Following is the opening letter of the much-anticipated 2018 National Trade and Professional Associations Directory, by Arlene Pietranton, TRENDS 2018 Association Executive of the Year
Two defining characteristics of associations stand out in my mind. One is the generosity within the association community of sharing information, insights, and learnings. This is a community where the commitment to making a difference is strongly evident – including in helping and supporting one another. The other is the capacity and virtually boundless combined reach associations possess to help make this a better, safer, and smarter world. Better, by serving as conveners and catalysts who spark new solutions and innovation; safer, through the standards and guidelines we develop and promulgate; and smarter, by our collective role as the largest provider of continuing professional development – helping the workforce across practically all industries and professions keep their knowledge and skills current.
I suspect every preceding generation of association executives was probably also convinced that they, too, were navigating in a “unique time.” To be fair, every era surely has its distinctive opportunities and challenges – current era included! Whatever you may view those to be, I would posit that today, possibly more than ever before, the reach of associations should, and perhaps even must, go beyond the professions and industries we represent. Associations need to more directly connect to the larger society where our members function in order to more intentionally facilitate how our professions, industries, and organizations can best and most fully serve society.
Societal benefit is fundamental to the purpose and roles of associations – and an underlying condition of our not-for-profit tax status. At a time when there is often an entrenched stalemate among elected leaders; and where expertise, knowledge, credentials – and even actual facts -- are increasingly challenged and mistrusted, associations’ ability to bring people together to collaborate meaningfully and effectively is needed more than ever. It’s not necessarily about “doing more” as it may be about “doing better” – for example:
• Knowledge creation – what can each of us do to better engage more of our members in the co-creation of ideas, knowledge, and resources? How do we better collaborate across industries and professions to more effectively involve the broader wisdom, knowledge, and energy of more people and disciplines to solve problems? At a time when purpose and meaning are increasingly factors in whether and where people choose to join, what a strong value proposition that could be.
• Diversity and Inclusion – what can each of us do to better galvanize the still all too often untapped power and promise of diversity and inclusion? The Me Too movement is a sobering reminder of the extent to which abuse of power and privilege continues to exist and go unchecked in our society. What systems, policies, and practices can we put in place that support, engage, and demonstrate value for all individuals – no matter their gender, race, religion, place of birth, etc., etc.? And here’s the deal, not only is this the right thing to do ... it's the smart thing to do – to cite just one of the many studies of the business value of diversity and inclusion, companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians (McKinsey, 2015).
• Civility – what can each of us do to cultivate authentic exchange and civil debate of ideas and information so we can all learn with and from one another in search of the best options and solutions? Respect for others is one of the oldest human axioms – espoused by the world’s major religions and legal frameworks (e.g., the Golden Rule; Ethics of Reciprocity). Yet research shows that 26 percent of workers have quit a job because it was an uncivil workplace. How can associations nurture civility for the betterment of our members, their workplaces, and their larger communities?
I am honored to serve as CEO of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and very proud of the remarkable work ASHA members and ASHA staff do each and every day. I’m also deeply grateful to be part of the larger association community of talented, dedicated, and mission-focused colleagues and inspired by the countless ways that associations have made and continue to make this a better, safer, and smarter world. As Gandhi said, we must all be the change we wish to see in the world. What change do you want to see – for your workplace, for your members, for your organization, for society...and what will you do to make it so?
Pietranton is CEO of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Assocaition, Rockville, Md. She and the other TRENDS honorees will be feted at the Salute to Association Excellence, March 1 at the Capital Hilton in Washington. For details and to register for your seat at the Salute, click here.
For details and to order the 2018 NTPA, popularly known as "The Gray Book" in the association space, click here. The data presented in the NTPA is also available online at www.AssociationExecs.com , where subscribers have much more capability to research and view the data.
Opening letter of the much-anticipated 2018 National Trade and Professional Associations Directory