I love knowing what's expected of me and I bet you do as well. It makes life so much easier! When told; "I need you to do X,Y and Z"... I know to do X,Y and Z. But we've all been in the position of being told something was expected of us, but the "something" was never communicated and then the problems begin.
Do you have clear expectations from your club manager or owner?
I do 🙂
It came in the form of a well written, three page document from my new boss, Joe Ducosin. Joe is the owner of Cycle Quest Studio where I recently started teaching. Here's the begining:
CycleQuest Studio Guiding Principles for Instructors
From Joe Ducosin 9/27/11This document outlines the expectations of CycleQuest Studio instructors and also provides tips and guidelines to follow to create a motivating and enjoyable indoor cycling experience for all customers.
Instructor responsibilities
- Try and arrive to class at least 15 minutes before the class start time. Remember that not only do you have to change into your workout clothes, get your own music, bike, stereo, and video setup, but there may also be a few new customers that need to be setup on the bike properly, have the bike computer explained to them, and instructed on what their expectation of the class should be. Also before class is the best time to connect with them on a personal level, learn their name, what their fitness goal is and answer questions they may have about the class and the studio. This is the most important aspect of the studio that sets us apart from other indoor cycling studios — that we are customer focused and make sure all beginners are setup properly on the bike and made to feel comfortable in the class.
- All classes should start on time and you should not wait for customers that are running late. At the end of class remind them to gently drop their handlebars and seat, and wipe down their bikes and any wet spots/puddles on the floor with the paper towels and anti-bacterial soap on each side of the class....
Joe has given me permission to share this and you can download it here.
This was really helpful for me because after 10+ years of teaching I have become a bit set in my ways and some of what Joe is asking from me is very different from what I have done in the past. Joe understands what he wants for his studio and has taken the time to lay it out in a format where I can understand pretty much exactly what he's looking for from me.
The funny thing about communication is it takes two willing participants for there to be any communicating. Each person involved is equally responsible. If I have expectations for you, I need to clearly communicate them. And the opposite is true as well; If you aren't getting clear expectations from you manager you might want to let them know you don't fully understand what's expected of you.
Take a few minutes to read Joe's Guiding Principles for Instructors and decide if having some clear expectations would be helpful where you teach. Feel free to forward this article to your manager or use this to draft your own list of expectations for your instructors.
Originally posted 2011-10-06 13:50:05.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
I love this!!! Knowing what is expected of me as an instructor takes 90% of the stress out of my job!!! (Remember this…I work for you :)).
I think every large box/ small studio should set out expectations like this. How can we audition/perform without knowing the standards?
Great job Joe!