We Have Always Done It That Way

Why haven’t more associations figured out that the impact of pushing content out to members is limited? Rather, associations should think of themselves as facilitators of knowledge creation and sharing.

How do we do that? Here are four strategies for “knowledgizing” associations: filtering, feedback, contextualizing and connections.

Filtering is extracting from the information masses only the relevant information for a particular audience. A few examples,

• content compilations of the “best” of the association’s content on one particular subject (pull from recent industry magazines, listserve archives, conference presentations, white papers, books, etc.)
• providing opt-in headliner e-mails that contain current news headlines about the industry that are linked to the actual articles (for broad fields, these can be issue-specific)
• website personalization (providing additional relevant content to members based on identified preferences or actions ““ think amazon.com)
• selling customized versions of your industry research (by industry segment, for example, rather than the full data set)

Bottom line value, save your members time by filtering out the excess or irrelevant.

Providing feedback means offering a constructive and informative response to the results of an activity. Examples include:

• coaching or mentoring programs
• self-assessments with guided learning (that is, that provide the correct answer and a detailed rationale)
• learning quizzes with guided learning within publications and courses
• template checklists and evaluation forms for members to use with their supervisors or peers to gather feedback on their performance

Bottom line value: members don’t always know what they don’t know; help them to discover it.

Contextualizing is adding meaning to content by relating it to specific circumstances. Examples include:

• an online interactive practice journal where specific cases are described and questions are presented within a chat or discussion forum.
• plan coordinated curriculum learning events (as stand-alones and as conference tracks)
• provide pre-conference recommended readings to attendees to set the stage for the material they are about to learn
• encourage speakers/e-learning faculty to build meaningful case studies and problem-solving activities into their sessions/courses
• build opportunities for both structured and unstructured peer-to-peer sharing into events

Bottom line value: Help members turn content into knowledge.

Facilitating connections is bringing together individuals with common interests, issues or expertise. Examples include:

• coaching or mentoring programs
• communities of practice
• online group collaboration (wikis, chats, discussion lists)
• social networking systems
• incorporating connection time and activities in association events

Bottom line value: Connections enable shared context and build community, both key to establishing a knowledge sharing environment.

Tags: Professional Development, Strategy, Technology, We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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The value of continuous learning is unquestionable. It is how our members become aware about new developments and technologies and acquire different or more advanced skills. Almost all associations offer learning opportunities to members. But very few do much beyond programming courses or packaging content in books. Very few actually help members become effective learners. Yet, research has shown that many of our members aren’t skilled learners and that learning becomes more effective when individuals engage in several coordinated activities:

(1) reflecting on current practice to establish professional direction and goals
(2) identifying the gap between current and desired/needed knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)
(3) developing a learning plan based on identified gaps
(4) selecting and participating in learning activities that address goals and targeted KSAs
(5) evaluating how/if learning has been integrated into practice and what progress has been made in meeting professional goals

Associations can and should play an important role in providing support and tools in these areas to help members become more effective learners. Programming education just isn’t enough.

Tags: Membership, Professional Development, Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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Many associations have identified the body of knowledge of the fields they represent and used them for specific purposes, such as developing training or certification programs. However, often the body of knowledge is used only for that specific and independent purpose. And, associations may have even identified several different bodies of knowledge for unrelated projects. As a typical example, the professional development division creates a knowledge matrix for tracking its curriculum, the certification division formally identifies a body of knowledge for its certification examination, the publications division compiles a topical index for its books and magazines, and the communications division identifies an index for its Web portal. All are created at different times, using different methods, by different units, for different purposes. These often informal and unplanned knowledge efforts can be valuable to the association and its members, but they could have much more impact if they were coordinated as part of an association’s overall knowledge strategy.

If you haven’t identified the current body of knowledge of the field in which your members work (or a portion of that field), consider:

• How do you determine what knowledge and skills are currently and will be needed by your members in the next 5 years?
• Then, how do you determine what to teach members in your educational programs?
• What do you use as your basis for selecting content for your publications?
• How do you prioritize research efforts to advance the field? (How do you advance a field if you don’t know its current status?)
• What is the foundation of your certification program examination?

It’s time for associations to get strategic and purposeful about how they will advance the knowledge of their members and/or advance the fields in which their members work. Identifying the body of knowledge can be an important first step. It may, but does not have to be an elaborate research project. How sophisticated the approach depends upon the identified uses for that body of knowledge. Certification, for example, does warrant a sophisticated approach ““ usually a formal job analysis. However, if you are trying to identify the gap between what members currently know and what they’ll need to know in 5 years (so that you can be purposeful in getting your members there!), qualitative research of key employers may do the job fine. So, that takes us back to strategy. Associations need to identify what their knowledge goals are first and then identify the strategies and action plans to get there.

Still questioning the value of a knowledge strategy? The Project Management Institute has been purposeful in its knowledge efforts and it has paid off: its Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge book is currently on the BusinessWeek Best Seller List!

