Fitness Australia Elections Are On!
Monday this week saw the voting open for positions on the Fitness Australia Board. Yep that’s right there is an election!
I remember for years various State associations and in the early days of Fitness Australia there were no elections. In fact, often we had to beg, cajole, and even drag some people kicking and screaming to the Board.
What an exciting position the Australian fitness industry finds itself in now – 12 people offering to volunteer to be on the peak body.
Most importantly, what an exciting position the fitness industry finds itself in!
As a Fitness Australia Business Member you can determine the future of our industry by voting for whom you think will represent the industry best at Board level.
As a former Board member I want to share what really happens at those Board meetings:
- If you have a hidden agenda, your fellow Board members will see it and it won’t be hidden for long;
- If you are representing an industry category, you have the opportunity to speak on behalf of that category but you have to make a decision that is best for the industry as a whole;
- If you are not prepared for a meeting, you will have no input or uneducated input and that doesn’t help anyone; and
- If you disagree with a Board decision, that is fine within the Boardroom but once you leave the Boardroom you have to be united & unwavering in the decision, otherwise you splinter the industry you were voted to lead.
These are just my opinions of what happens but after sitting on fitness industry, charitable and rugby boards for nearly 20 years I think I am qualified to have an opinion.
The people running for the Board positions I am sure understand their responsibilities. I am sure they understand the machinations of a Board. And I am sure they are running to better the industry. They are quality candidates.
What I hope is that those who are eligible to vote, understand this is not a popularity contest. Fitness Australia is not seeking the most popular person in the fitness industry on their Board.
If you can vote, consider:
- Reading carefully every nominee’s campaign ‘promise’;
- Looking beyond what they are currently doing and look at what they have done and the successes they have had in business and/or on other Boards;
- Picking up the phone and calling the nominee(s) and talking to them about why you should vote for them; and
- Putting your personal opinions on an individual away (ie whether you may or may not ‘like’ that person) and acknowledge and respect them for what they have achieved.
I have no idea what Fitness Australia are seeking as a skill set or traits for the Board members. If I could vote, then my 3 criteria would be:
- Thinkers – people with business acumen and are deep thinkers who can see the long term impact of any short term decisions;
- Doers – people who will get in, roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty;
- Galvanisers – people who will work to unite the industry so that we can grow the industry.
You will have your own criteria for which you wish to vote for. Just remember EVERY vote counts and YOUR vote will decide the future of the industry.
Justin is the Managing Director of Active Management, which he began January 2004. He offers coaching to businesses worldwide in everything from start up and design to marketing and sales systems. Justin also facilitates four Australian and New Zealand ‘fitness industry roundtables’ events, which allows him to see a huge cross section of business models.