Surprising habits of today's highly effective leaders
Forbes
If you were to rewrite the seven habits of highly effective leaders today, what would you say? As social business becomes more important and social media more pervasive, leaders need to adapt. In fact, leaders need to learn fast about what motivates large ecosystems of free agents to rally to them, not to their competitors.More

The emergence of social learning
Avectra
Our brains are sieves. We forget most of what we hear during a lecture, panel or webinar — the traditional association learning experiences. Research indicates that when we are actively engaged in our learning, such as participating in a discussion, we remember 70 percent of the content after 14 days. When only reading, we retain just 10 percent, and when only listening we retain 20 percent. But how many opportunities do members have to actively engage in education? Thanks to social learning, more than ever before.More

Webinars in 2012 – where are they going?
SocialFish
Webinars gained popularity in the early 1990's, when their primary purpose was to provide access to subject matter experts, hear a lecture and have opportunities to ask questions. However, with such rapid progression in social media and collaborative learning, the webinar curriculum is in transition. Here are some essential modifications to accommodate the changes in 2012.More

How associations use private social networks to impact legislation and regulations
Socious
Not all associations can afford to influence a candidate's "Super PAC." In the age of social networking, many membership and advocacy organizations are utilizing the grassroots nature of their private social networks to consolidate ideas, focus their voice and mobilize disparate groups. Here are nine ways that trade and professionals associations can use online communities to positively impact their legislative agenda.More

Tweeting for dollars
ASAE
Most of us know or have heard of associations that use tools like Facebook or Twitter to promote conferences or other products and services, thereby increasing their sales. But reports of associations creating net income directly from these tools have largely proven illusory.More

America's education problem
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business School's Bill George has argued that in the coming decades, leading firms will require "substantial cadres of leaders capable of operating effectively anywhere in the world." Unfortunately, one major stumbling block to producing these kinds of cosmopolitan, creative leaders — the leaders we need to compete in the world — is our public education system.More

16 ways blogging can enhance your nonprofit career
Rosetta Thurman
Now that social media has fully infiltrated the hallowed halls of the nonprofit sector, blogging has finally started to be seen as more than a fun hobby for moms and college students. We now know that blogging is a useful professional tool for learning, networking, job-seeking, personal branding and thought leadership. And what many are finding is that the more strategic one is with blogging, the more it benefits the career.More