What is the best lesson you've learned from dealing with the politics surrounding board leadership?

Being with a small, fairly new association, my volunteer board members and committee chairs have traditionally looked to me for leadership. I work closely with each board member to help him or her gain the confidence and experience needed to perform assigned duties. My objective has always been to empower individuals with as much authority as they wish to assume for the association. In the rare situation in which my leadership has been questioned, the close working relationship I have established with each board member has resulted in a fair, open discussion with support for my leadership. These relationships build a tremendous amount of trust and are beneficial when your role as CEO is challenged.

Roger P. Vickery President, National Association for Promotional and Advertising Alliances, Inc., Austin, Texas

The best lesson I've learned is the importance of having the chief elected officer and other executive committee officers buy into a particular program or idea. Their support often keeps board decisions from getting stuck in a quagmire of politics. A second lesson is the importance of staying neutral. It's the responsibility of the board to make the controversial policy decisions. Naturally, I interject my opinions, but the reality is that I as chief executive officer serve the association. It is my responsibility, along with my staff, to execute board decisions.

Walter Bacak, Jr. Executive Director, American Translators Association, Alexandria, Virginia 

The most important lesson from my experience has been ensuring that the process for identifying future leaders is open and above reproach. Nomination procedures need to be defined and communicated to every eligible association member. An important component of the nomination process is defining the ideal attributes of a successful board leader. For example, each candidate must have sufficient time to dedicate to the responsibilities of the position; have both good management and financial expertise; be an effective communicator; and solicit, synthesize, and represent the viewpoints of the entire board - not only his or her opinion.

When an association carefully defines its process for identifying and selecting its volunteer leaders and openly communicates the process, the individual who ultimately rises to the leadership post on the board is usually recognized as the best person for the job - and politics take a back seat.

Gaylen M. Camera Executive Director, American Industrial Health Council, Inc., Washington, D.C.

With a voluntary board, it is most important to hear members out and acknowledge their viewpoints. Rely on your bylaws, strategic plan, written policies, and other tools to support or resolve the political agenda. This will allow board members to feel good about their ideas and get back to providing leadership for the association within established policies and procedures.

Dorothy M. Morris, CAE President, National Association of Credit Management, Western Michigan, Inc., Grand Rapids 

Q. How will increased pressure on the federal government to raise funds continue to affect the association community?

Associations' tax-exempt status will be harder to come by and to maintain. Tax deductibility of members' expenditures for participating in association activities will continue to be a target. Unrelated business income tax is the most vulnerable, and associations will have to clean up their act with respect to paying taxes on commercial activities.

Gene N. Fondren, CAE President, Texas Automobile Dealers Association, Austin

As the Federal Government takes a larger share of association dollars through new tax laws, associations will increasingly be forced to behave like the for-profit sector by creatively identifying new sources of revenue and designing the services to produce them. The challenge will be to deliver a strong bottom line without compromising core values.

Debra L. Wentz Executive Director, New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, Manasquan