Author: deirdrereid

Deirdre is a content marketing writer/partner for companies serving the association market. After more than 20 years managing associations and restaurants, she's enjoying the good life now by helping companies inform, educate, and deepen relationships with the association community. Away from her laptop, you can find her walking in the woods, enjoying live music, reading hundreds of newsletters, watching hockey, cooking, hanging at the local brewery or tap room, or relaxing in a comfy chair with a good Kindle book and a glass of something tasty in hand.

The CAE Journey

CAE. Certified Association Executive. Many of my friends outside the association industry ask, “What does that mean exactly?” According to ASAE, it means I’ve demonstrated “the knowledge essential to the practice of association management.” After reading this post, you may decide in my case it should be renamed Certified Association Geek.

The CAE journey gave me a deeper knowledge and understanding of association management, particularly in areas I never had the opportunity to delve into before. Reading the texts while reflecting upon my ten years of association experience gave me a much better grasp of the challenges of leading and managing an association. My mind grappled with a wide range of topics from the minutia of reporting requirements for lobbying to the more interesting concepts of shared leadership and strategic thinking.

Every week, a new domain entered my life: strategic management; planning and research; leadership; administration; knowledge management; governance and structure; public policy and governmental and external relations; membership; programs, products and services; and public relations and external communications. With each domain came lots of reading, quizzes and a conference call with my study group. I looked forward to my reading time, taking notes as I went, reflecting on what I was reading, what I had seen and how things are changing. I was amazed at how long I would study on weekends. It was a good experience. I knew my knowledge was deepening.

On test day, there was a strange moment about an hour into it when I said to myself, “This is kind of fun.” It might have been the coffee talking, or more likely, I was on a roll with some easy questions. By the end of the four hours, by brain was mush. I was drained. I remember thinking, if I had to bet money, I would bet I passed, but who knows. It was over, all those months of study, over. It was strange putting those books away. The books I had lived with for so long. Then I realized, I have my weekends back and I had a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.

Fast forward six weeks and a few days later to this past Tuesday. While running around town that afternoon I got an email from my CAE study buddy, Sandra Giarde, saying the results were out. Our buddy Aaron tweeted he passed. I checked the mailbox on my way home. Empty. The mail was late, really late. Then I had a conference call and couldn’t check the mail for over an hour. Meanwhile three of us who took the exam were emailing back and forth – messages of dread and silliness.

After the call I walked back to the mailbox and there they were — two postal workers distributing the mail among the boxes. “Have you done the other side yet?” My side of the boxes. “No ma’am.” I walked home. My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing.

I waited about 20 minutes and walked back, the mail truck was gone. The mailboxes never looked so ominous. I opened my box. It was full of mail. I quickly flipped through the envelopes and magazines, searching for that one envelope. Oh boy. There it is – a business envelope from ASAE marked “confidential.” Moment of truth. I tore it open with my key. “Dear Ms. Reid:” was all I could read on the first fold. Quickly I turned it over and saw the word “Congratulations!” “YES!” I shouted out, and then thought, oh wait, I better make sure, and quickly scanned and saw enough to know that yes, indeed, I had passed the exam and could proudly put the letters CAE after my name. If anyone had been at the boxes with me, I might have hugged them. I let out another whoop and skipped home with a huge grin on my face. I wonder what the neighbors thought because I really did do several skips.

I wasn’t expecting to be so over the top happy, my reaction surprised me. But I knew that if I hadn’t passed, I would have been so disappointed and devastated, never mind the blow to my pride and ego. All the work, the sacrificed weekends and the new love for my profession – it all paid off in the end.

The letters CAE are validation of what I know and what I’ve been through. But the best thing about this whole process was the journey — the learning and thinking. Everyone’s CAE experience is probably a bit different. We come to it with varying levels of management and leadership experience, areas of expertise, and views on association challenges and opportunities. We approach the study process in different ways. But no matter the final results, going through the process is a huge accomplishment and stands on its own. Passing makes it sweeter.

If you find our industry at all fascinating and would like a rewarding learning experience, I strongly encourage you to study for the CAE exam. I call it a “journey” because it’s like one of those memorable trips to somewhere new and different. I knew where I was heading — the exam. I had my maps — the study guide and texts. I met some people along the way — my study group. But the best part was the studying and learning — being in the experience — the journey.

Twitter – My Moving Experience

When I hear people disparage and dismiss Twitter, I’m compelled to tell them about my experience with Twitter, particularly how it made my move to Raleigh an entirely different (and better) experience compared to my move to Sacramento several years ago.

