Teamwork in board leadership

Boards in sport organizations can improve their effectiveness by functioning as a team of equals. The importance of teamwork is easily appreciated in sport. For effective teamwork, individual board members need to recognize that their authority exists only as a group, with the board chair serving as the steward-leader to the board.

How to write a quality grant application

For many charitable or not-for-profit sport organizations, funding is the main topic of discussion on most days. As they look to continue their missions or potentially create new, innovative, and inclusive programming, two questions regularly come up:  How much money do we need? Where is the funding going to come from? The financial pressures of…

Policy change

Preventative rules, policies, and regulations are one way sport organizations can protect their athletes from injury. For example, helmets in skiing and snowboarding have reduced the risk of brain injury, the elimination of body checking in hockey age groups has reduced the risk of concussion and there is new evidence in mouthguards better protecting athletes…

Accountability loops

Delegating without an accountability loop leaves an organization’s board of directors at risk. To delegate safely and support role clarity, the board can do 4 things: (1) specify the results it wants and boundaries for actions and decision-making that must be respected in pursuing those results, (2) document what happens, (3) implement a systematic, rigorous…

Developing a Safe Sport framework

To create a Safe Sport environment, research with Canadian sport administrators points to a need for changes to policy and education at all levels. Focusing on harm prevention is not sufficient. Sport organizations also need to promote positive values and human rights.

Knowledge mobilization 101: Sharing knowledge to enhance sport in Canada

Many sport organizations collect data on their programs and best practices, but what happens with those findings? Unfortunately, this data often gets piled into internal reports and largely forgotten. This means that valuable learnings aren’t shared with those who can use them to inform future practices and advance the sport system. As many organizations are…

Pickleball problems

For racquet sports like pickleball, concussion awareness may not always be a top concern. But after one player’s fall, all it took was a trip to the emergency room and a previously undetected tumour for Pickleball Hamilton to realize how important concussion protocols are—in any sport. Read the story that shifted Pickleball Hamilton’s perspective, and…

Strategic planning tips

Strategic planning can be a helpful tool in navigating changing and dynamic environments, particularly as community sport organizations begin the process of COVID-19 recovery. Talking to stakeholders, evaluating club resources, considering the community profile, and examining the competition are important steps to consider when beginning the strategic planning process.

Formal and informal leadership roles

Formal leaders usually receive their assigned role from the coach or team’s selection process. Informal leaders emerge based on their interactions and behaviours with teammates. Athletes can be task-oriented, motivational, social, or external leaders. Discover how role diversity can allow many athletes to fulfil a leadership position and distribute the leadership load.

Board accountability

A board of directors is 100% accountable for everything that happens in an organization. However, being accountable for everything doesn’t mean the board must do everything, or even specify how to achieve its purpose. When determining how the organization will best accomplish its purpose, the board must differentiate between responsibility, authority, and accountability. Check out tips…