I’ve been a member of AuSAE since…
2008 on the most recent occasion but I have also been an AuSAE member for a number of years in the past. AuSAE is a natural place for senior association executives to belong. Achieving Fellow status allows me to demonstrate that I have achieved a certain standing within the profession and I am proud to use the post nominal to which I am entitled under the AuSAE grading system.
The most valuable thing about my membership is…
The ability to meet and establish relationships with other senior association executives. Sometimes association management can be a lonely place. Not everyone understands the challenges we face or what it is that we as association executives do every day. Being able to reach out to others who share a common experience is really valuable.
Before I was an association executive I was….
Involved in industrial relations and human resource management for just over ten years. The industrial relations experience gave me the skills and contacts to make the move to associations. I have spent about six years in associations working in industrial relations. It is a really tough field and I admire those who can sustain their commitment to a career in the field.
If I wasn’t an association executive I would be…
Involved with construction – I have always harboured a desire to be a cabinet maker. The skill and accuracy involved is something to be admired. Over the years I have built three houses. The process of building something substantial is great.
The thing that gets me out of bed every morning is…
I am not a morning person so it takes something important to get me out of bed early. Don’t ask me to attend a breakfast meeting unless you are prepared to start without me.
My career highlight would have to be…
Managing a substantial turn around at the Australian Corrosion Association (ACA). I have worked on re-birthing associations before but the results have never been as dramatic as at ACA. Our team has achieved a 50 per cent membership growth, a dramatic change in financial performance and repositioned the organisation so that it is focused on its core activities, membership value and a revised strategic direction.
I love working with the not-for-profit sector because…
Of what we can achieve. Associations exist because they can achieve what individuals cannot. I relish the challenge of providing leadership in an organisation which delivers to members activities and other benefits which they as individuals could not possibly put together.
The trouble with some associations is…
They lose their way. Drift is one of the greatest enemies of associations. If you do lose your way, returning to the reasons why an association was formed in the first place is a good start. As responsible managers we need to ensure we get the fundamentals right. Once the fundamentals are fixed, there is plenty of time available to get on to other issues and employ a growth strategy.
As a CEO, it’s important to…
Give staff the responsibility to do what they need to do in their own jobs. The CEO is ultimately accountable but you cannot expect staff to be responsible if they don’t have an element of responsibility in the scope of their jobs. Accepting that staff will occasionally not deliver or even fail is important. As long as they learn and grow then it’s a valuable outcome. Managers cannot reasonably expect 100 per cent outcomes all of the time. We should aim to achieve 100 per cent wherever possible but expecting it all of the time will only result in tears.
The relationship between a CEO and board is…
Fundamental to the success of an association. Working with the ACA board to establish a three-year strategic plan that is focused on strategic and policy development issues, rather than being operationally oriented, has been very rewarding.
I am inspired by…
People who get on with the job – action speaks volumes, while over-analysis leads to paralysis. There are a lot of people achieving fantastic results in the association management profession and we all need to recognise that we can learn from our peers on a daily basis.
When I am not working, you can find me…
Either relaxing with my wife and family somewhere in the Yarra Valley, working on our property which is on a bush block in the region, or planning travel – preferably to the Northern Hemisphere. The winters in Europe and North America are the real thing and I harbour a somewhat perverse attraction to minus 30 degree temperatures.