Author: Association Activision, LLC.

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 A budget shortfall is not just about expense management—it may reflect outdated value propositions.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

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

General Eric Shinseki

Membership decline doesn’t usually arrive as a dramatic drop—it creeps in quietly, with fewer renewals, weaker engagement, and plateauing growth. Many associations don’t act until they’re at the brink of disaster. But waiting for a crisis is not a strategy.

This blog challenges association leaders to treat membership trends as early signals, not late-stage symptoms—and to respond with insight, not panic.

The Roots of Decline

Decline is often misdiagnosed as a marketing or pricing problem. In reality, it reflects deeper issues:

• Misaligned value proposition
• Generational disengagement
• Competition from more agile communities
• Outdated delivery models

To reverse the decline, you must understand what members needand how those needs are changing.

Strategic Response, Not Tactical Reaction

Common mistakes include over-discounting, over-promising, or launching “flashy” benefits without deeper insight. Instead, associations should:

• Use surveys, interviews, and data to explore unmet needs
• Reevaluate segmentation: Are you treating all members the same?
• Innovate around delivery: digital, micro-memberships, affinity models
• Reaffirm your mission while updating your methods
• Spend time with your members wherethey are professionally, do not assume

Don’t just react—reframe.

From Scarcity to Opportunity

Declining membership isn’t just a problem—it’s a wake-up call. It presents a rare opportunity to reimagine community, deepen engagement, and rebuild loyalty from a place of purpose.

Those who wait to act until numbers collapse may never recover. Those who embrace change early can become more relevant than ever.

Key Takeaways

• Membership decline is an early warning, not a final verdict.
• Strategic response requires insight, courage, and experimentation.
• Listening, personalization, and purpose are the new pillars of engagement.
• Now is the time to adapt—before the cliff arrives.

Coming Next Week: Part 6

Reinvention with Integrity: Guiding Legacy Associations Through Strategic Pivots
Change isn’t just for start-ups. In the final part of our series, we examine how legacy associations can adapt without losing their essence.

AAV BLOG – Part 5 of 6 – Before the Cliff – Responding Strategically to Membership Decline

“The question is not whether intelligent machines can have any ethics, but whether humans can.” Alan Turing

Introduction

AI is no longer a future challenge—it’s a present one. From member data to content generation, associations are already using artificial intelligence. But without clear policies, ethical frameworks, or strategic oversight, these tools risk amplifying bias, breaching privacy, or automating decision-making without accountability.

Boards must take the lead in shaping how, why, and whether AI is used.

What Boards Need to Understand About AI

Artificial intelligence isn’t a single entity, it’s a set of systems that can process vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make informed recommendations,but it doesn’t think for you.

• AI is trained on historical data, which may include embedded biases
• It often lacks transparency—how a decision is made can be opaque
• It can be wrong, especially in unfamiliar or nuanced contexts
• It raises intellectual property, authorship, and liability concerns

The board’s role isn’t technical, it’s ethical and strategic.

Guiding Principles for AI Governance

To govern AI responsibly, boards should establish and uphold core principles:

• Transparency: Understand how AI systems operate and ensure members are informed.
• Fairness: Review how tools are trained and deployed to prevent the perpetuation of bias.
• Accountability: Ensure human oversight remains at the center of decision-making.
• Purpose Alignment: Only use AI where it serves the mission and values of the association.

Boards must ask: Is this tool improving service? Enhancing equity? Protecting our members?

Practical Steps to Take

• Audit the current use of AI or AI-enabled software
• Develop an AI ethics policy and risk assessment framework
• Educate the board and senior leadership about basic AI functions and implications
• Build governance capacity—not just operational speed

Key Takeaways

• AI is already shaping association work and requires responsible oversight.
• Boards must lead on ethics, transparency, and alignment with mission.
• Governing AI is not a technical task—it’s a leadership imperative.
• The time to set your policies is before AI becomes your default.
• Put human decision-making first.

Coming Next Week:

Before the Cliff: Responding Strategically to Membership Decline
Even the most advanced technologies can’t solve a core challenge facing associations: declining membership. In Part 5, we explore how to identify early warning signs—and act before it’s too late.

AAV BLOG – Part 4 of 6 – AI in the Boardroom – Governing Ethically and Strategically in the Age of Algorithms

“Change before you have to.” — Jack Welch

In a world defined by acceleration, the length of executive tenures is shrinking. Many association CEOs now stay in their roles just 4.5 to 7 years. Some depart due to burnout, others are recruited elsewhere, and still more leave when transformation efforts run aground.

