Association Insight International & European | Page 9
Article | Association Insights
At the top of these
Associations, Governing
Boards may review the
strategy or impose new
rules and processes but
they are pulling the wrong
levers. As Albert Einstein
once said, ‘We cannot
solve our problems with
the same thinking we used
when we created them.’
Association staff is on the
front line. They deal with members on a daily basis. And
yet, in far too many cases, they feel more disconnected
from the strategy and vision than ever. Some may pressure
themselves to work harder. Others resort to delivering what
they know, rather than what their organization needs. The
silo-based processes and structure prevent the Association
from fully benefiting from the contribution of these staff
members, who often have the answers.
EASL, the Home of Hepatology, has redefined its vision,
strategy and culture by embracing this approach. It
started with a new vision and ended with a Team Charter
that embeds the vision in the people, processes, policies,
projects, priorities and performance indicators. The
outcome is a series of very exciting initiatives, which will
help EASL grow for the next 50 years of existence.
Governing Board and staff members were fully involved
throughout the project. And while it’s early days there
are already some very positive signs: the Journal of
Hepatology’s impact factor is 11.3, making it the fastest
growing and most impactful Hepatology journal; EASL’s
annual conference, The International Liver Congress, has
seen record attendance numbers (11,000); and membership
has hit an all time high. While it would be premature
to attribute all of this success to Creative Leadership©,
certainly the impending decline of EASL, that was
predicted by previous Secretary Generals at the start of the
project has been averted.
And as change increases, so does the distance between
those at the top and the bottom. The best get frustrated,
or take unnecessary risks, which aren’t aligned with the
strategy and / or leave. And so the vicious cycle continues.
What Associations need today is an army of Change
Agents, who can seize highpotential opportunities to create
sustainable value for members.
The Solution
“I rely far more on gut instinct”. Richard Branson
The solution is to turn the traditional pyramid upside down.
An organization is like a person: the head does the thinking;
the body does the work. That’s fine if things stay the same,
but what happens when things change?
Change requires creativity. And the source of creativity
is intuition. It comes from the body, the stomach, or gut
instinct to be precise.
Thus, the vision, strategy, structure, skills and processes
etc. of a company… must be redesigned to release the full
creative potential of the body of an organization.
This is exactly what Creative Leadership© does. It is
a philosophy, framework and series of methodologies
designed to unlock the creative potential of everyone
involved with an Association to get them fit for the
challenges of the 21st Century.
www.associationsnetwork.org
More importantly, Grégoire Pavillon, Executive Director
and newly-elected Board Member of EASL, said at the
recent International & European Associations Congress
in Lausanne, ‘I have the happiest, ….most motivated set of
staff in the Office ever. And these are talented guys...we are
attracting talent and that is already making a difference.’
Programs like this can help every Association set itself up
to tackle the challenges of the 21st Century. If you would
like to discover more, join us at one of the upcoming
Creative Leadership© for Associations meetings in London,
Geneva or Brussels and discover how Creative Leadership©
can help you.
29 October 2015 - Brussels
8 December 2015 - London
14 January 2016 - Geneva
© Associations Network 2015 | 9