When I arrived in Sacramento in October 2004 to accept a job at the California Building Industry Association, I didn’t know a soul except for those who interviewed me. Slowly I widened my social circle, but for a long time it primarily consisted of those whose paths I crossed  — work friends and neighbors.

My move to Raleigh had been in the works for a while because my boyfriend is here. To prepare for my move, I started following and chatting with locals on Twitter. By the time I moved here I had dozens of people my Raleigh Twitter network. When I got here, one of them organized a lunch so I could meet him and four other Twitter acquaintances. I had beer and coffee dates with many others. I found my apartment through a Twitter friend, and learned about my hair stylist, shops and social events via Twitter.

Today, just six months later, I find myself with many friends and acquaintances, most of whom are entrepreneurs I first met on Twitter – a stimulating bunch of “grab the gusto” type people. My social calendar is now always full. When I look back and compare this to my Sacramento move, the difference is astonishing. It feels like I’ve lived here longer than six months because of my new network.

Twitter has also given me a circle of professional peers across the U.S. We chat on Twitter, read and comment on each others’ blogs and participate in weekly Twitter chats. Some of us are Facebook friends now too. When I met several of them in real life this past summer at Buzz 2009 and the ASAE Annual Meeting, it was like reuniting with long-lost friends. When you meet someone first on Twitter, you have time to get to know each other, both personally and professionally. By the time you meet, you’re not meeting as strangers but as friends who just haven’t met in real life yet. If this has happened to you, you’ll know what I mean by a Twitter hug — it happens all the time.

The tweets of those I follow have led me to blog posts and other resources I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Our twitter chats allow us to discuss successful practices and cutting-edge ideas. Twitter is now the best professional (and personal) development source in my life.

Contrary to what some say, Twitter isn’t about what you’re having for dinner. However, I have received good dinner ideas and recipes courtesy of Twitter. I’ve gained so much from Twitter that I try to help others get the most out of it too. It takes a bit of time to find the right folks to follow and to figure out how to use it in a way that works best for you and those who follow you, but it’s definitely time worth investing.

Agenda Abuse

Reading the paper this past week has reminded me of why it’s so important to train board directors and committee members on good meeting practices.

In Wake County (NC) a new majority was recently elected to the Board of Education. These new members were elected by a tiny percentage of county voters with a mandate to make some serious changes to existing policy – ending the mandatory year-round school calendar and eliminating busing kids to schools (originally instituted to achieve economic diversity). Emotions ran high during the election and especially after when these new faces won the seats of long-sitting board members.

My beef here isn’t with this new majority’s policy positions but rather how they have handled their board meetings, and I’m not alone. The News & Observer editors expressed exactly how many feel.

Taking advantage of their voting power, at the start of the first two meetings they added items and resolutions to the agendas without advance notice to their fellow board members or the public. These manipulative actions didn’t allow any time for public consideration or discussion of their proposed policy changes. They had the votes to ram their policies through but weren’t honest or courageous enough to allow discussion of the issues.

As I read the editorial and expressed out loud my disgust at how poorly the meetings were run, I was reminded about a recent County Commissioners meeting where a contentious issue was resolved by waiting until one of the more elderly commissioners had to use the restroom. Without her vote, the chair could get the motion passed while she was out of the room, so he did.

Is there no training for incoming board members on proper governance and meeting practices? On ethics befitting public servants? Where is staff when this is going on? I can’t imagine any chief staff executive of an association allowing such manipulation of an agenda. Any executive with a spine is going to make it very clear how horribly wrong and ill-advised that is for the long-term. Those items can be put on a subsequent meeting agenda, giving interested parties notice and opportunity to weigh in.

These antics have resulted in policy changes that affect every school-age child and their parents in Wake County – some will agree, some won’t. However, many on all sides are aghast at how these policies were changed. Another result is already clear – a loss of trust and confidence in these new members and their judgment and ethics. It will also be much more difficult for these two sides to come to consensus on future challenging issues. Alas, I guess that’s politics.

This disturbing story reminds me of how critical it is to train our board and committee members on governance and meeting practices that encourage transparency and thoughtful deliberation. Ideally all our leaders would come to the table with good ethics and judgment, and we wouldn’t have to worry about such things. But we can’t take that chance. We need to train our leaders in governing well. They are stewards of the organization and our job is to help them fulfill that role in the best manner possible.

