12/11/2024

Beyond the Listening Tour

Be careful in what actions you take when asking shareholders for feedback

Culturally, Americans admire change agents: People who disrupt the status quo, break things, reimagine what the future looks like. In associations, leaders are often encouraged to be the sworn enemy of phrases like "but we’ve always done it that way." Transformation doesn’t happen by staying in well-worn ruts.

One thing that is less discussed while we’re handing flowers to those change agents, though: They can’t make change on their own. They need allies, staffers, stakeholders, board members and others to understand what the change is going to be, and get buy-in for it. That process was on my mind when I was writing “Change Done Right,” one of the articles in the latest batch of Associations Now Deep Dives. In it, I speak with Debbie Witchey, the new CEO of the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness. Change is on her agenda, but she’s also been figuring out how to bring the relevant people along for it.

To do that, she has the assistance of the previous CEO during a transition period, and she's done a listening tour with board members and staff. But she's also taken care to let people know that the listening tour eventually ends and that she's fully settled into the role of staff leader. "We told them that starting, Nov. 1, I'm their point of contact," she said. "The outgoing CEO is there to advise me for the month of November, not to advise them."

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.