LAB-69-Why You Should Have Officers, Leadership, & Structure in Your Motorcycle Biker Club PT. #1
Summary: <a href="http://www.lawabidingbiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Leadership-Biker-Motorcycle-Clubs.jpg"></a>PODCAST & BLOG-This is part one of a two part motorcycle club leadership podcast series. Motorcycle biker clubs can operate in many different ways. Some are unorganized and lack leadership within. In a sense, and depending on your definition, that may not even be considered a true "motorcycle club", but more of a "riding group". In my years I have watched many motorcycle clubs and groups come and go and I can guarantee in most every case it was because of a lack of organization, structure, and leadership. With poor or no leadership there is no order or any reason for members to even have order. With that comes little groups & clicks within, lack of direction, lack of order, lack of pride, & lack of control. That will all erode a club or group's foundation in time. I helped start and was the president of another larger motorcycle club chapter for many years. I also helped create and form the <a href="http://www.swornfewmc.com" target="_blank">Sworn Few LEMC</a> from the ground up, in which I am currently the Mother Chapter President. I can tell you, successful clubs that want very close knit long lasting brotherhood & success have a structured environment and leadership for an array of reasons. Overall, lack of leadership and structure will ultimately lead to problems that often times ends a club or groups existence. And that is a shame. What type of leadership & structure should my motorcycle club have? A traditional motorcycle club can have an array of positions, which can all have a varying degree of responsibility within the club structure. At minimum, a successful club should hold elections and have the membership elect a President, Vice President, Secretary, & Treasurer. Sergeant at Arms and Road Captains are very nice to have and can be elected or appointed. Bylaws will be of utmost importance, which will guide election protocols and term limits. Once a motorcycle club or group elects officers then very detailed bylaws should be written with input from all members. Bylaws should not be taken lightly and in the end may decide whether a club succeeds or fails. A Bylaw Committee within can be formed and oversee that process if necessary. Those bylaws must be voted on before they can go into effect as a rule of thumb. As a motorcycle club member do you give up your voice to change things within a club? Absolutely not, if the bylaws and structure of the club are formed properly at the very beginning. Leadership within a well organized club is never about who has power nor should it be. These leaders oversee and protect the club's reputation, performance, standards, and direction. Leaders within a motorcycle club are essentially conductors of what should be a smooth running operation. The power ultimately remains with the membership and that is the way your bylaws should be written form the start. For example, in the <a href="http://www.swornfewmc.com" target="_blank">Sworn Few LEMC</a> the president of a chapter only votes in the event of a tie between membership, which hardly ever happens. We are very proud of how we wrote our bylaws and it keeps any one person from having too much power or control in the club. Of course, there always needs to be some exceptions, such as in the event of emergencies, safety concerns, or a conflict which puts the clubs reputation, function, or order at immediate risk. Of course all those matters which are decided on the spot by a leader will still later be voted on by the true power, which is the membership. Hopefully, with proper member selection a leader never has to use that sort of authority. Remember the golden rule; the number of members should never be a priority, but instead quality of members and true brothers. The larger an organization is, the harder it is to keep it in order. There should not be a big stronghold of power by any one individual,