Learning to Talk and Walk at the Same Time

A Twitter friend of mine, Jeff Bailey, something of a presentation guru himself, told me about a two-day speaking class, Powerful Persuasive Speaking, taught by Alan Hoffler. I don’t think any of us can ever learn enough about the science and art of communicating, so I quickly signed up.

I became more aware in a few hours of my speaking shortcomings and strengths than I ever could have imagined, and then spent the next two days learning how to correct my bad habits (that I didn’t even know existed!) and become a better communicator. Our teacher Alan was a walking talking example of an engaging and effective speaker and he was also a fun, patient and knowledgeable instructor.

We had two rules to bear in mind:

  • It’s not about me, it’s about the audience.
  • Mind the gap — there’s a huge difference between what I’m feeling while speaking and what the audience is experiencing.

I definitely knew the first rule, although there have been a few times when it was hard to get out of my own worrying head and into the audience’s, especially when things out of my control disrupt my carefully prepared plan. I had experienced the second rule (the gap) and never quite believed it, but now I have the film to prove its truth. Sometimes if our mind is in turmoil and we think we are absolutely dying up there, strangely enough we can appear poised and confident to the audience – a huge gap in perception versus reality. Why do we appear so confident? It’s because we have the skills – either learned or innate. We are connecting to and engaging the audience. It seems almost magical at times.

We learned about posture, arm placement, gestures, eye contact and movement. Yes, it is hard to walk and talk at the same time! It actually takes practice to do it in an effective way. Thankfully, we learned that much of this is similar to muscle memory. If we practice the skills, soon they become natural to us and we can build our presentation on top of them. I thought back to when I learned to figure skate and the hours I practiced school figures using different edges. Boring! But those skills became part of my muscle memory. Without having them as a base I couldn’t have done the pretty spins and jumps.

Another thing happened in class, something that wasn’t included in the program description. We started as a group of eleven strangers who were feeling a bit nervous, anxious and vulnerable about speaking, totally unprepared as to content (improvising in fact) in front of each other, and being filmed while doing it. By the end of the second day, we had bonded as a group that went through a discovery and learning process together. We felt comfortable pointing out each other’s mistakes and strengths. We became interested in each other’s professional paths. Some of us spoke of meeting regularly as a group to continue practicing our burgeoning skills.

Learning and growing is always more rewarding when doing it with others – whether it’s a class, study group, discussion group, workshop or retreat. Seeing the excited spark in someone’s eyes or noticing how their body moves to the edge of their seat leaning into a conversation – that can be infectious in the best way possible. I’ve always been motivated by opportunities to learn and find ways to make it a regular part of my life. How do you find ways to learn and grow with others?

Sometimes You Know More Than You Think You Do

A few months ago Scott Oser asked me if I’d like to be a presenter for a webinar series for association staff who want to learn how to implement social media tools at their organization. I don’t consider myself a social media “expert” but I do know that since immersing myself in social media over the last year and a half, I do have a lot to share with others in my profession. Since I have never presented via a webinar before, and never even presented on social media in any format, I was tempted (for just a second) to pass, but I wanted to stretch myself, so I accepted.

I’m sharing the presentation duties with my new friend Ted LaBarbera. Ted’s the web editor at the American Association of Advertising Agencies in New York. Typical of social media relationships, Ted and I have never met in real life, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy sharing a beer together one day. We’re taking turns on presenting — I’m the lead for two of the webinars (the intro and LinkedIn) and Ted is for the other two (Facebook and Twitter). When we’re not leading, we act as color commentator for each other.

Last week I took the lead on our first webinar — Social Media 101 for Associations. It took a while for me to get the content nailed down. I wanted to focus on the big picture — how social media efforts must align with an association’s strategic plan, the mindset (or culture) required to be successful and the first steps to take. It was way too much content for 50 minutes but we managed to fit it all in, barely.

I posted my PowerPoint presentation and a PDF with session notes on Slideshare in the hopes that my approach will help somebody’s organization or business.

It’s a strange feeling to talk into a phone to an audience that you can’t see and that can’t talk back. But I did enjoy the experience, not as much as speaking to real people in front of you, but hopefully what I had to say made a difference to them. And like speaking in real life, I was wired for about three hours after!

If you are ever offered the chance to do something out of your supposed comfort zone and you know that deep inside you have what it takes, or, with a little work, could have what it takes to do the job, than do it. That’s my advice for the day!

