[CUCBC Captains] Fwd: British Rowing Strategy - Your Views Matter

[Conor Burgess]

And here’s the email about BR’s strategy - I was mistaken; the email is from Andrew, but Seb also asked me to ensure you’d all received it.

Cheers,
Conor

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Andrew Blit <andrew.blit at outlook.com>
> Subject: British Rowing Strategy - Your Views Matter
> Date: 24 October 2021 at 16:29:37 BST
> To: Andrew Blit <andrew.blit at outlook.com>, "seb.walker at yahoo.co.uk" <seb.walker at yahoo.co.uk>, Stella Isaac <stella.isaac8 at gmail.com>, "helen.middleton at gmail.com" <helen.middleton at gmail.com>
> 
> Email sent to all Club Chairs
>  
>  
> In July British Rowing launched its updated strategic vision – Rowing: Everyone’s sport Rowing: Everyone’s Sport - British Rowing <https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishrowing.org%2F2021%2F07%2Frowing-everyones-sport%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C54f4a2d6330b4fc094ed08d997017603%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637706854805068973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=OEw5XIfyvKm%2BMccKVIvKQZtgVC45DnNbrtRbZhYToNM%3D&reserved=0>. 
>  
> This needed detail to be put underneath the headings in order to generate plans and activity. The departure of the CEO had interrupted, and changed that work.
>  
> Mark Davies, Chair BR, the Board and Staff have invested quite a bit of time over recent weeks to pull together the strategies of individual areas, having tied them into an explicit overarching strategy that seeks to lay out in more granular terms than previously what it is we are trying to do in every area of the organisation, and why.
>  
> The latest iteration of this work js here britishrowing.org/strategy2021 <https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbritishrowing.org%2Fstrategy2021&data=04%7C01%7C%7C54f4a2d6330b4fc094ed08d997017603%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637706854805068973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=v4QwxXfhhLmiyCIRb2HpKQaP5VApXVLD%2FXMgBHCh1AA%3D&reserved=0>  and British Rowing is very keen to have as much feedback as possible in order to make this a successful living document.
>  
> There are mechanisms for comment, question and correspondence on these pages – I ask that you consider copying in myself, Stella, Seb and Helen (copied into this mail) so that we can accurately represent your views at the AGM and in other meetings.
>  
> The following is an extract from an email to staff and the Board from Mark Davies (with his permission) which gives some further background and tone.
>  
> .>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
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> What I’m sending you
>  
> What follows is a first stab at us getting to that [worked out strategy]
>  
> Where it differs [from the published vision], as I hope will be apparent, is in its level of granularity, and in that it seeks to shift our approach to how we get things done. I am sure everyone will have their own view, but I would describe our culture currently as one of command and control: we tend to take the necessarily didactic approach of our base work as a National Governing Body and carry it through to everything else we do. As such, we like to be in charge and tell people what to do, and we tend to give the impression to people that if we didn’t create something, then it’s not up to us to promote it, even if it is raising interest in the sport. What we get in response from members (who hate being told what to do) is begrudging compliance, and often a search for loopholes. 
>  
>  
> Cultural shift
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> What I would love to see us move to, once we get past the obviously important rulebook, is a culture of the clubs and members feeling that they have autonomy, and [BR] being the facilitators - because what results from that combination is engagement.  The key thing we need to achieve is that people feel that the sport is improved by our being here, rather than them feeling that they would be better off without us if only they had a choice. 
>  
> As part of that, you will I am sure note that all over every discrete strategy is a call for feedback - not just gathered in the creation or at the time of publication of our strategy, but on-going. I’d like us to give our members the feeling that they can have a continuous dialogue with us, and know where to go if they have suggestions to make or help they can offer. I would like to drastically cut the perception of distance between us and them. We are part of one family, united by a love of the sport. 
>  
>  
> Let’s talk
>  
> I will stress again that this is by no means a finished product. In fact, it never will be a finished product. Even after [this consultation] the aim is to be flexible within individual strategies within the confines of a clear central vision. We need to constantly adapt and improve as opportunities arise, things change, and technology develops, getting things out quickly and then iterating to get better and better, rather than spending too long trying to create perfection first time. 
>  
> In that vein, let’s discuss openly whether we think any of this brings clarity to areas, roles, and overall strategy; what’s missing; what shouldn’t be here; what needs changing, etc. etc. etc.  You will see there is a forum on the site: if you want your view to be part of a general discussion, use it - there is a section for each category (and you just log in with an email address). If you would prefer your comments to be made behind the scenes, then please either use the ‘contact us’ button on each page, or mail me directly. ,The feedback at britishrowing.org <mailto:feedback at britishrowing.org> email address on the Contact Us button currently comes to me, so if you use that I will assume you want me to pass your comments on to the area owner. If you mail me directly, I will take the “Chatham House Rules” approach of using your content ideas but not passing on who is behind them.  
>  
>  
> Final thought
>  
> Finally, I am trying to practice what I preach: I don’t know if this will work; what I am sending you is far from where I wanted to get to with it and I’d like to be working on it for another week or more; and I’m a bit worried that you’re all going to say 🙄. But equally, I think it’s on the right track, and I’m getting it out because I want and need wider input to move further forward. If it fails completely, I’ve lost a couple of weeks trying, we will look at how else to do it, and the next attempt will be better for what I’ll have learned.  I think Margaret Heffernan explains it brilliantly in her recent book Uncharted, which is an apt word for the territory we are in right now: “To achieve inspiring things people often start in a place of uncertainty, filled with doubt, and yet arrive triumphant at places in life they could not see when they set out. Their successes are deeply human, derived from curiosity, imagination and not a little bravery. Individuals must be prepared to navigate the unknown at risk of failure in pursuit of the ill-defined, because the only way to know the future is to make it.”  
>  
>  
> Here’s the link britishrowing.org/strategy2021 <https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbritishrowing.org%2Fstrategy2021&data=04%7C01%7C%7C54f4a2d6330b4fc094ed08d997017603%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637706854805078925%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=AmuCfFU1oDlDsGK5wF9haE6DMsrbLRjIOR%2FpoKs7vAA%3D&reserved=0>
>  
>  
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>  
> Andrew Blit
> 07976 672238

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