At AH, we wanted to delve deeper into aspects of association leadership, with the goal to learn what leadership practices nurture great boards as well as the skills association leaders need to be most effective
We conducted a survey, both qualitative and quantitative along with Smooth the Path, to learn from current association executives, what makes up a good leader (both staff and board leaders).
This is the 2nd in a series of posts that explores the findings and highlights some of the statistics found through this research.
As part of the research, association leaders were asked what some of their challenges are.
The three biggest challenges identified by the respondents, when working with a board, are:
- Fully leveraging volunteer leaders’ knowledge
- Leading the board down a strategic path
- Managing the board’s expectations about what the association staff can handle
One CEO explained some of the challenges as an association leader by saying, “You are straddling many worlds. You are running a business, you are running a for-profit business. We don’t call it that, but it is. You are running a staff and an office. And you are trying to drive change in the industry. It’s challenging. Most of us have really important missions AND we have to bring in enough money to drive that mission. You need to learn the industry even though you are not a member. Learn to run a business. Learn to lead a board. Learn to drive a mission. So it’s time. How do you have time to do this? I’m in an industry that changes every 30 seconds. So keeping on top of all that while running a business.”
What challenges do you face as an association executive? Do you have advice for your peers?
Download the full Leadership Study Below
Here are other content pieces from AH that can help with the challenges mentioned above:
