Q: My association has just experienced unplanned turnover at the volunteer leadership level, how do we get back on track?

A: Having turmoil at the top can often spell trouble for an association. Reach out to some seasoned veterans, such as past presidents, to see if they can assist in your stabilization efforts. If there are other longstanding or senior members, enlist their help as well. Once you have stabilized the organization, I would recommend a two-pronged strategy to get things moving in the right direction once again: set up a strategic planning session and follow it up with a board training session.

In the face of instability, a solid foundation is necessary to build back. That foundation is your association’s strategic plan. Even if the plan was just recently updated, in order to quickly overcome any lingering turmoil from the abrupt leadership change, a collective planning session can be very helpful in getting all board members and key leaders back on track. After a well-facilitated session, the association objectives should be clear to all remaining leaders, and it will give them clarity on the steps they should take to move the organization forward. Having a board training session close on the heels of the strategic session will reinforce the strategic objectives as well provide a framework to the board within which to operate as they are trained on the organization’s policies and procedures and their legal and ethical obligations. This combination of training sessions will resolve any lingering issues related to the unplanned turnover and focus the board’s attention on the future, rather than any recent unpleasantness in the past. Keep the board focused on their obligations to the association and the association’s strategic plan and you can navigate your organization out of the choppy waters into smoother seas!

Bradley Pryba, Esq. is Senior Vice President of Kellen, responsible for strategic planning and Board training. To contact Brad directly, BPryba@kellencompany.com.