SUCCESS STORY - Different Perspectives shape the Future of the New Zealand Pony Clubs Association
THE CHALLENGE:
“As a volunteer board we were struggling to understand the difference between governance and management. I wanted someone who was on the outside to come in and give us some ideas around how we could lift our thinking.” - Wendy Lansdown, Chair of the New Zealand Pony Clubs Association
The New Zealand Pony Clubs Association (NZPCA) is a not-for-profit, voluntary organisation for young people interested in ponies, horses and riding. It is a small organisation with a board made up of passionate volunteers.
Wendy, the Chair, recognised that the initial challenge NZPCA faced, surrounded the association’s governance and managerial roles. The NZPCA board needed to reallocate their focus from day-to-day operational activities to governance. A governing body that would deliver a holistic approach to work for the future was essential in sustaining the organisation.
MSH facilitated a short governance session with the NZPCA board to provide clarity around the different roles of management and governance. Through reiterating and prioritising NZPCA’s focus on both overall long-term performance and day-to-day operations, MSH suggested that it was appropriate for the board members to act evenly in both roles for greater synergy. Given the expertise and passion for the sport that board members rought to the table, it made sense for them to operate in both capacities as long as they knew which hat they were wearing. Like most sports, if you can get well connected and energetic volunteers you leverage and use them in every capacity you can.
Impressed with MSH’s work in the governance session, NZPCA decided they wanted a strategy session. Being a small, resource-constrained organisation, a comprehensive strategy session was out of their budget. MSH took a streamlined approach to focus on key issues for NZPCA. Wendy praised MSH for the way they went about the project, “I don’t believe that we could have found an organisation that was more supportive to actually making this session happen for us. Brian understood our financial issues and saw that we were a volunteer organisation, yet they still wanted to work with us and make it work for all parties.”
The strategy session was done with the NZPCA board, Young Riders Council and two MSH facilitators. Following an hour long teleconference with Wendy before the session, MSH understood exactly what NZPCA required from them, the challenges, and the expectations around the session. Wendy notes, “to have been in that room and to have seen the energy, it was a really amazing experience. The key part of that experience was the preparation that MSH had done.”
Despite all the noise during the workshop, MSH extracted the main points of discussion and developed a strategy document that NZPCA could use to move forward. Wendy commented, “I was impressed with how MSH was able to help us transform our future service offering, focused on ensuring the club became ‘an inclusive community where riders make lifelong friends while having lifechanging experiences’. This is a totally refreshing perspective for us to view the future of the club.” NZPCA now has a clear strategy, consisting of 18 identified projects, to grow their membership and deliver better services to their members. These 18 projects are to be implemented over the next 3-5 years, which gives Wendy confidence that they will be able to deliver on the NZPCA vision.
The future of NZPCA was clearly articulated when the small team of representatives met with MSH. The ideations and initiatives to move the organisation forward were able to be easily communicated to members. At the end of the day, MSH lifted NZPCA’s mindset and provided the board with the basis of making prioritisation decisions together. Wendy notes, “The New Zealand Pony Clubs Association have only high praise for MSH. Certainly, the MSH staff are incredibly motivated and dedicated to what they do.”
THE OUTCOME:
“We now have short, medium and long term goals that came out of the thought-provoking session with MSH to focus the direction of the club. We know the projects which will advance our organisation.” - Wendy Lansdown, Chair of the New Zealand Pony Club Association