really is the truth.
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:14.704
00:00:14.704 --> 00:00:20.364
00:00:20.364 --> 00:00:22.088
00:00:22.088 --> 00:00:23.551
00:00:23.551 --> 00:00:35.707
00:00:36.008 --> 00:00:56.366
00:00:56.366 --> 00:01:30.641
00:01:30.641 --> 00:01:31.903
00:01:31.903 --> 00:01:43.004
00:01:43.004 --> 00:01:57.763
00:01:57.763 --> 00:02:03.915
00:02:03.915 --> 00:02:14.086
00:02:14.086 --> 00:02:34.170
00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:54.175
00:02:54.175 --> 00:03:07.985
00:03:07.985 --> 00:03:21.383
00:03:21.383 --> 00:03:23.608
00:03:23.608 --> 00:03:27.003
00:03:27.003 --> 00:03:28.949
00:03:28.949 --> 00:03:31.044
00:03:31.044 --> 00:03:32.949
00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:48.847
00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:56.728
00:03:56.728 --> 00:04:07.828
00:04:07.828 --> 00:04:09.586
00:04:09.586 --> 00:04:15.228
00:04:15.228 --> 00:04:16.466
00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:22.987
00:04:22.987 --> 00:04:25.899
00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:27.764
00:04:27.764 --> 00:04:29.567
00:04:29.567 --> 00:04:34.766
00:04:34.766 --> 00:04:39.124
00:04:39.124 --> 00:04:44.165
00:04:44.165 --> 00:04:45.769
00:04:45.769 --> 00:04:47.011
00:04:47.011 --> 00:04:48.394
00:04:48.394 --> 00:04:56.362
00:04:57.805 --> 00:04:58.687
00:04:58.687 --> 00:05:00.391
00:05:00.391 --> 00:05:05.148
00:05:05.148 --> 00:05:17.687
00:05:17.687 --> 00:05:19.932
00:05:19.932 --> 00:05:23.004
00:05:23.004 --> 00:05:26.473
00:05:26.473 --> 00:05:29.930
00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.730
00:05:33.730 --> 00:05:45.589
00:05:45.589 --> 00:05:53.127
00:05:53.127 --> 00:05:55.988
00:05:55.988 --> 00:05:57.826
00:05:57.826 --> 00:06:02.211
00:06:02.211 --> 00:06:06.089
00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:11.649
00:06:11.649 --> 00:06:14.446
00:06:15.930 --> 00:06:16.451
00:06:17.661 --> 00:06:21.050
00:06:21.050 --> 00:06:28.004
00:06:28.045 --> 00:06:28.968
00:06:28.968 --> 00:06:30.411
00:06:30.411 --> 00:06:32.928
00:06:32.928 --> 00:06:49.184
00:06:49.184 --> 00:06:51.971
00:06:54.199 --> 00:07:01.362
00:07:01.422 --> 00:07:23.127
00:07:24.389 --> 00:07:55.211
00:07:55.211 --> 00:08:00.031
00:08:00.031 --> 00:08:07.814
00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:17.225
00:08:19.502 --> 00:08:20.425
00:08:20.425 --> 00:08:23.466
00:08:23.466 --> 00:08:27.942
00:08:27.942 --> 00:08:28.463
00:08:28.463 --> 00:08:33.532
00:08:33.532 --> 00:08:42.505
00:08:42.505 --> 00:08:45.191
00:08:45.191 --> 00:08:46.474
00:08:46.474 --> 00:08:47.725
00:08:47.725 --> 00:08:49.947
00:08:49.947 --> 00:08:52.548
00:08:52.548 --> 00:09:01.488
00:09:01.567 --> 00:09:06.852
00:09:06.852 --> 00:09:13.846
00:09:13.846 --> 00:09:14.125
00:09:14.125 --> 00:09:17.614
00:09:19.721 --> 00:09:37.625
00:09:37.625 --> 00:09:42.543
00:09:42.543 --> 00:09:52.649
00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:54.472
00:09:54.472 --> 00:09:58.447
00:09:58.447 --> 00:10:00.732
00:10:03.243 --> 00:10:08.323
00:10:09.186 --> 00:10:13.562
00:10:13.562 --> 00:10:16.788
00:10:16.788 --> 00:10:29.224
00:10:29.923 --> 00:10:30.144
00:10:30.604 --> 00:10:30.764
00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:53.774
00:10:53.774 --> 00:10:55.650
00:10:55.650 --> 00:10:57.176
00:10:57.176 --> 00:11:02.937
00:11:02.937 --> 00:11:07.865
00:11:07.865 --> 00:11:22.433
00:11:22.714 --> 00:11:38.519
00:11:40.865 --> 00:11:41.929
00:11:41.929 --> 00:11:51.514
00:11:51.514 --> 00:11:55.625
00:11:55.625 --> 00:12:00.424
00:12:00.424 --> 00:12:15.777
00:12:15.777 --> 00:12:22.417
00:12:23.902 --> 00:12:30.256
00:12:30.256 --> 00:12:32.006
00:12:32.006 --> 00:12:46.192
00:12:46.192 --> 00:13:08.116
