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Getting Your Board
on Board
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| Boards of
directors are the key to success for private clubs. It’s a point
that’s been made again and again, not only in Publisher’s Perspective,
but also in the writings, opinions and thoughts of many others who
intimately know the private club industry. |
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Why? Well there’s a legion of reasons, not the least being the fact a
strong, cohesive board can give a private club the thrust, the drive,
the impetus…call it what you wish, and the vision to achieve its
mission…its goal. |
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How do
clubs get their boards to address the many critical issues facing
clubs…to lead the way to a successful future? How do club ensure they
have a strong cohesive board? How do you get your Board on Board? |
| So
you ask: what does that mean, really? The experiences of board members
are probably the quickest and easiest ways to explain. For example, as
a board member, how many evenings have you frittered away, sitting
around a board room table, and then leaving with the feeling that
little if anything has been accomplished? |
|
Ever spend an hour or two debating and discussing an issue without
arriving at any concrete solutions? Have you been a victim of a petty,
trivial and personal agenda that has no value being discussed at a
board meeting? |
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This is where it begins. This is where the board has to be on board.
This is where the focus has to be on what we call “stewardship,” where
the objective is strong, focused decision-making that provides
leadership and stewardship for the club now and in the future. |
|
Greg DeRosa, general manager, Boulder Country Club, Boulder, CO is of
the opinion this stewardship starts long before a director is voted
into office, during the process of nominating prospective board
members. |
| “It
is critical that the process is well developed, defined, and managed
to ensure the best candidates with the proper motives and skill sets
are on the ballot for director positions. Once a qualified ballot is
determined, the members select from the very best pool of peers to
represent them and the club for the next three years.” |
| DeRosa believes
“integration is the key to creating an environment for new board
members to be successful and truly contribute to the long-range health
of the club. In my experience, the more we can do initially to expose
new directors to structure, systems, policies and procedures…the more
they are able to assimilate and contribute in a much shorter time
frame.” |
| It’s also his
opinion that “diversity is crucial to developing and maintaining a
strong productive board. |
| “Boards
consisting of members from different walks of life and industry tend
to be the most beneficial to the club. The differing viewpoints almost
always lead the club in a more positive direction,” DeRosa opined. |
| Gregg Patterson,
general manager of The Santa Monica Beach Club, suggests several
characteristics lead to a strong board. |
| “Good boards
have a “marketing mentality,” that is, they actively seek
understanding of member needs now and into the future. Board members
accept their role as “hunter-gatherers” of information from the
general membership, from their peers in other clubs and from the
management and employee teams,” Patterson said. |
| “They walk, talk
and read continuously to get the pulse of the membership. Good boards
limit themselves to policy but oversee the administration of those
policies. A strong board is clearly perceived as the “one in charge,”
is accessible to the general membership and is willing to act
decisively when the time for action arrives.” |
| Patterson
stresses the board must avoid micromanaging the administration, and
instead create a synergistic relationship with the general manager and
the leadership team. |
| He feels “a
successful board is built on the experience of its members at the
committee level; on their willingness to engage in ongoing
collaboration with the general membership, committee members and
management team; their enthusiasm for asking questions of members and
staff alike; their balanced approach to issues; their enthusiasm for
“digging into” problems; their strong ethical foundation; their
ability to “do research” by reading, questioning and active listening;
their willingness to make decisions on tough issues when needed; and
their ability to listen for feedback once those decisions have been
made.” |
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A 2001 governance
study conducted by the National Club Association revealed that
professional expertise (76 percent) was the criteria most often
considered by clubs in choosing board candidates. Other criteria
included prior experience on club committees (65 percent);
compatibility with other directors (63 percent); prior board
experience (62 percent); years of club membership (62 percent); and
whether a candidate was representative of a particular member segment
(61 percent). |
|
“Thus, the most effective boards seem to
be composed of directors from a broad spectrum of professional and
business backgrounds, as well as the diversity of the membership. In
addition, boards should be large enough to ensure equitable assignment
of responsibilities and to allow for annual turnover,” said
Sue
Wegrzyn, president and CEO of the National Club Association,
Washington, DC. |
| Qualities Barry
Peters sees as the underpinnings and commitment for the stewardship of
private clubs, which affects not only the present, but also the future
of the clubs. |
| “A
stewardship focused board will make each decision based on forethought
of the decisions’ effect on the club’s history and traditions, the
present state of the club, and most importantly the future of the
club, five years from now, 10 years from now and 20 years from now,”
said Peters, a regional director with Horizon Hospitality Associates
Inc., a management recruiting and consulting firm based in Kansas
City. |
|
“The role of as a
steward requires hard work by the board to establish an agreed upon
vision and mission for the club. A board that is committed to a
blueprint of a mission and vision statement founded on a principle of
stewardship and developed by researching the past the present and the
future can make decisions with confidence and strength. This will make
the club strong and the members proud of the club,” Peters added. |
|
And their activities
before they become board members are a vitally important aspect of the
process Patterson outlined. |
| “A
strong committee process, one in which “the larger club issues” are
aired, is fundamental to getting board members “on board” before
they’re ever selected,” Patterson added. “Involvement for years in the
committee trenches is fundamental to director success. |
| “Those selected
need to have a proper orientation in “need to know” issues: What is
the “state of the club?” What big decisions were made of late? What
volatile issues now exist? What problems are anticipated in the coming
year, Who should they talk to and what should they read? |
| “New board
members should review the communications tools that are used regularly
to inform and to educate board members. In our case (that is, in the
case of The Beach Club), the weekly Board Update, background white
papers, policy book and minutes for the board and each committee,”
Patterson said. |
| “A
club is a living breathing life force,” Peters added. “It needs a
complete physical. All aspects of the club need to be subjected to a
complete objective and honest assessment. This process entails a
physical review of the facility, a financial review, a food and
beverage review, a human resource audit, a capital improvement
assessment, a membership/market analysis, and a member and employee
attitude survey. |
|
“All of this
information,” Peters says “will give the board the knowledge that will
lead to a coherent plan for the future. A path if you will to
establish an agreed upon mission and vision for the club.” |
| So what is and
how vital is the role of management in getting the board on board?
