Meetings Question Vault · Professional association checklist

Is your professional association running like a business, or a club?

A checklist for professional associations. The honest questions most governing bodies never stop to ask.

By David Julian Price CSP · Meetings and governance expert

Download the checklist (PDF)
“A great association doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.”
DAVID JULIAN PRICE CSP

The question most association leaders never ask

Fascinating creatures

Professional associations are fascinating creatures. Some run like well-oiled machines: strategic, efficient, member-focused and built for the future. Others run like a club that’s been around so long, nobody can quite remember why they do things the way they do.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. With most associations facing declining membership, rising costs and increasing competition for members’ time and attention, the ones that operate on sound business principles will not just survive. They’ll thrive. The ones that don’t? They’ll struggle. And some won’t make it.

So which one is yours?

The Association Health Check

Governance, strategy, people and process

After 35 years working with boards, committees, professional associations and not-for-profits across Australia and internationally, I’ve got a pretty clear picture of what separates the high performers from the ones quietly running out of road. Test yours against these five areas.

1

Governance and structure

  • Is your association correctly constituted, and when did you last check? Whether you’re an Incorporated Association or a Company Limited by Guarantee, the structure that made sense ten years ago may not be the best fit today.
  • Does every member of your governing body actually have a copy of your Constitution? You’d be surprised how often the answer is no.
  • When did you last deliberately examine your constitution to see whether amendments are needed? Governance documents gather dust while the world changes around them.
2

Strategy and direction

  • Do you have a well-written, well-structured strategic plan, and do your meetings actually measure progress against it? One sits in a folder. The other drives every decision.
  • Does your association think and act strategically, or react to crises rather than shaping its own future?
  • Do your members actually understand the issues you’re making decisions about on their behalf?
3

People and leadership

  • Are the people on your elected arm there because they genuinely want to contribute, or because nobody else put their hand up? The best people for the role, or simply the willing ones?
  • Is there a clear succession plan, and are future leaders being actively developed so they’re ready when their time comes?
  • Is serving on your executive considered a privilege, or a burden people quietly try to avoid?
4

Meetings and productivity

  • Do your meetings look forward and plan, or look backwards and reminisce? What’s the balance between finding solutions and finding problems?
  • Does everyone arrive prepared, or do you regularly waste time accommodating the disorganised?
  • If you have paid professional staff, do they bring forward major issues with recommendations for you to adopt, modify or reject? That’s how high-functioning boards operate.
5

Membership and administration

  • Do you have a dedicated membership committee, chaired by a future leader of the organisation?
  • Do you receive a regular report on membership numbers, prospects, conversions and resignations? If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
  • Do you have a modern website with solid back-office functionality? Still sending paper agendas and minutes? Using email decisions for minor matters to keep meetings focused on what matters?

How does your association stack up?

Nodding is good. Wincing is better.

If you’ve read this checklist and found yourself nodding, great. If you found yourself wincing, that’s actually better, because awareness is always the first step.

I work with professional associations, not-for-profit boards and governing bodies to help them run smarter, govern better and lead with clarity. A governance review, a board effectiveness session, a strategic planning facilitation or simply an independent set of eyes on how your meetings are actually running. I’ve seen it all, and I can help.

A great association doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.

Questions

Professional association checklist FAQs

Five areas: governance and structure, strategy and direction, people and leadership, meetings and productivity, and membership and administration.

Presidents, board and committee members, CEOs and executive officers of professional associations and not-for-profits.

Yes. Use the “Download the checklist (PDF)” button at the top of this page. It’s free.

Deliberately, and regularly. The structure that made sense ten years ago may not fit today, and every member of the governing body should have a current copy.

Yes. Governance reviews, board effectiveness sessions, strategic planning facilitation and meeting diagnostics are all available, in person or online.

David is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a Global Speaking Fellow and Past World President of the Global Speakers Federation, and a member of the Australian Speakers Hall of Fame. He brings more than 40 years of real-world experience, plenty of humour and practical ideas people can use straight away.

Let’s have a conversation

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