Clubhouse Leadership

by Kim Crane

It is important to state that each and every clubhouse, despite our commonality of spirit and standards, is coming from a unique experience and environment. Although there are certainly basic elements important to promoting leadership, the precise way this is accomplished may be different in each clubhouse.

The Petoskey Club consists of members and staff. We feel we are all a part of the clubhouse's membership, and it is commonly said, "We are all in this together." So, all together, we pondered, "What is leadership really and how does it happen in the Petoskey Club?" We quickly agreed on a few thoughts:

- Eighty-nine people in the clubhouse means eighty-nine potential leaders.

- If I lead today I don't necessarily have to lead tomorrow.

- Each one of us has unique talents and abilities which will naturally be called upon by the clubhouse at some time.

Leadership doesn't have to mean being ready to take on a big role in a big project; it starts first with taking on a lead role in making decisions in one's own personal life. If at times we are going to lead, then we are going to follow at other times. So how does taking on the leadership role happen? The clubhouse responses were numerous. It is by being asked to take the lead, being asked to represent the clubhouse's interests, being believed in, being trusted, being challenged, being supported, being followed, being needed, and being engaged in relationships, more than anything else, is how the Petoskey Club has fostered and shared the leadership role. We are a clubhouse community where genuine relationships, as well as genuine friendships prevail. We work together, advocate together, vacation together and grow together. We have a mutual need for each other and a mutual belief in each other, where relationships are a two-way street. We strongly believe that if a person perceives that she or he is always the receiver of support or assistance, and never the provider, it will be difficult for that person to take on leadership roles.

Two other prevailing beliefs and common expressions in our clubhouse are:

- Always do the right thing.

- Do what you say you're going to do.

This results in people being accountable and responsible to the clubhouse and to each other. To do things that are right for the individual and the community and to do what we've said we're going to do--which was to be the very best clubhouse we could be for the membership, clubhouse, and community, by adhering in both practice and principle to the clubhouse Standards.

The clubhouse Standards were developed in good faith and integrity, with the intent that if a clubhouse adhered to them we would all be doing the right thing. So the Petoskey Club strives consistently to follow the Standards, many of which are vital to fostering and sharing the leadership role. Clubhouses need to be equal opportunity providers. Everyone has access to every opportunity; every decision is a community decision. Every work space is truly a communal work space. It is essential to developing leadership that we have access to common tools.

Fostering and sharing leadership doesn't only mean providing opportunity for a few key members to take the lead. It does mean, however, providing opportunity through a supportive environment for every person in the membership to take a lead role in an area that he or she chooses. It means having access to every opportunity necessary to get the work done effectively and efficiently. Every person should have equal access to a place to work, clubhouse business cards and supportive co-workers to get the job done.

We all have something to offer, and we must have an environment in which people are both able to and asked to offer their unique skills to the community. These offers must be incorporated into the work and life of the clubhouse. To only ask "key" members to take the lead is an injustice to other members and to the clubhouse as a whole. We become leaders by having the opportunity to lead the way.

We talk a lot about how to convey that work needs to get done. However often it seems that the work we ask members to get done is only part of a project, the functional or routine work, and not the brainstorming or dream work that all ideas begin with. We all need to be both leaders and followers. This requires that staff members and clubhouse directors are readily able to let go of the leadership role.

To me personally, this means taking the lead in certain situations and pitching in by using a copier or the calculator, keeping the toilet clean or being a gopher, when the leader is someone besides me. It means not feeling that there is any work, decision, or presentation that I have to make alone. My voice is truly one eighty-ninth of the Petoskey Club message.

It has meant supporting policy meeting decisions that I didn't agree with because I am part of the community, and I agree to support consensus decisions. It means having work done and projects completed in ways different from the way I would have done them. Above all else, it means that members, staff members and directors of the club are all co-workers. It means having trust in each other to do the right thing and believing that we will all do the right thing.

The clubhouse community is a diverse community with different skills, abilities, languages and lives, but we are a unified community; we share two powerful bonds, which are the clubhouse experience and the human experience. Truly, we are all in this together.

Kim Crane is the director of Petoskey Club in Petoskey, Michigan.