You Should Hear This

Welcome to a special You Should Hear This Podcast. While the podcast is on break until September, when season 3 starts, we wanted to update you about a change happening this year. Nick Estrada, CAE, CMP, will no longer serve as our podcast host. Nick has been with the podcast since the beginning, and we are so thankful for everything he has contributed to us. Our Season 3 host will now be Chris Be...

As associations, we are all about forming authentic relationships, which allow us to expand our network and reach different audiences. Building those relationships with our members isn’t often any different than the connections and relationship that exists between associations and sponsors.  Associations rely on sponsor dollars to assist with everyday operations, member events, and so much more. I...

Hello, and welcome to You Should Hear This, a podcast for the everyday association professional. I’m Nick Estrada, your host. Technology may feel like it is ever-evolving, and that’s because it is. Technology has changed drastically within the past twenty, ten, and even the last five years. With new technology at our doorstep, associations need to know if it is worth their time to learn and invest...

Annually, ISAE hosts the STAR Awards, STAR stands for the Society’s Top Award of Recognition, which celebrates the success of our colleagues, who help strengthen our local association industry! Members attend this program each year to lift up those around us and then later we hope to learn from their success and how our own associations can replicate their success.  Our guest today is a recent rec...

A central experience for many associations, but not all, is the   variety of events they hold., This can include in-person events like conferences, workshops, networking programs, and online experiences like webinars, LMS education, and asynchronous learning. We know planners have a lot to think about when planning these events. When planning, a key concept that often is secondary to many other th...

Volunteers make up many aspects of our associations from serving on committees, volunteering their time for events, assisting with the promotion of events, sharing the expertise to develop education, supporting advocacy work and so much more. While volunteers are needed, associations across the country are dealing with decreasing numbers of volunteers. Recent studies from the AmeriCorps and the U....

A unique opportunity within the Association world is ASAE’s NextGen Summit. The NextGen Association Summit is an initiative which invests in high-potential leaders in the association community. It provides the opportunity for up to 25 participants to cultivate new professional skills and creative confidence, while also acquiring the tools, visibility and network necessary to become a force in the...

Culture is constantly shifting. There are several factors that can impact our culture, but one of the biggest is the arrival of new generations. These new generations bring new ideas, desires, wants, life goals and overall expectations of how they approach and view work and the outside groups they engage with. Millennials for a long time have been the group we talk about, but there’s a new generat...

Culture is constantly shifting. There are several factors that can impact our culture, but one of the biggest is the arrival of new generations. These new generations bring new ideas, desires, wants, life goals and overall expectations of how they approach and view work and the outside groups they engage with. Millennials for a long time have been the group we talk about, but there’s a new generat...

At the core of most associations, our job is to provide our members with professional growth, programs, services, and resources. As we deliver on these promises, it can be easy to fall into a pattern and not think of change. We hear all the time how change is necessary to stay current, but where do we start? How do we reevaluate our events, programs, and services even if they are doing just fine?...

The idea you get along with everyone at your place of employment is nothing short of a false reality. While you may not get along with everyone, there is a level of respect and professionalism that needs to be maintained at all times. With today’s workforce environment different than what it was in years past, how can we ensure that we are keeping the peace and having everyone feel heard and value...

A strategic plan is a process in which an organization's leaders define their vision for the future and identify their goals and objectives. Most, if not all, associations have a strategic plan, but is it time to reinvent the plan? With so many different factors to consider, where do you start, and is that the correct path for your association? Our guest today will help us with these question...

Trends are defined as a general direction in which something is developing or changing. In today’s climate, associations need to be sure they are staying current with trends so they don’t fall behind. While there are so many different trends, we may begin to wonder which one is the right one for your association. How do you approach your leadership and share what trends will bring in a return on i...

Every association has one thing in common, and that is the love and gratitude that we share for volunteers. Volunteers assist associations by pushing forward their missions and visions for their members. In recent years, many volunteers have reevaluated their time and what meant most to them. Volunteer participation and engagement have dropped drastically since then and still continue. What is it...

We hear on the news how we should work to be sustainable and have a greener mindset in our everyday lives, and our own industry pushes us to plan our meetings from small to large associations with better sustainability practices. As association professionals, we strive to have this top of mind when putting together our annual meetings, workshops, and other gatherings, but at times can feel stuck a...

The current job market is competitive. Although there are opportunities to leave your current role for another position, that’s not the decision we all want to make. Perhaps we’d like to stay where we are but with increased responsibilities and opportunities or potentially an increased salary or benefits. Approaching these conversations, however, can be awkward. Where do you start? What do you say...

Welcome to Season 2 of "You Should Hear This." Due to the success and outpour of love from Season 1, we are back! Just like the previous season, our host, Nick Estrada, CAE, CMP, will be sitting down with professionals that have the knowledge they want to share. As we kick off our second season, we sit back and think, what are the fundamentals of any workplace? You think of the work that...

Most associations hold their annual conferences as a way to get their members under one roof for networking, education purposes, and also a retreat-like environment where you are surrounded by your peers. As life for many of us continues to return to a more familiar form, this year has been the first year for some associations to have an annual conference in person. Members and attendees are excit...

In the association world, we often speak about risk from the perspective of getting our boards to be bigger risk-takers. We spend countless hours pulling the appropriate information to help them make the best decisions they can at the time. However, we don’t typically think about our own risk-taking when it comes to our own careers. Today, our guest is Cory Martin, MPA, CAE, Owner, and CEO of the...

When the pandemic hit, events stalled almost immediately. Overnight associations canceled meetings, enacted contract clauses we never thought we would touch, and reached out to our vendor and venue partners. Our vendors and venues often responded the way we hoped they would, allowing generous cancellation policies, rescheduling and rebooking meetings, and being understanding of what we were feelin...

The mental health conversation is not new, yet today it's been talked about and addressed more than years previously. This is in part due to the pandemic and the emphasis that has been placed on mental health. In this week's episode,  owner of and counselor at Pathways to Healing Counseling, Kristen Boice, MA, LMFT, EMDR trained, CDWF, Podcast Host, discusses the importance of mental hea...

Certifications. When we think of these we think of hours of studying, making flashcards and sitting for an exam that feels way too long. Or we think about the time and energy we as staff may put into these programs to manage them for our own associations. Both may not be the best way to view these; we should view them as opportunities for personal and professional growth. We’ve got a dedicated lea...

STAR awards are the Indiana Society of Association Executives' way of recognizing members. This is ISAE's top award. The categories are broken into associations and individuals for their innovations, contributions, and impact on the association industry. In this week's episode, Erica Poff, PMP, CAE, IOM, Vice President of Nonprofit Effectiveness at Talbott Talent, discusses with us...

Association professionals often describe themselves as experts on membership, meetings, education and a variety of other topics. One area though which many prefer to avoid is legislative advocacy. These discussions and battles often feel overwhelming and force us to navigate an area of work that we aren’t comfortable with. We find there are new forms to complete, compliance to ensure and that’s ju...

Anxiety and stress have both increased drastically in the workplace throughout the pandemic. Associations are no exception with stressed members, stressed staff and reduced resources to complete our jobs. In this week’s episode, Executive Coach, Author and Speaker CJ McClanahan discusses the importance of acknowledging these emotions, share strategies to manage them and more.