Inflation stress. Unsettled hybrid and remote workplaces. DEI under attack. AI disrupting just about everything. If 2023 was a year of “getting back to normal,” it was also a year where association leaders still understandably felt out of sorts.

And because so many things have been unsettled, it’d be too easy to reduce the year to a simple summary. But writing about leadership and talking with executives throughout 2023, it’s clear that association leaders are committed to finding clarity in the confusion: They’re speaking out more, asking for more from their boards, and clarifying their vision for staff and members alike. Below are a few of the themes I explored in the past year; please share your own insights about 2023 (and plans for 2024) in the comments, or drop me a line at mathitakis@asacenter.org.

Leaders increasingly need to set the tone–and make the case. Associations are increasingly in justify-your-existence mode. What are you providing that can’t be bought off the shelf elsewhere? What value is your annual meeting really providing? Many leaders are taking this to mean that they’re now the chief spokesperson for their organization. That’s sometimes a job better left to the PR department, but there’s no question that leaders need to be effective storytellers about their association’s mission and vision and an ability to spell out what they do better than everybody else. 

Crises demand clear strategic thinking, and many leaders are concerned that boards don’t have it.

DEI is worth the effort. Whether it’s a matter of retaining talent, bolstering your volunteer base, making your workplace more accessible, or making meetings more welcoming, there are plenty of good reasons to put DEI at the center of your association’s work. But a Supreme Court ruling over the summer has left organizations anxious around DEI, and the term “DEI” itself has become weaponized by critics, to the point where one association effectively abandoned the term. But the good reasons for preserving DEI—attracting and keeping members—remain the same, and are worth recommitting to after political storms pass through.

AI has been a game-changer—but which games? In the past year, ChatGPT and other AI tools have transformed from amusing, meme-able playthings to serious disruptive forces in how organizations go about their work. And many CEOs have catastrophized around it, fearing that it might spell the end of business as we know it. There’s no doubt that AI’s impact will increasingly become more profound and wide-ranging, affecting everything from staff meetings to the ethics surrounding your content and hiring practices to your members’ data privacy. No doubt, 2024 will surface even more concerns; now is the time to get ready. 

Boards will play a crucial role in what comes next. Crises that affect members, from the economy to politics, demand clear strategic thinking from volunteer leaders, and many leaders are concerned that boards don’t have it. Fixing that is going to require agility, reducing internal tensions within the board, thoughtful approaches to board diversity, and a collective capacity to think big. 

But for all the stresses the year brings, the association world continues to be a robust one, and leaders I speak to are confident in their ability to handle it. That, at least, is an evergreen, and I look forward to hearing more about how they go about that work in 2024. Thanks for reading.

(Studio Light and Shade/iStock)