Table Of Contents
Firstly, decide what you want to do.
Take on a Project
6 Quick Tips For New Committee Members
Final Thoughts
As you likely know, clubs cannot run without the tireless work of committees. Joining a committee, regardless of the level, is a significant role to take on. Knowing your place and how best you fit in can be challenging when first jumping on board.
To make sure you hit the ground running, here's some sage advice from the team at Cheeta Teamwear on how to get your tenure off to a stellar start.
Firstly, decide what you want to do.
The easy part of joining a committee is putting your hand up at the AGM. The hard part is figuring out what you want to do. All too often, people join as General Members with the right intention of contributing, but without a specific role, they end up sitting and just listening at the meetings.
Make the area you're interested in known within the corporate structure and suggest ways to help the member who currently leads that area. There aren't many committee members out there who wouldn't like a helping hand!
Take on a Project
Extending the above point, put your hand up to take on a project. There are a lot of baseline functions that committees need to do to run a club. For committees to continue to improve, there are plenty of projects you could lead to help.
Survey and Analyse the Playing and Membership Group: Most decision-making at a club needs to be player and member-driven. The best way to do this is by evaluating the views and opinions of these groups.
This is likely low on the committee's priority list, but it can be quickly done in a few steps. In a broad sense, you could list what you want to know from your playing and membership group, create a free survey on SurveyMonkey with questions to gain the information, send out and promote within the playing group, compile results, and make recommendations to the committee.
Take Over the Merchandise: This is often the pain point of committees. However, it can be easy to run, and whoever is currently running it would appreciate having it taken off their hands. At Cheeta, we have many resources on this topic and are always happy to help.
Write a Grant Application: A lot of grants for sports clubs go unallocated due to a lack of applications. They're free to cash for club improvements. It takes a few hours to get a quote and put together the information about how it will benefit the club, and you're at a good chance of getting it. This is a surefire way to make a tangible contribution without a significant, ongoing time commitment.
6 Quick Tips For New Committee Members
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Familiarise yourself with the committee and its expectations
Before participating in meetings or other activities, ensure you understand what is expected of you as a committee member. Ask questions if something needs clarification and get up to speed on any relevant materials that will be required ahead of time.
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Make sure to understand and follow the meeting protocol
Depending on the type of organisation or company, there may be specific protocols that need to be followed during meetings, such as speaking in order and using particular terms when addressing or discussing topics at hand. Understanding these expectations is essential to participate confidently and effectively during meetings.
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Ask questions if something needs clarification
As a new member, it's perfectly acceptable (and even encouraged) for you to ask questions when something needs to be clarified so that everyone can move forward with clarity and understanding of the situation without making assumptions or filling in gaps with incorrect information.
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Prepare yourself ahead of time
Do your research and review materials on topics that will be discussed at meetings. This will help ensure that sessions run smoothly and efficiently while helping you contribute valuable insights into discussions related to your committee's goals and projects.
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Work collaboratively with other committee members
Establishing relationships early on with fellow members can set the tone for a productive working environment where everyone works together towards common goals in harmony rather than having individual agendas vying against each other as stand-alone entities within the group dynamic.
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Be Reliable and offer to help
Whilst being in a role and taking on a project are a great way of contributing, sometimes the current committee need to have the foresight or time to help hand over tasks. Another way to contribute when joining a committee is to offer ad hoc help.
Most importantly, when you are given something to help with, ensure you do it to a reasonable standard. For the current committee, if you don't follow through on the help offered, you are creating more work for them, making it difficult for them to trust you getting more involved in the future.
Final Thoughts
The easy part of joining a committee is putting your hand up at the AGM. The hard part is figuring out what you want to do. All too often, people join as General Members with the right intention of contributing, but without a specific role, they end up sitting and just listening at the meetings.
Make the area you're interested in known and suggest ways to help the member who currently leads that area. There aren't many committee members out there who wouldn't like a helping hand!
