An area of concern with a large portion of parent run clubs is that the board is either ineffective or they don’t have enough quality members that can deliver. And before you go assuming that my assertion is coming from head coach complaints, let me tell you that it’s usually the board who calls me for help. They recognize that they aren’t performing or performing to the best of their ability.
Good on them for recognizing they need help or that things need to change. I tend to approach this situation from the perspective of asking them to lead their business like the business they are. Yes, you are a swim club but it is a business and if you were on the board of any other business outside of youth sports, would non-performance be allowed to stand? Sure, it’s common sense that swim clubs are businesses, but for some reason when parents volunteer to be on the board they don’t quite make the connection that they are a Business Leader not just a parent volunteering.
That is a mental step that I ask Boards to take with me in order to move into their skills and effectiveness. Having an effective board requires serious reflection and courage. It means the current board must put in the effort and lay the groundwork for future boards to come. The word effective is going to mean different things for teams, but essentially it should be a board that either delivers on operational actions (dry side) or facilitates operational actions that benefits the organization and its members.
It starts with deciding the purpose and structure of the board. It should be outlined in your bylaws, but chances are the board itself and the positions within have changed or evolved, maybe even devolved, since those bylaws were written. Take an honest look at how the board should be operating to be effective today, not 10-15 years ago when the bylaws were written. For many boards, that means tackling the operational needs of the organization. Managing volunteers, running meets, hosting events, raising money, use of money, the list can go on forever and will be specific to your club.
From there, the board should be writing position descriptions that outlines specific responsibilities for each and every board member. You would do this for any other role in any other business. Even though these roles are on a volunteer basis, they are leadership roles within the organization. They have absolute purpose, expectations, responsibilities and are accountable to the overall success of the club. That’s serious stuff and should be taken seriously. I personally feel when someone decides to run for a board seat, they truly don’t know the expectations other than some few flowery words. Instead of giving them the job descriptions and ensuring they understand that they will need to lead works and dedicate time, they are told that it’s not that big of a deal…just a few hours a month. From the get-go, you haven’t set real expectations and then you wonder why no one does any work.
To my mind, if you are on the board you are leading a piece of work. You may also be the doer, but no matter what, the workload is spread across the board. This is to avoid burnout and to ensure that each board member is grounded and has a stake in the success of the organization. If a board member doesn’t have time to oversee (or complete) specific works for the organization, then they have no business being on the board. The only deviation from this thought process should be for those larger clubs who have a full compliment of staff and are in a more supervisory in position. But let’s be honest, that’s not the norm.
In addition to laying out the specifics of the role, there should also be a very real line in the sand when it comes to becoming a board member. The main responsibility of the board is to ensure the clubs ability to grow and thrive. That means each board member must be able to think past their own children. They must be able to behave, both through works and decision making, in the best interest of the entire club. This point is often assumed, but it never quite hits the target of reality. I believe clubs do themselves a disservice by not making this a benchmark that is spoken about and recruited against. You can’t assume, you have to make this a very real point of difference when recruiting your new board members, setting the stage for clarity and leaving no room for misinterpretation.
Lastly, here is the biggest thing you can do to cultivate an effective board. Recruit for what you need, not what you can get. This is one that can be difficult for people to get their heads around because I often get told that no one wants to volunteer. That’s a problem don’t you think? It’s not that no one wants to volunteer, there are so many statistics out there that disprove that statement. What they really don’t want is to be taken advantage of or to waste their time or to be in a position where they make no impact. THAT’S why people don’t volunteer.
Be the change. You have already written out what is expected via roles and responsibilities. You are going to ensure that every board member leads pieces of work so the workload is spread out as evenly as possible. You are drawing the line in the sand in that every board member will behave as a leader of the organization and can think broadly and critically to make the best decisions for the organization. Now what you need to do is find the people who have the skills you want and need and then prove to them that they won’t be wasting their time nor be taken advantage of. Treat this like it was a paid job interview, do the due-diligence to set your board and club up for success. Yes, it might take time but I would rather you spend the time to seek out the right people than have to battle against or work around those who have no intention in leading the organization positively.
If the current board can do this work, then they set up future boards to be successful. This process is necessary to ensure strength and continuity in an industry where there is turnover. It’s no longer good enough to just take whoever wants to put their hand up and hope for the best. You must plan, prepare and recruit accordingly. Cultivate your board so it’s an effective one that serves its members to the fullest.
About Renata Porter
Renata Porter is a dedicated business consultant with a focus on youth sports clubs. Her company provides actionable guidance and support to help sports clubs to shift from old mindsets and sameness to running the club as the business it is. Renata has helped clubs have positive operational outcomes by being an end-to-end partner, sharing her passion to see clubs succeed.
You can find more information at Your Sports Resource.
My parent board is in shambles right now. Parents are jumping on every opportunity to oust a fellow parent for trivial infractions, and then waiting in the weeds to pounce again. Half of my team has quit amongst the drama. How do I stop this? Help!
Check the club bye laws to find out what steps can be taken to remove or replace the board. If other parents in the club feel the same way about the board get together and call for a specific meeting of the parent group with board to voice your concerns as a group. Good luck.
Hi John…happy for us to have a discussion. Send me an email at [email protected] and we can exchange numbers.
“That means each board member must be able to think past their own children.”
How though? I’ve never once encountered a parent on a swim board who was legitimately capable of doing this, even when they swore up and down that they were being completely unbiased.
It’s not unique to teams with boards either. There are plenty of coach-owned teams where the coach’s kid gets away with murder because the coach is wearing rose-tinted glasses.
Telling parents to think past their children seems like the epitome of “easier said than done”.
Don’t recall in the post the author saying it would be easy, they said it would be worth it… As a coach, one would hope you can appreciate that train of thought.
As a former coach and a coach of parent run teams, I had a great thing going in my first HC job because I took ownership of effectively communicating needs of all versus the few. (left that program to move on in my career, was so lucky with the culture we established there).
It starts at the top, coaches have to be involved and they MUST be effective communicators. Not my way or the highway, but methodically and repeatedly speaking with empathy, consistency and conviction.
Anyway…. I… Read more »
Right on point with regards to parent directed and coach owned swim teams.
Where this article comes up short in my experience as do many consultants and board members is failing to recognize the uniqueness of business where the success or failure of the business is dependent on the unique skill sets and talents of individuals such as swim coaches in other words human “value add”. The argument will be made that all board members are experienced people managers but few have experience in “people alpha” organizations.
Additionally, board members should not take on the role unless they are willing to evaluate their peers on the board with the same lens as they would non board members in… Read more »
Completely agree Tom. This article was directed at Boards, but self-evaluation is part of it when you honestly pull together the roles and responsibilities. If you recruit based on what is required, chances are you will find someone who has the skills and capacity to fulfill those responsibilities. We need to move past just taking on whoever puts their hand up. In my work, I go through the same process whether it’s board run or coach run.
Thanks so much for the response. I think you’re absolutely right about self-evaluation being a critical part of the job. Still, when someone’s child is involved, it’s very hard for them to engage in completely unbiased self-evaluation.
I feel as though it’s equally important for clubs to put policies in place that minimize potential conflicts of interest as best as possible, in order to deal with situations of unconscious bias that arise when people are asked to make objective decisions regarding their own kids.