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Changing the BMC (Read 140301 times)

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#425 Re: Changing the BMC
September 07, 2020, 02:38:34 pm
That wasn't aimed at you (you typify the dedicated volunteers who risk being let down again by this latest political crap). Similar accusations have been a regular problem identified by some 'modernisers' since Lynn became President. Actually before...one senior person she approached about advice on being a candidate, as the only VP 'left standing',  suggested it was unwise as (with no apparent sense of irony, nor how it might come across as a 'tad' sexist) there were "several excellent candidates".

There is an obvious conflict between openess and transparency and the necessity of enough confidentiality (and the importance of collective responsibility) for a Board to function, in any Membership Organisation. Having critics using best practice governance arguments missing this point of balance is beyond weird. I also think when any BMC Board makes a mistake it's unhelpful to paint it is as "the latest disaster" or similar hyperbolic language. Mistakes happen and the important thing is how they are resolved and future prevention (without so much risk averseness the Board becomes 'frozen in aspic')

Where I agree with Shark is where the Board communication should be open and transparent (published Board minutes, resignation announcement etc) it  has at times been unacceptably delayed and/ or disappointing.  Yet when you have a Board divided on process and respect issues, in the middle of a national crisis with severe impact on all aspects of the BMC (and where quarterly annual meetings moved to weekly emergency meetings) I do have some sympathy...they are all unpaid except the CEO and probably stressed to the eyeballs. I'm also disappointed the two Independent Directors resigned without putting issues in this context.  What Andy Syme reported to the Peak area...a series of behaviours that in themselves would not impel resignation but do in their sum.... seems a bit 'out of touch' in the context of recent BMC history, the covid crisis etc.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2020, 02:50:15 pm by Offwidth »

shark

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#426 Re: Changing the BMC
September 12, 2020, 05:25:09 am
Latest from the BMC

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-update-september-2020

“Whilst there has been some speculation on the reasons for the resignations, the Board and outgoing members have all agreed that they do not wish to comment further on the matter”

Other stuff covered. I have started a new thread on UKC

shark

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#427 Re: Changing the BMC
October 03, 2020, 03:38:03 pm
https://www.thebmc.co.uk/statement-from-the-bmc

Yesterday evening two further resignations were announced namely Chris Stone who was a Director nominated by National Council and the Chair Gareth Pierce who had already said he wouldn't stand for a further term. The Acting Chair is now Paul Drew who was already on the Board as Senior Independent Director. Other people have been co-opted to join or assist the Board and Sport England have funded a consultancy firm to assist.

Over three weeks ago UKC put a number of questions to Dave Turnbull CEO which have only just been published on UKC. Its not very illuminating.

By contrast the September National Council minutes are far more enlightening on some of the issues going on.

Following an investigation it records NC reprimanding the President Lynn Robinson on her conduct at a previous Council meeting saying: " that the President did not act in the open, transparent and honest way that is necessary to ensure the mutual trust between the Council and the President".

The CEO and Council Nominated Directors were also criticised for their poor openness and transparency.

Similarly the Board as a whole was criticised including: " Board’s approach to ‘Board confidentiality’, which was overly focussed on hiding uncomfortable facts, rather than withholding only what was strictly and legally inappropriate to share with Council".
 

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#428 Re: Changing the BMC
October 03, 2020, 03:50:08 pm
The only thing the UKC article really makes clear is that the BMC is currently a clusterfuck...

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#429 Re: Changing the BMC
October 03, 2020, 08:31:24 pm
I read barely half of that article. Life is too short to continue reading responses which don’t answer the question.

tomtom

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#430 Re: Changing the BMC
October 03, 2020, 08:37:02 pm
I read barely half of that article. Life is too short to continue reading responses which don’t answer the question.

Yup. That’s what I did - but probably didn’t make it half way... 😀


shark

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#431 Re: Changing the BMC
October 08, 2020, 06:18:30 pm
A good summary from Andy Syme, Vice President on ukc on how things kicked off and where we are now

Quote
An inquiry was started into some questionable practices. At the same time the Board was suffering interpersonal clashes.

Two directors resigned and the Chair offered his resignation. Then the Director conducting the investigation resigned stating that he was being obstructed. Then the Chair did resign along with another Director.

It has subsequently transpired that the Board have not been communicating openly with National Council - the body supposed to represent members' interests. Also two of the resigning Directors were NC appointees thus reducing their influence over the board.

The whole saga has been notable for the lack of information actually provided to the members and questions have been raised about the extent to which the President and others felt able to represent the membership.

