Club prez getting burned out...

[Disc bro]

Hey guy's been president of our local club for the past two years now, actually started the club. I'm starting to get burned out and not sure if i should step down, just looking for some idea's how how to change things up so this burned out feeling goes away... Thanks!!

 

[DavidSauls]

Delegate.

Well, depending on how big the club is. If you can assign some individuals, or 3-person committees, to take care of tasks, it'll help greatly. Someone to run weeklies. Someone to organize workdays. Someone to get sponsors for tourneys. Or whatever it is you're doing now. Then, if they're doing things, don't meddle with them---just let them report to you, and the club.

Plan B: Quit, and after no one steps up in your place, everyone will realize how much you were doing.

 

[ru4por]

Delegate.

Well, depending on how big the club is. If you can assign some individuals, or 3-person committees, to take care of tasks, it'll help greatly. Someone to run weeklies. Someone to organize workdays. Someone to get sponsors for tourneys. Or whatever it is you're doing now. Then, if they're doing things, don't meddle with them---just let them report to you, and the club.

Plan B: Quit, and after no one steps up in your place, everyone will realize how much you were doing.

Yeah, for sure. Get some help and hand off some of the duties. It always seems like the same handful of guys stepping up and putting in the work. The metro Detroit area has its group, and they are amazing dudes. Simply workhorses that can not be thanked enough. I don't know how they do it. Hang in there, man.

 

[joecoin]

If you have no club charter, create one. Specify one year term limits for officers.

 

[Pbmercil]

Hey guy's been president of our local club for the past two years now, actually started the club. I'm starting to get burned out and not sure if i should step down, just looking for some idea's how how to change things up so this burned out feeling goes away... Thanks!!

Step down into a role with less responsibility. Offer your experience to help whoever comes after you with whatever they need help with. You should not be doing this forever. The spirit of rotation is very important in service/volunteer organizations. If your burnt out, its time for you to rotate into a less important role.

If you don't have anyone in the club that you feel like can step into your role, start grooming one. Immediately.

 

[markmcc]

I have always said that a sure way to get burned out on a hobby is the become an officer in the local club. As an officer you end up doing a disproportionate amount of the work and listening to others complain about how it is being handled.

I agree with what the others have suggested. Figure out who your core group is, and distribute the work among them. If there is no core group, then perhaps the club needs to disband or at least take a break for a while. In the groups of different clubs that I've been involved with, a couple of have just gone away if there wasn't enough momentum to keep them going.

 

[AdamE]

If you started the club you're a go getter, but being president isn't about doing; it's about managing people and tasks. I learned that the hard way and got burnt out for a while too.

 

[jrawk]

Hey from one pres to another, it's a constant struggle to keep the passion alive. For me, i find the most rewarding experiences are interfacing our club with other clubs. It keeps things fresh, new, and helps make your little segment feel part of a larger scheme. So for me, running a few local tournaments and then urging local players to play in other regional events is how I try to keep things positive. Going to play a C-tier 2 hours away with 4 or 5 other club members is awesome and totally reinvigorating.

When you start feeling burned out from over activity, dial it back a little. Have a meeting and talk about the direction the club is headed, and have a realistic discussion on what it will take to achieve the club's goals. I have to constantly remind myself that regular members get burned out too. And if i feel there's too much on my plate, well, there's probably too much on everybody's plate.

The ugly part for me is when dependable club members move away or all of a sudden lose interest and stop playing. It happens every year to a few people you'd never expect. Just gotta keep telling yourself and other other officers that there's nothing that can prevent it and move on.

 

[thanxmikey]

Well said JRawk. I started the LoCo Club in Loudoun,VA and basically did everything for 3 years with little help and got totally burned out on it this year. Delegate some people you can hopefully depend on who have the best intentions for the club. I had a goal to run the club for a few years and step away and let someone else run it.

I decided to focus on course design, course installation, disc golf education and do not focus on the actual running the club anymore. It is satisfying to see new members step up and run it without me.

 

[brentjacobs]

Another +1 for delegate. I'm in my second year of presidency for a club we started in the spring of 2014. I got super burnt out the first season, receiving minimal help with our leagues, projects, tourneys, ect. This year, and its weird because I didn't actually delegate, but 2 other guys stepped up to run the 2 main weeklies we do. After that, I haven't felt at all burdened. Actually huge thanks to ThrowBot on here for running our largest league on Tues nights. All I did was show up, help get cards and flights, and distibute tags at the end of the night. He dealt with all of the cash, supplies, handicap tracking, payouts, ect. It was great!

 

[filobedo]

Delegate.

Well, depending on how big the club is. If you can assign some individuals, or 3-person committees, to take care of tasks, it'll help greatly. Someone to run weeklies. Someone to organize workdays. Someone to get sponsors for tourneys. Or whatever it is you're doing now. Then, if they're doing things, don't meddle with them---just let them report to you, and the club.

