Club Launches Project to Build Culture of Mutual Support Between National Sierra Club and All Chapters

Earlier this year, the Board of Directors established a Chapter-National Relationship Task Force to investigate how all chapter entities relate to all national entities within the Club. Following its research, the task force is charged to make recommendations on how we could work together to improve our relationships to better accomplish our common mission at the local, state, national, and international levels.

The Board defined the desired “mutually beneficial relationship” as “one in which a set of specific Club goals defined respectfully by chapters and national or by staff and volunteers, are each supported and advanced” and where “trust and teamwork continues always to grow as people get better and better at working together.”

The task force is co-led by North Star Chapter Chair Luther Dale and Deputy Executive Director Bruce Hamilton. Other task force members are Yvonne Cather (Kansas); David Griggs (Texas); Vicki Lee (California); David O’Leary (Maryland); Fred Heutte (Oregon); Sandy Bahr (Grand Canyon Chapter Director); Robert Harris (Hawaii Chapter Director); Bob Bingaman (National Organizing Director); and Greg Casini (Office of Volunteer and Activist Services in San Francisco).

Over the course of the next several months this task force will be working with its consultant, Heather Berthoud, to assess the present state of the various chapter and national relationships; explore what is working well and where our relationships need repair; and to identify best practices inside and outside of the Sierra Club so we can make recommendations on how to build a culture of mutual support throughout the organization.

As a first step we had a dialogue with the Board and Council of Club Leaders delegates at the annual meeting of the Sierra Club on Sept. 24. Those discussions were captured in writing and will be used along with upcoming surveys, focus groups, conference calls, and one-on-one interviews.

A final report and recommendation will be followed up with further dialogue with Club leaders (both volunteers and staff) to test the findings and recommendations. The final report will then be considered by the Board for adoption at its May 2012 meeting.

Here is the task force charge (doc). If any of you have questions or suggestions please contact any member of the task force. We will also try to keep you updated through Clubhouse and other Club communications channels.

Comments

[Jane Fasullo]

Chapters need to be consulted with to a much greater degree before any national campaign is carried out in the chapter's domain.
In particular I refer to the Beyond Coal campaign which came waltzing in and TOOK OVER things the chapter energy committee had been working on. Conflicts resulted that could have been avoided by having conversations before taking actions that clearly determine each entities role and define each entities actions so they would be complementary rather than confrontational and devisive.