What makes a professional promotable?

This was the question I posed to more than a dozen association colleagues.  Their answers, as well as insights drawn from the literature and my own experience, can be found in the May issue of ASAE's Associations Now magazine.

The online version includes a short video clip in which I offer additional thoughts beyond the article content and an online exclusive article offering advice from 11 association professionals on how to become promotable.

WWIF #12: What If We Declared a Terminology Truce?

I believe deeply in the power of language.  I believe language is imbued with meaning and a few simple words can inspire action and commitment.  And I believe that words do have consequences.

That said, I find myself tiring of the periodic word wars waged to debate whether strategic planning is dead, visioning is worthwhile, or relevance is a sufficient goal.  The people waging these conversations have good intentions and raise important questions about the meaning behind some of the words.

But often these battles lead us to merely create new words, substituting one term for another, and adding more litter to the jargon wasteland that already invokes mass sighing at team meetings.  And while every new term introduced might let a consultant write a new book or deliver a new speech, it doesn't necessarily deliver comparable benefits to those leading organizations.

What if we declared a terminology truce?  Can we quit trading terms and acknowledge that any successful organization needs at least the following?

• A meaningful reason for existing (purpose or mission)
• A clear sense of organizational identity (brand or core values)
• A challenging future result worth creating (BHAG or vision)
• Programs and services of increasing value to stakeholders (innovation)
• Steps for achieving the desired results (strategy or plan)
• A framework for leveraging resources in pursuit of the results (operational plan) 

This is why we exist.  This is who we are.  This is what we want to create.  This is the value we'll deliver.  This is how we will challenge the status quo.  This is how we will do our work.  Isn't that the essence of organization?

And some terms involved in this process have become distorted over time through misuse.  Take vision for an example.  I understand that the mere mention of a vision might cause eye-rolling in some groups, yet any organization must determine where it wants to be at some point in the future and craft a picture of what those results look like. 

The fact that some people have a bad connotation with the word vision doesn't mean we should substitute a new word for an act that is important.  What it suggests perhaps is that we talk about why people react that way to the word, what experiences they have had that make them resistant or cynical about the value of a vision, what role a vision could and should play in shaping results, and how they would use vision to be a positive tool.

The words themselves are not the problem.  The meaning (or in so many cases, lack of meaning) behind them is what we need to address.  So let's spend less time talking about terms and more time making meaningful choices that move our organizations forward.  Call it whatever you want.  The basics have to be in place.

Recent Writing Round-Up

Need some good airplane or rainy day reading?  Here's a roundup of my recently published articles.  Most are quick reads (2-3 pages long) balancing practical pointers and enduring concepts.  A few are links to the web site where the article still appears.  Others are PDF downloads as noted.

In May, watch for my new article in Associations Now focusing on "The Promotable Professional." It explores what association executives look for when promoting individuals to positions of greater responsibility.  I'll also have an article in ASAE's Consultants Connection newsletter entitled "Beware of Routines Becoming Ruts."  It offers some quick tips on making your presentations and workshops more interesting and engaging.

And I'm always happy to be hired to write articles for publications or serve as a guest blogger.  Just contact me to discuss how I could be of support with your knowledge-exchange efforts.

7 Ways to Hone Your Presentation Skills (PDF)

An article highlighting an easy-to-apply process for designing more powerful workshops and presentations.

Break Out of the Silo Mentality

Learn about the mindset and processes required to make collaborative efforts more successful in an organization.

Learner Engagement: 5 Critical Elements for Designing Simulations that Work (PDF)

Nothing can replace on-the-job learning, but simulations come pretty close.  Designing them requires thoughtful attention to the elements highlighted in this article.

How to Turn Experts into Great Teachers (PDF)

Comman of content doesn't always transfer into terrific teaching.  This article offers suggestions on how you can coach and support subject mater experts presenting at your conferences.

The Value of Who You Are, Not Just What You Do

A brand is more than just the products and services it offers, it's a trusted identity with which others identify.

Refreshing Your Competitive Advantage

Any efforts can get stake over time and require some simple refreshing to keep them appealing.  Here are a few approaches to consider when doing so.

PCMA Convene Magazine: Leading Learning Articles
I write a monthly column for the Professional Convention Management Association's flagship publication focusing on leading learning.  A few recent articles are:

Making a Logical Leap 
Using design thinking and abductive logic to revamp a conference.

In Love with Lists
Making better lists can lead to making a better meeting.

Rules of Engagement
How to intentionally make your conference more engaging for more participants.

Three Mistakes to Avoid When Introducing Change

When attempting to facilitate change, we often make three common mistakes:

We limit our appeal to one side of the brain: left (analytical) or right (intuition and emotion).  Our stories about the future we envision must incorporate sufficient facts and emotional and aspirational appeal to connect with individuals who have a strong predisposition to one way of processing information.

We don't sufficiently help individuals see the specific benefits and implications the change holds for them … yes, the old WIIFM. Because we are already mentally invested in this new way of being/doing, we forget how much information others may need to transition from the way things are to the way we want them to be.

