Club Board Conflicts

I cannot add up the number of times I have ben asked to mediate over internal club board/committee conflicts. How sad to see people on the governing body, or members, arguing about personalities and minor issues instead of a focus on building a better club.

Often it is the member who missed out on being elected will not accept the will of the voting members and never give up trying to undermine the board or committee. It may be because a board/committee member got involved in operations and upset a staff member or member with a rude approach. It may be because one board member did not agree with a majority decision and keeps bringing it up all the time, or worse still, goes to the local media about it. It may be because factions emerge on the board with one group determined to obstruct anything the other group wants to do. It may be that one board member just does not like another one or is always argumentative and disruptive about everything.

Does any of this sound familiar?

The law requires that every board/committee member acts in the best interests of the club. Any one of the examples I gave above is definitely not doing that, is it? While you are arguing with each other you are wasting time, when you should be having a focus on the key decisions about compliance and growth of the club.

The Chair (if they are not the problem) should take the lead and talk to individuals who regularly cause conflict. It may need to be on the agenda for a frank discussion and how to fix ongoing conflicts. It may need an EGM to “spill” the whole board and start again with new people with the right attitude. Any director who does cause trouble needs to reflect on why they are there and perhaps consider resigning for the sake of the club. Every board should have a disciplinary committee who can deal with bad behaviour of members or any director. Stop club board conflicts!