Cynthia D’Amour taught association executives at ASAE’s 2012 Great Ideas Conference how to lead beyond, “That’s not how we do things!”

Using association examples as well as lessons learned from her fitness journey, Cynthia taught participants a simple, three-part model they could use to manage change.

• Attendees discussed the strategies shared for each part of the model.
• They explored together apply it to a specific change challenge they currently faced.
• Issues included working with volunteers as well as staff.
• By the end of Cynthia’s program, everyone walked out with a simple action plan to help solve their personal challenge.

According to ASAE feedback, here’s what some of the participants said about Cynthia’s program:

“Loved Cynthia’s use of storytelling and she weaved it through her presentation and related it to the content. She understands her audience and provided great content.”

“Practical information that can be implemented right away.”

“Cynthia is a master presenter that provides a good mix of energy and storytelling!”

If your association struggles getting beyond “that’s not how we do things” Cynthia may be able to help you too!

This time he’s written a manifesto on what to do about public schools in America.

If you have kids, are a teacher, employ others or have a school in your community you need to read it. 

You can download a free copy here.

(I love how Seth released his manifesto in a variety of formats to meet readers where they are.)

For those of us in the association world, there is a lot of application as well…

Seth talks about tapping passion to inspire learning.

Some the questions that immediately pop in my mind for the association world are:

• Is your association pursuing a passionate vision?
• Are your members passionate about this vision? Do they even know it?
• Do your volunteer leaders know how to paint the picture of possibility to your members?
• When a member goes to your website, do they burst with pride? Feel more committed? Actively step up?
• Do your communications light fires or launch naps?

I’m looking forward to continue playing with Seth’s ideas and how they apply to the world of associations.

If you check out the manifesto and want to talk more, let me know – the conversation could be fascinating!

It makes me wonder a few things about your association…

1. What kind of action could your association take to create an equally loud public response?

• Do you regularly analyze the impact of the decisions your board makes?
• Before taking the vote?

2. Cheering is happening in social media outlets as Komen’s components distance themselves. 

• How do you keep your components in the loop when decisions are made that may impact them?
• If you are taking a strong stand for unpopular change, what price are you willing to pay?

3. I am a member of Zeta Tau Alpha – a long time supporter of Komen’s Race for the Cure. The Zeta Facebook page is alive with members wanting to know (right now) what the leaders of the fraternity are doing? Will Zeta’s take a stand as well? If yes, what will it be?

• Do the organizations you have a relationship with give you a heads up before making major changes public so you can plan your potential response to member concerns?
• Are you prepared for a rush of concerned members who may passionately flex their social media muscles when wanting to hear from you?
• How would you handle members forming protest groups on platforms like Facebook to demand their voice is heard?

(To the credit of the Zeta Tau Alpha staff, they are communicating with members on the Facebook page and encouraging them to share their opinions directly with leadership through a provided email address.)

Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision and the aftermath is a fascinating case study to learn from.

There are a ton more potential issues at play here than what I listed above.

What other questions and issues should associations consider based on what you are seeing and experiencing?

This August, I spoke at the ASAE 2011 Annual meeting in St. Louis.

As a speaker for one of the learning labs, I taught association executives and staff how to embrace their Lazy Leaders to create a surplus of volunteers.

They learned:

• The difference between Lazy Leaders vs. martyr leaders
• How to potential volunteer hot buttons
• How to look at opportunities in ways today’s volunteers want to help out.

The program was based on my book, The Lazy Leader’s Guide to Outrageous Results and the work I often share at association leadership conferences.

I just got an email from ASAE staff telling me my learning lab was the HIGHEST RANKED for the meeting!

This is a huge honor as many of the speakers who shared their wisdom at ASAE St. Louis are leading content experts.

Some of the comments my program generated from the association executives and staff included:

• Cynthia did a wonderful job. She provided examples, take aways and was interactive with her audience.
• Cynthia was awesome!  She kept everyone engaged, presented a serious topic in a humorous fashion, and gave good reference material follow-ups.
• Loved that Cynthia had relevant content, didn’t speak from slides, and engaged the audience!
• Provided very practical tools, a dynamic speaker, and great format with working examples.
• Cynthia was fantastic.  I wish the session was longer.

As I said, it’s very fun news!