JMX Solutions

A pretty great week of school sport, with two Sports Association Adelaide Schools - SAAS Grand Final wins across two different sports for my son and his Scotch College Adelaide teammates. 💙💛

As a proud mum, and someone who spends a lot of time thinking about culture and behaviour in community sport, it also got me thinking…

**Why do we sometimes accept behaviour in community sport that we would never accept in a school?**

Schools and sporting clubs have a lot in common. They bring people together, develop young people and create a strong sense of belonging.

But schools are generally very deliberate about setting behavioural standards — and expecting people to meet them.

Values are made clear. There are boundaries. And when behaviour falls outside them, there’s an expectation that it will be addressed.

On paper, we expect the same from sport. In practice, those conversations don’t always happen.

My favourite moments from the GF's was at the final siren of the footy, when students from across the school streamed onto the oval to celebrate with the team.

**It wasn’t just their win. It belonged to a community.**

That’s one of the great things about sport - and exactly why culture matters.

For sporting clubs, particularly those involving children and young people:

**Know your values. Translate them into clear standards of behaviour. And be prepared to hold people accountable when those standards aren’t met.**

Having values and a Code of Conduct is the easy part.

Living them is where the real work happens.

Conflict doesn't always look like conflict.

Sometimes it's a frustrated member.
A disappointed customer.
A difficult conversation at the front counter.
Or someone who's simply had a bad day.

A few weeks ago we delivered the Conflict Compass to the South Australian Cricket Association’s Member Services team at the iconic Adelaide Oval.

While the examples were very different to the volunteer organisations I often work with, the conversations quickly showed that the principles are exactly the same.

How do you respond when emotions are running high?

How do you de-escalate a situation while still looking after the organisation and the person in front of you?

The Conflict Compass is designed to help people make those decisions with confidence, so issues are handled well the first time.

A big thank you to the SACA team for your enthusiasm, honesty and willingness to get involved throughout the session.

Every workshop reminds me that while every organisation is different, people are people - and good conversations are at the heart of great service.

Most people don't set out to be unfair.

In fact, they usually believe they're being completely reasonable.

It often starts with a simple thought:

"Obviously..."

"Obviously that's what happened."
"Obviously they're just causing trouble."
"Obviously everyone knows what they're like."

The moment we decide something is obvious, we stop asking questions and start looking for information that confirms what we already believe.

We're all entitled to our opinions.

But when we're handling complaints or managing conflict, there's an important distinction:

Your opinion isn't the process.

Good complaint handling and conflict management aren't about putting your opinions aside. They're about not letting them replace a fair process.

One of the simplest questions you can ask yourself before making a decision is:

"What don't I know yet?"

That question alone can change the outcome of a conversation.

Jacqui McConville

I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with some incredible volunteers from Scouts SA recently, delivering the Conflict Compass at their Management of Scouting Conference.

I love delivering this workshop, but the people in the room are what make it so enjoyable. Volunteers from across South Australia who give their time to create opportunities for children and young people to learn, grow and challenge themselves.

We had some really honest conversations about conflict, leadership and supporting volunteers through difficult situations. It was a great reminder that every community organisation faces similar challenges, and that investing in people is one of the best investments you can make.

Thank you to Bragg and everyone at Scouts SA for making me feel so welcome. I even came home with my very first Scouts badge!

Thank you for having me. 💚

Jacqui McConville

Strong clubs don’t just happen.

They’re built by people who are prepared to have the conversations that make their club better.

It was great to spend an evening with the team at Grange Surf Life Saving Club delivering the Club Conflict Compass.

The club has already been doing a lot of work to strengthen its governance and is now investing in its culture, leadership and the way conflict and complaints are managed.

Thank you to everyone who came along and shared their views and perspectives. Looking forward to continuing to work with the club as they build on the great work already underway.

Committee burnout isn't always about having too much work to do.

Often, it starts with unresolved people issues.

Difficult conversations.
Complaints that sit unresolved.
Tension between members.
Tension between committee/board members.

Volunteers trying to navigate situations they've never been trained to handle.

I recently had the opportunity to write for the Clubs SA newsletter about a pattern I see across community clubs: when conflict isn't addressed early, it quietly shifts committee focus away from governance, leadership and the future of the club.

Conflict is part of every organisation.

Burnout doesn't have to be.

If you're involved in leading a club, I'd love to hear whether this reflects your experience.

📖 Read the article here:

When Club Conflict Becomes Committee Burnout - Clubs SA How to lodge your NFP self-review return online

Put a group of basketball coaches together and the conversation gets real pretty quickly.

Strong opinions. Passion for the game. Plenty of ideas.

Jacqui McConville spent some time recently with the rep coaches at Basketball ACT as part of a broader engagement and review process focused on improving the program.

There’s a real difference when people know the purpose is improvement, not politics.

That’s where good engagement and independent facilitation can make a big difference.

Really enjoying being part of this work and looking forward to continuing to support the program.

Today we celebrated the success and expansion of the Clubs SA Club Development Program.

Our presenters and facilitators came together to recognise the impact the program is having across South Australian clubs. The expansion of the program now allows Clubs SA to provide training and support to all clubs in South Australia. Training modules include governance, constitutions, sponsorship management, finance, grants, navigating conflict, volunteer management and more.

Clubs SA gratefully acknowledges the for its funding of the program, helping us strengthen clubs and the communities they support.

Thank you to everyone involved in delivering and supporting this growing program.

Kate McPhee Liquorice Allsorts Consulting
Jacqui McConville JMX Solutions
Gillett Club Ducks
hartwig
Peter Nicolaci consulting

Learn more about the Bendigo Bank Clubs SA Club Development Program https://clubssa.com.au/club-development-program/

Recently spent time with the team at Hockey SA working through conflict, communication and some of the challenges that come with leading people and clubs in sport.

What always stands out in these sessions is how much people care about doing a good job.

Conflict is part of every sporting environment.
What matters is having the confidence and tools to navigate those moments well.

Really appreciated the openness, discussion and willingness to lean into some of the harder conversations.

Thanks to for having me.