Is the real question, what will drive intentional, mission-focused impact? As opposed to, say, what makes exceptional associations? It certainly seems so, according to a series of facilitated association community dialogues convened by the ASAE Research Foundation.

Once upon a time—as in, last summer—the research foundation and a diverse group of association community members embarked on an iterative process of surfacing mindsets, qualities, capacities, and practices that will make associations effective and even exceptional. The work, launched as World Café-style dialogues, was hosted in Chicago and Washington, DC, last June and September, respectively. Two subsequent virtual town halls, on December 11 and 18, brought the total participation so far to about 200 people.

Each discussion lent important perspectives toward the foundation’s organizational-effectiveness research objectives, in this case under the banner of the 7 Measures of Success initiative, led by a task force of the same name and foundation staff.

The June and September dialogues, summarized in two white papers, progressed from a 7 Measures-framed discussion of requirements for contemporary leadership and organizational capacities to a deeper dive into crucial factors participants believed will be linked to the success of exceptional associations.

The town halls layered sharpened perspectives onto the work that had been done. Importantly, they underscored the concept of positive impact that was there all along: The work should be less focused on what makes excellence and more zeroed in on what will enable leaders and their organizations to contribute positive change to the world and people’s lives.

December Dialogues

Through the two facilitated town halls, association community members contributed a wide range of observations. Here are five of the many more shared in the space of about three hours total:

• Encouraging association leaders to embrace innovation is not enough. How can we frame the admonition so that we get somewhere? This means being comfortable with navigating ambiguity, finding solutions together, and zeroing in on value creation and the discipline required to achieve it.
• Be member-informed and mission-focused. Yes, member perspectives are important, as is membership. However, creating true value demands steering clear of nonstrategic discussions to use capacity to design experiences that mitigate pain points before they happen. Positive impact, effectiveness, and efficiency will call on associations to be focused on their goals and to avoid sprawl.
• Effective governance falls short—we need a much higher level of performance from association boards. Those statements have big implications for board composition, skills, diversity of perspectives, and the knowledge and courage to make tough decisions. As one participant put it, there are myriad examples of broken governance getting in the way of what we need to do. Speed is a factor as well—as another noted, moving at the speed of association is a death sentence.
• Measure mission impact. Many associations are great at measuring activity, less good at measuring outcomes. The only way to know that progress is being made, however, is through measurement of impact, which is much harder but essential.
• Champion credible, trusted industry knowledge. Less-than-credible sources of information, distrust in institutions, and AI present new complexities for associations to unpack and navigate. Nevertheless, the position of trusted curator of industry knowledge is a strategic imperative worth protecting and enhancing.

What’s Next?

The excerpts shared here, in prior articles, and in the white papers associated with the foundation’s initiative are but a thimbleful of the great insights shared so far. Through the task force leading the initiative, the insights are being used to shape a performance framework that can be applied in guiding foundation research and resources.

The form that the continuing work will take will be made clear early in 2025. In the meantime, this much is sure:

• The initiative’s outgrowths will encompass not only what association leaders need to know, consider, and practice but tools for doing what it takes.
• Foundation leaders are intent on building solutions-oriented community cohorts to pool their thinking about the challenges associations must address.

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