We Have Always Done It That Way

I’ve been thinking about this difficult question for quite some time now, but I’ve been reluctant to write about it out of a genuine concern that the question itself might sound like an unprovoked attack on hard-working association staff and volunteers. This is definitely not my intention. Rather, I’m hoping we can make our colleagues’ lives a bit easier by creating a more favorable climate in which they can always bring their imagination to bear on the work of their organizations.

Albert Einstein suggested that “imagination is more important than knowledge,” and who am I to disagree with him. In a time of paradigm shift, what we think we know is increasingly less useful than what we can learn, imagine and create. In a recent post, Micropersuasion blogger Steve Rubel suggested that “the most important ‘tool’ you can have today in business is insatiable curiosity. The minute you lose it, you’re dead.” I think Steve is right on target and, from my perspective, curiosity and imagination go hand in hand: our curiosity feeds our imagination, and our imagination drives our curiosity.

Which brings me back to my inquiry about the possible imagination deficit in our community. I suppose what I’m really wondering is whether the work environment in associations today cultivates and nurtures the curiosity and imagination of staff and volunteers. One specific source of concern in this regard is the recent emphasis placed on so-called “data-driven strategies,” as advocated by ASAE & The Center’s 7 Measures of Success report. Without a doubt, there is a need to infuse the strategic decision-making process with useful data. But we must also recognize there are limits to what data can tell us, and there is good reason to challenge the notion that backward-looking information will always illuminate the wisest course of action for the future of our organizations. Associations definitely need clear, simple and focused strategy, but it should be “driven” by the value it will create for members, customers and stakeholders. Identifying and implementing that potential value necessarily will involve some combination of what we know, what we can learn, what we can imagine and what we can create together.

The powerful forces of paradigm shift are reshaping our society, and associations are going along for that very bumpy ride. But in the midst of this uncertainty, association professionals and volunteers have an extraordinary opportunity to envision a very different and more vibrant future for the organizations to which they have committed themselves. I challenge you to do just that by remaining curious and using your imagination everyday. If you’re able to do that, then in time the more important question won’t be whether there once was an imagination deficit, but what we did to eliminate it for the benefit of our community.

Tags: The Way We Lead, The Way We Think, The Way We Manage, The Way We Execute, The Way We Involve Others, The Way We Work Together, Strategy, Technology, Leadership, Staff Issues, Innovation, Professional Development, Membership, We've Always Done It That Way by Jeff
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Organizations are hierarchical, and associations are no exception. As membership organizations, a hierarchy is unavoidable. There are thousands of members, but you can only have so many on the Board. Authority cannot be distributed evenly, so structures are created to hold that authority, giving the small number of people in those positions the ability to wield the authority.

But we do not refer to it as authority. We call it leadership. Most associations refer to “volunteer leadership” when they are speaking of the specific positions of authority and decision making power that they have created for members (Board, committees, etc.). On the staff side, “the leadership” refers to the CEO and, if the organization is large enough, the senior management team. These people get the title of leadership simply because they have authority to make decisions, commit resources, and tell other people what to do.

There is nothing wrong with authority, but it is not the same as leadership. I would challenge association executives to actually develop a clear definition of leadership (it is one of those words whose meaning is assumed, but never made explicit). In order to get you thinking, I will provide a definition of leadership given by management guru Peter Senge (author of The Fifth Discipline):

Leadership is the capacity in the human community to shape the future.

Senge broadens the definition by referring to the “human community” but you can replace those words with smaller systems, like “your association.” Leadership is a capacity that exists throughout the system, not just in the positions of authority. While your positions of authority are important, they are only a small slice of leadership in your association. Think about the implications of this.

Leadership development activities on the volunteer side typically include a multi-year journey through task forces, committees, and, eventually the Board. What else can you do with your members to enable them to better help you shape the future? Do they need to meet in person twice a year to do this? Do they need to have been in the association for ten years? What can you do at our annual meeting that develops leaders, but without expecting or promising a tour on the Board?

On the staff side, the same questions apply. What are you doing to develop the leadership capacity of your entry-level employees? Feel free to continue training your authority positions in how best to wield authority, but don’t stop there. Senge mentioned in a lecture recently that nearly all positive, long-term change programs in organizations are created by line managers (not the executive team). The Executive Team has a critical leadership role in making that change happen, of course, but if you want to more effectively shape the future (and get better results), you need to build capacity at all levels.

Tags: The Way We Lead, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
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Seth Godin was reflecting on the possibility of Microsoft buying Yahoo! and he made this statement (which seems to support Jeff’s “No More Committees” post):

“The best things to ever come out of Yahoo, as far as I’m concerned, have been the work of individuals. Not of some hyperbolic purple and yellow machine, but from people, strong-willed individuals willing to buck the bureaucracy. And all the worst stuff the company has done has come out of committees.”

Tags: The Way We Involve Others, We've Always Done It That Way by Jamie
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