Tags: Membership, Professional Development, Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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I had an encounter with an individual over a decade ago that made a lasting impression. I was describing to her a tool that would assist her in objectively determining her learning needs, developing a learning plan and guiding her to appropriate learning resources in her area of practice. After agreeing that the tool seemed valuable, she indicated that perhaps she would buy it next year when she starts a new recertification cycle because she doesn’t need any more hours this recertification cycle. What? Rather than spend $65 on a learning tool that could help prioritize her learning pursuits and locate relevant learning activities, she declined because she had already fulfilled her required learning quota.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident. For many fields with certification, the accompanying mandated continuing education (MCE) has devalued learning. The effects are widespread and the negative ramifications of MCE can be found throughout adult learning literature. Here are just a few:

• One concern is relevancy. Professionals become overly concerned with “getting their hours” and because usually only the traditional education delivery modes are acceptable (conferences as the most common example), they are essentially forced to participate in activities that are convenient or affordable but sometimes irrelevant to their needs.
• Another concern is that MCE devalues many types of learning, especially those types that are more informal and self-directed. Since these activities, such as reading, receiving mentoring, or conferring with colleagues are not usually accepted as acceptable learning activities under an MCE system, individuals may question the value of these approaches and assume the traditional approaches are better.
• Another criticism of MCE is that it creates a punitive attitude towards learning. For those professionals who would regularly engage in learning with or without the mandate, MCE becomes punitive in that it places sanctions on activities that are already occurring. And, for many, it forces them to participate in activities they otherwise wouldn’t simply to meet the requirement.

Am I suggesting we scrap all mandated CE? No. But the systems need to change. For one, we should eliminate or at least lessen the excessive judgmental and limiting rules of MCE. Before creating any rule (deeming some learning methods acceptable and others not, limiting amount of time spent in one type of activity, requiring participation in certain types of activities, etc), ask yourself: Does this rule help professionals learn or does it actually hinder learning?

The bottom line: we want certificants to be competent. To be competent, they must engage in continuous learning. But, the truth is that we cannot mandate that someone learns. And, it’s time we realized that requiring “butts in seats” at our conferences is a limited and ineffective approach. Far more effective an approach is to make a concerted effort to foster the value of continuous learning and to provide tools and guidance to professionals to help them be more effective learners.

Tags: Professional Development, Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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How much attention do your members pay to you? Many web-oriented companies and services have begun thinking about how much of their customers’ attention they receive rather than how much of their money they get. This is described as attention economics.

Framing your products and services within the concept of gaining attention may help you to to better target your members’ interests and ultimately increase revenue and member satisfaction over the long run.

Some attention questions to ask about your association:

• How much of our members attention do we want?
• How much should we have?
• How much do they give us now?
• What are they paying attention to?
• How well do our current products and services get their attention?

If you focus on getting and retaining your members’ attention, the money will follow.

Tags: Innovation, Membership by David
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What would happen if you gathered 15-20 of the brightest, up-and-coming, members you have and asked them to design the ideal (fill in the blank)? It could be the ideal publication, product, learning event, interaction, membership structure, etc.?

What would happen if you added some non-industry bright minds to that mix?

And what would happen if you keep the staff and known “leaders” of the organization out of that conversation?

How quickly could your association organize this gathering? (Hours, days, weeks, months, years?)

How quickly could you act on the group’s ideas? (Hours, days, weeks, months years?)

What political hoops would the group or staff have to go through in order to execute the idea?

The biggest questions of all – how can you create an environment that is free of the political oversite of the organization AND gets executed in the most expeditous manner possible?

Think of the great things that could come from this!

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Amy
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So we have collectively ranted about organizations that offer the same conference programming year after year. It amazes me that some organizations think that the topics/issues and delivery formats popular in the late nineties still resonate in 2006. Organizations that haven’t changed fast enough are feeling the pressure from for-profit organizations that tend to be more nible in their program planning and delivery. This scenario begins to raise many questions, but here are some critical questions to consider.

(1) Is the head of professional development in your organization actively participating in professional development programming themself? The world of professional development and adult education is undergoing profound changes. Major shifts in PD are occuring every 12-18 months. How much time is the head of your organization’s PD programming learning about these changes?

(2) Is your education committee (or it’s equivalent) too involved in the adult learning side of things (delivery methods for content) versus providing content direction? Practitioners in a field need to stay focused on providing content guidance while PD professionals need to focus on the best way to organize, manage and deliver that content.

(3) Does your organization have an integrated professional development strategy? Is there a working PD plan that includes all functional areas of the organization, including special project groups, working groups, etc.?

(4) Does your budget include enough money to adequately keep your staff up to speed? Too many association educators I know often say, “we don’t have enough budget money to attend that conference.” I am appalled by this notion especially if for-profit competition is an issue for your organization. For-profit educators are attending the major education and adult learning conferences. If your staff isn’t there, where are they going to get a competitive advantage?