Succession is no longer an if—it’s a when. And it’s happening faster than most boards and executives are ready for.

Why Traditional Succession Planning Fails

Legacy succession plans often sit in a drawer, based on outdated assumptions and aimed solely at leadership replacement. They rarely account for:

• Rapid shifts in organizational direction
• Culture and context alignment
• The skills needed for the next chapter—not just the last
• Unplanned, early, or crisis-driven exits

In short, they preserve continuity but don’t promote resilience.

Succession as Strategic Practice

Instead of waiting for transitions, forward-thinking associations treat succession as an ongoing strategy. This includes:

• Talent development at all levels
• Periodic scenario planning around executive continuity
• Intentional interim leadership models
• Documented institutional knowledge and leadership frameworks

Good succession planning starts long before a resignation letter arrives—and continues well after a new hire begins.

The Human Side of Leadership Transition

Transitions are emotionally charged. They can raise anxiety, expose organizational fragility, or reawaken past grievances. A healthy succession plan doesn’t just manage logistics—it attends to culture, morale, and stakeholder communication.

Transparency, clarity, and intention reduce the risk of fragmentation and maximize the potential for renewal.

Key Takeaways

• Executive turnover is accelerating and requires proactive planning.
• Succession should be embedded into the organization’s strategy—not triggered by emergencies.
• Culture, communication, and leadership development are central to successful transitions.
• Every departure is a chance to realign the organization with its future.

Coming Next Week: Part 4

AI in the Boardroom: Governing Ethically and Strategically in the Age of Algorithms
Digital disruption isn’t only about leadership—it’s about how decisions get made. Part 4 explores the emerging responsibility of association boards to govern artificial intelligence.

AAV BLOG – Part 3 of 6 – Accelerated Exits – Succession Planning in the Age of Constant Change

“You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

André Gide

The Executive Director (ED) (CSO) has historically been viewed as the person tasked with maintaining programs, managing staff, and preserving organizational history. But as disruption becomes the norm, that orientation is no longer sufficient. The association executive of the future must not only maintain the house but also be willing to redesign it.

The ED role is shifting from curation to creation—from guardian of stability to architect of transformation in partnership with the Board.

The Old Model: Efficiency and Legacy

In traditional leadership models, roles were established for continuity, encompassing management of operations, maintenance of board relationships, and ensuring compliance. Strategic plans, if strategic at all, served as guideposts for incremental improvement. Innovation was often treated as risky rather than necessary.

That model worked when the pace of change was manageable. But today’s environment is volatile, and continuity without adaptation can quickly turn into stagnation.

The New Mandate: Creativity and Possibility

Modern Executive Directors (EDs) (CSOs) must embrace a broader mandate: not just running the association but actively helping shape its future in collaboration with the Board.

• Asking why and what if, not just how
• Creating space for innovation, experimentation, and iterative learning
• Building coalitions inside and outside the organization
• Modeling agility in the face of complexity and contradiction

In this context, EDs are not just implementers of board decisions; they are critical sense-makers, foresight practitioners, and cultural leaders. To be sure, the Board sets the direction of the association, but EDs must be willing to engage in amore robust partnership with theBoard.

Becoming a Strategic Creator

To succeed in this new context, Executive Directors must shift their internal orientation:

• From managing programs to leading platforms
• From annual reports to living roadmaps
• From consensus-building to possibility-generation

They must also develop new competencies in systems thinking, digital fluency, and adaptive governance.

Board Support Is Non-Negotiable

No ED can transform alone. Boards must evolve alongside executives, transitioning from risk-averse gatekeepers to curious, generative partners. They must permitinnovation and remain supportive when experiments fail.

Board-ED alignment is critical, encompassing a shared vision, trust in the process, and a mutual commitment to transformation.

Key Takeaways

• The Executive Director role must evolve from caretaker to change agent.
• Creativity, foresight, and strategic influence are now core competencies.
• Boards must support this shift by embracing adaptive governance.
• Success depends on courageous leadership and a shared appetite for redefining the future.

Coming Next Week: Part 3

Accelerated Exits: Succession Planning in the Age of Constant Change
What happens when the Executive Director you’ve invested in decides to leave—or needs to? In Part 3, we tackle the urgent need for dynamic, continuous succession planning.

AAV BLOG – Part 2 – Redefining the Role – From Curation to Creation in the Executive Director Seat