Whenever a new United States president comes into of behalf of the board; they also serve as a proving ground office, we tend to judge them during the first 100 days. It’s no different for club presidents—though your term actually begins at least 60 days before your installation. There’s a lot to be done—from planning to appointments, and by focusing on these first 100 days, the beginning of your term will stay manageable. Here are some best practices for assuring that you hit the ground running.
People
As with a change of political administrations, one of the first things you’ll need to do is gather your team. The year ahead will go quickly, with many unexpected twists and turns, and you’ll want to have a reliable team of volunteers, experts and staff to support your aims throughout your term of leadership.
TIP: Read the chapter in “Good to Great” about “Who’s on the Bus?” You will want to surround yourself with the best team, so the start of your term is the time to evaluate and align needs and people.
TIP: Turn to the immediate past president for counsel (or current president if you’re doing your preparations in advance of your term). Share your ideas and find out what he or she thinks. Similarly, hold a discussion with the general manager/ COO. Both have experience in governance and management that can get you off to a great start.
Many presidents use the pre-installation period to “float” their ideas for board buy-in. Receiving enthusiastic support is encouragement to advance on your plan of action. If support is lukewarm, you’ll have time to explore alternatives for advancing the mission and goals.
The orientation is the time and place to carefully review the board policy manual. Make sure that everyone understands the club’s mission statement.
TIP: Need help in planning orientation? Turn to staff with experience in this area. Also consider bringing guest speakers to your orientation, such as an industry guru to talk about trends, an attorney to talk about protocol, and/or a CPA to discuss finances.
Inventory Committees
Club committees are essential, and the bylaws will identify the committees, the appointment process and the president’s authority related to committees. Start by inventorying existing standing and ad hoc committees and considering how they will work during your term. The role of committees is to do work on behalf of the board; they also serve as a proving ground for potential new leaders.
TIP: You might ask your incoming vice president to appoint the vice chairs of the committees as a way to maintain a smooth transition. Thus, as your term comes to an end and the incoming president takes over, the vice chairs will be part of the incoming team.
Build Staff Relations
The staff has the institutional knowledge for the club, as well as
a vested interest in managing the club with excellence. As president, you’ll bring in new ideas and goals to the club, while the staff focuses on administration and management requirements. It will require your good governance balanced with the staff’s management expertise to ensure a great presidency. And remember, discourage directors from managing—or micromanaging—the office and staff duties. That’s not their role.
In general, the board has four broad responsibilities:
- Governance of the club
- Policy and position development
- Strategic direction and vision
- Fiduciary oversight
TIP: Take time to break bread with staff and get to know them. You’ll be amazed how hard staff work when they know you personally.
People Performance
One key job of the president and board is to evaluate the performance of the general manager (GM). It is important to have a written job description and objectives or business performance plan against which you can evaluate the GM.
TIP: When it comes to the performance of staff, that is a responsibility of the chief paid executive and not the board of directors. The president may have to explain to board members that the relationship between the GM and staff is not one in which the board should interfere without good reason.
On the other hand, an evaluation of the board can help improve its performance. There are guides providing advice on board evaluations that tend to center on understanding the mission, access to adequate information, format of meetings, relevance of discussions for advancing the strategic plan, etc.
TIP: Conducting a performance review of the board is a responsibility of the president or a task force. It should not be perceived as an initiative by the GM.
Communications
It’s essential to promote respect and encourage open communication among volunteers and staff. You can set the tone by demonstrating your communications preferences and style. If you prefer written reports, tell your colleagues and hold them accountable. Maybe you desire a staff conference call every other week. Or, emails fit your needs best to monitor progress in the club during your term. You also want to set a transparent and open tone for meetings. Members and others don’t like to think that you are holding secret meetings in which they have no access.
In your first president’s message, or address to members at the annual meeting, communicate a consistent message at the start of your term, throughout the term, and as you wrap up your term. Be clear from the start of your term about your priorities, and deliver newsletter articles, agenda and achievements that clearly support your original message. Members respect the president who says what he or she is going to do, sets out to do it and wraps up the year by saying, “We did what we said we’d do for you.”
TIP: The club’s website is a good place to clearly lay out your vision. Continuously update the progress on the members’ website, as well as when speaking with members.
Read every newsletter and be aware of the website and its contents. Carefully read meeting minutes—they are a legal record of your meetings and you want to be sure what occurred is accurately reflected. Finally, review staff and committee reports carefully.
Set Realistic Goals
Every president brings goals to the table; it’s normal to want to create a legacy for your presidency. Approach your legacy with caution, though. The most successful presidents aren’t those who just create a list of goals, but those who understand that the point is to advance the club’s interests. If a strategic plan exists, continue working on the plan that was adopted by a prior board. The club’s goals don’t change with each president.
Too many clubs don’t use their strategic plan. Every club should already have a plan that sets clear goals for the next three to five years and strategies for achieving them. The plan is your roadmap—identifying priorities in the immediate and long term.
Review the plan with staff, checking off what has been accomplished, and making notes about what is in the plan that you can achieve in your term of office. Some of those goals may require several years, others will be easy to achieve.
TIP: If no plan exists or it is outdated, discuss this with the board and make a commitment to draft a strategic plan during your term of office.
The best way to set goals is to consider how they fit into the existing mission statement and strategic plan. Disregarding an existing plan will cause resentment and resistance and offend prior leaders.