Learning About Legal Trends for Associations

Last week the Association Executives of North Carolina held an excellent educational session, Top Legal Trends that Associations Should Care About, presented by Marty Martin, JD. There was a lot to digest and it reminded me, once again, of all the challenges a CEO faces. Marty discussed four emerging legal trends that we need to understand and deal with:

  • It seems that every few weeks we learn of the misdeeds of an organization or individual we once trusted. This morning we learned of the arrests of mayors and rabbis (!) in New Jersey. It’s no wonder that a lack of trust in organizations is becoming more pervasive.
  • We demand accountability from our leaders and organizations. We will no longer put up with boards failing in their duties and tolerating unethical behavior or misguided senses of entitlement, as they did at the United Way, Smithsonian, and Nature Conservancy. Associations are tax-exempt organizations, not only accountable to our members but to the public too.
  • “Transparency” is a word we see and hear more often these days, but it’s not a passing trend.
  • We’re much more critical about performance and results. If you can’t deliver, we’re going to start asking questions and taking our votes or money elsewhere. Doing well isn’t good enough; we must demonstrate our results to members and the public.

The IRS 990 Form is the most obvious indicator of these trends. If you haven’t looked at one yet because your job doesn’t require you to, take a peek and see what your CEO and Board will be dealing with. Its completion will require a lot more resources and disclosure than many associations are used to. The compensation section alone will give many Executive Directors heartburn and could create staff morale or member value issues when compensation packages of key staff are disclosed.

There must be a renewed emphasis on board governance and management of the association. The board is responsible for managing the business of the corporation – the association. Or do they think the Executive Director is managing it? The standards of service for a non-profit board are the same as a for-profit board. Do they realize that?

Are we selecting our board leaders for the right reasons? Or do other reasons enter the equation – ego, geography, seniority, politics, or relationships?

Do we educate our boards as to their duties and responsibilities? Do they understand conflict of interest? Anti-trust? Fiduciary responsibilities?

Do you get the impression that your board members don’t have the time to do the work they should to understand their responsibilities and prepare for meetings? If they’re not willing to put in the time and effort to do the work, they shouldn’t be on your board. I don’t know the source of this quote from the presentation but it’s a good one: “Your date book is your creed. What you believe in, you have time for.”

Marty defined organizational culture as a pattern of learning that occurs overtime in response to internal and external challenges. Culture operates on three levels, but all three must be aligned for a healthy organization:

  • Surface – The first impressions upon walking into your association’s office speaks to its culture.
  • Espoused values – Are you walking your talk? The board has the ultimate responsibility for adhering to these values, yet I think the Executive Director can play a critical role by modeling the right behavior and actions.
  • Basic assumptions – Assumptions are often hidden because we’re so used to them. “We’ve always done it that way.” They’re often our sacred cows. Assumptions can be an impediment to change in an organization.

In the short term, culture will prevail, even in the face of a changing external legal environment. That’s why associations may need a cultural shift to be transparent, accountable, well-governed and wisely managed.

Be a Renegade – Bringing Social Media to Your Association

I know that there are many association mid-level staffers (managers, directors, etc.) who are personally engaged in social media and believe that their association could benefit from it. However they are not in a position to lead their association there. What do they do? How can they somehow work the system and get their leadership to see that social media can help their association achieve its goals and so much more?

First, they need to look over their association’s strategic plan (or mission, goals, etc.) and see where social media can fit in as another tool or strategy to achieve those goals. Pay particular attention to these areas as they can all be enhanced by social media: advocacy, public relations, member recruitment, member engagement/retention, member communication, education and events.

Set up some Google Alerts on your association’s name, acronym, and variation of name, publications, conference/trade show, chapter acronyms, competitor name/acronym, and any other keywords that will help you to listen in on what people are saying out there. Set up a Twitter Search on the same terms. You can set up RSS feeds for all of these so that you can receive the alerts and search results automatically. I use Google Reader to get my RSS feeds.

Export your member and staff list, or if that is too cumbersome, export a list of your leadership, committee members, and show/meeting attendees. Be mindful that this will exclude those whom you probably would most like to know better – your “mailbox” members (that old term should be replaced!). Upload your list to Facebook and LinkedIn, and then to a Gmail account and have Twitter search that network for you. Find out who is active and what’s on their mind. Do a lot of listening.

Also do a search for some of your leadership’s peers (both staff and members), your association’s competitors and other associations that are similar in member type to yours. Are they involved in social media? These examples can be helpful later when trying to sell your leadership on social media.

