This year I celebrate my 10^th anniversary as a Certified Association Executive (CAE). t’s hard to believe an entire decade has passed but as they say, time flies – especially when you are enjoying yourself! If you are a current CAE Candidate, you might be saying “What do you mean ENJOYING YOURSELF?? Getting ready for the exam is really stressful!”.

I'll admit it. I was nervous when I heard that AWTC was adding a keynote speaker to the 2024 Advance conference. They also added an afternoon workshop that also made me a little uncomfortable.

In the nonprofit area, there is always talk about recognition of what members and supporters contribute through their efforts. There are many levels of recognition from certificates and thank you notes to individual awards at annual meetings.

I’m excited to share this excerpt from my first book Association Chapter Systems: From Frustrating to Fruitful, available on November 22, 2024. After years of working in chapter systems of all kinds, I see the need for change in how we network with and support members at the local level.

Associations like to say if you join you will be part of a larger community. You will have options for participation and connection. It's a great way to get involved and contribute to your profession.

Humans have rules for a lot of reasons: to keep public order, to show people how to play a game, to install a governance system, and to keep a family living in something similar to harmony. These are a few of the reasons that come to my mind when considering rules and why we have them.

I'm in a lot of professional networking groups. We talk about different programs that organizations can offer their members, how new offerings could work, and we try to figure out why some organizations don't give the members what they want even after repeated requests.

Recently in ASAE Collaborate, I’ve seen the conversation again about “The Bus Book” scenario. I say again because this is an evergreen topic and we should all be thinking about it on a regular basis. The Bus Book, if you are not familiar with this term, is the book that SHOULD exist that contains all the information others will need if something happens to you like you get hit by a bus. Or you win the lottery. Or you take a new job. Or you retire.

In a previous post titled “Making Peace,” (September 23, 2023), I noted the following:
"After a time, the stubbornness becomes the goal, and we often forget WHY we are being so stubborn. Both parties will not give way in any shape or form. Old grievances are listed again and again as we are determined to prove that we are right and they are so very wrong."

If you subscribe to USAE News, you may have seen my September 3, 2024, guest column “The Unexpected and Accessibility: A Trip to a Cleveland Conference.” This article outlines my experience attending a conference in a wheelchair and using a walker as I recover from a broken leg. Anytime anyone loses mobility or needs accommodations for participation, it is a disability whether short-term or long-term.

Listen to the audio version of the article.

...GIRL. That’s right. Think like a leader, not a girl. Did she just type that? Oh yes, she did. And this time I encourage angry postcards because I want to hear what you are thinking. 

As I continue my recovery from a broken leg, the bone is healed. It’s all the other moving parts that still need to recover and strengthen – the tendons and ligaments that hold the knee joint together as well as the underused muscles that weakened due to 2 months of bedrest.

I joined the nonprofit management profession in 1988 with my first Washington, DC job at the US Chamber of Commerce. As my career evolved and my next job took me to a professional society for corporate attorneys, my eyes were opened to the fact that this is a defined and unique profession.

This week’s message is based on my response to a discussion in the ASAE Collaborate Consultants community posted the week of July 15, 2024. The initial post by one of my colleagues addressed the issue of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) removing the “E” (equity) from their DEI program, leaving them with just “D&I” (diversity & inclusion).

When I was growing up in St. Louis, MO, I played a lot of sports: basketball, volleyball, and softball in the Catholic Youth Council (CYC) league. Of all the sports, in the Catholic community at the time, basketball was the most important. It’s like Texas and football.

Anyone who works in the profession of nonprofit management, especially in the area of membership associations, accepts the requirement that we are mandated by law to have a Board of Directors. According to the Google Search AI bot this is why it is mandated:

One of my favorite spiritual guides is the “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu. Loosely translated, this means the Way of Virtue. It includes the concepts of integrity, self-control, and inner knowledge. The Tao Te Ching is the main text of Taoism which believes in the basic tenet that all things should live in balance with the universe.

As a proponent of ethical behavior, I understand that we are imperfect beings. No one does it right all the time, and yes, ethical people likely did some unethical things in their past that they are not proud of and cringe whenever they think of it. That “icky cringe feeling” is great motivation not to do it again, but also a reminder that we usually know when we are doing something wrong.

Author’s Note: I’m out of the office this week so I thought I’d reshare this take on Boards of Directors from March 2023. All 501c organizations are required to have a board of directors – what outcomes we achieve is directly related to board culture.