Recently I saw the Goodyear Blimp circling a major Dallas freeway. It bounced up and down with the intensity of a bobble-head-frenzy. Several times it plunged nose-first in a new direction. It was clunky and off target—at least it looked like it was astray. It was also painfully slow.Some association governance structures have bloated into blimps, frustrating everyone but the historians, legalists and nostaglists. Blimps In A World of Stealth Fighter Jets Some associations have outdated … [Read more...]
Devastatingly Deranged Unhealthy Structures To Your Mission
Is your current structure stifling your mission? Do you have metaphorical tollbooths for your staff and volunteer leaders? Those tollbooths serve as permission-withholding stops and starts where every staff member and leader must get authorization and agreement to move an idea forward. Tollbooths are usually embedded in your organization’s governance structure—the bylaws, constitution, committees and SOPs that spell out all the procedure that must be followed and enforced. Structures do … [Read more...]
Effective, High Impact Leaders Attack Established Conditions
If a problem persists for years, it is no longer a crisis. It’s a condition. Many organizations face situations built upon shoddy foundations of myth, tradition and common-sense practices. The current state of affairs has prevailed so long they are now the accepted conditions. It’s a condition of “everyone else does it that way” shadows. It yields a world of confusion and conflict, unruly minds and unraveling customer experiences. How Do You Lead? Leaders face these conditions head on. … [Read more...]
Faulty Governance Models Can Obliterate Your Conference
Does your organization have a permission-withholding culture or a permission-granting culture? One of those cultures is empowering, healthy and life-giving. The other is stifling, frustrating, dysfunctional and can annihilate your conference success. Unfortunately, I’ve found that more organizations have permission-withholding cultures. They foster three characteristics: bureaucracy, control and mistrust. These three dysfunctions disempower leaders and can crush a conference. Tollbooth … [Read more...]
How The Nonprofit Association Program Pie Is Sliced
Most nonprofit associations find it difficult to abandon anything. Everything is a cause or "God's work." Yet performance and results are extremely important and often difficult to measure and control. Moral Versus Economic Causes A moral cause is an absolute good. For example, some religious leaders have been preaching against sex outside of marriage for years. Results have been small, if any at all. In these leaders' minds, the absence of results proves that they just have to … [Read more...]
Your Organization Has Too Much To Do Because You Do Too Much
How can we add social media to our plates when we have so much to do? This is a common statement from nonprofit employees. They don't want another task. They already have too much to do. So how can they simplify their work? The answer is simple: You have too much to do because you do too much! Byzantine Structures And Systems Organizations and employees do too much when they work within systems that have become too complicated. Managed systems with crisp specification of roles, … [Read more...]
Seven Association Stakeholder Principles For 21st Century Success
Collaboration and stakeholders. Two words that strike fear in many association executive hearts. Yet, most associations were built on the foundation of involving all members, giving all members a voice and a vote, and allowing all stakeholders an opportunity to collaborate. Seven Stakeholder Association Principles For 21st Century Success Here are seven stakeholder association principles for 21st Century success that extend the thoughts from Seven New Association Attitudes For 21st Century … [Read more...]
Seven New Association Attitudes For 21st Century Success
TTWWADI (pronounced Twadee). "That's the way we've always done it!" It's probably the number one excuse used by association professionals to keep programs, services and processes average or status quo. It is heard in association board rooms and offices around the world. It is a major symptom of complacency that can eventually lead to collapse. Here are seven new association attitudes for 21st century success that combat TTWWADI. 1. A concentrated focus on improving the organization's capacity … [Read more...]
