Young #Association Professionals – We Want to Engage YOU!

On July 24-25, the inaugural Engaging Association Summit will take place at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, ON.  We are currently seeking young professionals who are looking to:

• Advance in their careers;
• Create change within their role and their organization;
• Participate in thought-provoking conversations on strategy;
• Get insights on what Association Leaders look for in younger members of their team;
• Offer their views on the association landscape of today and tomorrow.

Does this sound like you?  If so, Travel Alberta has partnered with us to host up to five young professionals at the summit free of charge*!  Here’s how it works:

• For the purposes of the program, a young professional is 30 and under, and must be working with an association at the time of entry.
• Submit a short video and tell us your “why”: why are you working in the non-profit sector?  What issues are you passionate about?  What are your education or advancement goals?
• With your email entry, tell us your full contact name, the association you work with, and the best way to reach you during the day (phone, email and social media accounts).
• Finalists’ videos will be posted online.  A panel of Summit partners and participants will be asked to vote and select winning entries.
• Throughout the Summit, young professionals will be asked to share thoughts and feedback on their perspectives about engagement issues in membership-based organizations.  

Are you ready to get involved?

Check out our program for more information on the topics and facilitators.  The deadline for entries is Friday, June 6th, 2014.  Those who have been selected as the 5 winners will be notified by Wednesday, June 18th.  Should your entry not be selected we will be happy to extend special pricing to contest participants for the entire duration of the summit.

Act now!  We look forward to receiving your entry!

*Summit registration fees only.  Transportation and overnight accommodation may be sponsored at the discretion of the organizers if the participant is traveling from more than 50km away.

@Deirdrereid Has Advice for Emerging #Association Professionals

I never expected to work in associations. Frankly, they weren’t even on my radar. But I was leaving one career and in search of another. I took an association job just to have some stability and income while I figured things out. Little did I know, back in 1999, what a rewarding and fascinating profession I was about to enter.

Looking back, I wish I had asked for advice. It took me several years to find my way. If we were to have a “learn from my mistakes” conversation, it would go something like this:


Never stop learning. You will succeed in this profession if you live to learn. This is the most important piece of advice I can give you. Don’t shortchange yourself. Make time for learning even if it’s on your own time. Your older self will thank you.

Be observant. Listen to and watch people. You have to understand human behavior, both individual and group, if you want to motivate, manage and lead staff and members.

Give yourself time to think. You need time every week to plan ahead, set and review goals, and let your brain work its way around challenges and issues.

Develop a DIY professional development habit. Set aside time to read association management blogs and publications, participate in Twitter’s #assnchat (Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. Eastern), and attend association events. If your boss doesn’t give you the time or budget to do these things, do it on your own time. Put aside a small amount of every paycheck, even if it’s only $10, toward professional development. It’s an investment in your future, just like your 401K.

Join your state SAE even if you have to spend your own money. You’ll meet a network of peers that could become lifelong friends.

Look for mentors. Find people in your office or at another association who are active in your SAE or ASAE. They might not consider themselves mentor material so don’t even use the word “mentor” around them. A conversation with them could develop into a mutually satisfying relationship.

Find association peers. If you’re surrounded by colleagues who are only there for the paycheck, don’t be discouraged. Don’t follow them down their boring, soul-deadening path. Find people either in your office or other associations who are around your same age and career level. Twitter makes this so much easier now. Arrange monthly meet-ups. Make them your mastermind group.

Make friends all over the building. Avoid eating lunch alone. Don’t isolate yourself in a departmental silo. Learn about the work your colleagues are doing. How can you help them? How can they help you? What member stories can you share? What can you teach each other?

Pause and reflect before reacting. Expect stressful times. You might start the day expecting to work on specific tasks and projects, but find yourself dealing with other pressing problems, issues and people that weren’t on your list. You will constantly juggle a variety of deadlines and demands.

It’s natural to react quickly and emotionally to these stressors – those same reactions save us in life and death situations. But in the workplace, you must develop the habit of pausing before reacting, and thinking rationally, not emotionally. It’s not easy. Yoga helps, but I don’t expect you to practice yoga as a professional development tool – although it’s not a bad idea.

Become aware of your reactions to your own behavior (self-judging), other people’s behavior, stressful situations and change. If you learn to pause and reflect before reacting, you won’t stress yourself out so much and you’ll be a positive influence on the people around you.