Now is the time to get serious about creating a professional development strategy that integrates the needs of your members as well as the ongoing PD needs of staff. It is time to pony up the cash to pay for these PD programs for staff, especially if your organization is competing for educational dollars.

Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Professional Development, We've Always Done It That Way by Amy
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In a previous entry, fellow author/blogger Jamie Notter discusses how to break up the silo mentality in associations. I want to explore why you need to do it now.

My prediction is that technology innovations are going to eventually drive the implosion of silos within our organizations. Should it be the catalyst? No, but it probably will be. Recently I sat in two different conferences where association executives were the primary audience. One was for association publication editorial staff, the other for association educators. The same key technology themes resonated with both groups, but when asked, neither group has been talking to the other. Social media tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.) are the “hot new thing” for education departments, communications/PR departments, government relations, IT/web, etc. Each of these groups are looking at these tools, and in many cases acquiring them without any thought to coordinating those acquisition efforts. Soon these different departments are going to realize that they have created a nightmare integration project for IT when suddenly they all want their tools integrated with the database and/or website.

The kicker is that it’s not a cost-savings issue because most of these technologies are not that expensive. Rather it is a huge integration issue. When each silo determines that they need to have their “tools” tracked in a database it becomes a huge resource issue for IT/web folks.

Companies got into this same mess (but on a bigger scale) with learning management systems. Many of these organizations realized that company-wide they were running two or three different systems – each acquired by different divisions of the company. It wasn’t until the divisions that purchased these systems wanted them integrated them into the company’s primary database that anyone realized there was a problem.

Take Jamie’s advice – get senior management talking – create a culture of collaboration. Do it soon. You will be hard pressed to find a dynamic, growing organization working in a silo environment. Why are you?

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Amy
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For many fields, it may be time to rethink the traditional model of professional certification in order to meet the needs of the changing workplace environment and workers.

Say I’m considering changing careers and am interested in your profession. I Google the field and click to your website to investigate what I need to do. First, I discover I need a bachelor’s degree. Alright, I’ve got that. Oh, wait, it needs to be in x or y. Mine’s in z. Strike 1. And, it needs to be from a university accredited by your association. Although mine is a regionally accredited college, it’s not on your short list. Strike 2. Oh, I need 7 years of experience before I can get the credential anyway. That seems like forever. Strike 3. I decide to check out the Occupational Outlook Handbook and discover the crazy part: the certification is voluntary. All this and I don’t even need it? Plus, there’s no state regulation of the industry. Back to Google. What’s this? A university certificate program offered online…a corporate certification program… another association’s intensive training program…lots of appealing options that fit my needs.

You’re thinking, okay, so we have eligibility requirements, but they are all necessary to ensure the quality and meaning of the credential. That will be true for some professions, but definitely not all. Consider if yours are really necessary or if there could be alternate pathways. Is an academic degree necessary or could some combination of training and work experience substitute? Does the academic degree have to be discipline-specific or could additional training substitute? Do you have any requirements that serve as artificial barriers to earning certification? Is there really any evidence an individual not meeting the requirements is any less qualified than those that do?

Now, consider the projection that Millennials (sometimes called Generation Y ““ those currently entering the workplace) will engage in an average of six careers in their professional life. Yes, that’s careers, not jobs. Now, in that light, consider again the traditional model of certification. How many Millennials are going to be willing to go to a college you deem acceptable to get a degree you deem acceptable just to get a credential that is voluntary? What about those who already have a base degree and are in the workforce? Does your certification have enough value in the market to drive an individual to basically start over? Are you confident you can sustain that value positioning for the next 10 year? Or 20?

I’m not suggesting that standards be watered down. But, at minimum, credentialing bodies need to take a hard look at what artificial barriers they can remove. And, in some cases, the whole certification model may need to change.

The half-life of knowledge in many fields is decreasing rapidly, and fields are becoming more specialized. It may well be the current model of certification just won’t work for your field anymore. As one possibility, just-in-time credentialing may be a more viable model in the new marketplace.

Consider the just-in-time model occurring in parts of the IT industry. A new technology solution emerges so you: Get real life work experience. Take a comprehensive training program, IF you need it. Take a performance-based test to prove your competence. Earn a certification. Gain a new skill set and a resume-enhancer to position yourself better in the job market. A new technology solution emerges and the cycle begins again…and again…and again.

This model is already proven successful in the IT industry. Maybe there’s something to be learned here for your field. Or maybe an entirely new model needs to emerge. One thing is certain: you cannot assume that the traditional model of certification is going to meet future needs. It may not be already.

Tags: Professional Development, We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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Many association staff are interested in adding blogs to the mix of communication efforts they employ. However, just coming out and pitching a blog as a solution to anything can often raise eyebrows among staff and leaders who haven’t gotten on the Cluetrain yet. You need to be a bit more subtle and start by pitching the benefits of blogging rather than blogging itself.

For example, go to your boss and say something along the lines of:

“I have found a way to easily develop new content for our web site every day that is highly compelling to our younger members. In fact, it would require very little investment in software or design and could be up and running almost immediately. I would need to spend about 5 or 6 hours each week working on it. I would like to start a pilot next week to test it out.”

