Private Club Radio Show
Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the industry's weekly source for education, news, trends, and other current developments in the world of private clubs.
Hosted by the talented entertainer and industry expert, Denny Corby,
the podcast offers a unique perspective on the private club industry, featuring expert guests, product spotlights, predictions, and more.
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Private Club Radio Show
396 : Balancing Family, Fitness, and Leadership w/ Meridith Picarelli-Khattar, CCM, CCE
What does it take to excel in the challenging world of private club management while balancing the roles of a dedicated mother and high-achieving athlete? Meridith Picarelli-Khattar, CCM, CCE Assistant General Manager at Chevy Chase Club, opens up about her journey, revealing the art of juggling these demanding roles with grace and insight. Listen as Meredith uncovers her personal strategies for effective time management and the importance of flexibility in the hospitality industry, sharing how coaching has been a transformative force in her leadership path. Whether you're navigating the unpredictable world of club management or seeking inspiration to maintain an active lifestyle amidst life’s chaos, Meredith’s approach offers a fresh perspective.
In an industry notorious for long hours, achieving work-life balance becomes a critical skill rather than a lofty ideal. We explore this crucial topic, discussing how leaders can foster healthier expectations within their teams and the diverse career paths available in private clubs beyond the traditional food and beverage roles. Drawing from her experiences teaching at universities and engaging in professional coaching, this episode highlights the avenues for personal and professional growth, particularly for women in hospitality. Prepare to explore the intersection of leadership, lifestyle, and professional development with insights that could redefine your career trajectory in the private club sector.
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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. Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place. I'm your host, denny Corby. Welcome to the show. In this episode I am chatting with Meredith Piccarelli-Katar, ccm CCE, assistant General Manager at Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase, maryland, and in this episode we talk a lot about high performance, high achievement. She's a very high performer, very high achiever, has done Ironmans, triathlons, marathons, all the odds. And to do those you have to and be in the club space and to have a family, it takes a lot of work. We talked about this along with our friend, josiah Smith I can never say his name in a straight way Joe Smith, josiah but to do those sort of things you have to be all in, you have to be a high achiever, you have to be fully committed, all in, and we talk about that in this episode. We talk about time management, balancing work, balancing work-life balance, balancing a family, the importance of professional development, especially in the hospitality industry, especially in private clubs. We talk about daily routines, what it's like being a mom, motherhood in the industry, as well as how coaching has played a very significant role in her leadership growth. I was surprised of her point of view of the necessity of flexibility in a daily routine to give way to, you know, unpredicted or unpredictable things that pop up. So this is a wonderful, wonderful episode. I'm so excited to bring on Meredith.
Speaker 1:Before we get to the episode, quick, if you've not done so already, sign up for our newsletter. Head on over to privateclubradiocom, wait a couple seconds and it pops up. Big thank you to some of our show partners, which you're going to hear about later on. In the episode. We have concert golf partners, golf life navigators, our friends Kenneth's member vetting and myself, the Denny Corby experience. But enough about us, let's get to the episode. Private Club Radio listeners. Let's welcome Meredith Piccarelli-Katar.
Speaker 2:I hate starting just like, flat out, just like so, yeah, especially at nine o'clock in the morning, but you've probably what been up since four, because you're a high achiever I am. I've been up since a little after four and I got my workout in and got my son up and had breakfast with him, took him to school, finished my workout, showered and I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1:I was totally kidding on that. That's so funny. Um, no, you're, you were like a real high. It's like your time management must be through the roof, cause what you do Ironman, triathlons, you, you got a family. Oh my, you got a family, oh my, like you, you, you do a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, pre-child I did Ironman and triathlons. I've done one since he was born and I've kind of retreated back to marathons, which, time wise, is a little bit less. But yeah, I think I was thinking about it this morning like my time management skills, I think I've, even I've honed in them a little bit more since having a child, because you just have to. I mean, I haven't really given anything up, I just try to fit more in, and so my mind is constantly racing okay, what's next? Or what do we have to do, or what are we having for breakfast or lunch or for dinner, what do we have to prepare? And it gets a little exhausting, but it's okay. Oh, I can't imagine.
