Amy Thompson

I have worked with hundreds of managers in the fitness business. I have promoted most of them from roles such as personal trainer, group fitness director, café manager, massage therapist and leagues director. While these people were all knowledgeable and skilled in their job areas, most of them had never overseen and managed a team.…

Communicating policies to your members in a timely and accurate way is critical for your business to operate smoothly. As a fitness manager, you depend on your staff to communicate policies effectively. You trust that your employees are transferring important information about company policies and operations from you to the membership. But the reality is…

Many companies hire project managers to oversee and implement initiatives set forth by the organizations. Project managers are adept at ensuring that those initiatives are successfully completed in a timely manner. As a fitness manager, you are also expected to manage projects as part of your job description. Unfortunately, few fitness managers are given the…

“As a young and newly appointed general manager of an exclusive multisport health club, I felt inexperienced, chronically behind in my tasks and alone. I needed to find someone outside the walls of my club and the world of fitness in whom I could confide—someone I could talk to about the formalities of my job,…

At this point in our series for new fitness managers, you have learned how to make the best impression possible on your staff, managers and members. You have also learned your club’s essential business practices and worked hard to determine the needs of your department. Finally, you have been shown exercises to narrow your broad…

Now that you have been in your new fitness management position for a while, chances are you have had the time to foster positive relationships with your co-workers and members. Regardless of the level of trust you have established, you can’t rely solely on your popularity to guarantee your success as a fitness manager. The…