Features

• Cover Story: How New CEOs Can Win a Board's Trust
  By: Tim Ebner
  For a first-time association executive, getting to know the board can be a daunting prospect. How can a freshly minted CEO win the confidence of the organization’s volunteer leaders while establishing a foothold on the top job? Here’s how a few first-time CEOs navigated this experience, achieving long-lasting trust and collaborative relationships with their boards.
• The Path to a More Strategic Board
  By: Mark Athitakis
  Board members often come to their first meeting in need of help in building their strategic thinking skills. Firm guidance from the CEO can cultivate a focus on the long-term big picture and guide board members out of the operational weeds. But be prepared: This shift takes time and patience.
• Sharpen Your Board Management Skills
  By: Allison Torres Burtka
  To manage a board of directors well, every CEO needs core skills that cover everything from setting strategy to facilitating conversation. They take practice to develop—and it may take some reflection to identify the ones that require sharpening.

Departments

The A-List

• Comings and Goings: January-February 2019
  A roundup of new hires and other personnel moves in the association industry.
• An Association Helps Make Better Homes for Wounded Veterans
  By: Maria Mihalik
  Stone features donated and installed by members of the National Stone Institute add beauty to houses built for wounded veterans. 
• Ask the CEO: Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors
  Samuel Aubrey, MPA, RCE, chief executive officer of the Winston Salem Regional Association of Realtors, answers questions from member Ferrell Clay.
• Training Program Helps Counselors Support LGBTQ Youth
  By: Maria Mihalik
  A training program offered by the American Counseling Association is helping ACA members better understand the experiences and special mental health needs of LGBTQ youth. The program was honored with a Summit Award in ASAE’s 2018 Power Awards program
  

Leadership

• 3 Lessons: Focus on the Details
  Lani Burnett never misses a detail—or a challenge.

Money & Business

• 5 Lobbying Compliance Tips for 2019
  By: Jim Kahl and Jeff Altman
  Are you gearing up for your lobbying activities in the 116th Congress? Be sure to run down this checklist before you get started.
• Associations USA: New Jersey
  Associations are everywhere. Here's a snapshot from the Garden State.
• Get Executive Compensation Right
  The rules for executive compensation at tax-exempt organizations are complex. H. David Wright, chief strategy officer at Triscend, shares advice structuring packages that work for the executive and the association.
• A Revenue-Producing Newsletter Strategy
  By: Emily Bratcher
  How Associated Builders and Contractors found a new revenue stream in a content strategy based on personalization and simplification.
• Safe Rides Program Promotes Reasonable Consumption
  More than 60 Maryland breweries, distilleries, and wineries partnered with Lyft to offer visitors safe rides home.

Technology

• Take Your Association Podcast to the Next Level
  Associations are experimenting with podcasts and developing techniques that make it a popular medium to engage members.
• Secrets of Online Engagement
  Successful online communities have the right people, technology, and strategies in place to spark member engagement, says Marjorie Anderson, founder of Community by Association and manager of digital communities at the Project Management Institute.
• I Can't Live Without My...SignUpGenius
  Using a simple tool called SignUpGenius, association leaders can create an online form that makes it easier for volunteers to lend a helping hand.

Membership

• A Better Way to Onboard Student Members
  By: Tim Ebner
  If you want to keep and retain students as long-term members, start by listening and engaging early into the membership experience.
• Data Nugget: For Member Renewals, Does a Carrot or Stick Work Best?
  Before members click “renew,” most associations send a series of reminders weeks or months in advance. But how do you add urgency to that call-to-action message? Some associations offer incentives for early renewals, while some tack on penalties for late signups.
• Building a Feedback Loop for Members
  By: Tim Ebner
  There are several data sources that tell associations a lot about their members. But do you share what you learn in a feedback loop.
  

Meetings

• Destination: Memphis
  Memphis combines accessibility and a downtown convention center with rock ‘n’ roll history.
• The Challenges of Event Data
  By: Samantha Whitehorne
  A new study shows that a flood of event data is both an opportunity and a struggle for association event planners.
  

Brain Power

• How I Got Here: Ushma Suvarnakar
  Ushma Suvarnakar, director of meetings and events at the National Automatic Merchandising Association, shares a look at her career journey so far.
• Career Coach: Position Yourself for a Promotion
  Career advice from certified executive coach Cheryl Palmer on what to do now to get promoted in the next year.
• Books: The Fearless Organization; The Mind of the Leader; Leadership in Turbulent Times
  By: Kristin Clarke, CAE
  Three books look at creating psychologically safe workplaces, building a leadership pipeline centered on mindfulness, and how presidential leadership has affected the lives of every American.
  

ASAE @ Work

• ASAE Advocates Hit the Hill
  By: Nate Fisher
  On American Associations Day in March, association professionals take their message to Congress and spread the word about the critical role associations play in our democracy.