It's thrown up a lot of associated issues....!

shark

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#432 Re: Changing the BMC
November 24, 2020, 02:40:33 pm
Dave Turnbull steps aside to be Head of Access and Conservation and Paul Davies, Interim Exec takes over as temporary CEO

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-ceo-statement

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#433 Re: Changing the BMC
November 24, 2020, 02:50:54 pm
Wow, that seems like a big change. Potentially positive though. Anyone know Paul?

shark

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#434 Re: Changing the BMC
November 24, 2020, 03:54:36 pm
Don’t know him and not heard anything negative.

He’s not a climber - he comes from a sports performance management background and his LinkedIn profile is here and got involved with the BMC when he joined the newly formed Climbing Competitions  Performance Group that runs GB Climbing and Talent Development. He then applied and got the Interim Exec role to implement strategy.

His role is temporary and it sounds like he’s not interested in the permanent role: “I look forward to helping the BMC to continue this process over the coming months whilst they seek a new CEO to take this vital work forward”
« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 04:36:46 pm by shark »

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#435 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 09:50:23 am

shark

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#436 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 12:19:29 pm
Re-read the article a few times now to interpret it and try and get my head around what is really going on


Quote
The BMC Board has decided to divide the role of CEO and Head of Access, Conservation and Environmental Sustainability into two separate positions. This follows a review of the BMC senior leadership team.

So far so clear. Dave Turnbull has always continued to head up the Access team since being promoted to CEO in 2002

Quote
The BMC and the world in which we operate is changing: climbing, hill walking, ski mountaineering and indoor climbing are rapidly growing, competition climbing is now an Olympic sport and the challenges of Covid-19 have forced us all to think differently about how we work.

Yes the climbing world has changed markedly since Dave became CEO. Covid has a particular impact on Access and remote working by staff and volunteers more common

Quote
At the same time, the realities of climate change mean that we must focus more resources on access, conservation and environmental sustainability.

Access is my main reason for joining the BMC but I’m uneasy about this statement. To an extent climate change has knock on secondary effects to climbers and hillwalkers but not primary effects. I hope that the BMC has not been hijacked by the climate change lobby to the extent that direct and tangible initiatives for climbers and hillwalkers are not trumped by nebulous hard to measure global climate change campaigns.

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The BMC has undergone significant organisational change following the Organisational Review Group report in 2018 and the subsequent work the Organisational Development Group has taken this forward. It is only right that the BMC’s leadership continues to evolve to ensure we have the expertise and experience to deliver on our strategic goals.

Yes. The organisational changes has made the need for fresh blood and experience more pressing and the ORG report majored on the topics of cultural change, leadership and management

Quote
Following a review of the current make-up of the senior leadership team, the BMC Board has decided to divide the role of CEO and Head of Access, Conservation and Environmental Sustainability into two separate positions.

This is logical. The only reason they are currently combined is that Dave started in Access

Quote
The original combined role has significantly expanded in recent years and it is no longer viable to have one person fulfil both sets of responsibilities. Separating the roles will enable us to increase the resources behind our access, conservation and environmental work, and create a more tightly defined CEO role to lead the organisation. It will also allow the Board to step back from day-to-day operations, and focus on strategy, effective governance and oversight.

So Dave has been overloaded and falling short in his role to the extent that Board members were increasingly pulled into operational and executive matters that should have been dealt with by the CEO.

Quote
It has been agreed that Dave Turnbull will retain his role as the Head of Access, Conservation and Environmental Sustainability, whilst the current Interim Executive, Paul Davies, will temporarily take on the CEO role.

Instead of appointing a new Head of Access and Environment Dave has relinquished the CEO role which on the face of it a demotion. 

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This change will take place on 1 December 2020, the Board will start the recruitment process with the aim to appoint a new CEO by early next year.

This makes sense. Christmas period is not a great time to place an advert

Quote
This change will allow Dave to focus his substantial experience on the BMC’s wide-reaching Access and Conservation work across England and Wales. No other issue is more important to our members, and this structural change will allow the BMC to simultaneously accelerate our Access and Conservation work, whilst also ensuring that our broader strategic goals and on-going organisational development can be achieved. Dave has an access and environmental background, has been CEO for 18 years and has steered the organisation through many challenges over this time. Most recently and notably, during COVID-19 where the BMC worked with multiple agencies, partners and stakeholders to ensure government advice was clearly interpreted and effectively communicated to members and the general public. We are immensely grateful for Dave’s contribution as CEO and look forward to his continued leadership as Head of Access, Conservation & Environmental Sustainability.

So the implication here is that Access and Environment which is already the major part of the BMC agenda will assume even more importance than it does now. Quite a few things here are unclear to me:

Does it mean that the Access and Environment operate as a semi autonomous function much as the Climbing Competitions Performance Group now does?

Does it mean that Dave reports to the CEO or directly to the Board?

Will it mean that the silo culture at the BMC becomes further entrenched and common purpose and action undermined?

