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What do you think the biggest obstacle is to associations reimagining themselves?

Leadership

On August 25th, Fonteva welcomed Lowell Aplebaum, FASAE, CAE, CPF, Mary Byers, CAE, CSP, Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, and Gayathri Kher to tackle some of the big questions facing associations as they look toward and plan for the future.

As a precursor to that event, we asked each to share a brief answer to the question, What do you think the biggest obstacle is to associations reimagining themselves? Answers are listed as shared with Fonteva directly by the panelists.

If you haven’t already seen this can’t miss panel, you can do so now.


Gayathri Kher
President
fusionSpan

Traditionally, the past has always set a precedent for what the future will bring – that is no longer the case here. As human beings, we have a natural fear of failure and judgement, but it is better to spend time taking action than to lose valuable time overthinking.

When organizations look to reimagine themselves, whether it be a product, process, or mission, it is important to evaluate all potential risks early and often. These evaluations should include in-depth, honest, uncomfortable, and even painful conversations with all stakeholders to promote effective input and feedback. It is better to go through these growing pains early in the process and build a model of continuous improvement.


Mary Byers, CAE, CSP
Association Advisor
& Author of Race for Relevance

I see three obstacles. First, there’s the change management aspect. Since it’s easier not to change, many organizations don’t. But as Rita Gunther McGrath, author of The End of Competitive Advantage, notes, “Allowing an existing structure to remain in place for too long creates inertia and results in an organization that is maladapted to the opportunities it finds.” Those that do undertake reimagining their organizations should be prepared to sustain the effort for 18-24 months, the time often required for substantial change to occur in the association environment.

Second is cost. Reimagining often costs more and finances can be a challenge, especially post-COVID. However, I’ve seen associations find necessary funding by practicing “purposeful abandonment,” getting rid of obsolete programs and services (especially those that are losing money) and redirecting resources to identified opportunities.

Third is capacity. Overworked staffs don’t have the margin necessary to lead a thorough re-imagination effort. An emerging trend is for CEOs to assign the task to a specific individual (though it must include input from, and buy-in by, the entire staff). This can be an existing team member though I’m seeing new staff roles around innovation popping up, too. Often, the individuals leading this charge come from the for-profit arena.


Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE
Executive Advisor
Foresight First LLC

It all comes down to the detrimental impact of the association community’s orthodox beliefs, i.e., the deep-seated assumptions we make about how the world works. Our community’s orthodoxy runs deep and includes myriad untrue and unhelpful beliefs related to boards, generations, learning, membership, relevance, strategic planning, and many other aspects of association work. At the very moment when learning with the future is critical, orthodox beliefs tether associations to the past, create complacency, and undermine effective decision-making, all of which makes it considerably more difficult, if not impossible, to imagine and shape a different and better future for stakeholders and successors.

If association decision-makers are serious about reinventing their organizations, they must be able to think and act beyond orthodoxy. We can no longer allow the noise of the past to interfere with our ability to hear and act on the signals of the future.


Lowell Aplebaum, FASAE, CAE, CPF
CEO & Strategy Catalyst
Vista Cova

The biggest obstacle to associations is recognizing that change doesn’t happen in an instant. In each of the areas above, and in so many others, success will only emerge when associations build systems of innovation. Within such a system are a number of hurdles to overcome:

  • Building in regular reflection that can take stock of what was attempted, what success was supposed to be, what transpired, what emerged, and what was left behind. Mastery in evaluation leads to wisdom in evolution.
  • The power of no makes the power of yes much more powerful. Where leadership can learn to pilot and experiment and then STOP efforts that no longer bring return, they will build the capacity to produce higher value, to further advance mission. At some point depth of mission advancement can be sacrificed at the table of breadth of quantity of efforts.
  • Finally, leaders need to see themselves as champions of mission and agents of meaningful change – and that these things don’t compete. Part of that role means seeking perspectives outside of their own that they can represent in their discussions and decisions, even if those decisions may run askew to their own personal preferences.

Find all the questions we asked and meet our panelists.

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