Author: Association Activision, LLC.

On this day in 2022, a single sheet of paper sold at Sotheby’s for $882,000. It wasn’t gilded, painted, or bound in leather — it was Charles Darwin’s handwritten defense of his theory of evolution, penned in 1865.

One page.
One idea.
And the courage to stand by it.

Darwin’s theory of evolution changed not only science but how humanity understood itself — a transformation built on observation, reflection, and relentless questioning. What’s striking is not just the science but the posture: the willingness to challenge the status quo with evidence, integrity, and conviction.

For associations and nonprofits, this anniversary isn’t about biology; it’s about evolution as a mindset. Every organization that endures must evolve, not by accident, but by design. Like Darwin, association leaders must:

1. Observe the environment with clarity. What trends, technologies, or member behaviors signal that adaptation is necessary?
2. Gather evidence before acting. Strategic foresight isn’t prediction; it’s informed preparation.
3. Defend innovation with integrity. Bold ideas invite skepticism — your role is to engage it thoughtfully, not retreat from it.
4. Embrace discomfort as part of growth. Evolution is rarely smooth. It’s the friction between what was and what must be that shapes the future.

That sheet of paper reminds us that transformative ideas often start small — a paragraph, a conversation, a question no one else was willing to ask.

As we approach the New Year, may we carry Darwin’s courage into our own organizational journeys. Let’s not just sustain our associations; let’s evolve them — thoughtfully, boldly, and with purpose.

— Michael Butera
Association Activision | Helping Associations Shape What’s Next

For many association leaders, December can feel like a finish line — budgets closing, reports due, and calendars overflowing with end-of-year tasks. But it’s also one of the most strategic times of the year. Not because of what we finish, but because of what we prepare to begin.

In the rush to wrap up, too many organizations miss an opportunity to look ahead with purpose. December is when we should pause long enough to ask the questions that shape what comes next:

• What have we learned this year that should change how we lead?
• What assumptions are we carrying into the New Year that no longer serve us?
• What emerging trends, technologies, or member expectations are signaling it’s time to adapt?

This reflection is not about rewriting your strategic plan — it’s about reawakening strategic capacity. Strong associations use December not just to review results, but to recalibrate direction, realign priorities, and refresh the team’s shared sense of purpose.

As you prepare for the year ahead:

1. Revisit your “why.” Mission drift happens quietly; clarity requires attention.
2. Assess your capacities. What strengths carried you forward this year? Where must you invest to grow next?
3. Engage your leadership. A brief but intentional year-end dialogue with your board or staff can turn resolution into momentum.

The journey toward a stronger, more adaptive organization doesn’t begin on January 1 — it starts in the decisions and reflections we make in December or earlier the previous year.

Before you step into the New Year, take time to prepare, listen, and plan ahead. The future isn’t waiting; it’s inviting us to lead.

— Michael Butera
Association Activision | Helping Associations Shape What’s Next

#ASAE #StrategicCapacity #Innovation #Leadership #AssociationFutures #ShapeWhatsNext

Even as we move forward into December, the lessons of November’s gratitude stay with us. Here’s a reflection that continues to shape strong leadership.

Every November, as we gather around tables filled with family, friends, and traditions, we’re invited to pause. Thanksgiving isn’t only a day of gratitude; it’s a reminder that appreciation itself can be a strategy — one that strengthens relationships, sustains teams, and shapes organizational culture.

In the world of associations, where people are the greatest asset, gratitude is more than good manners — it’s good leadership. Expressing genuine thanks builds trust across volunteer boards, staff teams, and member communities. It reaffirms shared purpose and reminds us that our work is about more than goals or outcomes; it’s about contribution, belonging, and meaning.

When boards thank staff for their innovation, when executives thank members for their engagement, and when colleagues thank each other for their perseverance, we create an ecosystem of respect and reciprocity. Those simple acknowledgments become the connective tissue of culture — the invisible structure that holds mission-driven organizations together during times of disruption or fatigue.

This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to make gratitude visible.

• Write one handwritten note to someone whose work made your leadership possible this year.
• Acknowledge effort as much as outcome.
• Say thank you publicly in board meetings, newsletters, or events — not for show, but to model the culture you want to sustain.

Strategic capacity begins with human capacity — and gratitude is one of its most renewable resources.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with reflection, appreciation, and renewed purpose.

— Michael Butera
Association Activision | Helping Associations Shape What’s Next

#ASAE #StrategicCapacity #Innovation #Leadership #AssociationFutures #ShapeWhatsNext

We began this series with a stark truth: association governance is not keeping pace with the demands of our time. We conclude with a hopeful one: it can.

What We Have Learned

• Governance must shift from oversight to foresight.
• Director education is a fiduciary duty, not an option.
• Boards must confront adaptive challenges, not hide behind technical fixes.
• The Seven Strategic Capacities provide a framework for embedding strength into governance.

Taken together, these are not incremental improvements; they are a reimagining of governance itself.

The Courage to Act

Courage is the essential ingredient. It takes courage for directors to admit when they are unprepared and commit to learning. It takes courage for boards to challenge orthodoxies, ask difficult questions, and confront inconvenient truths. It takes courage to pivot from what is comfortable to what is necessary.

