Your Members’ Experience and Future has Always Rested in Your Hands… the Obstacles Keeping You from Supporting Them are Not What You Think

Alarmist rhetoric has been forecasting associations’ demise and dysfunction at least since my foray into the association management profession (i.e., many decades ago). Those of us who have been working in, with, and for associations over this time period find it baffling why some have such an obsessive need portray them through such a “gloom and doom” lens.

The truth is:

Associations – which have been largely misunderstood, mischaracterized, and ignored by society – are on the cusp of facing the most consequential phase of their existence.

The way in which volunteer and staff leaders respond will determine the degree to which these organizations will not only become increasingly effective, but also gain the respect and legitimacy that those involved have so dearly sought from the society-at-large.

To fully understand this future, let’s first focus on what’s been holding us back.

Assumptions Inhibiting Progress
For decades, volunteer and staff leaders have been encouraged to believe a set of assumptions about associations and their members. These concepts have influenced the way in which they have governed and managed their organizations.

Consider two long-standing beliefs that have dominated the association management literature: 

Associations – because of today’s technology – are in danger of becoming irrelevant and obsolete…especially among younger generation members.     
 If true, by now, you’d expect to see the vast number of associations representing professions, trades, and personal avocations to be nearing extinction.

Members – because of today’s fast-paced lifestyles – are too busy to participate.
If true, by now, you’d expect historians and scholars to be chronicling the demise of one of the most consequential social systems in a functioning democracy.

If neither of these distressing outcomes has happened, why have they been able to persist over time?

It’s a mystery!

It could be because everyone who chooses to work in the association management profession must learn the multi-dimensional dynamics and dimensions of the job….on the job. Most everyone who has ever reflected on their professional experience has admitted that, “they didn’t know what they didn’t know…but needed to know” to competently do the job.

Entering into a highly-responsible role with little to no experience in that practice setting has been the norm for more than 50 years. Accepting assumptions without challenging their efficacy is a sure way to keep the profession, as sociologist David Knoke, Ph.D. has found, in scientific immaturity.

According to W. Richard Scott, Ph.D., renowned sociologist in institutional and organization science, most occupations evolve over time; achieving professional status when academic scholars develop an interest in conducting research on key issues.

Their findings – which generally consist of theories, models, concepts, and more – augment the existing body of knowledge in new ways; explaining why and how various aspects of the practice setting operates.How might this affect the way we assess the two earlier assumptions?

Assumptions Facilitating Progress
They just might offer a new and more accurate perspective.

They offer some relief in knowing that assumptions – lacking historical context – need not always be blindly accepted as fact.

Instead, consider what the future might look like if we were to challenge…or suspend them?

Novel research conducted by the Melos Institute is giving us that insight.

Discovering the Distinctive Nature of Associations Representing Professions, Trades, and Personal Avocations
The Institute’s interest in studying associations began in the early 2000s, when James R. Hudson, Ph.D., a sociological scholar, unexpectedly discovered their distinctive nature after conducting a rather novel research project. Instead of using traditional survey research methodologies, he chose to read their published histories.

After reviewing over 400, he recognized some extraordinary patterns and trends.

• Associations representing professions, trades, and personal avocations are distinctive from for-profit and other nonprofit organizations in their purpose, scope, focus, and goals. They exist to generate positive social change and human development; thus need to be viewed and treated as a unique population of organizations.
  
• For most, their mission/purpose is to advance a practice setting, including all that’s associated with its body of knowledge; converting that information into the kinds of knowledge and tools that empowers members – individually and collectively – to build their competencies and capacities.
  
• Members become part of actual albeit portable communities. Most, however, need additional guidance and support from others to successfully assimilate into it as well as secure acceptance from their peers. 
  
• Current management practices – intentionally designed for use in a for-profit setting – are severely limited in their ability to address key functions in associations; thus, have been unintentionally undermining their ability to achieve desired outcomes…particularly in increasing and expanding engagement.
  
• Their success is predicated on adopting management approach that addresses their distinct needs: a) managing an organization and b) developing/nurturing a specially-defined membership community.
  

