Breaking the Rules of Engagement

With 147,000 associations in the world, it's not surprising that "engaging" Association members is a hot topic (especially here in Washington, DC). Most Association leaders want to know how they can get their members interested and active in their activities. This often comes up in the context of "motivating" members (i.e., how can we motivate members to do the things we want them to do?)

Well, my answer is to utilize the powerful online and other tools at our disposal to actually "engage" members -- i.e., to facilitate experiences and exchanges that matter to BOTH parties. Too often we attempt a "top-down" approach, and then wonder why members aren't interested in the action alerts, conferences and activities that we find completely fascinating.

In short, the job of Association leaders and staff is to get their members to actually choose to spend time with them. Easier said than done, that's for sure, but my atricle in Association's Now magazine outlines a few options for getting started. Check it out!