Transparency is the new leadership imperative
Harvard Business Review
What kind of leaders do we need today? Steve Jobs — mysterious, charismatic, intriguing — is often cited as one of the recent greats, and there are clearly benefits to his style. A recent study showed that leaders like him — those perceived as having an almost magical aura — are seen as visionary. But that kind of leadership also has its limitations.More

The future of planning for the future
ASAE
When it comes to preparing an association for the future, few tools are relied on more than strategic planning. But is this time-tested exercise still as valuable as it once was? After all, many of the internal operations of well-managed associations have evolved in ways that senior executives couldn't have imagined 15 or 20 years ago.More

The 'Association Spring' — time for provocative change
Affiniscape Blog
Associations are losing their ability to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, not because of a lack of innovation and creative capacity, but through a wholesale adoption of language and management techniques more suited to the purely corporate goal of product production, not experience creation. Shelly Alcorn says it's time for an "Association Spring," where we look at shaking the status quo to allow the organizations and members to have the freedom to continue to exist and prosper.More

An association success story: Earlier registration and booming membership
Meeting Change
The American Institute of Steel Construction has an annual conference that has been very successful over the past few years, but has caused exhibitor angst because of late registration. This year, they are projecting a 5-10 percent growth in attendees, but, they were able to significantly increase how early people registered by having registration fees increase by $10 per week.More

Is volunteering worth it? The economics of generosity
The Huffington Post
Independent Sector recently released its 2011 estimate for the value of an hour of volunteering — $21.79. It is a number used widely in the field to estimate the scope and impact of volunteering in our communities, but not everyone agrees we should be reducing the hope, inspiration and goodwill of volunteering into dollar and cents.More

5 simple ideas for supporting young nonprofit professionals at work
Rosetta Thurman
Even though we know that Millennials want to be supported in the workplace, most nonprofits seem to view professional development as a burden on their already limited resources. But what if we began to re-frame the conversation about nonprofit leadership development? Yes, it's an essential part of cultivating a new generation of leaders, but it doesn't have to cost a ton of money. Here are a few strategies that nonprofits can implement to support their younger staff.More

Socialytics: How they work and how they work for you
Avectra
One of the four pillars of Avectra's Social CRM, the A-Score, measures the engagement level of your members, prospects and donors to enable you to make smarter and more informed decisions. With the A-Score, you rank the activities and attributes that are valuable to your own organization.More