He, along with me and others, set an applied research agenda to consider what a management model – unique to associations – would look like and how it would need to operate in order to deliver meaningful, purposeful, and transformative experiences to members.

The first task was to give associations meeting the above findings their own identity: membership-based organizations (MBOs).

The next was to examine management practices in a different way. We realized that the existing approach – because its design was intended for us in a for-profit setting – needed to be adjusted to fulfill MBOs’ mission.

Instead of focusing solely on profit, it needed to focus on advancing human development and positive social change on multiple dimensions.

Concluding that management, in essence, is a process, we believed the existing transaction-based dimension could be replaced with something that better aligned with MBOs. After much study, deliberation, and testing, we created a paradigm that replaced the transaction-based focus with one that was relation-centered.

Remarkably, we found the transition merely required making a series of intentional strategic relation-centered adjustments…over time not overnight!

Developing a Deeper Understanding and Appreciation
Thanks to Dr. Hudson’s findings, the Institute’s initial discoveries and pilot testing has helped us understand and appreciate just how consequential MBOs are to shaping the future not just of members and their practice settings, but also of America’s functioning democracy.

That suggests that…

The association management profession is one of the most complex and consequential in America.

The Institute’s effort to further define this approach is in its early stages. Yet, we’ve learned a great deal about its impact on increasing and expanding member engagement. Interestingly, in addition to the pilot tested relation-centered strategies, we’ve discovered many that have been conceptualized by innovative volunteer and staff leaders…spanning from decades ago to the present day. 

For decades, they’ve been hidden in plain sight.

Details about all of this and more can be found in: The Member Engagement Paradox: Overcoming 7 Obstacles to Build and Maintain Thriving Membership Communities.

Why is it important to recognize and adopt this novel approach to association management?

Making Adjustments to Address the Real Looming Threats
It’s time to retire the existing “gloom and doom” assumptions. They have only kept us fearful and have made us feel helpless. They have impeded our ability to consider information specific to MBOs.

By not realizing the value of exploring the integration of theory with practice, we have, unintentionally, kept this profession stuck in scientific immaturity.

This realization has come at one of the most pivotal times MBOs’ history.

While much more needs to be revealed about better and more effective ways to govern and manage MBOs, a much more insidious threat has emerged; one that is not only going to threaten nearly every practice setting in America, but also one that may very well endanger our democracy.

For several years now, a host of external extremist groups have been mobilizing with one goal:

Impose their values and preferences on nearly every practice setting in our society.

Their effectiveness at undermining trust in expertise, faith in institutions, and disregard for the truth has already become real and palpable for those in healthcare, education, library science, criminal and civil justice, and more; leaving many to wonder if democratic norms can or will survive.

The Institute’s findings have proven that MBOs are one of the few social systems in our society that are inherently designed to defeat these efforts. More importantly, they are best positioned to take the lead in doing so.

Dr. Hudson’s initial research initially revealed this rare insight.

The founders recognized that their ability to advance their practice settings could not be achieved by the organization alone. It could only be achieved by inspiring their members to contribute their information, knowledge, experiences, expertise, and connections.

MBOs’ ability to organize, inspire, energize, and mobilize their members to address these threats at all levels of our society requires a deep understanding of member engagement…and community development.

These organizations, collectively, have never had an opportunity like this to fully demonstrate to Americans their inherent role in our society to produce positive social change.

Holding onto current assumptions and the strategies/practices associated with them will limit MBOs’ ability to effectively face and defeat those who seek to undermine freedom and democracy.

Your members and others in their practice settings, if they haven’t already, are going to expect you to respond…and succeed in thwarting these dark efforts.

This is not business as usual. 

This is a moment in our country’s history that we have not experienced in our lifetimes.

Let’s not waste it.

The future of our nation depends on it.

We, at the Melos Institute, are eager to share new and better relation-centered ways that you can adopt to increase and expand member engagement.

And, we invite you to join us on this journey to generate new information, knowledge, and tools!

Learn more by visiting www.melosinstitute.org.

Patricia A. Hudson, MPsSc is the founder and president of the Melos Institute.