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If you read this month's Horizons column by Betsy Boyd-Flynn, CAE, in Associations Now, you know she and her organization have been through some difficult experiences of late. This week Betsy followed up with me to mention that she'd received several emails from fellow association professionals who all said it was nice to read about a colleague facing similar challenges. She described them as "me too" messages.

This reminded me of an important dynamic that I often lose sight of: Sometimes it feels good to commiserate with a colleague, even if there aren't any answers to a problem. It's nice to know you're not alone. Blowing off some steam lowers stress, and it creates a natural bond between colleagues.

We all know that, of course, but my job is generally to find and share people's answers to problems, and I think a lot of association jobs are focused on that. And even when an association promotes a networking event, for instance, it's often played as a chance to learn from colleagues and to meet people who could become future business partners or colleagues. Those are the more tangible benefits, which is why they're easier to point to, but a lot of the value in networking is in shared experience. We talk about programs that offer "takeaways" for participants, but the simple bonding over shared experiences is what leads to the positive feelings people have when they walk away from a face-to-face event.

In a time when so many challenges have no immediate answer—economic woes, evolving technology, and shifting demographics come to mind—associations will do will when they provide their members and customers with opportunities to commiserate, to share stories, to understand each other, and to feel understood.