When Culture Drives Outcomes, Achieving Strategic Goals Becomes Easier

Identify values essential for club operations — safety, innovation, respect, integrity and accountability should be considered. Recognise behaviours that reinforce these values and integrate them across recruitment, KPIs, member/staff surveys and exit interviews.

• Conduct off-site board meetings — include informal discussions to encourage candid conversations.
• Staff engagement — walk the floor to hear insights directly from employees, promoting trust and gathering valuable perspectives.
• Surprise visits — observe the day-to-day culture unfiltered by prepared presentations.
• Cultural surveys — use verbatim comments to gauge staff sentiment.
• Cultural insights through data — analyse patterns, such as bell curves, to understand the diversity of employee experiences.

Board Composition and Skill Mix

• Prioritise financial and strategic skills, balanced with a commitment to a positive culture.
• Foster diversity and inclusion for richer, well-rounded decision making.
• Reassess strategic alignment with the club’s customer base and community needs.
• Consider bringing in expertise beyond CEOs, like HR and culture-oriented roles.
• Recruit members who are curious, empathetic and emotionally intelligent.

Integrating New Board Members in an Existing Culture For new directors joining boards with limited cultural focus:

• Emphasise comprehensive onboarding and continuous training.
• Encourage new members to ask critical questions to understand gaps and challenge norms.
• Recognise that in larger clubs, actions often speak louder than words.
• For new board members with prior board experience, understand that NFP boards may operate with different accountability standards compared to profit-driven boards.
• Network with younger professionals in legal and financial sectors interested in NFP roles; leverage their fresh perspectives.
• Note that time commitment typically ranges from 25 to 30 days annually, with increased demands for the Chair.

Monitoring culture may be a challenging ask for directors who are not involved in the daily operations of the club. However, at the heart of the responsibility at the top is the need to know, the need to understand, the need to check and change course, if necessary, all with a clear view out to the members that the club serves. 

Click here to find questions you can ask as a leader to check the culture pulse of your club.