Interview preparation plan: General Manager at Troon

Practice questions (20)

1. Tell me about a time you led a team through a crisis.
2. Describe a situation where you convinced senior stakeholders to change direction on a product initiative.
3. Tell me about a conflict with a colleague or manager and how you resolved it.
4. Tell me about a project where you collaborated with other teams to deliver a cross-functional outcome.
5. Describe a difficult decision you had to make quickly with incomplete data.
6. Tell me about when you had to adapt to a major organizational change.
7. Tell me about a mistake you made and what you learned from it.
8. Describe a time you had to influence people without direct authority.
9. Tell me about a time you managed competing stakeholder priorities.
10. Describe a situation where you had to deliver difficult feedback to a direct report.
11. Tell me about a time you resolved a conflict between two team members.
12. Describe a time you built consensus across a distributed team.
13. Tell me about a time you made a decision that negatively impacted people and how you handled it.
14. Describe a high-pressure deadline you managed and the outcome.
15. Tell me about when you had to shift strategy due to market or customer feedback.
16. Describe a time you mentored someone to take on a bigger role.
17. Tell me about a time you used data to change a team’s direction.
18. Describe a time you handled ambiguity when entering a new market.
19. Tell me about a time you managed burnout within your organization.
20. Describe a time you learned from a failed initiative and applied the lesson.

Questions to ask the interviewer (8)

• How does Troon define success for the General Manager role in the first 12 months?
• What are the biggest product or market risks you see for Troon over the next 18 months?
• How would you describe the leadership culture at Troon and the traits that succeed here?
• What do you see as the top two strategic priorities for the product/technology organization this year?
• How is success measured for cross-functional collaboration between product, engineering, and operations?
• Where do you expect the GM to drive the most immediate impact — revenue, retention, cost, or product — and why?
• What are the most significant technical or operational constraints that limit scaling right now?
• How does executive leadership prefer to engage with GMs on strategy, trade-offs, and escalations?

Study topics (7)

• Financial Performance & Budget Management

  Study how to prepare, monitor, and analyze annual budgets, revenue goals, and expense forecasts using Microsoft Excel. This is critical because the General Manager must ensure the property meets profit margin targets and demonstrates financial control aligned with Board expectations.

• Hospitality Operations & Guest Experience

  Focus on best practices for managing food & beverage, room service, and customer service standards to drive excellence in guest satisfaction. This is essential as the role oversees daily hospitality operations and requires the GM to be a role model for service quality.

• Staff Development & Leadership

  Learn strategies for selecting, training, motivating, and coaching employees to build a high-performing team. This is vital because the GM must establish personnel policies, drive staff development, and link individual performance to organizational goals.

• HOA Coordination & Community Management

  Understand the dynamics of coordinating with Homeowners Associations (HOA) and managing resident experiences in a master-planned resort community. This is important as the GM serves as the senior operational leader responsible for resident satisfaction and strategic execution with the Board.

• Golf Operations & Lifestyle Programming

  Acquire general knowledge of golf operations and how to design lifestyle and wellness programming for a community. This is necessary because Troon is a leader in golf management, and the role oversees golf operations alongside wellness amenities and event coordination.

• Strategic Execution & Business Analytics

  Study how to analyze business drivers, identify trends in financial data, and implement solutions to meet margin targets. This is crucial for the GM to demonstrate business savvy, plan for peak efficiency, and align strategic execution with developer expectations.

• Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency

  Ensure proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint for reporting, forecasting, and communication. This is a mandatory requirement for the role to generate business volume forecasts and manage daily operational documentation effectively.

Related plans

• General Manager at McDonald's