Nothing this year is quite like ever before – even the weather in Chicago. “The Windy City” did live up to its name, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour, but temperatures were unseasonably warm, hitting over 60 degrees. And they were welcomed by all the association friends attending the 2021 Association Forum Holiday Showcase.
It was so good to be at the opening reception on Monday evening, with the room filled with association professionals smiling, bumping fists and rubbing elbows. You could tell there was some pent-up excitement, as the room was literally buzzing with chatter as people laughed, talked and networked together like it was the first time they’d seen each other in two years. (Oh, wait. It was two years ago!) For more than two hours people politely and cautiously swarmed each other, wearing masks and sporting their red, yellow and green dots on name badges indicating their personal comfort level in connecting. It was a new way of networking, but we were reunited at last, and it felt so good.
I attended the Association Unplugged breakfast early on Tuesday morning with about 40 other association CEOs. It was simply an opportunity for each to share what was on their minds. What successes have they seen? What’s been keeping them up at night? I’d thought I’d share some of those thoughts with you.
Overwhelmingly, everyone agreed the joy of people being together and people leaning into learning and helping each other at the CEO Summit the day before was probably the single greatest takeaway. There was quite a bit of discussion on the difficult issue of bringing staff back to the office: When’s the right time? Or, is this a permanent shift? How do you get face-to-face time and yet balance that with quality of life for employees?
I was impressed by the empathy and concern expressed by all these leaders for their people. Some even discussed implementing a mandatory remote policy as a potential option. Others expressed concern that many wanted and enjoyed having an office to go to during the day. One comment that hit home for me is that we should care less about where and when our employees work, but instead, focus on and demand productivity, profitability and innovation. This obviously is an ongoing conversation that won’t be solved easily or soon.
We discussed the fact that this is a societal change – meaning as organizations, our business models need to change. If you weren’t already, you had to shift to be a digital organization very quickly. As CEOs, we should be the ones to decide what the future holds for our organizations. We set the course for the future, rather than reacting tactically to trends.
Selfishly, I was excited that our morning ended with the conversation landing on research. Quantitative and qualitative research of not just employees, but all stakeholders. And specifically, attitudinal research. Uncovering insights, thoughts and feelings that allow us to understand and connect with our members at a much deeper level. Having this connection and appreciation is key for the future success of all associations. Without it, we’re leading as CEOs with blinders on.
Sharing the insights gleaned from the last two years of our attitudinal segmentation studies is exciting. And it’s always eye opening for all those who review the data. We’ve published it and made it available for all to all to see We’re excited to launch our 2022 attitudinal research study and would love to have you take part in it, too. Get answers, collect insights — and arm yourself with data that can help you to make an impact in your organization! Sign up today and you’ll be able to help us craft this year’s survey!
