A Time for Leadership
In the 40-plus years I’ve been involved in the pool and spa industry, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of organizations on the local, state and national levels. Every step along the way, I worked closely with people who displayed a variety of leadership styles and have done my best to perform well when I’ve been called on to take those leading roles myself.
These experiences leave me convinced that the purposeful leadership of those able to inspire others to share their way of thinking can make a huge difference. These leaders guide an industry or an organization in a positive direction while setting the table for success not just in the present, but for the future. Conversely, I’ve seen how ineffectual leadership clearly retards overall progress and results in missed opportunities.
As we move into a new decade and, everyone hopes, finally manage to put this overlong recession behind us, it’s obvious that these are pivotal times for the watershaping industry. Maximizing our future opportunities will require the emergence of a new generation of industry leaders who have the vision, will and energy to execute big ideas from the grass roots all the way through to the grandest national and international levels.
My sincere hope is that these leaders are ready to step up – and that if any of them are still on the fence, deciding whether or not to get involved, they will find reason and encouragement enough to do so. I further hope that tomorrow’s industry leaders have the presence of mind to study the past with an eye toward what has worked and what hasn’t.
SPECTRUMS OF INFLUENCE
As one who’s long been part of our industry’s leadership, I concede that making the commitment can be tougher than it seems and that participation can be extremely frustrating at times. But it’s also remarkably rewarding at others.
Moreover, I can say without reservation that no leader has to work alone and that what often appears to be the outcome of keen leadership from the top is in fact an expression of the work of an entire, sometimes large group of people committed to a common goal across a range of levels and regions.
I haven’t always seen it this way, but leadership is not the sole responsibility of the person in the big chair: Those who get directly involved are important, of course, but true success is in the hands of everyone in the industry. In other words, the most effective leadership is very much the expression of group effort.
My first brush with leadership came during my years with Associated Swimming Pool Industries (ASPI) in southern Florida. Seeing how useful a local group could be in supporting the industry’s collective interests, I then joined the Miami chapter of the National Spa & Pool Institute (NSPI), became involved in the Florida region and ultimately served on the national board of directors.
On each of those levels, I saw how much influence leaders have on the culture of the organization – its agenda, reputation and, ultimately, level of effectiveness or ineffectiveness. I witnessed how some people stood up to controversy and even thrived on it, and how others were overwhelmed when times were tough and big questions are asked.
Some of those under whom I served were extremely qualified and purposefully sought positions of power. Others weren’t truly leaders at all, but instead were people who ended up in the top chairs either because there was no on else around to fill the slot or because it was his or her turn in the pecking order.
At NSPI, the presidents I worked with were for the most part effective in their own ways. Some who influenced my thinking about leadership include Charles Whitmer, who ran an extremely organized, trim ship; Dennis Chapman, who was far more relaxed in his approach but effective just that same; and Ted Richard, who was truly gifted in his ability to unite people from different factions of the industry by defining common interests.
In Richard’s case, I was impressed by the value he placed on having the people on his board get to know one another not only as industry activists but also as people with shared social experiences. I particularly recall an event he organized in 1992 – an amazing lobster bake on the beach in Newport, R.I., where (at their own expense) members of the NSPI board cooked dinner for each other, shared their passion for good food, good wine, good music and good company and for a time turned a contentious crowd into an incredibly harmonious working group.
Indeed, that one event forged effective working relationships that lasted for years to come. And it impressed me enough that a few years later it was instrumental in establishing the culture behind Genesis 3: By sharing experiences outside the hard work of getting educated, we’ve cobbled together a large family of like-minded professionals.
NECESSARY VISION
Regardless of personal style, effective leaders must have Ted Richard’s ability to unite people around a shared conceptual framework – or what many of us simply call vision. It’s not just having an idea about what’s going to work and what won’t work in the present and the future: Leaders must be able to articulate their ideas and help those around them understand those ideas in ways that connect with the interests of people from many different walks of life.
Right now, to bring the idea up to the minute, we’re in an industry that faces immense challenges as well as wonderful opportunities.
We’re caught up on the one hand in contending with the influence of government in the form of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act, which has forced us to be much more active in addressing a range of safety issues. And we face obvious economic challenges as we’ve watched the mid-level and volume markets disappear during the recession. Here, we need leaders who are committed to engaging in positive promotion of the benefits of owning watershapes for health, aesthetic beauty or as sources of family togetherness.
On the other hand, we’ve seen a tectonic change in what consumers want by way of their exterior environments. As has been discussed in these pages countless times, where people in the traditional pool and spa industry tend to look at their output in isolation, our consumers are, by contrast, seeing pools, spas and other watershapes in the context of an overall spectrum of recreational and aesthetic opportunities. This means that our leaders must understand amenities such as outdoor kitchens, landscape lighting and fire effects and guide watershapers to embrace the entirety of the outdoor experience.
Smart leaders, of course, recognize such trends and amplify the benefits of moving in those directions. There are pockets of resistance, but I think that once and for all we have learned that limiting the scope of what we do and defining our work as a commodity is not the best path. Instead, there’s real value in great design, beautiful materials, creativity and commitment when it comes to getting consumers involved in experiencing pleasure, health benefits and luxury.
Yes, technical proficiency is absolutely crucial, but we all need to understand the psychology behind the desire to own watershapes. Likewise, we all must know that the most beautiful, thoughtful, meticulous design isn’t worth the paper it’s drawn on without the solid underpinnings of reliable engineering and capable construction.
And as I have written here recently, we also have a tremendous opportunity to become part of a global network of watershapers. A certain North American isolationism may have worked in the past but is truly silly now: Can there be any question in today’s world of instant communication that we are now part of global network of people united by common interests?
FOR EVERYONE
Given all of the above, I feel a bit like a politician who has just published a platform to help voters decide whom to support, but that’s definitely not my purpose here: I’m not running for office. Instead, what I hope to do is draw out and call on a new generation of leaders – professionals unshackled by the conventional thinking that surrounded me as I grew up in the industry and who are ready to link up with progressive thinkers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South Africa and South America.
In many cases, you know who you are and have already embarked on your chosen path to leadership. In others, you’re still too busy formulating your own success to think beyond what you do or jump into something bigger. To all of you, let me offer some advice.
Certainly, part of being a strong leader is being realistic about what can be achieved – especially in the short run, where change often happens slowly or seemingly not at all. It’s also important not to confuse prudence with defense of the status quo: People will tell you that those two things are related, but prudence is about following the wise course, while defending the status quo means not moving at all. Finally, follow your own counsel and do not let those who are stuck in the past dampen your enthusiasm for change or persuade you that the risks involved in trying new approaches is too great.
The world around us is constantly changing, and companies and organizations large and small, local or national, need to keep pace. This is why I have always believed that true leadership is never limited to those who sit in the president’s or chairperson’s or CEO’s chair. Rather, we all have the opportunity to lead by example and inspire others simply by doing a good job. On that level, industry leaders can come from all walks of life and all levels of endeavor so long as they have passion and a vision.
I’m not so naïve that I think everyone in the industry is cut out to be a leader. Many simply are not ready, nor will they ever be. But if you have good ideas, an engaging personality and lots of determination, now would be a great time to stand up and be heard. Who knows, you might just be the one who leads us into a brighter future – and you’ll never know unless you try!
Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants, a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is a co-founder of the Genesis 3 Design Group; dedicated to top-of-the-line performance in aquatic design and construction, this organization conducts schools for like-minded pool designers and builders. He can be reached at [email protected].