The Future of Association Boards Report has issued the challenge. Adaptive Leadership offers the methodology. Strategic Capacity provides the framework. The only missing element is our will to act.

Call to Action

Do not leave this series as words on a screen. Bring one insight into your next board meeting. Propose one experiment. Commit to one step of director education. Begin building foresight into your agenda.

Governance renewal is not a project with a finish line. It is a practice of becoming—an ongoing effort to ensure associations are not only relevant but indispensable in shaping the future.

Notes and Citations (for all posts)

• Future of Association Boards Report: Jeff De Cagna, Foresight First LLC, 2025.
• Adaptive Leadership: Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Harvard Business Press, 2009.

Strategic Capacity: Michael Butera, forthcoming

If boards are to become engines of foresight and adaptation, they must embed the Seven Strategic Capacities into their practice. These capacities are not abstract ideals; they are practical levers that determine whether governance builds or erodes organizational strength. It is not the Board’s responsibility to do the job of the executive. It is the Board’s responsibility to empower the executive and recognize the resources made available to advance the organization’s mission. Boards are too often dangerously involved in day-to-day operational planning and activities that are the responsibility of the executive.

The Seven Strategic Capacities

1. Curiosity – asking better questions, resisting complacency.
2. Integrity – aligning actions with stated values, ensuring transparency.
3. Foresight – planning for multiple futures, not just extrapolating trends.
4. Talent – developing leadership pipelines and honoring volunteers, including themselves.
5. Technology – adopting policies that advance mission with a human touch.
6. Resources – building financial resilience beyond immediate needs.
7. Program Delivery – focusing on impact, member value, and innovation.

What This Means for Boards

Boards must design their work around these areas:

• Curiosity becomes a cultural expectation in discussions.
• Integrity is measured not only by compliance but by equity and fairness.
• Foresight is baked into agendas and retreats.
• Talent development is seen as a broad responsibility, not just for the staff.
• Technology is reviewed for alignment with values and mission.
• Resources are managed with both prudence and ambition.
• Program delivery is evaluated for impact, not activity alone.

Call to Action

Audit your Board’s recent work. Which of these capacities are present? Which are missing? Then identify one concrete step your Board can take to strengthen capacity in the year ahead.

The traditional model of governance assumes that authority solves problems: electing the right directors, appointingor electing the right officers, and sound judgment will follow. But authority alone is no longer enough.

Adaptive Challenges vs. Technical Problems

Boards frequently misdiagnose adaptive challenges as technical ones. A declining membership base is not just a marketing issue—it may be a sign of shifting generational, member, and stakeholder expectations. A budget shortfall is not just about expense management—it may reflect outdated value propositions.

Technical problems have clear solutions. Adaptive challenges require experimentation, collaboration, and learning. Adaptive Leadership teaches us that leaders must distinguish between the two and resist the urge to apply technical fixes to adaptive problems.Every issue does not have a technological answer. Humanity is more important.

The Director’s New Role

Directors must learn to:

• Frame issues accurately. Is this technical or adaptive?
• Create space for experimentation. Not every solution must be perfect the first time.
• Hold competing perspectives in tension. Governance is about navigating paradoxes, not eliminating them.
• Model courage. Directors must be willing to call out brutal truths, even at personal or political risk.

This requires a cultural shift. Directors are not merely decision-makers; they are conveners of adaptive work.

Call to Action

At your next board meeting, pick one issue and ask: Is this really a technical problem, or are we facing an adaptive challenge? Then discuss what experiments or conversations would help move you forward.

We entrust association boards with guiding organizations through turbulent times, yet we too often send directors into that work unprepared. Unlike corporate boards, where director education is usuallyassumed, nonprofit associations still treat it as an afterthought or a reward for long-term membership.

This must change.

Education as Fiduciary Duty

Serving on a board is not simply a volunteer commitment; it is a fiduciary responsibility. Directors cannot discharge their duty of care if they do not understand governance principles, ethical obligations, and the strategic context in which their organization operates.

Education, then, is not courtesy. It is a necessity. And it must be ongoing.

The Current Reality

Many directors begin their service with enthusiasm but without preparation. They know their profession or industry well but are unfamiliar with nonprofit governance, legal duties, or adaptive leadership. They are then asked to make decisions with far-reaching implications.

The result? Boards that default to rubber-stamping staff recommendations, revisiting old debates, or focusing on minutiae and endless reports.

What Effective Education Looks Like

A robust director’s education program should include:

• Comprehensive orientation that covers governance principles, strategic priorities, and fiduciary duties.
• Continuing education in foresight, adaptive leadership, and systems thinking.
• Peer learning through retreats, facilitated dialogues, and case studies.
• Assessment and feedbackenable directors to understand where they are growing and where they need development.

This is not about creating experts in every field. It is about ensuring directors have the shared language, skills, and mindset to govern effectively.

Call to Action

Put the director’s education on your next board agenda. Ask: What is our responsibility to one another—and to our members—to ensure we are learning continuously as directors? Then commit resources to make it happen. Education is not optional. It is essential.