We too quickly dismiss concerns others raise as irrational or irrelevant.  "Oh that really won't be a problem."  Even if factually we are correct, our response comes across as defensive and unyielding to concerns others see as being valid.  Better to gather more information about people's questions and respond more thoughtfully.

Avoiding these common pitfalls won't guarantee success, but they'll definitely help move you in that direction.

WWIF #11: Pay What You Can

Many performing arts groups have found success attracting new audiences by offering "pay what you can" performances.  A select number of dates are provided when tickets can be purchased in this manner.

The band Radiohead's offered a well-publicized "pay what you want" pricing strategy for individuals downloading their new album.  Paste Magazine's made a limited time offer for new subscribers to do so at whatever amount they wish to pay.  Many museums have long had "suggested donations" for admission.

What if associations offered "pay what you can" opportunities for a professional development program ... conference, webinar, or other initiative?

Such an approach might most effectively be used when:

• You want to attract a specific audience to an event they otherwise probably would not attend. While younger professionals might immediately come to mind, this really could be any desirable but under-represented audience for a specific program.
• You're offering a new program and are unsure of the level of interest it might generate.  Make it easy for people to say yes to your experiment when the value proposition is a bit uncertain.
• You're locked into a conference or webinar that is struggling to attract a critical mass.

A fair amount of research suggests customers have a greater psychological commitment to something they purchase versus receive for free, even if the cost is nominal.

To minimize your financial exposure you could place a few limits on your offer:

• Art groups often use the offer during previews vs. the main run.
• Cap the number of pay what you can registrations.
• Specify use by only individuals who haven't previously registered for a similar event so you aren't cannibalizing your core audience.

And finally, I'd make it clear what the normal costs are for registration, and perhaps over time, the average fee people opt to pay.  Both provide benchmarks that might help people pay more for the value they receive.

Note:  Wednesday What If is a weekly feature applying the "what if" mindset associated with abductive reasoning or logic in an effort to stretch our thinking about what is desirable and very frequently, quite doable.

Being a Macro-Manager

You hear a lot of people complain about being micro-managed, about having a supervisor who too closely scrutinizes their work and who offers such prescriptive direction there is no room for individual judgment.

What we don't hear enough about are people who macro-manage.  These individuals help their colleagues:

• See how their work is connected to the organization's long-term strategy.
• Connect today's efforts to tomorrow's results.
• Understand the purpose and intention behind actions, imbuing them with more meaning and relevance.
• Expand their awareness of external trends and opportunities with implications for their efforts.
• Think more critically about their efforts and make better decisions.
• Challenge themselves to better leverage their strengths and grow their capabilities.
• Envision alternatives when their thinking becomes too limiting.
• Have greater patience and persistence when immediate satisfaction is not possible.

If you supervise others, these are some of the greatest gifts you can give to your colleagues. 

Have you prepared yourself to do so?

Glimpses of Gratitude

I knew she genuinely appreciated the pro bono project I had just completed for her.  And at the end of our meeting she even said as much.

But I heard in her voice and I saw in her eyes that she had already moved on to her next appointment.  Thanking me was an item to be checked off, a task to be completed.

And so the moment felt hollow.  The words were generous and appreciative, but there was little genuine attention coupled with the intention.

As we try to do more and at a faster pace, too often we are forgetting the human elements of individual moments, turning interpersonal interactions into impersonal transactions.  Moments that should foster warmth and connection instead feel perfunctory and distant.

You can choose to make it otherwise.

WWIF #10 The Need for a New Prescription

What if we quit expecting all board members to be visionary?

I've been in a few conversations recently where staff members were deeply lamenting the perceived lack of vision from their boards.  Comments include:

• They just get themselves lost in the weeds too much.
• They are so analytical that everything has to be backed up by data.
• They don't seem to have any real interest in thinking about the distant future.
• They seem driven be details

Volumes have been written about different governance models, so I'm not going to rehash those ideas or their implications for visionary boards here. 

Certainly some individuals are predisposed to the more right-brain, intuitive, and creative thinking we associate with visionary ideas.  And certainly some groups seem to more quickly display the trust and conversational capacity that produce innovative insights to challenging situations.  And though we should try to engage individuals who possess these innate gifts into board service, the likely reality is that our volunteer leaders visionary capacity will always vary widely.