It should be hard for anyone to respond to that with anything other than “Let’s do it!” This same approach should work for any technology you wish to use so long as you have identified the valuable outcomes it will achieve for the association (assuming it will do so!).

Tags: Innovation, Strategy, Technology by David
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Amazon.com sells a membership called Amazon Prime. Membership gets you free 2-day shipping and discounts on overnighting packages. The more you spend with Amazon, the more valuable your membership. It is very easy to understand the value of the membership because it is quite simple. You can even share the member benefits with up to four other people in your household. Nice dynamic!

Why not offer free shipping to your members for all publications and products rather than giving a discount off the price? Discounting your products can be seen as devaluing their worth. Free shipping is an excellent perk that doesn’t make any statement about the worth of the content and encourages more spending. It should also make you more money in the long run since it is roughly a fixed cost and you won’t be discounting your more expensive items.

Tags: Innovation, Membership by David
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Let’s try a thought experiment….

After numerous complaints from members over a three-year period, your board concludes the association’s dues are simply too high. They are so high, in fact, they have become the number one reason why even very good prospects don’t join. After extensive deliberation and discussion of the issue, the board votes to get rid of dues permanently, even though these payments represent at least 20% (and sometimes more) of your association’s revenue each fiscal year.

If confronted with this situation, what would you do differently?

If you don’t know, why? If you do, why aren’t you already doing it?

Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Membership, Professional Development, Staff Issues, Strategy, Technology, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff De Cagna
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Associations love to copy the work of other individuals and organizations. Best practices are a big thing in our community, probably because the scarcity and constraints culture of associations leads us to conclude that best practices will be easier to implement and more cost effective over time. Unfortunately for us, there is overwhelming evidence that you cannot and will not build a truly great and successful organization simply by copying others. True success and true greatness come from daring to do what others can’t do or won’t try.

Personally, I loathe best practices, but I do recognize that some people like them, so I’ll hold off on further critique for now. But I still would like to challenge those association leaders enamored with best practices to consider the truly radical and counterintuitive notion of not duplicating what others do before first. Instead, be original. Rather than constantly “tweaking” someone else’s existing solutions to your context, open yourself up to fresh, different and even plainly absurd ways of thinking. (In this vein, remember the words of Albert Einstein, “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”) Take the time to consider the unique and creative contribution you, your team and your organization can make to addressing both new and long-standing challenges in surprising ways.

Best practices stifle meaningful innovation and embrace status quo thinking. (Oh, did I write that out loud?…;>)) But I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Leadership isn’t about driving our associations down toward the lowest common denominator. Haven’t we had enough of that? Genuine leadership values and demands authenticity, creativity and originality in the work of every contributor and from the organization as a whole. Seize the opportunity to become a true pioneer, and let the laggards copy you. Before long, they will be eating your dust!

Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Membership, Professional Development, Staff Issues, Strategy, Technology, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff De Cagna
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The association community needs a credible advanced degree that offers association professionals an educational pathway other than the CAE. An even more important reason to create such a degree program is the dearth of executive-level learning and development that actually helps association leaders operate effectively in a time of profound, accelerating and intensifying disruption and discontinuity. Let me put it another way: there is good reason to question whether today’s association leaders are adequately prepared to deal with the realities of the genuine paradigm shift that is already taking place in our society. Can we really afford to do nothing to address this issue?

To initiate a dialogue on this topic, let me offer the following specific thoughts about how I would design an executive master of science in association leadership (EMSAL) degree program:

+EMSAL would be a 20-month, cohort-based program organized into five four-month learning modules with intensive course sessions conducted once per month on Friday and Saturday.

+Each cohort would include no more than 25 participants, but multiple cohorts could be in the program at once, with groups entering in September, January and May if necessary.

+During each module, cohort members would be organized into five different project teams, so that each participant would have the opportunity to collaborate with everyone else in the cohort. Each module would conclude with a team project.

+The five module topics would be (1) The Historical Evolution of Associations, (2) The Role of Associations in a Global Society, (3) The Role of Associations in Industry and the Professions (4) The Role of the Individual in Associations and (5) Leadership of Associations in the 21st Century.

+The global society module would include a study mission of some length (perhaps 10-14 days) outside of North America.

+The course curriculum would be multidisciplinary, drawing on a variety of fields including anthropology, business and management, economics, education, future studies, history, leadership, natural and physical sciences, political science, psychology, sociology and technology.

+Both individual and team assessment would be a part of determining whether a participant successfully completes the program, including individual learning portfolios, peer evaluations and team projects.

+Learning facilitation would be conducted by both faculty from the university partner and senior leaders in the association community.

I realize this is an ambitious program design, and that is entirely intentional. Some in our community appear believe that what we do in associations isn’t important enough to merit the most forward-looking and intensive learning and leadership development opportunity possible. I strenuously disagree. We need to give association leaders today and tomorrow every opportunity to build their understanding of the forces of paradigm shift so they can elevate the quality of their leadership going forward. We have a deep responsibility to these leaders, their organizations and members, the professions, industries and fields their associations serve and to society as whole to make this kind of innovation a priority. I hope we will soon be prepared to act on making it real.