Don’t be a workaholic. Never put in crazy hours because you think you should, except, of course, for those special times in the meeting, magazine or budget cycle that require it. You and your brain need time off to recharge. You know the people who are always boasting about how busy they are and how late they stayed in the office? They’re not paragons of virtue to emulate. They’re doing it wrong -- “it” being life.

Never be defined by your job. If you develop that limited mindset, retirement will be rough. Yes, your job is a huge, rewarding part of your life, but it’s just one part of your life. Make sure it doesn’t get in the way of the relationships and experiences that add color and passion to life. Find people, causes and hobbies to love. You’ll be a happier and more interesting, creative person and professional.

Deirdre Reid, CAE is a freelance writer who worked at the National Association of Home Builders and the California Building Industry Association. 
http://deirdrereid.com

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Advice for Emerging Professionals

Like many of you who may be reading this post I fell into association management. My career started when I was 22 years old and I was lucky enough to be hired by an association executive who was also a wonderful mentor.  I have learned a lot of lessons and here are my top five hints for those of you who are embarking on this awesome career journey.

1. Learn about the history of associations.

This seems like “just a job,” and in some respects it is. Meetings, phone calls, emails can lead you to believe that associations are just another “company.” However, they aren’t. Associations have a long and unique history within the political system in the United States.  They are the embodiment of our rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. We have a long, legal tradition underpinning our activities.  Our ability to influence the political system for both good and bad is immense. I am proud to have taken part as a bit player in the bigger game called “democracy.”

2. Do not take your eye off of societal changes.

Due to pressed budgets, small staffs and challenges within the specific industries or professions we represent it is extremely easy to become myopic and to take our gaze off of the larger society that we function within. This type of intense focus on our internal realities can help us mobilize and get things done, but it can also blind us to larger opportunities that are on the horizon for our members. Changes in science, technology, values and even pop culture are continual and our adaptation to these new modalities is one of the most important keys to our longevity and success.

3. Use the “royal we.”

The best piece of advice I ever got was, “Stop saying ‘I think…’”  The intent wasn’t to get me to stop thinking for myself, but to get me to embrace the fact that my job wasn’t about “me,” it was about “us.”  Changing my thinking from being “an individual actor” to “a part of the collective” was critical in my professional development.  It changed everything about how I talk, to how I think about the system as a whole and what it will and will not respond to. I still say, “I think…” but I’m very strategic about it.  When I use the term, “I think…” I always end with, “what do you think?” or “does that resonate with you, am I off base?”

4. Stuff envelopes.

Never, ever pass up an opportunity to do something mind-deadening and soul-crushing. Over my career I tried to never say no.  Jumping from a low level director position, directly into the executives chair should not be your goal.  Your goal should be to do everything you possibly can in every department someone will let you into. The crappiest data entry, newsletter production, running 5,000 individual invitations off of a laser printer (yeah, I don’t really recommend that one – thank GOD we had some fans in the office to prevent it from bursting into flames), whatever crazy task comes your way.  The reason is, when you are the executive you know exactly how long it takes to stuff 5,000 envelopes.  Not only will it help you allocate tasks, and push back to the board when they start overloading your staff, it will also help you recognize stellar staff performance. (You will also know when someone is goldbricking because you KNOW some task shouldn’t have taken that long.)

5. We are all emerging professionals.

This is a real profession.  It is a unique and fascinating environment. However, the learning never stops. I still consider myself an emerging professional even after all of these years. I am continually learning from my peers and honing my craft. This, like the “legal practice” or “medical practice,” is a practice. I can learn as much from someone who has only been in this profession for two years as someone who has been around for twenty-five. Get your certifications – CAE, CMM, CMP, IOM (whichever ones apply to you) and establish yourself as a player.  But then don’t stop playing. There is exciting stuff just around the corner every single day.  Emerge and keep emerging.  We are all in this together.

Shelly Alcorn, CAE is obsessed with the idea that associations can make a significant difference in the world around us. Her consulting is focused on removing barriers, increasing participation and doing things that matter. She blogs at Association Subculture and is the host for the Association Forecast Show. She also travels and speaks on how things in our everyday lives, like video games and popular culture - impact our ability to lead in the workplace. These ain't your grandma's keynotes. Just sayin....