SOFTENING THE IRON GRIP OF CLUB ELDERS

  

        Softening the Iron Grip of Club Elders and Founders

(Without any casualties)

By Del Albright, Sustainable Motorized Recreation Advocate

 As a club member, is your club/group held in the clutches of time by its club elders? Do you wish that you had more input or that the club/group would change to keep up with the crises our sports face? Or that more younger folks would join up?

As a club elder, are you worried that letting go of things will cause the club to spiral downward or that if you let go of the power, no one will step up and continue your good work? Are the young bloods not coming into your club of "oldies but goodies?"

Either situation can be remedied.

Distribution of Workload: Many groups have problems related to a lack of distribution of the workload and responsibilities. Some do a lot (and are getting tired), and those who want to do more aren't being given things to do. Both situations lead to burn-out and membership decline.

For club elders, it is important to realize that you cannot achieve every club goal without help. Maybe if you are the leader of a very small group, it is possible, but when we begin talking about dozens or hundreds of people, trying to do it all on your own is more harmful to the group than good. You, as well as the group, will suffer.

This is not to say that all club elders and founders have an iron grip that needs softening. On the contrary, they are the historical resource and solid foundation of many clubs. But if you find yourself in this situation, we'd like to offer some ideas to help.

There are some solutions to the iron grip from both sides: those caught in the grip and those causing the squeeze.

Let's first talk about it from the perspective of being the elders or founders causing the squeeze.

Elders and Founders: Look for ways to allow others to handle responsibilities. Try to become a manager of your organization's human assets. Rather than giving your volunteers step-by-step instructions about how to do something, teach them the objectives of their role, make yourself available to them, and then stand back and watch how much they can impress you with their abilities.

 

Learn to express objectives and expectations that others can achieve for you or the common good. Be free with praise and encouragement.

Ask yourself why you hold on so tightly and what you need to do to let go a bit. Learn to pass on the great wealth of information and experiences you have by letting others achieve your group's shared goals. Learn to take pride in what the group achieves as a whole.

For example, let's assume that someone in your group wants to handle Membership, and you've been doing it for some time. You could demonstrate how you've done it, but what about after that? After that, it would be wise to explain to that person the overreaching concepts that you use when doing it yourself. From there, you could discuss how it all fits into the club's big picture and then talk about where you would like to see its membership recruiting/retention go. Then, give them leeway to make improvements and adjustments.

You should take pride in the fact that your student improved things and the club benefited as a whole.

Here is how these ideas might be broken down (input garnered from Dan Stra, past President of the JonFund club).

The way you do it now- "I like our memberships to end at the same time each year to avoid always having to worry about renewals. No one joins for less than a year. I have tried to maintain a 75% retention rate."

The concepts that you use – "I have always tried to use good customer service concepts when dealing with Membership. If they have a question, I will get back to them with an answer within a day. I pay particular attention to social network groups and pages concerning our club."

It fits into the big picture: "Membership is crucial to the club. Retaining members is a top priority."

Where you would like to see it go – "I also think we need more in the way of club raffles, events, and incentives. I also think that we should do more member outreach."

The leeway and expectations you provide – "Until you are comfortable with the way things go, I would like to keep things in the status quo. I am hopeful that this will be less than a month. After that, I want you to begin looking for ways to do this better than I ever did. If you have new ideas, let's discuss them to see how they fit in the big picture of the club."

 

This is a very basic example, but once you put it into practice, you will find yourself having more confidence in what your "students" do. As soon as you trust their instincts, you'll be less worried about control and more optimistic about who will replace you one day.

Probably the most important thing you can do is to learn to set objectives more clearly and articulate your expectations. Doing this ensures folks know their job but are not being micro-managed. If it makes you smile, write an expectation to achieve it. If it makes you frown, write an expectation to avoid it.

If you want your work to endure, then it should be your goal, as a club elder, to "develop" your replacements. There are people out there who can fill your shoes, and you should work hard to explain exactly what is involved in wearing those shoes in the first place.

Club Members Caught in the Grip: What if you are caught in the iron grip? What can you do? Start by looking for ways to break through it. Show your interest in wanting to help without trying to take over. Start with little projects and work your way up. Keep in mind that we're trying to achieve the overall benefit to the club.

When given a job, make sure you fully understand its expectations. Ask the job-giver questions until you *see* the job the way they see it. Keep asking questions until you know what's expected, including time frames, reports, etc. Then, if you find something that needs fixing or adjusting, include the job-giver in the process.

Very importantly, if you take on a job, be sure to get it done on time, the way it was presented to you, and within the expectations. Give credit to those who helped you get started. Show that you are part of the team trying to achieve something for the greater good of the club.

Finally, if you can't break through the barrier or if things aren't changing for the better, you have to step up and speak out! Address the issues openly with the group and express your expectations of the group and how they're not being achieved.

If the group cannot be swayed to see a different future, then you may have a tough choice to make about staying. But at least you will have given it your best shot! Let's not lose trails and access because of club personalities, egos, and issues.

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MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

DEL'S BOOKS (LAND USE, WILDFIRE, DEATH VALLEY, COWBOY POETRY, AND MORE)

WEBSITE (HOME PAGE)

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DEL'S ARTICLES (LAND USE, LIFE, WILDFIRE, VOLUNTEERISM, AND MORE)

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