Association Activision, LLC

“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

Word Count 645 – 5 Minute Read

“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”

Simon Sinek

Associations are facing a cascade of disruptions: accelerated technology, shifting demographics, political polarization, and evolving member expectations. In this new environment, the old rules of leadership no longer apply. Stable environments have favored predictable planning, incremental improvement, and control-oriented management. But stability is no longer the norm.

What’s needed now is adaptive leadership—a framework built for ambiguity, grounded in learning, and oriented toward the future.

In this 6-part series, we will explore leadership and capacity building in the era of

Disruption

Why Adaptive Leadership Matters Now

Traditional leadership assumes the leader has the answers. Adaptive leadership begins with a different premise: that no one has all the answers, and solutions must be discovered collaboratively through experimentation, reflection, and adjustment.

Developed by Ronald Heifetz and colleagues at Harvard, adaptive leadership distinguishes between technical challenges (those with known solutions) and adaptive challenges (those requiring new learning). Membership decline, cultural misalignment, and digital transformation are not technical problems;they are adaptive ones.

Characteristics of Adaptive Leadership

Associations that lead adaptively share several traits:

• They diagnose the system. Instead of fixing symptoms, they identify root causes embedded in structures, behaviors, or norms.
• They distribute leadership. Adaptive work is collective. It requires broad engagement, especially from people with lived experience of the problem.
• They create safe containers for conflict. Adaptive leaders don’t avoid discomfort; they manage it productively to stimulate learning and change.
• They experiment. In uncertain environments, small, safe-to-fail experiments yield insights faster than rigid plans.
• They commit to continuous learning. Adaptive leadership isn’t about projecting certainty. It’s about modeling curiosity, resilience, and humility.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Consider an association facing declining conference attendance. A technical fix might be to offer early-bird discounts. An adaptive approach would ask: Why is attendance down? Have member expectations shifted? Are we delivering the correct value?

Adaptive leaders don’t just execute better—they reframe the problem. They invite dissent, engage new voices, and test bold alternatives. They see the association not as a machine to be fine-tuned, but as a living system that must evolve.

Challenges to Embracing the Adaptive Mindset

Adaptive leadership often feels slow, uncomfortable, or risky, especially for boards or executives accustomed to a command-and-control approach. Frequently, Boards and CSOs do not realize that they are operating in command-and-control mode. The pressure to deliver immediate results can overshadow longer-term, adaptive work. Yet without adaptation, relevance erodes.

Boards and Executives must also resist the temptation to solve everything themselves. In adaptive environments, authority must be shared. That can threaten traditional power structures—but it’s the only path to sustained success.

Building a Culture That Supports Adaptive Leadership

For adaptive leadership to take root, the culture must reward learning, not just achievement.

• Valuing questions as much as answers
• Encouraging calculated risk-taking
• Supporting reflection and pause
• Creating time and space for team-level experimentation

Without cultural reinforcement, adaptive efforts become episodic rather than embedded.

Key Takeaways

• Adaptive leadership is crucial for navigating the rapid changes of the 21st-century landscape.
• It focuses on shared learning, distributed authority, and responsive experimentation.
• Associations must evolve their culture—not just their strategies—to make adaptive work possible.
• Leading from the edge means being willing to stay open, vulnerable, and future-facing.

Coming Next Week: Part 2 of 6

Redefining the Role: From Curation to Creation in the Executive Director Seat
If leadership itself must evolve, so too must the role of the Chief Staff Officer (CSO) Executive Director. In Part 2 of our series, we examine how association CEOs and chief staff officers must evolve from guardians of the past to stewards and architects of the future.

AAV – BLOG – Leading in the Age of Disruption – Part 1 of 6 – Leading from the Edge – Adaptive Leadership for the Next Era of Associations

“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.

“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”
Simon Sinek

Associations are facing a cascade of disruptions: accelerated technology, shifting demographics, political polarization, and evolving member expectations. In this new environment, the old rules of leadership no longer apply. Stable environments have favored predictable planning, incremental improvement, and control-oriented management. But stability is no longer the norm.

What’s needed now is adaptive leadership—a framework built for ambiguity, grounded in learning, and oriented toward the future.

In this 6-part series, we will explore leadership and capacity building in the era of

Disruption

Why Adaptive Leadership Matters Now

Traditional leadership assumes the leader has the answers. Adaptive leadership begins with a different premise: that no one has all the answers, and solutions must be discovered collaboratively through experimentation, reflection, and adjustment.

Developed by Ronald Heifetz and colleagues at Harvard, adaptive leadership distinguishes between technical challenges (those with known solutions) and adaptive challenges (those requiring new learning). Membership decline, cultural misalignment, and digital transformation are not technical problems;they are adaptive ones.

Characteristics of Adaptive Leadership

Associations that lead adaptively share several traits:

• They diagnose the system. Instead of fixing symptoms, they identify root causes embedded in structures, behaviors, or norms.
• They distribute leadership. Adaptive work is collective. It requires broad engagement, especially from people with lived experience of the problem.
• They create safe containers for conflict. Adaptive leaders don’t avoid discomfort; they manage it productively to stimulate learning and change.
• They experiment. In uncertain environments, small, safe-to-fail experiments yield insights faster than rigid plans.
• They commit to continuous learning. Adaptive leadership isn’t about projecting certainty. It’s about modeling curiosity, resilience, and humility.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Consider an association facing declining conference attendance. A technical fix might be to offer early-bird discounts. An adaptive approach would ask: Why is attendance down? Have member expectations shifted? Are we delivering the correct value?

Adaptive leaders don’t just execute better—they reframe the problem. They invite dissent, engage new voices, and test bold alternatives. They see the association not as a machine to be fine-tuned, but as a living system that must evolve.

Challenges to Embracing the Adaptive Mindset

Adaptive leadership often feels slow, uncomfortable, or risky, especially for boards or executives accustomed to a command-and-control approach. Frequently, Boards and CSOs do not realize that they are operating in command-and-control mode. The pressure to deliver immediate results can overshadow longer-term, adaptive work. Yet without adaptation, relevance erodes.

Boards and Executives must also resist the temptation to solve everything themselves. In adaptive environments, authority must be shared. That can threaten traditional power structures—but it’s the only path to sustained success.

Building a Culture That Supports Adaptive Leadership

For adaptive leadership to take root, the culture must reward learning, not just achievement.

• Valuing questions as much as answers
• Encouraging calculated risk-taking
• Supporting reflection and pause
• Creating time and space for team-level experimentation

Without cultural reinforcement, adaptive efforts become episodic rather than embedded.

Key Takeaways

• Adaptive leadership is crucial for navigating the rapid changes of the 21st-century landscape.
• It focuses on shared learning, distributed authority, and responsive experimentation.
• Associations must evolve their culture—not just their strategies—to make adaptive work possible.
• Leading from the edge means being willing to stay open, vulnerable, and future-facing.

Coming Next Week: Part 2 of 6

Redefining the Role: From Curation to Creation in the Executive Director Seat
If leadership itself must evolve, so too must the role of the Chief Staff Officer (CSO) Executive Director. In Part 2 of our series, we examine how association CEOs and chief staff officers must evolve from guardians of the past to stewards and architects of the future.AAV – BLOG – Leading in the Age of Disruption – Part 1 of 6 – Leading from the Edge – Adaptive Leadership for the Next Era of Associations