Then make a plan. Review your organization’s goals or strategic plan and note how social media tools (starting with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) might help your association achieve those goals. Only plan to take on one of these tools at a time – baby steps. Remember, you can’t just create a presence and walk away, you need to stay engaged, and that takes time and effort. Break your plan down into immediate, short-term and long-term ideas, keeping in mind that your plan will change as your association learns.

Try not to go it alone. Talk to some of the staff whom you discovered are involved in social networking. Bear in mind that many will not want their personal social media life to be known at work but they can be allies and advisors to you. Contact some of the members and ask them for advice. Tell them that you are “going renegade” and investigating options to further your association’s goals through social media – you’re just in the research phase. Ask their advice and if they would like to help. Take advantage of this intelligence-gathering opportunity – you can find out a lot about their real perception of the association, what they want/need, how they envision their association.

This is a lot of work but you will learn much from it. A huge concern to any CEO about social media is the amount of time it requires. This is a valid concern and one that you should be ready to address. It’s why I haven’t mentioned blogging as part of this plan, although it may be something to consider depending on your association’s resources. Another reason to have allies amongst staff is that you may already have in place others who can assist with this effort. Social media can not belong to one department alone. It must be integrated across many departments and can be an aid in breaking down departmental silos since it will require collaboration.

Here are some recent posts that will help you prepare for this task and for the nay-sayers.

What else does someone need to do before they bring their ideas (and a plan) to the big guns? Some of you have gone through this at your association. What advice do you have?

Clues to Authenticity

I love it when conversations begin on Twitter about topics that leave you thinking long after you log out. The other day, Lynn Morton, Cynthia D’Amour and I had a brief exchange about authenticity and how to embed it in an association’s culture. The concept of authenticity is all over the web these days as it’s a required element for social media engagement. This topic especially interests me as I want to work for an organization whose culture breathes authenticity.

But how can I tell if an organization really walks the walk of authenticity? And what does that really mean? Bear with me as I wrestle with this concept.

To me, it means being your true self — communicating and behaving honestly. As the walls between my personal and professional lives have fallen down, it’s been a bit liberating. I don’t have a work personality and an at-home personality, they’re essentially the same – what you see is what you get. Luckily I don’t have any wacky personal foibles to hide. I also understand that many topics are not appropriate for the office — the old “no sex, politics and religion at the dinner table” principle. Does your organization have multiple personality disorder? Does it have different faces depending on the audience, or does it have an honest and consistent nature?

Authenticity often requires self-reflection and review. Am I being honest? Is this really what I think? What are my motives here? Am I sucking up? Am I being defensive? When we’re authentic we learn to listen to criticism and dissent and not overlook the uncomfortable. We face up to reality. This is not always easy, but the right thing to do usually isn’t.

Does your organization go through this process? Is it listening to all its constituent voices, including those that usually go unheard or those that challenge the party line? Has it examined its programs, products and services to determine their true value to members or customers, or is it doing what it’s always done because that’s what you do? Are you dealing with looming challenges and threats, or putting them off by focusing on immediate crises? Authenticity means understanding the real value of your membership for each prospect or member, not relying on the bullet points and marketing copy you’ve used forever.

How does authenticity work with public relations and advocacy? It’s often risky to show your true hand, the other side could take advantage. What about spin and messaging? Our political world is based on spin. How can an association not do that? Yet David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, recently said nothing is more powerful than authenticity, and people have a very sensitive bullshit meter. Which side does your association come down on?

How do you tell an authentic association (or any type of organization) from one that isn’t? I’m still working on a complete answer but here are some ideas:

  • Do they have lots of member evangelists? Or membership testimonials that sound real, not like the brochure?
  • Do they have wide diverse support within their industry and with the public?
  • Are there real personalities with distinct voices speaking on behalf of the association? Is that really the CEO who’s writing the CEO Corner?
  • Do they listen and engage with their members and the public? Or is it only one-way communication?
  • Do they tolerate dissent? Are there negative comments on their blog or in their letters to the editor?
  • Can you tell if their staff is engaged and involved in guiding the association to success, not only the executives, but directors, managers and others?
  • Are meetings accessible to all or are there barriers (financial, technological, procedural) to participation?
  • Are meetings a rubber-stamp process or is there healthy discussion?
  • Does the leadership reflect the membership (or industry) in age, race, sex, etc.? Is leadership stagnant – the old boys club?

This is all very fuzzy, I admit. What do you think are signs of authenticity in an association?