Governance is not static. It is a living practice that either expands or constrains an association’s ability to thrive. For too long, boards have equated their role with oversight—reviewing budgets, monitoring compliance, approving policies. Important, yes, but insufficient.

The boards of tomorrow must move beyond oversight into foresight. Their purpose is not merely to watch over the past but to equip the organization with the capacity to navigate the future.

The Oversight Trap

Oversight is safe. It is tangible, measurable, and bound by documents and deadlines. But it can also lull boards into a false sense of accomplishment.

When directors spend most of their energy reviewing reports, they are often reacting to history rather than shaping tomorrow. Worse, they risk micromanaging staff or obsessing over tactical details. In doing so, they fail to cultivate the one thing the association most needs from them: strategic capacity.

What Foresight Demands

Foresight is more demanding than oversight. It requires:

• Curiosity to ask questions others avoid.
• Scenario planning to explore multiple possible futures.
• Systems thinking to recognize patterns rather than isolated issues.
• Courage to confront uncomfortable realities and resist easy answers.

The Future of Association Boards Report makes clear that governance must shift from a rear-view orientation to a forward-looking discipline. Adaptive Leadership reinforces this: authenticLeadership mobilizes people to tackle tough challenges, not simply manage the predictable.

Capacity as the New Currency

In my framework of Strategic Capacity, boards are measured not by the neatness of their minutes but by the resilience of their organization. Capacity is the currency of the future.

Boards build capacity when they:

• Invest in talent and leadership pipelines.
• Prioritize technology with a human touch.
• Secure resources not just for survival but for innovation.
• Create space on agendas for long-range deliberation.

These are not optional luxuries. They are fiduciary imperatives in a world where disruption is constant.

Call to Action

Ask your board a straightforward question: Are we spending more time looking backward than forward? If the answer is yes, it’s time to reorient governance. Begin by dedicating part of every meeting to foresight—exploring trends, testing scenarios, and building strategic capacity.

From Routine to Renewal: Why Our Boards Must Evolve Now

Governance is the linchpin of association vitality. Yet too often, boards operate on outdated assumptions, constrained by habits that no longer serve today’s complex and brittle environment. The Future of Association Boards Report has made it clear: the governance models of yesterday cannot address the nonlinear challenges of today.

This series will explore how associations can dramatically improve governance and director education. It will weave together the research and recommendations of the FAB Report (De Cagna, 2025), my work on Adaptive Leadership, and the seven Strategic Capacities for Association Success.

This is not simply about tightening procedures; it is about cultivating foresight, equipping directors with the courage and competence to ensure governance becomes a strategic asset rather than a compliance exercise.

I wish more Directors were open to professional development. They make the job of their executive more difficult by refusing to accept that they, too, must evolve in today’s environment.

Call to Action: As you read this series, I invite you to reflect not only on the structures you serve within but also on the habits of thought and leadership you bring to the boardroom. Change begins with you.

Credits: Much of the series is adapted from:

• Future of Association Boards Report: Jeff De Cagna, Foresight First LLC, 2025.
• Adaptive Leadership: Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Harvard Business Press, 2009.
• Strategic Capacity: Michael Butera, forthcoming Seven Strategic Capacities for Association Success.

“The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.”

Alfred North Whitehead

Legacy associations are rich with history, tradition, and identity. But those assets can quickly become liabilities when they prevent change. Reinvention is not optional—it’s a core leadership responsibility.

Still, many fear that change will erase what makes them special. The truth is, you can evolve without erasing your essence.

The Tension Between Legacy and Innovation

Reinvention often triggers internal resistance. Long-time members may see change as betrayal. Boards may fear reputational damage. But avoiding change out of fear creates a different risk: irrelevance.

Leaders must balance the continuity of their mission with the adaptation of their methods. The past informs the future—it doesn’t dictate it.

Reinvention Requires Strategy and Storytelling

Successful pivots rest on three pillars:

1. Purpose Clarity – Know what your association stands for, even if the “how” must change.
2. Stakeholder Engagement – Involve members, partners, and staff in the conversation from the outset.
3. Transparent Narrative – Tell the story of change—why it’s happening, what will stay, and what will evolve.

Reinvention with integrity is about inviting people to build the future together.

Embracing the Long View

Reinvention isn’t a single event—it’s a continuous capacity. Associations that survive the next decade will be those that develop muscles for reinvention, grounded in values, purpose, and guided by strategic foresight.

Legacy isn’t the opposite of innovation—it can be the foundation of it.

Key Takeaways

• Reinvention is a long-term strategy, not a last-ditch effort.
• Associations can evolve without abandoning their mission or members.
• Transparency, trust, and storytelling are essential to the reinvention journey.
• Leading with integrity builds bridges between the past and future.

CODA-Series Wrap-Up

Disruption isn’t going away—but neither is your mission. Associations that build adaptive capacity, rethink leadership roles, plan for change, govern emerging technologies, and stay deeply attuned to member needs will thrive in the age of disruption.

Your next step? Lead from the edge.

BLOG – Part 6 of 6 – Reinvention with Integrity – Guiding Legacy Associations Through Strategic Pivots