Note: A version of this post originally appeared on the Principled Innovation Blog.

Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Professional Development, Staff Issues, Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff De Cagna
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When confronted with a problem, human beings instinctively want to solve it. Most of the time, that instinct serves us well, especially when it comes to both routine difficulties and matters of life and death. But more often than we might suspect, there are golden opportunities not to follow our instincts and, instead, let the problems we face “solve us.”

Solve us you ask? It is an insight that I took away from my graduate work with Professor Robert Kegan in the late 1990s. As Professor Kegan says, “Each of us does the best we can coping within the world of our assumptive design.” To put it another way, the assumptions we make everyday about every aspect of our life experience shape the way we make sense of and interact with the world. In effect, our assumptions allow us to design the world in which we want to live, one that is often at odds with the “realities” experienced by others. We cope by resolving this dissonance, which is why we are very intent on solving problems.

But what if we had sufficient awareness to recognize that our problems might not be the actual problem? What if we could see that sometimes the problem is simply an indicator of flawed or, at least, untested assumptions? What if we could step outside of the problem and look at our relationship to it so that we might understand it in a new way? Without a doubt, it is easier to ask these questions than it is to do what they ask. Nevertheless, I believe what I am writing about here is an absolutely critical capability that both staff and volunteer association leaders must develop going forward.

Let’s think briefly about how letting problems solve us might influence our work on strategy. Strategic planning is clear-cut method for solving the problems we have with ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty. In strategic planning, we identify mostly what we know we know today, and we do a little bit of elaboration on it to give it a future feel. Then, we pre-determine the outcomes we want to achieve and work fastidiously toward reaching them. No mess, no fuss. This approach may be clean and neat, but it is neither authentic nor pragmatic, given what we know is true about the current strategic landscape. In contrast, letting the problem solve us challenges our assumptions along multiple dimensions, especially our commitment to knowing all the answers even before the questions are asked. Letting the problem solve us focuses instead on learning as we go, exercising judgment and constantly testing our assumptions. From this process, not only will we achieve different results, but our approach to strategic leadership also will be different.

So, the next time you confront a problem in your work, consider stepping back from trying to solve it immediately. Instead, see if the problem can solve you.

Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Membership, Professional Development, Staff Issues, Strategy, Technology, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff De Cagna
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In a post last month on the Principled Innovation Blog, I wrote about the need for better vision from governance. Of course, I believe we should expect even more from our boards, as well as their members, and so I thought I would share some further perspectives on the kind of boards our associations really cannot afford either today or going forward.

+We cannot afford boards that are paralyzed by denial, nostalgia, myopia or intransigence. We need boards that recognize and accept the emerging reality of profound, accelerating and intensifying disruption and discontinuity, i.e., genuine paradigm shift. We need board members who understand the new drivers of growth and success in this uncertain environment.

+We cannot afford boards that defer difficult choices to the future in the interest of keeping the peace today. We need boards that will confront divisive issues, even if some people might be angered or offended by the result. We need board members who accept the necessity of conflict if it serves a larger, strategic purpose.

+We cannot afford boards that willingly revoke their public commitments in the interest of expedience or political pressure. We need boards with integrity. We need board members who understand that it is more important to make and stand behind smart decisions than it is to be popular.

+We cannot afford boards that value the superficial over the substantive. We need boards that deeply embrace their leadership responsibilities, while eschewing the accompanying perquisites. We need board members who embrace the privilege of board service as its own reward.

+We cannot afford boards that interfere with or prevent the pursuit of innovation. We need boards that are guided by a strategic mindset, and imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit. We need board members who understand the preeminence of value creation for members, customers and stakeholders.

In short, our associations need and deserve stronger, better boards. Not every association board fails to meet the standards I’ve outlined above but, unfortunately, many do and that is a situation our community can no longer tolerate.

Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff De Cagna
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I recently met a former flight attendant who knows a great deal about my preferred carrier, United Airlines. (She did not work for United, but for one of its partners.) As a 1K flyer on United, I was interested to hear the story behind the airline’s decision to offer Channel 9, the on-board audio channel that gives passengers the opportunity to listen to communications between the cockpit and air traffic control. As an anxious air traveler, I have come to rely on Channel 9 as a tool for relaxing during my flights. I frequently tell others that listening to the cockpit, while it might sound quite boring, is actually really great because the exchanges between the pilots and ATC are always so polite and professional, and reflect genuine competence. It is such a refreshing change of pace from typical workplace conversations, which often are laden with hidden meanings and political agendas, and sometimes try to cover up incompetence. In contrast, when a pilot is told by an air traffic controller to “descend and maintain 1-5-0″ or 15,000 feet, the response is always, “1-5-0, United 540″ or whatever the specific flight number might be. No arguments, no politics, no crap.