00:13:08.177 --> 00:13:25.333
00:13:25.374 --> 00:13:30.395
00:13:30.395 --> 00:13:55.490
00:13:55.490 --> 00:13:59.479
00:13:59.479 --> 00:14:13.750
00:14:13.750 --> 00:14:16.677
00:14:16.677 --> 00:14:20.725
00:14:21.347 --> 00:14:28.269
00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:34.913
00:14:34.913 --> 00:14:36.355
00:14:36.355 --> 00:14:46.548
00:14:46.548 --> 00:15:00.600
00:15:01.245 --> 00:15:05.716
00:15:05.716 --> 00:15:13.278
00:15:13.278 --> 00:15:38.259
00:15:39.846 --> 00:15:46.339
00:15:46.339 --> 00:15:49.774
00:15:49.774 --> 00:15:51.969
00:15:51.969 --> 00:15:56.938
00:15:56.938 --> 00:15:59.083
00:15:59.083 --> 00:16:00.467
00:16:00.467 --> 00:16:00.889
00:16:00.889 --> 00:16:04.792
00:16:04.993 --> 00:16:08.585
00:16:08.585 --> 00:16:16.434
00:16:16.434 --> 00:16:24.399
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:32.707
00:16:32.707 --> 00:16:43.692
00:16:44.775 --> 00:16:48.226
00:16:48.287 --> 00:17:03.549
00:17:04.290 --> 00:17:21.739
00:17:21.739 --> 00:17:32.320
00:17:32.320 --> 00:17:35.486
00:17:35.486 --> 00:17:52.135
00:18:05.365 --> 00:18:05.566
00:18:05.566 --> 00:18:10.837
00:18:10.837 --> 00:18:15.204
00:18:15.204 --> 00:18:19.852
00:18:22.326 --> 00:18:56.471
00:18:57.233 --> 00:19:08.490
00:19:08.490 --> 00:19:14.073
00:19:14.073 --> 00:19:37.426
00:19:37.426 --> 00:19:54.126
00:19:54.146 --> 00:19:58.920
00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:05.693
00:20:05.693 --> 00:20:10.679
00:20:10.679 --> 00:20:25.614
00:20:25.614 --> 00:20:28.461
00:20:28.461 --> 00:20:36.874
00:20:36.874 --> 00:20:38.096
00:20:39.238 --> 00:20:40.320
00:20:40.320 --> 00:20:41.583
00:20:41.583 --> 00:20:52.901
00:20:52.901 --> 00:21:09.595
00:21:09.595 --> 00:21:18.616
00:21:19.239 --> 00:21:20.300
00:21:20.300 --> 00:21:23.095
00:21:23.095 --> 00:21:24.398
00:21:24.398 --> 00:21:27.692
00:21:27.692 --> 00:21:28.954
00:21:28.954 --> 00:21:32.701
00:21:36.124 --> 00:21:43.587
00:21:46.173 --> 00:21:54.191
00:21:54.211 --> 00:22:11.900
00:22:11.900 --> 00:22:15.445
00:22:18.691 --> 00:22:21.496
00:22:21.496 --> 00:22:32.355
00:22:32.355 --> 00:22:37.505
00:22:37.505 --> 00:22:46.065
00:22:46.065 --> 00:22:46.691
00:22:46.691 --> 00:22:48.355
00:22:48.355 --> 00:23:18.042
00:23:18.084 --> 00:23:20.109
00:23:20.871 --> 00:23:28.882
00:23:28.882 --> 00:23:31.775
00:23:31.775 --> 00:23:43.239
00:23:43.239 --> 00:23:48.981
00:23:48.981 --> 00:23:55.011
00:23:55.011 --> 00:24:02.820
00:24:02.820 --> 00:24:06.343
00:24:06.343 --> 00:24:10.553
00:24:11.273 --> 00:24:34.598
00:24:34.598 --> 00:24:37.893
00:24:37.893 --> 00:24:46.070
00:24:46.853 --> 00:24:47.453
00:24:47.453 --> 00:24:50.142
00:24:50.142 --> 00:24:55.557
00:24:55.557 --> 00:25:09.073
00:25:09.073 --> 00:25:16.974
00:25:16.974 --> 00:25:23.173
00:25:24.296 --> 00:25:28.310
00:25:28.310 --> 00:25:38.377
00:25:38.377 --> 00:25:43.362
00:25:43.362 --> 00:25:50.118
00:25:50.118 --> 00:25:58.059
00:25:59.111 --> 00:25:59.652
00:25:59.652 --> 00:26:19.976
00:26:19.976 --> 00:26:31.154
00:26:31.154 --> 00:26:47.761
00:26:49.009 --> 00:26:49.991
00:26:49.991 --> 00:27:03.483
00:27:03.483 --> 00:27:09.522
00:27:09.522 --> 00:27:23.873
00:27:23.873 --> 00:27:41.835
00:27:42.096 --> 00:27:55.990
00:27:55.990 --> 00:28:21.236
00:28:22.238 --> 00:28:30.222
00:28:32.055 --> 00:28:54.753
00:28:54.753 --> 00:29:00.352
00:29:00.352 --> 00:29:07.332
00:29:07.332 --> 00:29:21.426
00:29:22.711 --> 00:29:29.564
00:29:29.564 --> 00:29:31.932
00:29:31.932 --> 00:29:33.496
00:29:33.536 --> 00:29:40.791
00:29:40.791 --> 00:29:46.372
00:29:46.872 --> 00:29:47.893
00:29:47.913 --> 00:29:50.096
00:29:50.096 --> 00:29:52.057
00:29:53.439 --> 00:30:01.227
00:30:01.227 --> 00:30:03.652
00:30:03.852 --> 00:30:19.077
00:30:19.077 --> 00:30:29.714
00:30:29.714 --> 00:30:32.138