Leadership, the AMC Way

I believe the foundation for leadership is passion – passionate enough to take action and do the right thing, taking the tough road or performing the hard task. In our roles as AMC owners and/or principals, opportunities abound to demonstrate our leadership. A few examples that come to mind are:

•    Investing the time and resources to become an accredited association management company (AMC) and meeting or exceeding the accreditation standards.

•    Informing a client Board that the manner in which the organization is being governed needs to change (with the changes you recommend based on other client successes or your AMC’s experience) or it will lead to their demise.

 •    Teaching the critical thinking skills and/or providing the analytical tools to our client Boards so they can make the best decisions possible.

•    Counseling a member of your staff that his/her performance isn’t meeting your nor the client’s expectations and review with them a written document that outlines where performance is lacking and a specific plan as to how her/his performance must change (with support from the firm and supervisors) and the consequences if her/his performance does not improve.

•    Guiding a client staff team member on how to pitch an idea to a difficult or disengaged volunteer leader and do it in a way with the greatest chance of success/implementation.

•    Building highly efficient and effective client staff teams by strengthening their ability to work well together and support one another.

There are an abundance of alternatives in each of the above cases, as there are in the daily operating of an AMC – one of which is to do nothing and hope our concerns are ill-founded or that we are wrong. When we choose to do nothing, that shows a lack of leadership or willingness to demonstrate it. I believe the majority of the AMC community is comprised of individuals who are passionate about their clients’ success, are skilled association executives, are excellent staff leaders and client advocates, and are committed to their clients’ future initiatives and successes in addition to their ongoing operations.

The AMC model allows us to showcase our leadership abilities – AMCs provide unique insights into opportunities, trends, and solutions that give the client associations they work with a competitive advantage. I encourage you to take advantage of that opportunity each and every day!

 

Sincerely,

Dede Gish-Panjada, MBA
AMP Management Services
Immediate Past Chair, AMC Institute