But things apparently were quite different before Channel 9. In the aftermath of President Reagan’s firing of air traffic controllers in 1981, there was significant vitriol between pilots and air traffic controllers at United. From what my acquaintance told me, I gather that yelling and cursing were commonplace in communications between planes and ATC. In fact, by the late 1990s, when Washington, DC’s National Airport was renamed for President Reagan, pilots calling ATC using “Reagan” would simply be ignored by the tower, creating a remarkably unsafe situation.

United management tried many approaches to ameliorate these problems without success. Finally, there was a brainstorm, and a decision was made: all of these conversations would be made available to passengers! The airline secured the necessary approvals and the whole game changed. Now, the air traffic controllers and pilots had a choice: clean up their act or face the wrath of the flying public. Obviously, they chose the former, because if they hadn’t, United certainly would not exist today. (Not that it’s out of the woods by any means…)

This story compels me to ask association leaders a question: what would your members hear in your HQ office or boardroom if they could listen in to their own association-specific Channel 9? Would they admire the professionalism and competence of your staff or board, or would they simply wonder what the hell is going on? Quite obviously, transparency has been a very powerful tool for shifting both thinking and action at United, and it can be for your association as well.

Tags: Leadership, Membership, Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff De Cagna
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The June 6th issue of Associations Now offers an interesting glimpse into salary equity (or inequity) for association staff. The article entitled, “Determining Your Present Value” is a summary of the recently published Association Executive Compensation & Benefits Study, 1st Edition - published earlier this year by ASAE/The Center. While most of the statistics do not seem to surprise me at all, Figure 3 seems to really annoy me. This is the CEO Median Total Compensation by Gender. It compares total compensation by staff size and by male/female gender. It also provides comparative information based on the 2004 study.

The figure shows that for an association with an average staff size of 21-50, male CEOs make an average of $243,000 annually compared to $181,000 for their female counterparts. Maybe not so surprising to you, but what is appalling is that in the 2004 study the report indicates the following male/female amounts $231,000/$173,000 respectively.

The 2004 difference is $58,000. You would expect that the gap is closing, but based on this article, it is, in fact widening. The difference in 2006 is $62,000.

So why in the world is this happening? One might suggest that male CEOs report more experience, but in fact, in this study both males and females reported a median of six years experience in the position.

I think this article begs several questions – but here is a kicker — What up-and-coming female executive wants to run an organization and get paid less than her male counterparts? If she is coming from GenX or the Millennials, the quick answer is – no one.

Our generations view our male counterparts as equals – no better than we are. We fully expect gender pay equity. What will happen to those GenX and Millennial women who aspire to be association CEOs one day, who view this study and rethink their professional choice? Maybe they will jump to the “dark side” and become consultants as each of us has.

Tags: Leadership, Staff Issues, We've Always Done It That Way by Amy
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(Note: the idea for this post was generated by Ben Martin over at the CAE Blog. Thanks Ben! Is this what you had in mind?)

Association executives are understandably results-focused (pardon the jargon). The CEO of an association answers to the Board””a group of people who are not expected to be experienced in running nonprofit organizations, and are expected to change positions or rotate off the board every year. If you want to keep your job in this context, then you had better produce visible results.

With this focus on results, however, comes a tendency to ignore the very powerful impact of the means used to produce those results. There are always several paths to the results we seek, and the choices we make along those paths have real consequences for staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders as well. While the attitude of “I don’t care what it takes, let’s just get it done” is in fact admired in our culture, it can get you into trouble.

For example, several researchers in the area of emotional intelligence in the workplace have noted that the “pacesetter” style of leadership is only effective in the short term. Leaders that drive people hard””and in the process run roughshod over emotions and relationships””may produce results in the short term, but over the long-term the negative impact of that behavior on other people in the office takes its toll. Systems cannot sustain themselves in that kind of environment, and long-term results are better supported by environments marked by understanding, compassion and empowerment.

It doesn’t need to be a harsh, pace-setting environment, however, for the focus on results to become a problem. Too many associations, for example, end up putting too much pressure on their senior staff to get things done (and done “right”). Out of a desire to get things done, senior staff in associations often end up hoarding work to themselves. It’s easier to just do it themselves, they argue, than to include other staff in the process or delegate parts of the work to others in the organization. While it is true that when they do it themselves they generate good results, they also create an environment where talented younger staff learn that they are not trusted to do substantive work. This will sap initiative from these younger workers and likely lead to higher turnover. The time saved and the decreased risk of quality problems are often offset by overall productivity and turnover costs.

Even at the Board level, the means are just as important as the ends. Too many associations hire consultants to deliver complex strategic planning processes that focus almost exclusively on the ends: an elegant and detailed strategic plan. In most cases, they are successful in generating those results (the plans are quite nice!), but in the process they have failed to develop the capacity of the Board or the staff to think or act strategically on an ongoing basis. How you develop the plan is as important (if not more important) than the plan that emerges. With increased attention to the means, you can still generate a clear strategy, but you can do it in a way that will actually increase the chances of an organization being able to leverage the strategy for long-term results.