Plan B: Quit, and after no one steps up in your place, everyone will realize how much you were doing.

Committees with accountability for sure but I have seen plan B ruin a club because the BOD is full of newbies that have no relationships with the sanctioning entity, manufacturers, TDs, state coordinators, running sanctioned events, etc. because it is just local casuals with huge egos and entitlement attitudes.

 

[DavidSauls]

That is, of course, the entire point of Plan B. Assuming Plan A doesn't work. The burnt-out Prez can keep smoldering and soldiering on, or quit and let things crash....and perhaps they'll realize what he had been doing for them all along. At the least, he'll have more time to go out and play.

To everyone else, if your club has a good president, for goodness sake, do everything you can to carry the load. If you've got a good one, you want to keep him.

 

[jrawk]

That is, of course, the entire point of Plan B. Assuming Plan A doesn't work. The burnt-out Prez can keep smoldering and soldiering on, or quit and let things crash....and perhaps they'll realize what he had been doing for them all along. At the least, he'll have more time to go out and play.

a scorched earth policy is pretty selfish in this regard.

 

[DavidSauls]

a scorched earth policy is pretty selfish in this regard.

Sometimes it's all you have left.

Half in jest. But I've seen a few very good presidents linger for a year or two, while begging someone to take over. Eventually they gave up, and things floundered around for a while before, eventually, a new committed president stepped up.

Probably should be Plan Z - the last resort - instead of Plan B.

 

[joecoin]

a scorched earth policy is pretty selfish in this regard.

Well, going from selfless to selfish is a valid step if no one appreciates anything you've done. Why bust your buns for no reason?

 

[ThrowBot]

Do you volunteer to help the local disc golf community, or do you volunteer to get recognized for helping the local disc golf community?

Whether or not you get recognition, it should be rewarding to know that your hard work is allowing other people to have fun and improve. Getting props from others can be very rewarding, but that's not the primary motivation to help out.

All I did was show up, help get cards and flights, and distibute tags at the end of the night. He dealt with all of the cash, supplies, handicap tracking, payouts, ect. It was great!

If you want help running a league, make sure that the person who sets up the handicap system doesn't trust anyone else to use their spreadsheets Works like a charm!

 

[brentjacobs]

If you want help running a league, make sure that the person who sets up the handicap system doesn't trust anyone else to use their spreadsheets Works like a charm!

QFT! Thanks again Wood!

 

[DavidSauls]

Do you volunteer to help the local disc golf community, or do you volunteer to get recognized for helping the local disc golf community?

It's not that, at all.

What sometimes happens is, someone gets gung ho about how much a club could do. Then after a while he gets tired, looks around and realizes he's he only one pulling the sled while the other dogs have run off, or are catching a ride. It just seems easier to stop, and let them mill around in one place, if that's all they're up for.

Not always, of course. Perhaps not even most of the time. But I've seen it enough, in disc golf and other endeavors.

He's not doing it for the recognition but, by golly, he thinks maybe if he stops, they'll recognize what they've lost by not all pulling together.

 

[discgman]

Delegate. We have a three headed crew with a couple of backup helpers in the mix. If one doesn't show up, we have two others to help. Its great when you want to take a break or two. Eventually it should run itself if you delegate enough.

 

[12StonesScott]

There's a fine balance you have to strike between making sure the essential things happen and making sure others know how much their efforts are needed. You have to be willing to ask yourself if you're willing to let something go undone if no one else steps up, and then let it happen. Unfortunately, as long as everything's going along with no problems, people assume their help isn't needed. When a need goes unfilled, if someone out there is passionate enough about that particular item they will step in. And if no one cares enough to do that, there's your indication that it's not important enough to the community for you to invest your effort in either.

The other thing I'll say is that no matter how much you dislike hearing "no", or worse yet hearing "yes" but getting no follow-through, you have to keep asking, keep extending the invitation and creating the opportunity for others to get involved, even if most of them have already declined to do so in the past. People's circumstances change, and it may be that the next time you ask or offer will be the one that makes them say "yeah, I can do that". And while it feels to you like you've asked and asked and if people want to help they know you need it, the reality is most aren't thinking about it and won't jump in and volunteer their help without any prompting. All the other times you've asked don't really matter -- what matters is that you ask at a time when they're able to say yes. As part of that, talk up the opportunities to get involved with likely candidates at every chance you get -- during league rounds, club functions, etc. Just casually mention that you'd love to get more people involved in the responsibilities of the club and how you think they might be able to help, and see what they say. Do it again every few times you see them. Give the idea time to sink in and become familiar. It may take a couple of years, but keep plugging.