Become a leader worth following

Club cultures offer opportunities for us to participate in a community with others where we can support and provide for each other. It enables us to learn behaviours such as collaboration, empathy, commitment and intent; and we also learn to share a sense of belonging and purpose. Culture involves everyone, belongs to no one and is ever-evolving.

As a leader, your job is to inspire your club’s culture by living the ideals and values of your club every day and helping others to do the same.

What a leader should do to develop club cultures:

• Watch and listen closely to what it means to be part of your club by getting a feel of the language, energy, the rhythm, speed and movement of the people there. Look at the who, why, when, what, where and how - Who shares the courts? Where do people congregate to chat? Who speaks? Who listens? What words are spoken? How is information shared?
• Make it feel safe to belong by ensuring every member is acknowledged, thanked and appreciated for their contribution to the club. Creating a supportive communication framework fosters connections and builds dignity - because a club is only a club because of the people.
• Invest time, energy, love and education into the maximum number of people in your club to awaken your club’s most powerful assets – your members. This will ensure that everyone is equipped with the skills, awareness, tools and know-how to build your club.
• Be able and willing to tell your club’s stories regularly and with conviction. This will remind your fellow members about who they collectively are - including those that came before, those who are present and those yet to come.

As a club you need to create positive experiences every day; these positive experiences will foster beliefs; these beliefs will drive the actions we take; and collectively everyone's actions will produce the results needed to strengthen relationships and grow the love of squash.

Learn more about what you can do to develop powerful club cultures worth belonging to here.