Speaker 1:I love it. It gets a little exhausting but it's okay, oh, I can't imagine. I love it. Do you have like a time management strategy, like, do you, like, how do you? Because even prior to that you must have been good, because even just to be a you know, a well-functioning club manager and then to also do all this extra work, you know Ironman's training, that's a lot of training.
Speaker 1:That's a lot of time management, Cause you have to. I'm sure you're sure you know food, like everything is so, like precise is how you eat, when you eat, Like there's a there's a systematic approach.
Speaker 2:There is, there's a method to all the madness. But no, I've always had a lot of energy. And you could, my mom would tell me at as a baby I would be up at 4 am and she wonders why. I wonder why my son's up that early and I'd be ready to go.
Speaker 2:So I am an early riser I always have been, and I have just found getting it done in the morning, because I can't ever guarantee that I have time in the afternoon to get it done or get another workout in. As a club manager, when you're going to work, it's a little unpredictable. I've just gotten everything done in the morning, and I think our industry and clubs in general have just allowed somewhat of a flexible schedule just because of different times a day that you have to be at the club, whether it's for an event or whether it's for a committee meeting, and so sometimes those are early morning meetings or sometimes they're kind of later on. So, like this afternoon, I have two later meetings and I'll probably be at work till later, till nine or so, and so my day starts kind of a little bit later, which allows me more freedom and more time in the morning.
Speaker 1:Do you still? Do you still then wake up at four Like are you still? Like, no matter what time you're out till, like it's like okay, you're going to suffer, like that right? You're still going to pull the trigger and wake up.
Speaker 2:You know it depends. I work with a coach and so I kind of look at my week as a week by week basis and I'll kind of say, okay, here's what next week looks like, and I work pick up, drop off schedule with my husband and then I figure out which days I can have longer workouts and have some more time. So we kind of move it around just depending on what my work schedule or what kind of family schedule dictates.
Speaker 1:That's cool. Now have you always had this like was like in college were you also up at four getting stuff done early, like I think I was out till four. No, I won't say that, no, I played.
Speaker 2:I played field hockey in college for division three school, and so I've always, I think, was out till four.
Speaker 2:No, I won't say that, no, I played field hockey in college for Division III school, and so I've always, I think, learned and been able to manage that kind of athletic pursuits with maybe studies or kind of professional pursuits and trying to fit in either a social life or family life now.
Speaker 2:And so I don't say I was up at four, I think just over time, and really in triathlon or wanting to work out and kind of get things done in the morning before you go to work, I just naturally I think over the last maybe 15 years, 20 years, have just kind of geared towards that like getting up, getting things done early and feeling good. I mean, I worked out of college and in college and I bartended, so there were many nights I wasn't going to bed till 1 am or 2 am by the time you got home. And so I definitely don't want to say in that era I was getting up at four. But really once I started my professional career in kind of my early to mid twenties, I navigated towards that, simply because when I went to work at, you know, between nine and 10, I didn't leave work till nine or 10 at night, and so the only opportunity was in the morning.
Speaker 1:What? What's a what's a typical day look like. So like if you, if your average run of the mill day, things are going to go as planned. What does that look like?
Speaker 2:um, every day is a little bit different, but I'll give it today, right today. I was up it was up at 4 30 and I had a bike workout. This morning my son woke up earlier than I had wanted him to, or he's supposed to so he came downstairs with me, had his milk washed, his ipad, um, and then we kind of got ready for his day, had breakfast, uh, took him to school, came back, had a quick run, showered, got ready and then I'll head off to work after this. And I've got a couple of meetings lined up. I've got a couple of things we're working on.
Speaker 2:We're about to open up, finish some construction and reopen a part of a second part of the clubhouse, a new restaurant that we've been renovating since January, and so working with our contractors on that kind of getting some details finished. And then I have a couple of committee meetings tonight and I'm manager on duty. So every day looks a little bit different, just really depending on what meetings I have, whether it's with department heads, whether it's with committees, and then kind of ingraining family life within that. So some days I'm at work at seven and I'm leaving between four and five and I'm picking my son up and we spend, you know, the afternoon evening together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have one kid right.