In the long run, knowing that the means to an end is an end in itself is a far more efficient and effective management principle than the ends justify the means.

Tags: Staff Issues, Strategy, The Way We Execute, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
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If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard an association executive say their field or association is “unique”, this Gen Xer would be retiring soon. Not that there aren’t unique elements about all our organizations, but often associations feel they are sooooo unique that they won’t even consider examining other organizational strategies and models and trying to learn from them.

Associations are different than corporations; does that mean we should not even try to apply corporate experiences to our industry? Forget The Tipping Point. Forget The Medici Effect. Forget Crucial Confrontations. Forget The World is Flat. The authors didn’t directly study associations so the concepts surely can’t apply to us, right? Not right.

Bask in your uniqueness, but don’t let it stifle your willingness to learn from others.

Tags: Strategy, We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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Associations are afraid of rejection. They want to please everyone. They do not want to offer something unless they know that people will show up and will provide universally glowing evaluation forms. The desire to produce high-quality and high-value products and services, of course, is laudable. But it is important to remember that the path to that high-value endpoint will often take you through rejection and frustration. To assume that you can always get it right simply denies our own experience.

Who makes the right decisions all the time? Who accurately predicts what people will want or need with 100% accuracy? The very best hitters in professional baseball fail to get base hits 65% of the time. We learn, grow, and are successful in life by trying and sometimes failing. As long as we learn from what did not work, we make great progress. The more we try, the more we learn, and the more successful we are.

But associations forget this. They are reluctant to experiment””what if the members don’t like it? What if we get low scores on the evaluation forms? Two of us were planning a session for a conference with the client and we proposed a format that was non-traditional for this client. They balked. Their main concern: what if people come into the room, see the nontraditional format, and then leave for another session.

Our response: great! This session is not designed to please everyone. Some may want to go elsewhere, but we think some will like it and want to stay. But we will only know this if we try. We will only learn what works if we risk being rejected.

Tags: Innovation, The Way We Lead, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
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The concept of emotional intelligence was popularized in the last decade primarily by psychologist and author, Daniel Goleman. He and other researchers challenged our traditional definition of “smart” (people who did well in school and scored well on tests””tests like the IQ test that measured our reason, logic, memorization, and analytical capacity). According to the research of Goleman and others, however, measures of “emotional intelligence” (being able to manage and express feelings, having empathy for others, understanding and managing social relationships, etc.) are a better predictor of success than traditional measures of intelligence.

So why aren’t associations listening? We may invite Goleman to speak at our conferences, but typically we ignore much of what he says in the way we run our associations, at both the staff and volunteer levels. As human systems, our organizations by definition include an emotional component. There is an emotional side of decision making and strategy. There are emotions flowing among staff or among Board members””whether we like it or not. Remember, the emotional center of your brain sends its electric signals out much faster than the rational center. People will have their emotional reactions to things before they have a chance to rationalize them away. But if emotion is expressed or an emotional issue is raised, it is quickly skirted, ignored or actively suppressed. Many consider emotional expression “unprofessional.”

Yet there are ways to accept emotions as a part of the workplace and still uphold standards of professionalism. In terms of emotional expression, this simply requires clarification of ground rules. Outlawing all emotional expression is counterproductive, and although few associations explicitly state this as a norm, they often operate as if it were. This generates problems, however, because it encourages people to bottle up emotions as they arise. Over time, this creates pressure, so when emotion is expressed, it is usually quite intense (reinforcing the norm that you should not express emotion).

The alternative is to create an explicit ground rule that basic emotional expression is permitted. There are limits (no temper tantrums during staff meetings!), but if you can support people in accepting simple emotional expression, it will actually facilitate people’s ability to deal with issues as they arise, making for a more professional workplace in the end. This can also facilitate more productive meetings and interactions at the Board level.

In addition to expression, of course, you must also pay attention to the internal management of emotions. Expressions of emotion are usually greatly outnumbered by the number of times our “buttons” get pushed in the office, triggering an internal emotional reaction that tends to get in the way with us successfully doing our work. Simply being aware of this and developing techniques for managing this internally can also support a more productive and professional expression of emotion.

Tags: Staff Issues, The Way We Work Together, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
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Associations are beginning to try taking their conferences ‘paperless’: no more handouts on chairs, no more frantic photocopying late into the night. All handouts are available via the conference web site and/or a jump drive given to attendees. This saves the association a lot of money and attendees don’t have to damage their spinal column adding a few pounds of paper to their luggage for the trip home.

However there is one problem: attendees actually like to have a handout in the room to refer to. Paper still has a pretty high usability factor. Speakers also like to have the ability to put something in front of attendees, especially if it provides a useful reference for them during the session. What to do?

