Have you hugged your tribe today?
We ran across this image today by @gapingvoid (you can buy it here) but made us think about clubs and how the interact with their tribe (community). Most clubs seem to react to their members and supporters rather than getting pro-active and seeing some hug upside.
Clubs already have a massive advantage of having the tribe based on what they do. They’re not like a business who has to work hard to build a tribe. A clubs group of like-minded people is sitting waiting for you.
So give them a hug, send them an SMS, tell them you are looking forward to seeing them, interacting with them and more.
Good things happen when communities and tribes start talking more.
Volunteer strategy matters
Yesterday I attended a workshop run by our clubs parent association. In truth it wasn’t so much of a workshop but a briefing as to what added administration clubs will have to undertake over the coming 12 months.
With ever increasing administration comes more pressure on volunteers, making for a more unattractive proposition to present to potential volunteers and as a result the less likely volunteers are to carry on with these further burdens on them.
With this in mind execution of these administrative tasks becomes critical. Of course leadership and peoples kindness will mean that things will get eventually get done, but with the revolution of the web, with everyone having a smart phone in their pocket means that the way you approach your volunteers, the way you structure and frequency of your communication, and the model of your organisation needs to change.
Running your club with the wrong strategy, the strategy focused on the 5 committee members will put you in an uphill battle. The alternative is to think hard about your structure, your resources and the benefits your club could gain from having less pressure on more people through resources and platforms like TIdyClub.com.
Your committee should stretch from 5 to 18. The roles and responsibilities of these people should be well articulated and defined. Through increased transparency everyone know what needs to get done and why they are doing it.
However talking to clubs at the workshop presented what I feel is the predominant issue in clubs. Through clubs not changing their strategy merely because they’re used to the one they have been relying on for the last 20 years is lousy strategy, and must change.
Take a step back, I know you don’t want to, I know that this makes up your weekend, and the success of the club depends on you being there, but set up and empower people, make them and the rest of your club understand each others roles, and then move away. They will stand up, they have no choice, or others around will tell you otherwise anyway, in which case you take alternative actions.
By having others stand up around you, and take off most of the burden from your shoulders, you are producing a stronger club that will be more inclined to be better, to come up with their own ideas, and it won’t all fall in a heap when you do eventually resign… which you will do… one day.
Introducing our newest segment, Club Talk.
We spoke with Genevieve Faulkner about the in’s and out’s of running a club. Genevieve is the Head Coach of the Australian Representative Ice Skating Team. Each month we’ll speak club to club presidents, leaders, or anyone involved with running clubs and not-for-profit organisations.
At TidyClub we believe feedback is essential in crafting our platform to meet the needs of clubs. A club that is like a well-oiled machine is easier to take places with the additional benefits of attracting more members and volunteers. If you haven’t already, sign up for free and see what TidyClub can do for your club.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for the next Club Talk!
Support the No answer
Everyone has an opinion about how your club should run, we all come from different backgrounds with different experiences. Just because you hold a committee position or some sort of title does not give you the right to criticise and shoot them down.
In fact, a result of challenging them outright, will cause them to be less likely to support your opinion.
Explain your reasoning regardless of yes or no, it need not be a book, but nurture those that have put their hand up they should be supported regardless of the yes or no answer.
The TidyClub Plan
Our strategy is simple, because it’s driven from places we’ve already been and experiences we’ve already had.
The TidyClub app, we feel, should allow for the analysis and communication of data that has been inputted in a simple form, that is easily recognisable, understood and remembered. Making for quality, useable information.
The core features which we have built is our attempt to close the gap between internal and external perceptions of your club, particularly from your members point of view. Our first release executes on our plan, a solid basic structure, a foundation for a comprehensible but simple plan.
We look forward to your feedback and thoughts.
Being able to delegate effectively is critical to running a successful club without you burning yourself out first. TidyClub introduces Tasks, a way to inform your Users of tasks to be completed.
Your user will receive an email both when the task is first raised and again when it is due.
We hope you enjoy your new found efficiency!
Social Networks
I probably don’t need to tell you this, as you’re already reading this and fairly aware of the social networking tools and systems out there, but whether you like it or not, whether you’re personally registered with them or not, you need to understand that your members are more than likely involved, and you should be utilising it.
Register a Page with Facebook and Twitter, setup a group with LinkedIn, and regardless of whether you think you might use it or not setup other accounts with things such as Youtube. There is a reason these tools have been so successful and that’s because they’re very good at what they do, so utilise them, they’re even free! If you’re unsure about it, get someone who is keen with it to set it up for your club.
Chart to Success
Running a club is not easy, be it sports or other recreational pursuits it all brings the same challenges, of chasing people up, formulating a strategy and getting the clubs name out there to attract sponsors, facilities or equipment.
This strategy is vital to the success fo the club (along with your mental health!). In order for a club to get successful on the field or trying to achieve a variety of things, more bodies need to be in action and more hands doing things.
Create an organisational chart. Separate roles and attach responsibilities. A good manager should oversee the success, and empower others to make the decisions that will mean the club will succeed not just in the short term but well into the long term as well.
