Top Tips from a Chairman
"There is no getting away from it the role of a League Chairman is a lot of hard work, most of it taking part behind the scenes and the complexity of it all is often not really appreciated by those not on the League Committee. Players tend to contact the league committee when they have a problem and are of course not always pleased with the outcome!" Louise Harwood, Chair of the Luton and Dunstable League.
But running a league takes a lot of effort and as Chairman you have to always think of the bigger picture and take individuals and teams out of any equations in difficult situations. You need to ensure every issue is discussed from all possible angles and be comfortable that decisions are always made with all information to hand and that you have allowed a good hearing to complaints, ideas and requests.
The end of the season is the busiest time – Cup Finals, AGM, presentation evenings, restructuring the leagues for the following season, running the summer league etc. etc. One of the secrets, according to Louise Brown Chair of the Heritage League in Bedfordshire, is a good strong committee behind you that just get on with their jobs. Having committee members from across all the divisions in the league gives her committee a wide range of views. She is definitely doing something right as for the last 2 years people have been asking to join the committee! Combining her role with playing, umpiring and 2 young children is no easy task.
Louise Harwood has been Chair for 4 years and says that during this time she has not only found out a lot about her own league but about the other 2 leagues in Bedfordshire, as well as the County itself, not to mention made lots of new friends. County meetings offer the opportunity to share good practice and to pick up new ideas from other leagues.
One of the highlights for Louise Harwood is the pre season barbeque and the awards presentation and the summer fun league help to make it all worthwhile for Louise Brown.
So the top tips for a Chairman
C reate a diverse and hard working committee
H ave a couple of social events so you have some fun in between all the work
A ttempt to be a diplomat
I nvolve your committee fully
R emember you will never please all the people all of the time
M ake sure you are a good listener
A little word like “thanks” goes a long way
N o news is not always good news – be a good communicator
And lastly
Buy a big freezer so you can feed the family easily while you are out!