Speaker 2:I have one son, yep, he's two and a half.
Speaker 1:Yep Two and a half. What's that transition been?
Speaker 2:like it has been challenging. It's challenging because I don't think anyone prepares you and nobody prepares you how to be a mom, but nobody really prepares you how to be a mom and then go back to thinking you can do what you used to do at work and work the hours you used to work, or kind of, and not to say that you can't still accomplish the same things and have the same goals. But it just looks different and I think you have to give yourself some grace that you know you may have a list of things to do and you're going to get a call from school that your son's sick and he has to be picked up and that throws, you know, a loop into everything that you do, and so I definitely don't think society prepares you for any of that and you're really just trying to kind of struggle and figure it out kind of along the way. But he is my biggest blessing and I'm so fortunate to have him.
Speaker 2:It took me gosh, over 40 years to figure out how I was going to balance having a family and work in this industry, which we shouldn't be put in that position. But sometimes that's the challenge not knowing. You know the hours are unpredictable and how can you in that position. But sometimes that's the challenge not knowing. You know the hours are unpredictable and how can you fit it in. But I'm really fortunate that we've been able to make it work and now he's a priority and I think that has put a lot in perspective for me, not only as a mom but as a professional, and having more realistic expectations for myself, but then for team members that also have family and realizing that they have a family to go home to and they shouldn't be at work for endless hours. There should be a start and a stop to the day. So it's helped me, I think, put a lot into perspective.
Speaker 1:And that's a more common topic now things people are talking about and it's more of a common thing.
Speaker 2:Yes, I would say yeah, I think before we always said, you know it was work-life balance and how do you do it in this industry. But it shouldn't be called that. It's just, you know you have a family and you should be able to have a life outside of work and we just have to do a better job at you know, holding ourselves accountable for that, like there will be days that are longer than others. But as leaders right, and as senior managers, I have to be able to tell the team that works underneath me, or have a realistic expectation of what they should be working. You know, whether they have a family or not. You know nobody wants to work 12, 15 hour days. That's tough, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you teach a lot too, right.
Speaker 2:I was Not now, but I have actively been an adjunct professor at New York University, norwalk Community College and then Sacred Heart University, and so I've taught the private club management course. They've looked a little bit different at each kind of university or college and I really enjoyed it. I have done it because I really enjoy giving back and I've been fortunate to have a lot of support with professional development, and so I want to be able to give back what I've learned in the industry to students and then also be able to share with them that this is a really great industry to work in and you don't have to go through the food and beverage track. There's lots of different departments within private clubs that you can come and work in. You like accounting? Well, there's an accounting department in private clubs. You like marketing and communications? Well, here's what we do here, and so I think it's thinking outside of. I have to go to school because I want to be in food and beverage and I think of private clubs as an option.
Speaker 1:But private clubs has lots of different departments and industries, kind of within our industry, which I think is the beauty of it I say the same thing like if, oh, you like golf and you like interior design, did you know you could design like interior design for golf? Like there's like such like nichey stuff, like in this whole thing that, like I don't know, the table's so big, the pie's so big, the pie's so big so to speak. How long have you had a? You have a professional coach, Professional person.
Speaker 2:So I have an athletic coach or I have a coach that will write a program for me for what race that I would kind of like to race. I also work with an executive coach that I've been working with for the past year and a half. That's really helped me kind of on leadership and then also put together a speaking platform because that was one of my goals and so she's kind of helped me formulate that. And then I've been a part of the Extraordinary Leader Program leadership program with Kevin McDonald and Shelley McDougall for many, many years and they've really really very much helped me. Kevin's been a confidant and a friend for many years.
Speaker 2:So I think it's important that we recognize right to get better. You have coaches right, and so there can be lots of different people in your life that can act as a coach and you can have different coaches for different purposes. But and to acknowledge that we're not all at the top of our game in all aspects of our life, and so that you can have somebody help you get better pursuing whatever you'd like to pursue.
