IN? OR ON? PICK ONE!

Golf has been played for over 500 years. Google its origins, and you’ll find it even predates the piano's invention. This means that a long time ago, some early club Board asked and debated the first inane issue, “why are we always out of toilet paper in the loo?” Perhaps we should have a committee study this?”

And they probably did.

Five centuries later, Board conversations like this and other frivolous issues continue to plague clubs. Board meeting minutes, club management publications, and grille room talk continues to be rife with discussions on how club boards can function better. True, some club Boards have mastered excellent governance and leave the managing to the managers and the daily details of the club’s operation with them.

There is one common element to dysfunctional boards, so easily solved yet so ubiquitous; the Board that works IN the club's business and not ON it. They try to solve the metaphorical toilet paper problem when the issue should never have risen to be on the Board meeting agenda in the first place. And if not toilet paper, it could be green speeds, what color shirts to carry in the pro shop, how napkins should be folded, the divots aren’t being replaced, etc. This list is endless – just ask any club manager or department head for hundreds more.

By the way, Boards and its members who work IN the club's daily business and micro-manage the employees drive the staff crazy. ?I know. I’ve been there, both as a club COO and General Manager of an elite private club and as the Founding Partner of Bobby Jones Links. It not only makes club employees feel powerless, it also distracts them from what they should be doing – managing the club and serving its members.

Most importantly, it means the Board is probably not doing what it should be - focusing on the strategic, high-level issues and working ON the club's business. Developing strategy and long-range plans can be complex and challenging work, but operational issues and personal agendas are irresistible low-hanging fruit. It’s also often challenging for many Board members to resist the IN problem when they have been successful in their own right managing a business.?

Let’s be clear; Board members mean well. It’s a voluntary job that requires time and effort and often makes for difficult conversations with friends and members.

The solution is straightforward. Please let the managers manage and stop supervising the staff. ?You will have a better club and happier employees.

IN or ON??Pick one.