Capturing Member Perception of the Club’s Board of DirectorsEach year, GGA Partners conducts scores of member focus groups and member surveys to help clubs understand the views of their members on a wide range of topics from the condition of the fairways on the golf
Presidential AuthorityThe bylaws of almost all clubs assign a president to be their highest- ranking officer and the board chair. In many cases, the president is granted wide-ranging authority, as seen in one club’s bylaws, “The President shall be the chief executive officer of the
The Board is the “Bus”In his immensely popular book “Good to Great,” Jim Collins posits five characteristics of “great organizations.” He starts with the principle of getting the right people on the bus, i.e., “Those who build great organizations make sure they have the right
Recently, I was asked by the president of a National Club Association (NCA) member club what types of benefits clubs typically give to their leadership. The honest answer was that I hadn’t the slightest idea. This lack of understanding sparked the idea to do a
When speaking about club governance, we distinguish between principles and practices. Principles are those elements of a governance model that are to be held inviolate. The five principles that are critical to the efficiency and effectiveness of a club governance model are: Clarity of authority
Two decades ago, Jim Collins wrote the best-selling book “Good to Great,” which identified characteristics of companies that significantly out-performed others in their respective industries. First among the characteristics was “First Who, then What,” a chapter on getting the right people on the bus. The
Defining a high-performing board, how it is formed, what it does, how it does it and how it is measured are fundamental challenges becoming more relevant as members seek efficiency, effectiveness and transparency from their boards. Drawing on data from hundreds of clubs, scores of
Governance in private clubs can too often resemble what is seen on the evening news: factions, resentment, distrust, skepticism and cynicism. In good times, and especially in troubled times, sound governance is essential. Board Composition The starting point to sound governance is assembling a board
“Effective nonprofit boards deliberate as many and govern as one,” according to noted governance expert Fred Laughlin. Unfortunately, many club boardrooms have become a reflection of the evening news marked with bickering, contempt and dysfunction. How can board leaders restore the levels of cooperation, deliberation
There are many structures and processes for Nominating Committees to leverage and no one is necessarily better or worse than the other, but there are best practices. Bob: Some clubs believe that the process needs to be very transparent and carefully avoid any sense of