Succession planning is most effective when it starts before a transition is on the horizon. This article outlines four practical foundations that strengthen continuity and reduce risk, from leadership commitment and clear documentation to performance management and professional development. Download the full article for more detail, or reach out to learn about our executive search practice and succession readiness support.
The nonprofit labour market is shifting, and organizations are entering 2026 with new challenges in hiring, compensation, and employee retention. Our new whitepaper, The 2026 Nonprofit Workforce Outlook: What Employers and Employees Need to Know, highlights essential...
Anyone in association leadership knows that reliable, capable, and engaged staff can distinguish between success and failure. Attracting and retaining top talent has become a critical focus—and a significant challenge—for many associations as they navigate the...
Four principles to support your association in 2024 to incorporate increased agility.
The sheer volume, complexity and diversity of issues association directors and executives must understand and address today is dizzying. In our current uncertain and complex environment, where should associations focus their time, effort and resources in order to...
What will the world look like in six months? Twelve months? Two Years? Scenario planning helps associations, nonprofits and other organizations strategize in an environment shaped by uncertainty and where different outcomes are possible.
Leading Your Association Over Uncharted Territory Association executives and directors have been hearing for years now that change is coming. Membership apathy and decline. Decreasing revenues. Industry consolidation. Competition for education, other programs and...
The Associations 2025 Summit is coming up next week! http://bit.ly/1MnbCmG It is a collaboration between The Portage Group, CSAE and a group of inspiring leaders from associations and businesses across Canada. Together in a fun and interactive format, we will explore...
While attending a board meeting recently, I heard the President of an association Board of Directors comment, ”remember, I won’t be here after June.” It struck me that there must be so much time spent not only training and integrating new board members, but also a...
I think associations of the future will be markedly different from today. A number of changes are coming (or have already started happening), but here are three of the bigger shifts I think we will see over the course of the next several years:
By Alan Ward We don’t know our limits until we push past them.
Is this true? It sounds like it could be true. If you asked me, though, if I knew my limits my automatic thinking answer would be “Yeah, pretty well.” I more or less know what I can and cannot do. Ergo, I probably know my limits.
My deeper thinking process, however, would question that conclusion. All I really know is what I have done, what I have done well or not so well, and what I stay away from doing. I know my experience, but not my limits.
As leaders and contributors, we want to make things happen. We need to make things happen. On our watch revenues should be ramping, membership should be growing, and our organization’s influence should be expanding. We develop strategy, equip the ship, and set sail. And things go well… until perhaps they don’t. Then, it seems, we have more questions than answers…
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