The key areas of focus for committee meetings

The purpose of committee meetings is often mistaken by community sports clubs.

Many people feel that decisions and plans can only be made in a club by the club’s committee, so often individuals postpone making decisions or creating detailed implementation plans because they think this is the role of the committee.

Ironically, effective committees actually operate in the exact opposite manner.

Strong committees actually focus the majority of their time and energy on:

  • setting the clubs goals and objectives
  • identifying volunteers to assist with specific tasks
  • reviewing plans
  • monitoring progress
  • proactively managing the resources of the club
  • continually seeking to identify, manage and minimise risks
  • communicating, communicating and communicating

It is important to understand that the focus of the committee will change throughout the year. Generally, the role of the committee will evolve from:

  • Planning and volunteer recruitment and empowerment,
  • Monitoring the implementation of the plans and the operations of the club
  • Finalising the year and preparing for reporting to members, legislative compliance
  • Handing over the club too next year’s committee and volunteers.

Characteristics of ineffective or “bad” committee meetings

Ineffective, unproductive or simply “bad” committee meetings are very easy to recognise because they have some or all of the following characteristics: they feel like the meeting goes...