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Committee Cooperation: Effective Committee Use in Club Governance

The Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) has a long tradition of member service, not only to the greater Detroit community, but also to the club itself. This tradition stems from the club’s commitment to fostering a culture of service and promoting a legacy of leadership among its members.

One of the club’s truly important governing traditions is the use of advisory committees made up of the hard-working volunteers who give their time to help govern the club. The DAC’s committee structure consists of 12 distinct committees—comprised of nearly 200 members—that work closely with the club’s management and operational team. The committees include: Art and Architecture, Athletic, Communications, Community Outreach, Enrichment, Facilities, Finance, House, Members Activities, Membership Development, Strategic Planning and Technology.

Committees serve several important purposes in club governance: they help the board to oversee different areas of the club, enable many different club members to participate in club governance, and serve as a training ground for future club leadership. At the DAC, however, they serve an additional, vital role as executors of the club’s strategic plan. The committees provide a constant and reliable way for the club to stay its course, even with a governance system that elects a new president annually and often has new committee chairs and members appointed each year as well.

Committee Structure

Each committee is made up of a diverse group of members representing the various constituencies of club. The president appoints committee members each year, though some will stay with a committee over several years to form its nucleus while new members cycle in each spring. A board member chairs each committee, and often several board members sit on the same committee.

The work of each committee is closely aligned with the club’s ongoing strategic plan, which is developed and managed through the executive manager, the board of directors and the Strategic Planning Committee. Each committee is given direction based on the strategic plan, which is updated annually.

Each committee also works with a staff liaison, usually a department head from the management team. This liaison assists the chairperson in many different ways, from recording committee meeting minutes to acting as a resource to answer questions or help develop solutions to issues related to the club’s governance. The management’s commitment to assigning a department head to each committee is one of the reasons the DAC committees are successful.

Even though a new president comes in each year, he or she is guided by the strategic plan, which helps maintain consistency in the board’s efforts. The strategic plan also filters down to provide consistent direction for each committee to ensure that the club continues to work toward its long-term goals despite leadership changes at multiple levels. Other critical components behind committee success include:

  • Fostering a member culture in which volunteers are dedicated to working on standing committees and subcommittees and are committed to regularly attending meetings and participating in discussions
  • Creating subcommittees, with specific goals for projects/assignments, that work closely with a chair who is committed to encouraging dialogue and input from all members
  • Encouraging committee members to share best practices and new ideas from their own industries with the club, recognizing that they may need to be adapted to the club setting
  • Planning meetings that start and finish on time, with an agenda and material sent out in advance for review
  • Assigning a staff member liaison for each committee who can relay information to and from the management team

The DAC committees work well because of these specific guidelines, the members’ desire to help, and the strict regulation of meeting schedules.

Benefits of Strong Committees

Having an active club membership who enjoys the opportunity to meet with their peers, share ideas, and learn new things is invaluable to creating a dedicated and involved committee system. There are few places where members have the chance to lead a thriving organization while still having fun in what remains, essentially, a social environment. Imparting the importance of committee and governance involvement to the membership is a vital element of encouraging participation.

Committees should be focused on providing outstanding leadership while working to accomplish stated, achievable goals. This is often an excellent way to develop and evaluate potential board candidates.

At the DAC, we strive to become the premier gathering place in the state—a place where members can preserve and celebrate humanity and all of its aspects. Gathering at the club to do committee work is seen as a benefit of membership, allowing volunteers to serve as a strategic and key part of the club vision. At the DAC, we have waiting lists to serve on our committees because members recognize that the work of the committees clearly is a strategic priority.

Elements of Effective Committees

Ultimately, well-run committees should:

  • Seek out enthusiastic members who have a passion for what they are working on;
  • Have clear objectives and/or goals and convey them to committee members;
  • Follow well-prepared and effectively-run meetings;
  • Give assignments, projects or tasks that engage committee members and provide a sense of purpose;
  • Assign relevant tasks to the committee best suited for the job; and
  • Ensure accountability through regular progress reports.

