New to the club board? With these skills you convince

Would you like to know what makes a good sports club board member and what their responsibilities are? We spoke to a board member and show you what skills are important.

spized | Club management

April 18, 2024 |

Whats’ on this page

1. What is the board of an association?

2. What are the tasks of the Management Board?

3. What skills should a good association board member have?

3.1 Enthusiasm ability

3.2 Apply specialised knowledge - or (want to) learn new things

3.3 motivation, motivation, motivation!

3.4 Frustration tolerance

3.5 Organising and delegating

3.6 Think strategically

3.7 Creativity

3.8 Openness to technical developments

4. It's all in the mix

5. Conclusion: Inspire others with your enthusiasm and utilise your manpower!

What is the board of an association?

Have you found your way onto the board of your organisation and are now volunteering there? Whether as a chairman or a normal board member: We'll show you which skills will help you do your voluntary work particularly well.

But let's start with the basics: The board is the governing body of an association. This means that it manages the business and represents the association and its members externally. This is regulated in §26 of the German Civil Code (BGB). The board is usually made up of several people who are elected by the members of the association. The composition, tasks and powers of the board can vary depending on what your club's statutes say, and the members of the board can have different functions, for example the chairperson, deputy chairperson or treasurer.

On the board of the CFB Cologne badminton club, Jan Thiele is responsible for marketing. "I think it's important that other club members get involved alongside the people on the board. That's why I started. I didn't have to be persuaded, I was very happy to volunteer," he says, explaining his move from player to board member. We spoke to the 29-year-old about his skills, strengths and key factors.

What are the tasks of the Management Board?

But first, let's get back to basics: the tasks of an association's board of directors are defined by law. On the one hand, the board manages the association's finances and assets, i.e. it pays the bills, keeps the accounts and builds up reserves. On the other hand, membership administration and development as well as marketing and public relations are essential tasks of the board. In doing so, the purpose of the association as set out in the articles of association must be realised and the interests of the association safeguarded.

What may sound monotonous at first is actually the exact opposite: diverse and extensive. The number of Board members means that the areas can be spread across many shoulders - and you can get involved in the area that interests you most. And best of all: as decisions are made in the Board of Directors, you can really initiate, implement and get things moving in your new position.

This is also what appeals to Jan Thiele about his role at the badminton club: "I'm particularly enthusiastic about turning home games into an event, making everything a bit bigger, getting people involved and excited, creating hype. That's why I'm happy to be involved on the board."

What skills should a good association board member have?

It is clear that you are (generally) not an organisational talent, a creative mind and a good manager at the same time. The advantage of sharing tasks on the board: you don't need to be! Our tip: Distribute the tasks according to the strengths and interests of all board members - this way you complement the other board members in the best possible way. Here we show you which skills will make you stand out on the board of a sports club.

Enthusiasm ability

Depending on your interests and skills, you choose your niche and focus on the tasks that you enjoy. Whether it's sponsor acquisition, social media or member development - what inspires you also inspires others. And what we are passionate about, we are known to do well - and that is contagious!

Apply specialised knowledge - or (want to) learn new things

It's great if you can apply your professional expertise to voluntary work. In some areas, it is necessary to already have experience in an area, for example in legal or tax matters.

Jan Thiele knows that this doesn't have to be the case everywhere - his day-to-day work has nothing in common with his voluntary work: "It's great when there are people in the organisation who have useful skills, but I don't need this prior knowledge in my work on the board. My job is then more about acquiring people who can give me advice or help me as a photographer or graphic designer."

Being hungry for knowledge and wanting to expand your own expertise through volunteering is therefore a skill that will not only help you to constantly develop. You are also brave enough to take on new challenges!

motivation, motivation, motivation!

Motivation is the key factor - and not just your own. "It's crucial to motivate people. But I can only do that if I'm motivated myself and want to do my voluntary work," explains Jan Thiele. "I'm good at transferring my enthusiasm to others. That's how I manage to motivate people to take on work or support a vision."Motivation is the key factor - and not just your own. "It's crucial to motivate people. But I can only do that if I'm motivated myself and want to do my voluntary work," explains Jan Thiele. "I'm good at transferring my enthusiasm to others. That's how I manage to motivate people to take on work or support a vision."

