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.

Strong and sustainable leadership isn’t a matter of luck or having just the right chemistry within your team. It is cultivated with intention, nurtured by creating pathways for impactful mentorship, follow-through, and listening with an ear for both action and empathy. Reflecting on the state of nonprofit and association leadership, our dialogue is mired in operational uncertainty, but there is also an undercurrent of hope for how we can envision a different future.

While challenges to funding and even missions abound, it’s critical for association leaders to know that they are still driving the bus. There are still threads and signals within your team that can keep you connected and moving forward.

In a recent ASAE poll, over 91 percent of leaders cited burnout as one of their top concerns in retaining talent and maintaining productivity across the enterprise. The concern is justified; but when we look at the continuum of real-world drivers pushing this trend, we know that it is no longer enough for an organization to say they are flexible with hours, or to exercise what we now see as a basic need for decency and psychological safety at work. Where do leaders need to invest, and where will all those hard choices have a lasting return?

The Skill Most Undervalued by Employers

When we reached out to both early and mid-career professionals and asked what skills they feel organizations undervalue, a clear trend emerged. “Emotional intelligence, empathy, adaptation,” said Abigail Bayer, CAE. “These skills carry over to creating positive member experience with every part of an association, from applying for membership to in-person events, and adapting easily to changes in technology and staying up to date on new resources.”

Emotional intelligence and empathy are core to fostering resilience and maintaining a course of direction through tumultuous times. When we prioritize empathy in hiring and professional development investments in opportunities that strengthen emotional intelligence, we change the game.

For every action, there is an impact. When senior leaders operate from a reactive, short-term perspective that keeps organizations afloat, they isolate themselves. Reaching out to peers — voices within the organization who are on the front line — and seeking counsel is a hallmark of effective leadership. When an individual possesses this quality, the only sustainable investment is to pass it on.

Mentorship: An Investment in EQ and Empathy

Listening to lead isn’t about a town hall or structured communications that foster transparency. It’s about giving your time, one-on-one, to build connections and amplify the impact of your mission. Mentorship protocols within organizations often manifest in blind lunch pairings or process-oriented guidance from another team member as part of onboarding. While these can be tools for introduction, they are not the same as systemic investment in emotional intelligence.

Mentors and mentees truly connect in spaces where perspectives can be shared and questions asked. Relying on conferences and workshops alone isn't enough. Having mentorship in the organization is an employee benefit. These professional development situations take individuals at every level of an organization and put them in an unfamiliar setting where they are only connected to others by their interests and challenges at work.

Even within an organization and through structured programs, the relationship between mentors and mentees is not limited to a standard “check-in.” There is no agenda for how things are going, though projects and challenges may arise. It’s about authentically exchanging your own experience and discomfort — and always keeping an ear open for opportunities that open doors for others.

Asked how his mentor impacted him, Justin Reyes, CAE, regional director at ProVisors, said, “[My mentor] helped me put situations into perspective and encouraged me to step up and show up in spaces where my voice mattered. He instilled confidence and kindled my leadership potential, which allowed me to execute with greater presence and impact in key areas such as membership recruitment, retention, volunteer management, and executive presence.”

There is no workaround: Empathy can only be exercised when you are challenged to give of yourself in a way that draws on your past experience. When we exercise empathy sufficiently and prioritize opportunities that foster emotional intelligence, we amplify the signals and create the pathways that keep relationships moving forward. It is not fast work, but it is necessary work — because the only long-term cure for burnout is hope and a vision for the future. In the words of Michael Pereira, CDMP, CAE, marketing manager at the School Nutrition Association, “I believe associations should embrace more widely: courage in speaking up, lifting others, and building spaces where everyone feels represented.”