Speaker 1:How old were you when all that started?
Speaker 2:Kind of all three having three different coaches.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I was lucky. When I first worked at Chevy I guess about 10, 12 years ago now 11 years now I was involved in the Extraordinary Leader Program and so I met Kevin and Shelly and Jackie at the time, all in that group, and was involved in that program and kind of left and still kept ties and kept involved. And then I had, I guess, an athletic coach for the last 13, 14 years to really help achieve those goals of whether it's completing an Ironman, a half Ironman, a marathon, what pace I want to run, and then just over the last year and a half, an executive coach.
Speaker 1:That's cool. What was the? Have you always wanted an executive coach? Was that on the radar, like, how did that present itself, cause cause? That's always a unique journey for people also.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. So I was really fortunate. I've been involved with a program that used to be called Castell at College through the Castell Project, which now is a part of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and Castell at College would take. They had a program that would take women in hospitality and we kind of go into the classroom or it was all via Zoom over COVID and we do kind of a panel. And it was a different style of panel where you would have all different industries of women in hospitality and so they would talk kind of about their roles and we were just sharing really with students all of the different opportunities within the hospitality industry, not limited to private clubs or hotels or investments, restaurants. And then through that program they offered some continuing education.
Speaker 2:The program was called, they had a build and elevate program and I attended and that's when we had an executive coach come in and had a program for us and then I thought, well, you know that would be, I'd really like to work with someone to continue my leadership, growth and development and I'm going to reach out and see if she will help me. And so she has coached C-suite executives, both men and women, and I found she's incredible, she's really helped me become a better leader and kind of put things on paper and held me accountable, because I think sometimes it's hard. You know I want to do big things in life and it's hard to kind of figure out where everything fits in and you don't have to do it all now but I want to, and so kind of how to figure out it all falls into place.
Speaker 1:That's powerful stuff. What is the last book that you read?
Speaker 2:The last book that I read. It was um, we, we have a sorry, I'm trying to think of the title. I love reading. I don't get to read that often, I'm just trying to juggle everything. I listened to a lot of podcasts, but it was a Brene Brown dare to lead. Um, every year, um, we have a pretty large internship program at Chevy, and so every year we identify a book that we ask our interns to read and we have kind of a discussion on it with some of our management team and the interns, and so that was the book we read this year management team and the interns, and so that was the book we read this year.
Speaker 1:That's cool. I was just chatting with another another guest and that was part of our talk is it was the first time they were using interns and just what that process was like. So, just, you know, it was just neat hearing kind of just like, hey, what'd you do Good, what'd you do bad? Like what was that? You know cause they. It was cool just to hear you know people talk about just like first time trying that. She just brought that up so it just made me think about that. What podcast do you listen to? Are you like a true crime junkie? Do you do like you know self-development stuff? What's your jam?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a little bit of everything. It's a little bit self-development, it's women who interview athletes or business leaders, and so it's a couple of different ones. It's some entrepreneurs. I've always wanted to start my own business, so trying to think about how I do that. Yeah, I've got lots of big goals and big dreams, but they just kind of figure out where they all fall. So, yeah, I listen to them on long car rides, or even sometimes it takes 45 minutes to get to work when you live 17 miles away here in Maryland. But yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1:How do you handle just a bad day I don't want to say bad day, because everyone has different ways to phrase things but how do you just blow off steam? How do you handle a day?
Speaker 2:With a workout sometimes, or just going for a walk or just maybe ending the day with a glass of wine. But you know every day I think what I've learned with having a child is that every day is going to look different and what you plan may not be how your day goes, and so you just have to learn to become flexible and just say like it is, what it is, and so you just move forward, or I move forward with. You know the day is going to end and start and we're going to have a new day, so let's get through today. You know it may be the worst day I've ever had, but you know I'm still responsible for the way I act right and the people that I lead, and so I'm not going to bring my bad day into somebody else. I may vent to my colleague who I share an office with, who's our food and beverage director, but other than that I try not to drag anybody else into it.
