Changing How Association Staff Relate to the Board: From Reactive to Creative Association Leadership Summit November 2, 2012

Questions: Are the challenges facing today’s associations greater than ever? Is radical change needed for many associations to survive?

Race for Relevance By Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers “The associations that have relevance in the future will be those that tackle the tough questions and decisions today—leading to radical change tomorrow. They need courageous and creative risk-takers leading the race in order to prosper.”

Role of Chief Elected Officers and Chief Staff Officers Traditional Board/Staff model – patriarchal More associations are moving in the direction of empowering staff and forming a leadership partnership. The transition is slow – why? Why do so many associations cling to the old model?

Changing from Patriarchy to Partnership – how?  Too much reactive leadership  Not enough creative leadership  Top priority is to stay safe  But leadership requires courage

Two Life Stances fear problemreaction passion visionaction results time results To lead, you must face your fears. Albert Ellis

Leadership Self Assessment In attempting to change the organization from patriarchy to partnership, we run smack into ourselves as the primary obstacle. When do you fear being too courageous in leading members? Being too “staff driven”? When have you sacrificed leadership to stay safe? o Discuss in groups of 3-4 o Share results

Activating event Belief Systems Consequent Emotions Dependent Behavior Integrating thoughts, behaviors and emotions A B CD Followers focus here.Leaders focus here. Outer worldInner worldOuter world We can’t change our behavior until we change our thoughts and beliefs.

Integrating thoughts, behaviors and emotions, cont’d What is needed is personal reflection and insight. To lead, you must make your emotions work for you. Here’s how you do it: 1) Acknowledge your feelings 2) Accept them (not, “I shouldn’t feel that way.”)

3) Assess them and 4) Act upon them This will keep you from reacting to your emotions. Question: Which emotion drives leaders? followers?

Case Study: The importance of vision Year: 1975 Leader: Bill Gates, age 19 Vision: Put a computer on every desktop in America. (Remember, this was before PCs were invented.) Result: Dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft sales: $40 billion When asked what keeps Microsoft at the top? Answer: “That vision.” Taken from The Road Ahead by Bill Gates

6 – Sacred Few achieve this. 5 – Integral/ interdependence 1% achieve this. 4 – Independent 19% achieve this. 3 – Reactive 80% achieve this. 2 - Egocentric Levels of Adult Development Leadership starts above this line. Think teenagers

Familiar Behaviors Examine these with one eye on your organization and one eye on yourself… More concerned with doing things right than doing the right things. Avoid conflict by not bringing up crucial issues. Blame others for the way it is. Wait for the culture to change before investing something of themselves in the change. Belief that vision and direction must come from above and it’s our job to receive it rather than co-create. Lack of courageous authenticity in meetings. Real conversation occurs when members aren’t present.

Our Organizations Must Change  These behaviors limit or block progress on an organization’s journey from patriarchy to partnership.  This is where courage comes in.  Need to bring real conversations into the real meetings – both risky and essential.  Starts with deep personal change.

Two Life Stances fear problemreaction passion visionaction results time results To lead, you must face your fears. Albert Ellis

Harsh Inner Critic Monitor your thoughts Evaluate your judgments Collect objective data Conviction or condemnation? Re-evaluate your values

Based on what you learned today, how will you confront your greatest fear? ___________ _______________________________________ Based on what you learned today, what steps will you take to pursue your greatest passion? _______________________________________

The Journey from Patriarchy to Partnership There is no safe way to be great; and to pursue greatness is to live on the frontier. We need to make a choice, and the choice we make determines the extent of our leadership as well as the culture of our organization. Focus on mastery to develop your potential. Mastery takes learning, practice, and discipline. Focus on courage, vision, and making a significant contribution to our work. The process of becoming a more powerful leader requires deep personal change.

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.” - Abraham Lincoln

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