In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, observed each year from September 15 through October 15, we’re highlighting the vital contributions and voices of the Hispanic and Latino communities within associations and beyond.

Now more than ever, association leaders and their boards need to lean into discussions that focus on impact on the profession and industry. This is especially true for professional societies that do not have large government affairs and advocacy budgets, staff, or expertise. We have seen the renewed threats to nonprofits, elimination of grant funding, decimation of government agencies, dismantling of institutions, rejection of DEI and Inclusivity (as well as good basic science), tariff threats, and geopolitics that impact every single industry regardless of any political orientation.

The Promising Hack

It is time that our professional societies start talking about impacts to professions and industries vs. “members.” I believe the simple hack of swapping “member” for “industry” or “profession” can help our boards and staff think about the bigger picture and make Bolder, better decisions. We want our boards to be fit for purpose, strategic, and engaged in foresight, so why not support this by changing some of the words we use? Take for example the following conversations, common among boards and staff executives:

• How will this program, resource, event, or strategy impact our members?
• What do our members want in events, resources, and educational programming?
• How will we engage our members in taking advantage of all we have to offer?
• Is our strategic plan still relevant for our members/association?

You get the idea. My advice is that we start changing (or adding) questions, such as:

• How will XX impact our industry/profession?
• What does the profession/industry need from events, resources, and educational Programming?
• How will we engage the profession/industry in taking advantage of all we have to offer?
• Is our strategy still relevant or helping advance the profession/industry? (Deliberately stating strategy and not the strategic plan, which is often too long and too tactical, leaving little room for agility and innovation)?

The Benefit

It seems like a small thing to swap the word “member” for “industry” and/or “profession,” but I have found it allows boards and staff to expand their thinking. It goes beyond an individual benefit or situation, providing a larger context.

During a recent conversation with board members from the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM), I posed the question about impact of certification on the profession vs. the member, and it shifted the focus to a broader, bigger question about the value of certification, the future of access management, and its role in the larger healthcare revenue landscape. Discussion and deliberation are still ongoing for NAHAM, but it prompted the board to think about this one program in a wider, future context. While serving as executive director for Lamaze International, I recall often asking the board to consider the childbirth educator “profession” not just the childbirth educator member. It helped them think about expanding their position in the maternal health community and led to new approaches to educational offerings. The same approach works when communicating with members. Consider individuals who join for benefits but may not have visibility into the larger issues impacting their livelihood or industry, notwithstanding the excellent work of advocacy, marketing, and communications teams.

We know our members in the professions we represent are diverse in every conceivable sense: work, setting, geography, tenure, job function, etc., so referencing their larger industry may connect them to a wider community, give them confidence to advocate for their profession and engage more with the association. Many years ago, as a card-carrying member working at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), I often mentioned to colleagues that the biggest member benefit was having the association advocate for the profession. It’s not the most visible, not the sexiest or even readily consumable member benefit—but, I argued, it is the most important. I know many of us do not have robust government affairs teams or advocacy dollars, but that should not stop us from helping our boards and members connect the dots about the future of our work. This is not a novel concept, given the association’s roots are grounded in the guilds of the Middle Ages.

I invite my colleagues to try this simple change and see how it can shift your deliberations and decisions. I posit that it will open possibilities and galvanize association boards and members to envision the future, while embracing the innovation and experimentation that supports viability and growth for their professions. I will be curious, so reach out and let me know how it’s going.