|
| “Absolutely
critical,” DeRosa says. |
| “If a general
manager or COO is truly leading and providing for their club and board
then they must be the impetus and guiding light throughout the entire
process. Clubs are no different than any competitive industry, the
individual at the top of the organizational chart needs to communicate
with and nurture all of the populations they serve to ensure the
long-term health of the organization,” DeRosa commented. |
| “A true COO of
any organization would be at the forefront of director integration and
communication. I feel the management team’s involvement and
relationship with the board of director’s is also critical. Getting to
know key personnel, their personality, philosophies, and operations
are so important for a director’s ability to positively impact the
entire club organization. Remember, most directors come from a
specific industry and may have never had exposure to the many
functional departments that comprise a club. |
| “Our ability to
expose and welcome them into our environment builds trust, respect,
confidence, and ultimately a much more productive forum in which to
achieve our mutual goals,” DeRosa stressed. |
|
Wegrzyn says
the chief executive has to keep the board focused while at the same
time relieving it of the “minutia of daily operations. |
| “Interaction
between volunteer boards and managerial professionals generally is
driven by the club’s internal culture. However, directors should
remember that the person they choose to manage the club will be the
staff member working closest with them. Thus, the staff executive
performs a paradoxical function – as a “partner” of the board and as
its taskmaster.” |
| Thoughts that
dovetail with Patterson’s because the “general manager is paid to
write, to talk, to gather information, to digest that information and
to distribute insights to those who are making policy. The general
manager must be actively engaged as a “hunter-gatherer” of
information,” Patterson added. |
| “They must be
the catalyst and an “agent provocateur.” I believe that the general
manager is the investigative reporter for the board, their “eyes and
ears” within the staff. They are the institutional memory of the club.
They are the trench diggers who understand how strategic directions
are built one decision at a time. They need to be reflective
practitioners who explain how the “big picture” is revealed in the day
to day experiences of the club. Great boards will have great managers
to educate, guide and support their strategic efforts,” he added. |
| Clearly the CEO,
general managers and others on the management team have a strong role
to play but there’s another major factor involved in this
discussion…emotion. |
| “Emotions show
that people care,” Patterson suggested. “ Boards and managers need to
care deeply about their clubs and emotions are naturally expressed
when people care. Decisions will always have an emotional component.
The key is “constrained expression,” that is, emotions should be used
to provide emphasis and nuance in the support of logic. Such emotion
should be encouraged. Emotion that overwhelms logic should be
avoided. Balance is needed.” |
| DeRosa sees
“emotion as part of the human condition. Without it we are
dispassionate and disconnected with reality. Too much of it, not
properly funneled, can derail the process and progress. |
| “I believe it
needs to be managed by all of the participants, but the tone of
acceptability needs to come from the president, executive committee,
and the COO. An overly-emotional board can lose focus on what is truly
in the best interest of the club,” he opined. “I believe passion is a
more productive term for adherence to one’s beliefs.” |
| Emotions, not
properly channeled, also lead to personal agendas in Peters’ opinion. |
| “Individual
agendas that come from emotions do not help the health of the club.
These are emotions spawned out of selfish goals not selfless acts of
stewardship. Sometimes, for whatever reason, board members make it a
goal to do one thing that they and a few people think is the right
thing,” Peters said. |
| “These
mini-agendas can cause the direction of the club to lurch from one pet
project to another. These agendas that become emotional, destroy the
moral of the staff and other board members. Leave your personal
agendas out of the BOARDROOM! It is the members club! You have been
chosen as a steward of the club not a dictator. |
| “However bring
your emotion and passion for the traditions of the club and the
continued growth and progress for the club. This type of “objective
emotion” is stewardship,” Peters commented. |
| It is also this
kind of involvement that makes strong board that make decisions based
from the point of view of stewards for the club. |
| Publisher's final thoughts |
| So there are
keys to success in getting boards on board, beginning from the day
members make the commitment to work for the betterment of the club. |
| It’s not
something done in isolation, but rather in concert with other
committee members, board members and the club’s professional
management team. Be in tune with the past, the present and the future
of the club. Arm yourself with the knowledge and intelligence of the
club’s experiences and traditions that allows for a stewardship,
building the blueprint for the future. |
| But we leave the
final words to DeRosa: “The professionalism and performance of the COO
and the management team is ultimately the conduit to enhanced board
relations. The more skilled we are at conducting and managing the
affairs of the club’s business in all areas of competency, the better
and easier it is for the board of directors to be a positive visionary
influence on the club’s evolution. A little self-accountability goes a
long way to enhancing board relations.” |
| At least, that's the way I see it! |
| What's your opinion. If you wish to respond to the Publisher's
Perspective, or other BoardRoom articles, contact Publisher John G.
Fornaro by email at
john@apcd.com. |
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John Fornaro
Publisher |