Strong governance, collaboration and long-term planning have transformed the organisation over the past 10 years and positioned it well for future growth, he says.
After a decade on the board of the Australian Rheumatology Association, including the past two years as president, Dr Sam Whittle says the organisation’s greatest achievement has been the steady, collective evolution of its governance and culture.
Speaking to Rheumatology Republic as he prepares to hand over the presidency at the ARA’s Annual Scientific Meeting this weekend, the South Australian rheumatologist reflected less on personal milestones than on what he described as a long-term collaborative effort that had strengthened the association from within.
“It’s a really difficult question, because I really don’t like to think in terms of legacy, I mean none of this happens in isolation,” he said.
“I know I’ve been president for two years, but I kind of see it as a continuation of all the time [that] I’ve been on the board – pretty much continuously for 10 years.
“The main takeaway from that, for me, is seeing how far as an association we’ve evolved over those 10 years. That’s been a collective effort.”
Dr Whittle credited former presidents and long-serving board members for building governance structures that allowed the association to function smoothly and focus on strategic priorities.
“To be able to sit at the board table with four previous presidents, Rachelle [Buchbinder], Dave Nicholls, Claire [Barrett] and Catherine [Hill] before me and to see where all of those boards under the leadership of those presidents have nudged things forward a little bit at a time,” he said.
“It has made things so much easier for me as president, to have had the kind of governance and management structures put in place by the previous boards.
“It felt less like a burden and more of a light touch kind of thing, because it does run so smoothly, which is quite a nod to the people on the board.”
Dr Whittle said having such a cohesive board was something to celebrate.
“I have felt very fortunate to be in this job at this particular time when we’ve got such good governance structures in place, and such good staff and such a collaborative board,” he said.
“I mean that, and I don’t take that for granted. And in fact, we mustn’t take that for granted, because we have seen from other groups how quickly that can all fall apart.”
He said the organisation’s stability had enabled the ARA to undertake a wide range of major reforms.
“We’ve been able to redo our Constitution, become a charity, set up the Future Fund, and shore up the Future Fund investment policy and distribution policy,” Dr Whittle said.
“We’ve been able to take advantage of that stability to do these things, which hopefully will allow future boards to do even greater things for the ARA.”
Dr Whittle described the ARA achieving charity status as a defining milestone and the culmination of years of governance reform.
“That’s a major milestone for the association. There’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“That didn’t come from nowhere. We’d been working towards that kind of outcome for a very long time.”
He said the move would strengthen the organisation’s long-term financial security while creating greater flexibility to fund future activities.
“It puts us in a better and more secure financial position,” he said.
“It allows us a slightly better governance framework, or one better suited to the association.
“It gives us this flexibility to raise funds and distribute funds and take a little bit more ownership of the way that we fund our activities and plan for the future activities of the association.”
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Dr Whittle also reflected on the influence of past leaders, including former ARA president Dr Michael Hearn, whom he described as an early role model when he was a registrar.
“I just thought it was fabulous to see a South Australian rheumatologist being able to have a national leadership role,” he said.
“He did it with such calm and grace and collaborative spirit that that imprinted itself on me pretty early.”
He encouraged trainees and early-career rheumatologists to become involved in the association’s committees and governance structures, saying the experience offered both professional development and lifelong connections.
“It doesn’t have to be on the board, but in any of the committee structures within the ARA, because you get to meet all these other people.
“They’re all incredible people and then you form these friendships as well, which you wouldn’t have otherwise done. So, it is a net positive.”