Frustration tolerance

You start your new voluntary position fully motivated. You may also expect this motivation from others in the club and try to involve your own club members in tasks. The fact that not everyone in the club is similarly motivated can therefore quickly become frustrating. You should have a thick skin, especially if your own ideas and their implementation initially fail due to the (dis)motivation of others.

"It's not the ideas that fail, but very often the fact that there is no time to realise them. That's sometimes a big frustration factor," reports Jan Thiele. "It has also happened to me that I found myself alone in a situation. That's frustrating, but you have to endure moments like that and stay positive."

Organising and delegating

If you are not a talented organiser - no problem! But at least one person on the board should have this skill. After all, regular board meetings need to be scheduled and organised, events planned, goals set and pursued. Without someone to keep an overview, create structures and lead the team, things can get chaotic.

Think strategically

Can you think ahead and strategically? This is helpful in two ways: on the one hand, it is important to continuously develop the organisation with long-term goals and a vision. On the other hand, it is precisely this goal definition that serves as motivation for others, because it is very motivating to work towards something.

"Just working in front of you - you quickly get into a rut and become demotivated," says Jan Thiele. "For example, we have set ourselves goals in youth work, implemented measures and seen that it is successful. It's a cool feeling to see the first players that you've trained yourself move on to the adult sector. Someone who has played at the club for many years has built up a bond and is perhaps also committed to the club outside of training."

Creativity

The creative part is just as important: further development and innovation require creative ideas. Creativity is not only characterised by a social media presence or new ways of recruiting members. Even small creative measures can give your club a wow effect. For example, designing your own jersey is not only creative, but also creates a recognition value that could also be of interest to sponsors and potential partners. You can try it out for yourself here: https://www.spized.com/de/trikot-selbst-gestalten

Openness to technical developments

Are you the person on the board who can digitalise processes in membership administration or set up the livestream for home matches? Being familiar with technical innovations and digitalisation also helps in voluntary work. And ideally, it also makes it easier to work efficiently. "That's an extremely important skill," says Jan Thiele. "It's crucial to have someone who takes care of digitalisation in the association, because it's very important these days. In our case, it's the President, who is very knowledgeable thanks to his professional experience." Here we show you how voluntary work can be organised more efficiently through automation, among other things: https://www.spized.com/de/magazin/mit-schlanken-ablaeufen-und-automatisierung-zeit-und-geld-bei-ehrenamtlicher-arbeit-sparen

It's all in the mix

Ideally, your skills and the skills of the other members of the association's board complement each other. "In our association, it's very fitting that the "boss" is a good all-rounder who brings order to the board. We complement each other very well," reports Jan Thiele. "When it comes to discussions, I tend to be the one who sometimes overshoots the mark with creative ideas. It's important to have people who can structure and categorise things and make decisions. The person who has the most responsibility should also have an eye on the big picture, know the statutes and the legal basis of a registered association. I don't know much about that, but that's what the chairman or president is there for."

Conclusion: Inspire others with your enthusiasm and utilise your manpower!

Your own motivation for your voluntary work on the board of the sports club is the foundation. If your enthusiasm and motivation are right, it's contagious! These skills are the basis. Because that's how you manage to spread the work over many shoulders. "You have to be a motivator and give people small tasks that are not too demanding. If you manage to motivate the members, then you can achieve a lot."

However, this also applies the other way round, warns Jan Thiele: If there is no one to motivate others to help, things look bad. "If you want to make it really cool, you need people who invest time. You often need someone to push the cart and provide the initial spark, then others will follow. If you don't have that person, it can happen that the euphoria fizzles out again."

The work can only be done well on a voluntary basis with enough manpower. Utilise this manpower and the strengths and skills of the other members. In the best case scenario, you will complement each other and together manage to successfully fulfil the tasks of the club board and move the sports club forward. By the way, we'll show you how to get an overview of your new area of responsibility and how to successfully pass on your knowledge here: https://www.spized.com/de/magazin/wissensweitergabe-im-ehrenamt