TIP: Don’t set more than three to seven goals in your strategic plan. The most successful clubs stick to their purpose (mission statement) and focus on their core competencies (goals). Through this prism you can judge whether the strategic plan is on target, too long or too short.
The Importance of your First Board Meeting
The first official board meeting will set the tone for the rest of the year. Remember that most of your team members are volunteers—they have the choice to work hard or to coast through the year—and they’ll take their cues from you. Similarly, staff will also respond to your initial actions and messages.
TIP: Listen, learn and confirm through discussions with your team of volunteers, staff and committees. Re-emphasize to them what needs to happen to advance the club’s goals. Thus, when you get to the board meeting, there should be no surprises and you should be able to stay on task.
Quick successes can get your presidency off on the right foot. Consider what is practical and possible to accomplish in your first 100 days and pick initiatives that will provide quick successes to build momentum and loyalty for your year ahead. Let people know you have a 100 days plan, commit to them by writing them down and getting enthused about the opportunities for immediate successes.
Inventory Benefits and Services
You may want to begin the process of evaluating the programs and amenities at the club—assessing their value and whether they should be modified. There may be opportunities to “barbeque the sacred cows” that are draining volunteer and staff time but not contributing to the overall value proposition of the membership. When a “sacred cow” is identified, you may want to
contact the leaders who put the program in place and determine together whether there is still a need for it or if a modification could make it more valuable.
TIP: When it comes to programs, activities, amenities and services, some volunteers feel it is their job to add to the list
of member offerings. Sometimes “less is more” and it may be smarter to offer two or three highly relevant member services, than to offer a package of a dozen irrelevant (fluff) benefits.
Performance Measures
There are many ways to measure performance, including legal, financial, governance and operations audits. Other metrics can be monitored by the president, board and staff.
For example, consider these benchmarks and how your club measures up:
What percentage of members do you have compared to the potential maximum number of full members?
- What is the member retention rate?
- What percentage of your budget is derived from dues, compared to non-dues revenue?
- What percentage of your annual operating budget is set aside in a reserve fund for emergency or future projects?
- What is the size of the board of directors; is the governance structure appropriate for achieving the mission and goals?
- Is the strategic plan advancing; how much has been accomplished and how much remains in the designated time period?
- There are comparative studies, benchmarks and operating ratios that can be acquired to compare and contrast your club. A priority during your term is to have confidence that the club is comparable to or excels when measured against similar clubs.
Scan the Club Environment
It’s essential to understand the constituency you are serving. Performing a quick scan, such as through a member needs and satisfaction survey, to gauge the pulse of members.
The SWOT process is a great way to conduct an environmental scan. SWOT is an evaluation process of the club’s Strengths and Weaknesses, followed by Opportunities and Threats. If the club has undergone a SWOT analysis in recent years, review the results to see how things have changed.
Review Club Documents
The club is guided by legal documents, prescribed by state and federal government. Equally important are leadership manuals
and policies that are adopted over time. Review these documents because you may have to rely on or reference them during your term. Attorneys, accountants and insurance agents can also help you understand them. Key documents included in a board policy manual:
- Bylaws
- Article of Incorporation
- Mission Statement and/or Statement of Purpose
- Policies
- Strategic Plan
- Budget and Financial Reports
- Board Minutes
- IRS Tax Documents (Public Records)
- Staff Job Descriptions
- Pending Contracts
Most answers to leadership questions are found in the board policy manual. Your team should rely on it as if it was their playbook.
TIP: Create a board policy manual that includes tabs for easy reference and a section to insert minutes from each meeting. Ask directors to maintain their own manual, keeping it up-todate and bringing it to each board meeting.
A club’s policies reflect the wisdom of prior boards as to how best to govern and manage the club. They help to interpret and frame the bylaws and articles of incorporation, and they should be included in a policy manual.
TIP: An easy way to collect and document your policies and procedures is to review past minutes and note each board action as it relates to a certain area or topic. Any items that did not get a full vote should be listed in the document as pending and voted upon during a board meeting.
Financial Considerations
Next to people and volunteer resources, the most important issue is finances. You and board are the stewards of the club, and you must be attentive to “risk management.” Discuss with executive officers and staff whether they feel there are any apparent risks. Then eliminate or minimize these potential risks.
For example, are the appropriate safeguards in place to avoid embezzlement of funds? Does the board understand antitrust avoidance? Does the club have a relationship with a CPA and attorney? What insurance coverages exist and are they sufficient? Is the intellectual property protected? Are required filings and reports properly handled?
TIP: If you are not familiar with risk management for a nonprofit, you can rely on the counsel of legal, accounting and insurance professionals.
It’s not about Popularity
When it comes to leading the club, you won’t be able to please all the people all the time; that’s not your role.
Leadership will require tough decisions, but you’re working for the future of the club, not trying to increase friends. What is important is whether or not you improved the club, added value and advanced the mission and goals during your term.
Be decisive and make tough decisions when necessary. Consensus building is a good way to ensure that a decision made by the board is one that can be lived with in the long term and for all of the board members to support regardless of their individual view on the issue. But there will be moments when the president needs to bring clarity to an issue or make a final decision that may not be popular but needs to be made. The well-balanced leader will gain support of his board no matter what decision is made.
Adapted with permission from “Hit the Ground Running,” by Bob Harris, CAE, and Bill Pawlucy, CAE, MPA. For more information visit nonprofitcenter.com.