How We Help

Leading Associations is a highly experienced association management and leadership consultancy that focuses on providing impact to our clients where they need it most.  Fortunately, we are experts in diagnosing situations and building consensus toward organizational advances.

Strategic Planning

Whether a complete Strategic Plan or a strategic lens, Leading Associations helps organizations move toward purposeful development and success.

Periodic Updates

Organizations are well served to take time to identify progress toward strategic goals and assess if a given area should remain a strategic goal and why.  Our system allows for efficient strategic plan assessment, progress tracking, and updating.

Planning & Facilitation

Whether an annual Board kickoff or retreat, Leading Associations will expertly help you prepare and facilitate the retreat to fulfill the desired outcomes.

Leading Associations Partner Services

Let Leading Associations provide you with the connections you need to industry-leading experts.  From market and member research to the many subdisciplines in organizational leadership and management, we partner with that expert to provide our clients with the high-end, ad hoc services they need

Executive Search

Depending on your organizational needs, Leading Associations will expertly manage the full executive search and placement process or utilize one of our HR partner groups.  One size does-not-fit all in association executive search and differs from other industries, so our experience in this area leads to higher success and retention rates.

Stakeholder & Market Research

Leading Associations allows research-driven data to replace opinion and often answer long terms questions to help you better guide your organization.

Bylaw & Policy Review

We make updating bylaws and policies much easier and efficient.

Association Leadership & Development

Association Management

Leading Associations offers comprehensive association management services to a very select few organizations.  Please contact us if you would like us to consider a management relationship.

Staff Assessment & Training

Transition Services

Interim Executive Director

If you are a board member thinking of taking this on – stop.  This is one of the most complicated roles in professional association management.  Our interim executives are experts in association management and, equally important, deploying this expertise in a dynamic and often challenging environment.

Organizational Shut-down

We start with a consultation to help you explore an organizational shutdown and other options.  For some organizations, we offer guidance to the staff or board on achieving a successful shutdown and avoiding the inherent potential pitfalls.  Most organizations ask us to fully manage the “wind up” process.

Board Development

For well-functioning boards with planned turnover as well as challenged boards, Professional Development helps clarify expectations for success and increases board members’ sense of satisfaction.

Training

Great boards do not just happen.  Leading Associations provides Board Training for onboarding, ongoing professional development, and meeting facilitation – solution-oriented sessions helping organizations work through complicated or challenging topics.

Conflict Reduction

Often clouded in symptoms, identifying and addressing conflict should not be avoided.  Coming from stuck to some sense of unified progress is possible

Meeting Facilitation

Executive directors and board chairs often need to focus on participating in a meeting rather than running a meeting.  From meeting goal development to ensure specific outcomes and agenda design to reporting results, Leading Associations is expert in helping staff, committees, and boards achieve comprehensive outcomes.


Board Health Assessment

The Nationally recognized Board Health Assessment is a board evaluation tool focusing on four primary areas of board effectiveness and helps board members clarify areas of strength and challenge – and helps you make choices toward improvement.

Leading Associations helps at each step on the journey to Association Excellence

Leading Associations and its board development arm, World-Class Boards, provide a variety of board development programs and support resources, as well as leadership coaching and governance consulting.

Governance Review
Do you have an unwieldy governance structure? Is your board focused on operations rather than strategy? Is your board size getting in the way of effective decision-making? Is it hard for your organization to be nimble and market responsive? Are board members selected based on “doing their time” or geographic representation vs. competency, mindsets or skillsets? Have your bylaws remained virtually unchanged for decades even though your election process or volunteer structure no longer serve the organization well?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, we can help. Leading Associations We’ll help you identify more effective structures, processes and approaches to align your governance process to organizational needs.

Conflict Reduction
In short, unhealthy board conflict is the single biggest obstacle to board productivity and strategic leadership. When board members can’t play nicely in the sandbox together, meetings and discussions get derailed, and more time may be devoted to damage control than getting things done. We help boards eliminate or at least mitigate destructive conflict, difficult board member behavior, or – on the more extreme end – navigate real or potential legal and ethical challenges.
Strategic Leadership
One of the biggest strategy mistakes boards make is to confuse having a strategic plan with “being strategic.” Often boards execute strategy as just another operational exercise, engaging in the “doing” rather than “directing” and/or confusing process improvement with strategy. Leading Associations not only helps boards establish a strategic direction, but become strategic leaders.
World Class Boards Training
World Class Boards offers unique, real-world-scenario based board development programs. We not only deliver powerful content, but great Theater. In addition to a board development plan, you’ll develop a Personal Road Map for board member success, which individualizes the experience. What you gain is personal and practical, not general or theoretical. Board members leave energized and enthusiastic about becoming the best board they can be.
With our strategic focus, Leading Associations will help your organization identify what the next level is, and help you get there. We provide a range of leadership and management services including full-service association management – where we serve as the permanent headquarters office and staff for your organization – to temporarily serving as your interim executive, including executive search services to support your transition.
Full Service Management
We’ll be your association headquarters. With Leading Associations’ expertise in management, the board can focus on strategic direction, rather than tactical issues. We have the infrastructure, staffing and expertise to begin immediately executing the board’s vision.
Interim Executive
When the chief executive departs either expectedly or unexpectedly, the board can lose productivity if it doesn’t hire an interim executive. Without help, Board leaders must take on the role of managing staff and overseeing operations even though, as volunteers, they already have a “day job.” Board members quickly burn out and the staff isn’t clear who their boss is. Leading Associations lets the board just be the board. We oversee day-to-day operations, managing staff and keeping business on track while a new executive is sought.
Executive Search
With Leading Associations you can get the full package of interim leadership and an executive search expert to ensure a seamless transition. We’ll focus on the day-to-day operations and keep the hiring process moving so the board can focus on selecting the best person to lead the organization long-term.
Strategic Planning
We are a strategy-driven and strategy-driving company. Beyond our strategic planning and execution expertise, Leading Associations is an industry thought leader in the area of strategic leadership. It’s what we’re all about.
Leading Associations is experienced in helping organizations establish and implement strategic vision. With a wide variety of specialty consulting services, we assist association leaders to:

 

  • Create their aspirational culture
  • Bring organization vision to life
  • Lead through strategic conversation
  • Maintain consistent focus at the strategic level
  • Influence and reinforce alignment of staff and volunteers with the board’s direction
Strategic Plan Implementation

Organizations may have a strategic plan, but lack a strategic culture. Strategic execution requires a leadership mindset, framework and conversations that drive aligned action. We can help you build a leadership culture that drives strategic execution.

Organizational Effectiveness Studies
From time-to-time organizations should assess – how are we operating in comparison to our peers? How are we operating against industry best practices? Do we have the right individuals and teams in place at the staff and volunteer level? Are we maximizing our resources? We can help you find the answers.
Organizational Development
If you need to re-examine staff roles and responsibilities due to changing industry needs, new programs and services or a new strategic direction, we can help you better align your human resources to best serve your constituency and fulfill your mission.
Program / Service Development
Have a great idea for a new product, program or service but don’t have the internal bandwidth to develop it? We can help.