When two associations—the National Stone Association and the National Aggregates Association—merged to form the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, the organization gave little focus to governance. The governing documents of the two associations were merged to create NSSGA's initial bylaws, with a heavy emphasis on ensuring that only members with "decision-making authority" for their respective companies were involved in association leadership.

Those bylaws remained untouched for years, and over time they hindered our ability to recruit new members and increase engagement and participation of our membership. When I came to NSSGA four years ago, my job as president and CEO was to ensure that we were effectively advocating for our members. Our bylaws, though, stood in the way, so we created and implemented a new strategic plan to revitalize the organization's governance structure, which ultimately serves our members and the industry better.

For years, the way that the board of directors was set up and functioned was unclear. NSSGA's primary job was advocacy, but our ability to create a national grassroots network was limited. Without ways to stay involved, members of our active young leaders group faded away once they turned 40. We also realized that many members of our board were not fully engaged and motivated to achieve broad strategic goals, instead fixating on short-term issues.

It became clear that NSSGA's governance structure was not aligned to execute against our strategic goals and objectives. To solve this problem, we launched an effort to capitalize on our assets and address our deficiencies in achieving the goals we set for ourselves. This took time and resources, but in a relatively brief period, we made major improvements to our board structure, reenergized our leadership, and built a pathway for younger generations to stay involved.

Having specific topic-based committees with targeted subcommittees allows us to engage volunteers who would not have otherwise had a chance to get involved in national association leadership.

As we progressed, we addressed some fundamental flaws in our governance structure to broaden the scope of our board of directors, so that we could involve more than just company CEOs. A past chairman created the Board Evolution Initiative Task Force, which was charged with building a governance structure that could ensure NSSGA would thrive in an ever-changing business climate, while harnessing the expertise of our industry's most senior leaders.

The command-and-control function is now in the hands of our executive committee, including our officers (chair, vice chairs, treasurer, secretary, etc.). This 22-member group represents the various functions and activities of the individual NSSGA departments and interacts with the board committees. The larger board is now more clearly focused on recruitment, activation, and participation.

The leadership is further broken down into issue-focused committees, like communications, education, government affairs, and membership. Having specific topic-based committees with targeted subcommittees allows us to engage volunteers who would not have otherwise had a chance to get involved in national association leadership.

To keep young leaders involved throughout their career, we created a clear pathway for them to get involved in ways that capitalized on their skills and expertise. A young leader was placed on each standing committee, and the chair and immediate past chair of the young leaders group serve as voting members of the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee, which recommends individuals for board membership.

A year after implementing these changes, we've reenergized our executives and brought new leaders into active roles in our association. We see that the business of the association is being conducted more quickly. Our meetings and education committee members have helped us select speakers for upcoming events, and the members on our safety and health subcommittee are focused on preparing comments for our primary regulators that seek to improve safety.

Most recently, at our annual convention in March, our board approved a new three-year strategic plan that builds off this new board structure. So while it took a lot of effort to create a new structure, the positive results of realignment have been immediate and tangible. By 2021, we will fully implement all the new bylaws.

If you are concerned that your governance structure may be hindering your association's growth and success, it might help to focus on a realignment effort guided by a strategic plan.