Passion & Enthusiasm

DAC members are passionate about the club’s various activities; they are passionate about serving, being involved, and remaining connected once they join the club. It’s an active lifestyle that demands much of the members, but offers excellent rewards in terms of developing friendships, helping an organization they love, and generally being involved as a way of life. Promoting these values within member culture and highlighting the rewards that come from member service can help to engage club members and encourage participation.

Because of the emphasis the DAC places on participation and service, we turn away dozens of members each year who want to serve, but can’t because the committee rosters are full. This must seem odd to some new members until they observe how passionate members are about the club. Supporting member involvement through club culture can help encourage passionate members who want to contribute, but who may not know how best to serve.

Interest Alignment

Members best see their skills and passions put to use when they find the right committee for them. For example, our finance committee is made up of financial experts, while our communications committee consists of public relations or marketing professionals—many of whom run companies in these industries.

The most effective committees are those that select committee members with skill sets and interests that align with the committee’s focus area. Since committees should be working committees—actually generating and executing ideas—effective committee participation requires strong skills from among its members.

When they feel a strong connection to their work, committee members invest the time and effort to serve the club well. The events and programs they put together for the entire membership reflect their dedication and effort— ultimately strengthening the connection between committee, the club and overall member involvement.

Preparation & Organization

Another important aspect of committee success of is the respect that both the board and the management have for the work of the club’s members. Though there must be a shared commitment to working together, a large part of this success also comes from the efforts of the committee members to work efficiently and effectively.

Committee members are cognizant to avoid playing a role in which they create more work, additional tasks or new functions for the already hard working management team. Carefully preparing, researching and organizing committee meetings helps prevent additional work for both committee members and club staff.

Purposeful Engagement

Committees are most effective when they believe that their participation directly results in added value to the club and an improvement to the member experience. Members can serve as great advisors for the management team and can act as sounding boards for ideas within their specific committees. It’s important to give committee members assignments or tasks that provide a purpose, engage participants, and show they are actively contributing to the club’s success. And, once members complete an assignment or project, the committee should discuss the results and the implications the project may have for the entire club. Alternatively, committee members often generate actionable ideas for club improvements. Actions that are considered necessary can be turned into formal recommendations to the board, which will then decide how best to move forward and implement possible changes.

Committees may also be tapped to assist the club in creating and securing RFPs for important club projects, such as the purchase of a new phone system or the creation of a new website.

Assignments

Assigning tasks to the right committee is a key part of proper committee management at the DAC. When forming a new committee or tasking an existing committee with a new activity, the DAC looks at areas where the members can directly assist management (e.g., membership development) and where the members can help other members (e.g., member activities). Ensuring that the committee selected for a particular task has the right skill set can help ensure projects are well vetted before they move forward or have significant financial ramifications.

For example, over the past year at the DAC, we have been working with an ad hoc committee to help develop a new master facilities plan to guide the club in future renovations, clubhouse expansions and other facility changes.

Ad hoc committees are ideal when a particular project would encompass so many committee roles that it would be impossible to work through the various groups. Instead, a short-term committee is formed for major projects. As with all committees, this group should be designed to reflect the diversity of member interests and gather together members who have expertise in applicable areas.

Accountability

Holding committees responsible for their work and making sure there is a strong reporting structure in place is a crucial element of fostering accountability among committee members.

Committee members should each be responsible for reporting progress and information to the committee on a regular basis. The committee chairs should then report to the board, which should, in turn, update the membership on any significant developments.

Throughout the creation of the master facilities plan at the DAC, our committee chairs report to the board, but they also make sure to update membership through space set aside each month in the club magazine. These committee updates are well received by an engaged membership that is hungry for information.

This appetite for knowledge also supports what is apparent to us at the DAC: Members want to be involved; they don’t want to let others do everything for them; and, they clearly are willing to assist the board and management with both short- and long-term club development.

A Team of Leaders

Leadership comes in many forms. But, an inclusive style of leadership reaches all levels of club membership—not just the board or executive management. Leadership and service call to many members with a diverse range of experiences and interests. Those passionate, dedicated members can be organized into a solid committee structure, working to help the club thrive.

Rick DiBartolomeo is immediate past president of the Detroit Athletic Club.

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