So instead of lamenting what we don't have, let's spend more time thinking about the "prescriptions" that each individual needs (and the board or committee in its entirety) to produce more visionary thinking with 20-20 clarity.  Let's quit complaining about people using their natural gifts and figure out how to manage around their shortcomings (ala Gallup thinking) by using processes that effectively utilize their analytical powers to produce more visionary results.  Here are a few easy-to-apply possibilities:

• Expose individuals to alternative thinking through field trips to more visionary efforts.  Seeing a hard to believe idea in action is very different than talking about it in the abstract.
• Expand individuals' sense of what's possible through shared examples from articles and research.
• When individuals speak at a micro level, invite them to connect their comment to a more macro concept; i.e., "Bob, what's the broader concept behind the specific idea you shared?"  or "Susan, could you connect your thought to one of our strategic goals and comment on how it applies?"  If you think of this is terms of an outline, when someone speak at the level of a capital letter, invite them to jump up and/or connect their thinking to the Roman numeral, etc.
• Use scenario thinking to engage individuals in thoughtful consideration of alternative futures.
• Help reframe and rephrase strategic questions posed with restrictive or narrow language into a form that invites more expansive thinking.
• Present visionary ideas with more details so individuals can see strong connections between the ideas, the needs they address, the tactics their implementation will require, and the results they should achieve.
• Discuss the topic of visionary thinking with your volunteer leaders, how they see their own capabilities in relation to it, and what support they could use to help produce more innovative results.

These suggestions are not ground-breaking, nor do they need to be.  What's important is that we deal with the reality that we have in front of us.  More becomes possible if you let go of the assumption that every board member ... or even a board as an entity ... will be by default, visionary.

Note:  Wednesday What If is a weekly feature applying the "what if" mindset associated with abductive reasoning or logic in an effort to stretch our thinking about what is desirable and very frequently, quite doable.

Things Feel Different in the Passenger Seat

When you're the driver, you've got control of the wheel and know not only where we're going, but each decision you're making along the way. 

In the passenger seat things feel different. I don't have the same sense of control and comfort with our speed, direction, degree of the turns, etc.  I can't prepare for your sudden veer left or rapid acceleration because I don't know they are coming.  As a result, I might feel nauseous.

What's true in the car is also true for a change initiative.

Let's say you're driving change (and are driven to get results quickly).  You know the route, have your hand on the gear shift, and are making all the decisions about accelerating and braking, so you feel like things are moving along according to plan.  But it doesn't look or feel quite that same way to others who are along for the ride.

Just because people might be hesitant about a change doesn't mean they are ultimately resistant to it.  Be careful you don't confuse the two.  We may already be queasy enough as it is.

WWIF #9: Deals Done Right?

Given that Groupon is quite the rage among some folks right now, I wonder what potential the business model might have for associations, particularly as a possible sponsor benefit.  Groupon essentially offers deals or discounts from businesses only if a minimum participation threshold is met.  Here's how Groupon describes the way it works:

1. Each day we feature something cool to do at an unbeatable price.
2. You only get it if enough people join that day… so invite your friends!
3. Check back the next day for another awesome Groupon!

What if associations created an equivalent of Groupon for their members, either as an exclusive sponsor benefit or a standard benefit for companies becoming a business partner/associate member?  While a daily discount may not be possible depending on your number of business partners or sponsors, perhaps a weekly special offering?  Or maybe a daily offering occurs in the weeks preceding or following the big event(s) for which you've recruited sponsors.

• Members could opt-in to receive the special offers, so that's a nice benefit for businesses who don't want to be spamming an association's members with unsolicited advertisements. 
• The limited time nature of the offerings could create a bit of buzz; i.e., people Tweeting and talking about that great offer from ABC this week.
• Limiting the deal/discount to a time only when sufficient member participation is met is a low-risk way for business partners to test your market.
• It could appeal to business partners that might not sell their products or services the same way the majority of your associate members do, opening up a new value pipeline for them.

You can learn more about the benefits Groupon believes it offers to businesses here.

Remaining Grounded

How should I handle people in a meeting or workshop who aren't paying attention?

This is one of the questions most frequently posed when I am teaching facilitation skills.

Whether you lead staff meetings or facilitate workshops, you constantly select (often unconsciously) what you attend to, on what and where you direct your focus.

Just remember that when we bring any behavior or person into the foreground, we choose to pay less or no attention to what we have assigned the background.

Shift your focus—trade background and the foreground—and the question of what to do shifts as well:  How can I maintain and enhance the level of interest and attention the majority of participants currently display?

Both questions are ones you may choose to consider and answer … just remember you do have a choice.

Detours and Dead Ends

My neighborhood is at the edge of a four-lane city road, a one-way street heading west that is a major feeder directly into downtown.  Earlier this week the road was closed for construction and drivers were detoured to the south.

At the next available intersection where you could turn to head downtown, drivers found the road also closed and they were detoured further to the south.

And at this next intersection you would find yourself dead-ended, unable to head straight any further, and forced to turn on to a one-way road heading east ... out of the city.

So hundreds of cars daily that want to go east are detoured multiple times to a road where they can only go west.  No signage directs you to another eastbound road: just generic detour signs and traffic cones blocking your path.

If this isn't a metaphor for bad organizational change efforts, I don't know what is.

People have a path they have learned over time that gets them to where they need to go, that gets their work accomplished.  Change is introduced, the path is closed, and individuals are asked to take a detour.  Insufficient direction is given, workarounds are also closed off, and ultimately they have to go backwards in order to get to where they want to go and they're unsure how long it will take to get there.

If you're trying to bring about change, make sure the detour you force others to take doesn't end up being a dead end.