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Clubs die quietly. But why? And above all, how can this be changed? Complaining doesn't help, change is needed. But how should the association change? If the members knew, they wouldn't need advice. This book focuses on the club culture, the interpersonal aspect that makes a club attractive. The reader should use the points mentioned in the book to check which apply to their club and which can serve as a starting point for change. Change is a process that requires preliminary considerations as to how to start it. On the other hand, it requires continuous feedback and checks to see whether progress is being made in the desired direction and at the desired speed. The statements in this book apply not only to associations, but also to many other organisations: associations, NGOs, initiatives, groups and so on.
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Volker Löschhorn
Association in the death zone
Imprint
Texts: © 2024 Copyright by Volker Löschhorn
Cover: © 2024 Copyright by Volker Löschhorn
Publisher
Volker Löschhorn
Dattelweg 37 B
70619 Stuttgart
E-mail: [email protected]
Homepage: www.loeschhorn.name
You can find more books and other stuff from me on my homepage
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Imprint
Foreword
Our association - our tribe?
Our association - a service provider?
Our association - a self-organising community?
Analysis
How great is the suffering?
The path
Appreciation
Obstacles
Changing the way we work
Association meeting as the initial spark
Decision day
On the right track?
Goal achieved?
Pitfalls
Misbehaviour
Classifying behaviour
Develop a positive vision
Justice
Dynamism
It's about people
Appendix
Feedback to the author
Foreword
An association is a self-organising community.
And a basic prerequisite for a successful association is the realisation - and I mean real realisation and not lip service - that the most important asset of an association is its contributing members, and that unpaid work must also be worthwhile. And this reward means appreciation, organisational opportunities and success.
Thank-you phrases do not equal appreciation - thanks as payment.
This book aims to be a guide. But advice is not an order, the adviser is not a determiner, and the person being advised must check whether the advice fits their situation. At best, advice sets a development in motion. In this sense, don't just read, but develop your thoughts further.
Advice is not an order.
The aim of this book is to supplement the amateur's motivation with professional tools so that "The opposite of well done is well meant" becomes "Well meant and well done". And working professionally here means adapting working techniques to the special circumstances of a "community of contributing members". And not using management behaviour from the professional environment in the association. And - very importantly - never lose sight of the fact that our association is not an end in itself, but pursues a purpose, a goal. And the association should enable us to achieve this goal. And living the association culture is the key to a successful association.
Living the association culture means participating in the association's purpose, the organisation that makes it possible and the association life that makes up the special organisational form of the non-profit association.
And the association is in danger if the association culture is not right - many associations are threatened in their existence because their culture is not right.
The association culture is a set of mostly unwritten rules according to which, in the opinion of its members, the association has functioned successfully to date.
BUT: If it does not or no longer functions successfully with this culture, these rules and procedures, the following applies:
Nothing is as difficult to change as the culture of an association!
An association's culture is the members' shared understanding of the rules and procedures that are practised in the association.
And the success of the association depends on how the members work together according to these rules.
A non-profit association can only function as a non-profit association
But what makes an association an association, what makes an association so special?
One of the main motivations for association membership is still socialising.
The main reason for joining a company is the income.
An association is not a company.
Our association - our tribe?
Of course an association pursues goals, has a purpose, sets itself tasks. But above all, an association is a social community - with everything that goes with human relationships: "We are all one big family, and we argue just as much...".
Unlike a family, membership of an association is voluntary - we have made a conscious decision in favour of this. On the other hand, the contact and relationships between association members can be more intensive than in some families, and this also increases the importance of these relationships. Associations are organised democratically, but there are associations that are run more paternalistically than with members participating in the decision-making process. The question is, is this due to the management personnel? Or is it the members who find it more comfortable to be led? In the long term, a management style based on the motto "I am the captain, you are the rowers" leads to an impoverishment of the organisation. This is because the competences of the members are not included in the decision-making process, and members who want to be involved withdraw or even leave the association.
I am the captain - you are the rowers.
I don't need a guardian.
The paternalistic or even autocratic management style is encouraged when members refuse to take on tasks and responsibilities. And the organisation's management is then quick to act according to the motto: "If we have to do everything on our own, then we decide on our own". And the members let the board pull the cart alone according to the motto: "Anyone who knows how to work and doesn't shirk is crazy." And then wonder why those who pull the cart also determine the direction.
Participation must be demanded AND provided. And actually, we all want to be involved. So why do we so often fail to get involved in the organisation? Is it because we are not aware of our roles, that we don't realise the special way in which an association can function?
Our association - a service provider?
The purpose alone does not sustain an association. For example, I can do sport in a gym or in a non-profit association. But in the gym I am only a user, and my relationship is reduced to a business relationship - payment for service. And those who work to provide the service are remunerated with money. The problem for the non-profit association is
that members think they can do the same in the association, reducing their relationship with the association to payment for services,
and that non-profit associations think they have to go along with this because otherwise they would lose these members.
Our association - a self-organising community?
In terms of its structure, an association is a self-organising community. Starting with the founding of the association, which can only be done by several people, through to the definition of its purpose and statutes. Originally, the association consists of members with equal rights until, yes, the election of the board of directors. One often gets the impression that the members think that they have done enough with the election of the board and that the board would now like to take care of satisfying their needs. Auma Obama, the sister of US President Barack Obama, once replied in an interview to the accusation that her brother had implemented so little that he had been misunderstood. His motto had always been "Yes, we can" and not "Yes, I can". And they had elected him and then left him alone. Even if our association cannot be equated with the United States of America, doesn't that sound familiar? The board is elected, but is it supported?
The more an association moves away from the self-organising community in the way it works, the less it functions and member satisfaction decreases. We should keep this thought in mind in all further considerations.
Anyone who knows work and doesn't shirk it is crazy.
Participation is based on reciprocity.
Is reducing the association to a service organisation the future?
Calculating instead of getting involved
There is no hierarchy before the first general meeting. This only arises with the election of the board. But the highest body of an association is not the board, but the general meeting.
Hierarchies are necessary. But they should follow the needs of the organisation and not be an end in themselves. Some people would be a good chairman if they didn't think they owned the organisation.
Analysis
Let's start by taking stock - how do we assess the current state of our association? Let's not be afraid to develop a realistic view. Anyone who puts their finger in the wound is often labelled a sourpuss. But recognising reality is a basic prerequisite for change, because reality is the starting point. The aim of our analysis is to understand the initial situation - in order to tackle changes on this basis.
