Inside Sport - Director Insights

In the first of a new regular series of guest blogs, Nicola Newman; Non-Executive Director at British Shooting and Director of Communications and Education at UK Anti-Doping; writes about her motivation for taking up a non-executive role in Sport, and the benefits this move has generated in her day job

I joined the board of British Shooting as a Non-Executive Director (NED) straight after London 2012 at a very exciting time for the organisation. It has been a really rewarding experience and I am now on my second term of appointment. I am also Chair of the Audit Sub-Committee.

When I joined British Shooting it was a very new organisation that had emerged fresh and enthusiastic after several years of wrangling in the sport. Created to represent the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of competitive target shooting within the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth disciplines, our focus is on developing world class shooters and promoting shooting at grass roots level and beyond, as a sport for all ages and abilities.

Sport and passion will always be integral, it is the ultimate people industry. Sports lovers make lifelong commitments to volunteering and athletes give their all to train, compete and win. At times issues in sport understandably become very emotional. Feedback from our Chair is that the NEDs have all contributed to the board’s objectivity in a very positive way, and we have a calming effect on meetings.

Three Non-Executive Directors were appointed for the first time in 2012 and we all had our first board meeting together. It was clear from the outset that all three of us were very pleased to have been selected and wanted to learn and contribute as much and as fast as possible. There was a slight nervousness amongst some existing board members of the impact we might have given we were not currently active in their sport and totally unknown to them. A pre-meeting with the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive was the start of our induction process.

This also included a day of introductions to all the department heads who briefed us on their role and remit plus we had the opportunity to shoot. This settling in period was crucial as we were able to learn quickly what objectives, strategies and plans were in place, and the associated risks and issues. Subsequently, also due to our excellent Chair, the board has acted as one to steer the organisation to achieve its exciting ambitions.

So, why am I there? My day job is Director of Communications and Education for UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). I joined in this role in early 2011, when UKAD was also very new, only a year old. For the previous 10 years I had operated as a Director in the Education sector in central government and commercially, UKAD was my first role in the sports sector. Joining a NGB board was part of my professional development plan. I had senior level communications and marketing experience in the public, private and voluntary sector; and sporting knowledge as the parent of a Podium Potential athlete, participant and fan, but no prior knowledge of sports administration from the inside.

Becoming a NED is real work over several years, there is also some risk, it’s a serious commitment. To educate myself I have completed the Sport and Recreation Alliance’s Board Skills for Sport course run in partnership with the Institute of Directors and joined the Alliance Directors Club. I recommend both, the former to fully understand or be reminded of the current legal and personal ramifications of becoming a Director of a board and the latter for the networking, sharing and fun (there has to be fun!). By becoming a NED I hoped I would see how NGBs of funded sports work, and share my skills and experience in return. This is what’s happened and as a result I have happily benefited from the most interesting, challenging and enjoyable four years, with British Shooting and UK Anti-Doping, of my career to date. I believe they have benefited too!

I very much hope when I leave the Board of British Shooting I will join another sporting organisation in a similar role and continue to steer, share and learn into the future. I would like to make the commitment to Chair a board myself when I have more time.

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