Is the Accces and Conservation team ringfenced and protected from modernising?

Is the scene set for political infighting and lack of clarity with staff and others on who is actually in charge?

 :-\

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#437 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 06:03:57 pm
Does anyone else think Shark should just apply for the CEO role and get it out of his system?

Maybe I should apply for el presidente..

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#438 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 06:17:15 pm

Quote
At the same time, the realities of climate change mean that we must focus more resources on access, conservation and environmental sustainability.

Access is my main reason for joining the BMC but I’m uneasy about this statement. To an extent climate change has knock on secondary effects to climbers and hillwalkers but not primary effects. I hope that the BMC has not been hijacked by the climate change lobby to the extent that direct and tangible initiatives for climbers and hillwalkers are not trumped by nebulous hard to measure global climate change campaigns.

You care to clear this bit up before I head off into rant mode? For example would you consider warmer wetter winters reducing the amount of winter climbing available as a secondary or primary effect?

shark

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#439 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 06:37:23 pm
It’s a question of making best use of members money to meet primary goal of protecting and advancing interests of climbers and hillwalkers. I’d favour money spent on tangible outcomes like mending footpaths which it can do over mending the weather which it can’t.

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#440 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 06:42:32 pm
I’d favour money spent on tangible outcomes like mending footpaths which it can do over mending the weather which it can’t.

Interesting you think that the footpaths thing sits well with the BMC, be interested to know what percentage of footpath users are members.

Plenty of tangible good value climate change related goals, particularly as a land owner. For an example local to me there’s a good few acres at Crookrise that The BMC own that could be planted with appropriate trees.

Sorry you lost my vote for CEO 😄

shark

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#441 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 06:52:10 pm
Yes - local projects with tangible activity such as that and working with Moors for the Future on sphagnum moss planting are great but it if it strays into generalist awareness campaigns then I’d consider that scope creep.

You could raise tree planting at Crookrise at your local area meeting, get some volunteer support, do some crowd funding etc

teestub

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#442 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 07:00:06 pm
I’d love to attend a local meeting but won’t be doing so until all the ORG tedium is sorted out. The last one I went to had about 10 mins rush on everything else inc access and the remaining 2-3 hours was the governance stuff.

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#443 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 07:03:14 pm
Thats a bit much

shark

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#444 Re: Changing the BMC
November 25, 2020, 07:31:05 pm
There should be less of that going forward as they have started to do national Members Open Forums for the minority who are interested in that side of things

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#445 Re: Changing the BMC
November 26, 2020, 10:28:25 am
I’d love to attend a local meeting but won’t be doing so until all the ORG tedium is sorted out. The last one I went to had about 10 mins rush on everything else inc access and the remaining 2-3 hours was the governance stuff.

I know the feeling. Planning on trying to enforce 10 minutes max on ORG stuff next year unless there are compelling reasons not to! Also worth noting that they will be on Zoom for at least the next couple so you can have on in background /leave when bored in a way that wasn't as socially acceptable when it was in the pub!


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#446 Re: Changing the BMC
November 26, 2020, 10:32:01 am
I’d love to attend a local meeting but won’t be doing so until all the ORG tedium is sorted out. The last one I went to had about 10 mins rush on everything else inc access and the remaining 2-3 hours was the governance stuff.

NW meeting is very much the opposite. There is an option to discuss the ORG stuff but the main drive to give time to the local issues.

shark

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#447 Re: Changing the BMC
November 26, 2020, 11:43:32 am
I know the feeling. Planning on trying to enforce 10 minutes max on ORG stuff next year unless there are compelling reasons not to!

Didn’t realise you’d been appointed Yorkshire Chair. Belated congratulations.

 :clap2:

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#448 Re: Changing the BMC
November 26, 2020, 01:08:53 pm
I know the feeling. Planning on trying to enforce 10 minutes max on ORG stuff next year unless there are compelling reasons not to!

Didn’t realise you’d been appointed Yorkshire Chair. Belated congratulations.

 :clap2:

Are you moving Spidermonkey, or are you like one of these absentee MPs? 😄

Congratulations, or maybe commiserations!

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#449 Re: Changing the BMC
November 26, 2020, 06:56:54 pm
I know the feeling. Planning on trying to enforce 10 minutes max on ORG stuff next year unless there are compelling reasons not to!

Didn’t realise you’d been appointed Yorkshire Chair. Belated congratulations.

 :clap2:

Are you moving Spidermonkey, or are you like one of these absentee MPs? 😄

Congratulations, or maybe commiserations!

I'm moving closer in the spring one way or another, but until then I'm an absentee MP!

Yeah I'm a sucker no doubt, but hopefully we can get it a bit more dynamic in the short term as I've been the youngest person there every time I think!

 

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