One solution is to print less paper rather than none. Limit speakers to a single 8.5 x 11 page, front and back for an in-room handout. This should not be a tiny set of slides. It should be critical information the attendees should have in front of them during the session. The conference organizers can still put extended handouts online or on a jump drive for people to review in depth once they get home.

Providing one page paper handouts allows you to continue to provide a valuable resource in the room while still gaining most of the benefits of going fully paperless. It also encourages speakers to do more than provide redundant slideuments.

Tags: Innovation, Professional Development, Technology by David
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How many times a day do your staff members say no to members or potential members? Can you fax me a receipt? No. Can I pay for that by purchase order? No. Can you express deliver that if I give you my account number? No. Can I substitute x for y in the product package? No. Are these interactions pleasing members? No. In most cases, would there be any harm in saying yes to these requests? NO! Often association staff members have been given general policies or rules and have been given no authority to make exceptions in the cases where they don’t make sense or would cause no harm.

Here’s an example. An association has a general policy stating that guests are not permitted at educational events. The rationale for the policy is that many of the events are sold-out and there is no room to accommodate unpaid guests (who are usually spouses or kids) without negative impact on the paid attendees. During check-in for a workshop, a participant asks if her niece, a college student in the association’s field, could attend the first session since she is graduating soon, will be eligible for membership in the association, and thought it would be interesting to see what the organization is like. Despite the obvious low attendance at this workshop and numerous open seats, the staff person follows the policy and tells the member and potential member that no guests are allowed. The member enters the workshop with a sigh; the likely no longer a potential member leaves with a smirk.

Ouch. If you were there, you would have made an exception, we’re sure. But, you can’t always be there. So, have you empowered your staff to make exceptions to general policies/office rules, when warranted? Dick Brown, chairman and CEO of EDS, says it best, “Chalk out the playing field and say, Within those lines, make any decisions you need.” The “chalking out” part is important, though. Strictly following policies and rules usually seems clear so don’t be surprised if you meet with some resistance from staff when you try to explain to them that they can make exceptions (which is unclear). You’ll want to invest time in training and providing guidance on when exceptions should or should not be made. Explain the intent behind the policies/rules and discuss potential cases that could arise and desired outcomes. Be clear on when staff do or do not have authority to make exceptions and be clear on who they should consult with if they need guidance. And, perhaps you’ll discover you need to changes some of your rules.

Above all, this will require a cultural change in the organization — from one in which “rules are rules” to one in which rules are important, but customers are more important. In this environment, rules should be considered for their appropriateness before applying to any specific situation.

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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You ask you child to clean her room. She pokes around, she gets distracted, talks to her friend on the phone, and finally 3 hours later, she finishes. Does she get an extra reward because she spent double the time needed to get the job done? Ridiculous, right? But, how often do you find yourself or your colleagues bragging about how many hours you/they have worked? “I stayed here until 10 last night.” “I’ve been working 50 hour weeks for over a year; I deserve a raise.”

A raise? For not prioritizing, not being efficient, not delegating, not asking for help? Now, we’re not suggesting that all staff who work extra hours are poking around, distracted and inefficient! Sometimes staff put in extra time to get the job done right. But, as a general rule (and with the possible exception of non-exempt employees), staff shouldn’t be rewarded simply for hours on the job or “hard work”. They should be rewarded based on results or outcomes.

So, if you’re the one who works those long hours, don’t brag about your hard work unless you’ve got the outcomes to back it up. Because, it’s not the time on the job that matters; it’s what you produce. Think about what you’ve accomplished and toot your horn about that instead. If you’re wondering why your boss doesn’t seem to be impressed with your long work hours, it’s because he or she isn’t! Your boss doesn’t (and shouldn’t) care how much you work, but he or she does care that you resolved 10 customer service complaints, processed 200 new member applications, made personal calls to 50 new member prospects, and (most importantly) that you have exceeded the member acquisition and retention goals for the year.

If you’re the boss, consider the example you are setting. Do your words or actions imply that working “hard” is praise-worthy? Do you expect your staff to “go the extra mile” just like you do (and that means arriving and leaving at 7)? Do you snicker at staff who never come in early or leave late — even though they have met or exceeded all of their deadlines and goals? It is up to you to establish a culture in which “putting in time” is not desirable or laudable, but rather, outcomes are expected and rewarded. It is also up to you to be clear about what those outcomes are and what rewards will follow.

Tags: We've Always Done It That Way by Mickie
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Many web site discussions within an association staff and leadership focus on their navigation. Web site navigation is hierarchical by nature and hierarchies imply relative values between the listed items. Top billing in the navigation system will usually be interpreted as an indicator of importance by content stake holders, which then leads to inevitable tugs-of-war over placement and wording.

My suggestion for the next time that conversation comes up: forget about navigation. What if your site had no navigation? What other tools do you have at your disposal to guide traffic around your site? (Hint: search and the content of your main entry pages!) How can those be used to effectively highlight the content and services you want to get in front of your members?

Having a conversation without navigation will allow you to use the totality of your site much more effectively.

Tags: Leadership, Technology, We've Always Done It That Way by David
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