LAB-272-Dealing With Toxic Motorcycle Club Members & How to Avoid Getting Them

How do you deal with a toxic motorcycle club member that is making things difficult within? As a member or leader within the club, how do you deal with this before it ruins a club or more members leave because of it?  We talk about this in great depth in this episode and it is based on a voicemail we received asking the question. You can leave us a voicemail from your phone or computer anytime!

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Many will say to just remove the member from the club. But, that will be totally dependent on a club's rules and standard protocols. There are so many different motorcycle clubs and riding groups out there and each of them has its own bylaws to follow. So, it may not be as easy as just removing a member without a popular vote as an example. 

Of course, communications among the toxic motorcycle club member and anyone involved will be the most important. If it's an issue between two members, then they need to talk to each other directly and try to work things out. For success, this should only be in person and not over email or text messages as things can be misinterpreted without being able to observe in-person body language, voice tone, and voice inflection. 

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Although a delicate matter, a toxic member's actions within a club may due to outside issues they are facing such as family problems or a sick relative. If that information can be obtained,  then the club can consider assisting the member with those issues and agree on a leave of absence until the outside matter is resolved. 

Discipline by club leaders or a suspension may be an option if it can't be resolved by other means. But, again this will be heavily dependent on the bylaws in place.  So, make certain your motorcycle club's bylaws are properly written and have safeguards and options should something like this arise. 

The best way to deal with a toxic motorcycle club member is to never let them into the club in the first place. This is where the bylaws will become most important. There needs to be in place strict protocols and requirements for vetting prospective members. There should be no fast entry into a  club and minimum times for probationary periods, regardless of how likable a person is. 

Current club members must really spend a lot of time with a prospective member during the evaluation period. Background checks should be done to include, social media checks, criminal background checks, and talking with others that know or work with them. Riding long distances and spending time with prospective members is how you'll learn what they are actually about and if they're a good fit. 

And if you think the prospective member is ready for full membership into the motorcycle club at some point, then a 100% vote should be required by current members. If there is just one person that's not in agreement then that will just fester and cause issues down the road and you'll be dealing with a toxic member. 

Don't be one of the many motorcycle clubs that let anyone joins and just sell their patches. That is a recipe for disaster and there are a ton of stories about why that fails. If you truly aren't concerned with numbers and only care about quality, not quantity, then you'll be far less likely to ever have to deal with a toxic member and avoid an array of other issues. 

This only a small amount of information contained within this podcast episode, so make sure to listen in. 

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