| Harbor Athletic Club Manager Todd Passini “Fit to lead” |
together, and that is done at different levels. I also work on a lot of projecting things to make sure that the company stays on the right track.”
Passini was quick to add that he couldn’t do this job alone. “There’s no way I can handle this on my own,” he said. “We have a very wonderful management
team that helps me out.”
Self-assessing his management style, Passini said that he leads by example, listens to people, and is not big on yelling, grinding and putting pressure on
others. To evaluate his staff’s performance, it’s not “‘OK, your yoga members are down,’” but analyzing why it is so. “We evaluate how they get along with the folks
they are working with,” Passini emphasized, admitting that the numbers game is a pretty big tell-tale sign when they evaluate their staff at least once a year.
When you’re in a leadership position, challenges abound, and Passini recognizes them and faces them squarely. “My primary challenges are staff-related,” he
said. “I have to make sure that the staff remains team-oriented and happy. That’s probably my single biggest challenge. And I am making sure we remain as one
cohesive unit and that the staff is well-appreciated.” He also explained that staff-retention is one of his goals. “We have invested a lot of time in retaining our
staff,” he said. “So we don’t have turnover as much as an average gym that would hire part-time staff to handle certain things. We have close to 25-30 full-time
staff who are [actively] involved in [certain] programs, and they work together towards the same goal.”
Collaboration is also an important word to Passini, especially in establishing goals for each department. “I gather inputs from all (the owner, himself,
managers or directors) as they will have an impact on this.”
Another major responsibility of Passini is promoting and marketing the Club. “I promote the club everywhere I go,” he said. “I talk about the valuable things
that we can do to help people. Our biggest marketing plan is retention, to make sure that everyone who goes through these doors has a great experience. That
way, our client turnover is much less than the average industry standard.”
Passini described why their members stay with Harbor Athletic Club. “Our members have a personal contact with our staff,” he said proudly. “For example, in
other clubs, you will never meet the staff member who sold the membership ever again after you become a member. Here, for example, Sandra sells you a
membership, runs your wam water pool schedule, becomes your personal trainer, and runs your yoga program. Our managers are people who make sales, run
programs, and stay with our clients throughout their experience here.” I might add, Passini calls their clients by their first names ... all of them, and they number
more than 2,000!
Todd Passini is truly fit to lead!
Harbor Athletic Club is at 2529 Allen Blvd., Middleton, Wis. Its facilities are great and membership fees are very reasonable. Visit www.harborathletic.com.
Passini was quick to add that he couldn’t do this job alone. “There’s no way I can handle this on my own,” he said. “We have a very wonderful management
team that helps me out.”
Self-assessing his management style, Passini said that he leads by example, listens to people, and is not big on yelling, grinding and putting pressure on
others. To evaluate his staff’s performance, it’s not “‘OK, your yoga members are down,’” but analyzing why it is so. “We evaluate how they get along with the folks
they are working with,” Passini emphasized, admitting that the numbers game is a pretty big tell-tale sign when they evaluate their staff at least once a year.
When you’re in a leadership position, challenges abound, and Passini recognizes them and faces them squarely. “My primary challenges are staff-related,” he
said. “I have to make sure that the staff remains team-oriented and happy. That’s probably my single biggest challenge. And I am making sure we remain as one
cohesive unit and that the staff is well-appreciated.” He also explained that staff-retention is one of his goals. “We have invested a lot of time in retaining our
staff,” he said. “So we don’t have turnover as much as an average gym that would hire part-time staff to handle certain things. We have close to 25-30 full-time
staff who are [actively] involved in [certain] programs, and they work together towards the same goal.”
Collaboration is also an important word to Passini, especially in establishing goals for each department. “I gather inputs from all (the owner, himself,
managers or directors) as they will have an impact on this.”
Another major responsibility of Passini is promoting and marketing the Club. “I promote the club everywhere I go,” he said. “I talk about the valuable things
that we can do to help people. Our biggest marketing plan is retention, to make sure that everyone who goes through these doors has a great experience. That
way, our client turnover is much less than the average industry standard.”
Passini described why their members stay with Harbor Athletic Club. “Our members have a personal contact with our staff,” he said proudly. “For example, in
other clubs, you will never meet the staff member who sold the membership ever again after you become a member. Here, for example, Sandra sells you a
membership, runs your wam water pool schedule, becomes your personal trainer, and runs your yoga program. Our managers are people who make sales, run
programs, and stay with our clients throughout their experience here.” I might add, Passini calls their clients by their first names ... all of them, and they number
more than 2,000!
Todd Passini is truly fit to lead!
Harbor Athletic Club is at 2529 Allen Blvd., Middleton, Wis. Its facilities are great and membership fees are very reasonable. Visit www.harborathletic.com.
By Dennis Alfred M. Pascual
I have always been fascinated by
people engaged in helping others become
physically fit. This is one reason I wanted to
become one of them. To do so, however, I
knew I had to go to school, complete a
course that would serve as my foundation to
achieve that dream, and learn from those
who have traversed that career path.
I have always been fascinated by
people engaged in helping others become
physically fit. This is one reason I wanted to
become one of them. To do so, however, I
knew I had to go to school, complete a
course that would serve as my foundation to
achieve that dream, and learn from those
who have traversed that career path.
I’d like to share with you what I learned from Todd Passini, general manager of Harbor Athletic Club in Middleton, Wis. when I
interviewed him recently for Asian Wisconzine. He really enlightened me about what it takes to be a leader in this field of
physical fitness.
Aside from having a bachelor’s degree in health and human development major in business administration, Passini is a
certified Body Pump and Group Cycling Instructor, and serves as a personal trainer for all ages. He has been with Harbor Athletic
Club for 11 years.
As general manager, Todd Passini wears many hats. “There’s basically nothing that I don’t do,” he said. “It ranges from
plunging toilets to handling one-one-one issues with the staff. Mainly, it’s keeping our 185-plus employees cohesive and
interviewed him recently for Asian Wisconzine. He really enlightened me about what it takes to be a leader in this field of
physical fitness.
Aside from having a bachelor’s degree in health and human development major in business administration, Passini is a
certified Body Pump and Group Cycling Instructor, and serves as a personal trainer for all ages. He has been with Harbor Athletic
Club for 11 years.
As general manager, Todd Passini wears many hats. “There’s basically nothing that I don’t do,” he said. “It ranges from
plunging toilets to handling one-one-one issues with the staff. Mainly, it’s keeping our 185-plus employees cohesive and