Ahh, the board … the thing many small staff association execs dread. It can come with tons of red tape and productivity can be difficult, but there are ways to successfully manage your organization’s board. Perhaps not every one of these will work (all boards are different, of course!), but it’s crucial to always remember that your board members are people too!

- Your board members are people with varying knowledge of the association and industry, all with different personalities and interests. You won’t be able to please everyone all the time, but you should be willing to listen to all viewpoints.

- Keep in mind that every board member has a different reason for serving on the board. They all have different expectations of the association, its staff and the board itself. Respect those expectations.

- Be transparent about your own expectations for the board. Be upfront about sharing information and lead by example. By sharing your expectations, you and the board can develop common goals and work toward those goals together.

- Avoid seeming self-serving. Lead by example and foster teamwork and engagement – among the board and organization’s members.

- When meeting with your board in a formal setting, be sure to have charts and numbers – information that can be easily digested and understood.

- Have realistic goals and strategies when presenting information to your board. Not only should they be realistic, they also should be as specific as possible. Be sure to include the impact on the budget.

- Board members should clearly understand their role in the association. They should be aware of their roles between meetings, and your staff should encourage and foster their leadership.

- Always recognize retiring board members. They’ve put in a lot of work for the organization and they deserve to be recognized upon retirement or the end of their tenure.

How do you successfully work with your organization’s board?

Have you asked your members how they prefer to receive information?

Let’s be real. Whether you’re an active participant in social media or not, you’re probably still on information overload. People can get news and updates from more sources now than ever before. There are tons of outlets – it’s overwhelming!

Blogs, RSS, Twitter (including text alerts and all the smartphone apps), Facebook (online and via cell or smartphone), text messages, e-mail, phone call, direct mail, newspaper (online or in print), magazine (online or in print), television, YouTube … I’m exhausted just thinking about it! (And I’m sure I left many, many options off that list!)

Associations don’t have to be everywhere, all the time. It’s so crucial to realize what’s worth your time and what’s just going to waste time.

If your organization audits its communication strategy around this time of year, be sure to ask members how they like to receive information. If a significant portion chooses a certain option (such as Twitter), consider adding it to your organization’s strategy. If there’s no interest, don’t waste your time there. Maybe your association doesn’t even need to have a huge social Web presence. (I would argue that going forward, it will be necessary eventually, but there’s no need to rush it if there’s no demand at the moment.)

Asking your members what they want – it’s as simple as taking a poll – can be very educational for association staffers. Encouraging two-way communication is a great first step to engage members who have become unengaged. Offering information through different online avenues can be somewhat time-consuming, but isn’t it worth it if you can grab the attention of a niche group that previously wasn’t too interested in the organization?

Does your association have a unique method for distributing information to members?

It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.

It’s a common cliché that my dad used to say to me all the time if he thought I was giving him “attitude.” But in reality, it really is how you say something, rather than what you say, that people remember.

Whether you’re a manager in your organization or you’re the youngest person in the office, remember that what you do for people isn’t as important as how you make them feel. We’ll generally remember those feelings longer than we remember actions. And how you communicate with people will contribute to that.

For example, if you frequently interrupt others (whether it’s intentional or not), you convey the message that what they’re saying isn’t important enough.

There are a few basic styles of communication:

- Listener: A people-person, generally don’t delegate well, can be slow decision-makers, believe there is more than one way to get a job done

- Creator: Enthusiastic, like public speaking, can be persuasive, impulsive, have trouble following through with ideas

- Doer: Assertive, pragmatic, competitive, verbal, can be arrogant or a poor listener

- Thinker: Detail-oriented, like rules, can be slow decision-maker, low risk-taker, analytical

All of us tend toward one or two, but different situations call for different approaches.

I think it’s good to occasionally reevaluate your communication style – both verbal and nonverbal. (I’ve had people ask me why I’m angry when I’m not mad at all. I think my brow’s natural state is furrowed, so I make an effort to fix this so I don’t walk around looking angry all the time.) We all know not to sit with our arms crossed in meetings because it makes us look closed off, but how many of us still do it unconsciously? We all know that we should make eye contact and smile, but sometimes distractions can get the best of us.

Communication matters no matter what industry you work in, what position you hold or who you’re talking to. You could be speaking to your boss or your organization’s newest member, but the way we communicate with others directly affects our careers and relationships.

What’s your communication style?

As I’ve discussed before, from time to time I come across awesome resources online and like to share them with readers. Today, I’ve got two videos courtesy of ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership‘s YouTube channel. Video is a powerful mechanism for conveying information to members and stakeholders, and can often be more engaging than written content.

Does your organization use video as a way to engage with your members?

By the way, for more information about video for associations, check out my Beyond the Big Three posts on YouTube and UStream.

Happy Friday, Happy October and Happy Small Staff Appreciation Month! As you may have heard, MemberClicks has decided to name October the inaugural Small Staff Appreciation Month to give thanks for the amazing work that small staffs all over the country do each and every day.

To celebrate, we’re giving something away every single day this month!

• Every Monday through Thursday in October, we’ll give away our Small Staffs Rule T-Shirts!
• The first four Fridays in October, we’re giving away a Small Staff Care Package consisting of 4 $25 gift cards to Starbucks, Office Depot, Amazon, and Visa – a $100 value!
• We will also give away one free logo re-design during the month!
• On Friday the 29th, we’ll randomly pick a winner of our grand prize – a 15″ MacBook Pro!

To enter, fill out the form located here.

For this week’s edition of the Friday Top Five, I decided to look back at past FT5 posts and do a little “best of small staff” round-up. Not all blog posts that I feature relate specifically to small staffs, of course, but to kick of Small Staff Appreciation Month, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites from the archives.

1. David M. Patt wrote about why smaller is better, and I’m sure this post will bring smile to many small staff association professionals. Smaller organizations often have less bureaucracy, less red tape and fewer restrictions. Additionally, smaller associations allow staffers to get access to many different departments.

2. Back in April, Jeffrey Cufaude shared some mistakes to avoid when introducing change. Rather than immediately dismissing certain ideas or innovations, it’s crucial for small staffs to be open to new ideas. Although nothing guarantees success, there are factors that help increase its likelihood.

3. As a guest blogger on the SocialFish blog, John Haydon shared a free download: The Complete Facebook Guide for Small Nonprofits. With a great overview of the world’s most popular social network, this is a great resource for small staff organizations that may need a bit of guidance when it comes to Facebook.

4. In June, Scott Briscoe wrote about marketing on a shoestring budget as part of the Acronym blog’s small staff series. His tips: understand your metrics, maximize your use of volunteers, change up your messaging in different channels, build your PR program, use social media discriminately. Good stuff.

5. As a small staff association professional, Joe Flowers knows a thing or two about this unique group. Recently, he shared a communication breakdown that occurred at his organization — and how it was efficiently resolved. Sometimes, depending on outsourcing can be problematic; I’m sure many small staffers can relate.

Have a fabulous Friday, a great weekend and a very happy beginning to Small Staff Appreciation Month!