Speaker 1:Good, you're really good at these answers. This is a very good talk, oh you're very good. No, sometimes it's like pulling teeth too, and you're just like.
Speaker 2:I was like I wonder what he's going to ask me. I don't have a prep questionnaire.
Speaker 1:This is going to be really out there. Sometimes I throw stuff out. Other times it's just because if I have like too many preset, then like in my head it's like I have to get to them and I'm not like yeah in it sometimes, um, because I try to make them like I don't know, fun for everybody, or at least, yeah, makes it sound good too in like less than a minute. What's your? What's your history, or you know what? What's your story? What got you to where you're at today?
Speaker 2:yeah. So I think I'm a little untraditional and I didn't go to undergraduate school for hospitality. I started working in a restaurant to make money for spring break with some friends and somehow that ended up into my hospitality to be my hospitality career. I was in that restaurant for four years, got promoted to assistant manager and then one day we walked in and the doors were closed and had no clue what I was going to do next. Neither did anybody else, and so I started applying for jobs closer into kind of New York City and the Connecticut area and I applied for a job at a private club for an assistant food and beverage manager. And those were the times where you would just get a cold call. So I got a cold call from the general manager and he asked me a couple of questions and then invited me in for an interview and that was my first club.
Speaker 2:I worked in a round-tail club and I had no knowledge that there was an industry called hospitality, there was something called private club industry.
Speaker 2:And he took a huge chance on me because, I mean, I had experience but I had no clue what the industry was and I worked as hard as I could to prove that he made the right choice to hire me and I'm really fortunate he supported us. All of his managers and myself, through professional development, exposed me to the Connecticut Club Management chapter, to CMAA, and it really became, you know, a career that I wanted to be in. I left there because I wanted to pursue a master's in hospitality and I wasn't able to do both at the same time. So I moved to New York City. I worked for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Two years to the day I graduated and I came back into private clubs, and so that's been my kind of career path. Ever since We've moved around, I've spent primarily all of my time in Greenwich, connecticut, or Chevy Chase, maryland, and so I've worked at four different clubs in Greenwich, connecticut and then my second time back at Chevy Chase Club.
Speaker 1:What's that like coming full circle there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been. I mean, it's been an amazing experience and I'm so fortunate to have had and have a lot of great mentors and a lot of great leaders. And I think you know, for me, I've worked at some smaller clubs as a general manager in Greenwich and you know, coming back to Chevy, which is a huge operation, and being in a different role and you know I came back four years ago and I'm thinking how am I going to make a difference? You know what am I going to do and how am I going to know that I've made an impact? And I remember Mr O'Boyle saying you know what, just give it some time, right, give it some time, you will make an impact. Like we will get there.
Speaker 2:And I think about everything we've done in the last almost four years and leaders I've hired you know department heads I've hired, people we've promoted and what we've done to kind of change how the club will operate, especially with these construction projects, is just incredible and I'm just so proud. I'm proud to be able to work for the team that I get to work with and proud to work for the club and I've learned so much coming back into my role that will provide so much value. Should I continue to move on to be a general manager at some point?
Speaker 1:Trust the process.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep Trust the process.
Speaker 1:I think I'm going to wrap that up there. I think that was some good stuff and I'll chop it up. It'll be probably right around 20 minutes, which will be good. Okay, thank you so much for coming on. This was awesome.
Speaker 2:No, thank you, I hope it was okay. I was like I'm like sweating and I'm like, is this okay? Like all right Answer's okay. Am I looking at the camera? What are people going to think about?
Speaker 1:me If, if you're listening, make sure you tell Meredith how good of an episode it was. She, you sounded so good. No, no, thank you so much for coming on and just being open and sharing with us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for coming on and sharing all that you did. It means a lot If you're enjoying the content. A like, share, subscribe. It means the world. It costs nothing. Five-star rating, Anything you can do. If you haven't done so already, sign up for our newsletter and over to privateclubradiocom. That's this episode. I'm your host, Danny Corby. Catch you all on the Flippity Flip.
