Acronym

One of the biggest challenges in beginning a new job as a manager is getting to know your new team. Sometimes your management style is very different from what they're used to--and sometimes their work styles are very different than what you're used to. It can be a great learning experience for all concerned, or it can lead to a lot of frustration.

In this month's Associations Now case study, "Caught in the Gears," a new CEO is struggling to find the best approach to working with a management team and staff that appear to be caught in a culture of conflict. But is his approach making things better or worse? (And is conflict in the workplace really a problem?)

Cedric Calhoun, executive director of the Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers, and Jamie Notter, a conflict resolution expert (and blogger), kindly shared their thoughts in two commentaries on the case study. I learned a lot from both of them.

What do you think? Should the CEO in this case study continue down the path he's started, or is he headed for disaster? The full text of the article and Jamie and Cedric's commentaries is available online, as well as in the print edition of this month's Associations Now.

When I first started writing the June 2008 Associations Now case study, I wanted to explore a situation I've personally seen multiple times in my career: the issue of the "difficult" volunteer. I know it's a truism of association management that you should never say anything negative about a member, but in the day-to-day reality of member service, there are some members who can drive you crazy--whether through the best of intentions or just because they're not particularly nice people. (That's my experience, anyway.)

Dalia, the main character in this month's case study, is dealing with one of those members. But is she doing everything she can to manage the situation properly? Some of the people who read the article for me before publication think she is, but this month's excellent commentators, Cynthia D'Amour and Lisa Sidletsky, don't necessarily agree. They both have a lot of suggestions for ways the situation can be improved.

This month's case study, "Deadline Pressure," is now online. What do you think about Dalia's situation? How have you handled similar issues in your own work? Do you agree with Cynthia and Lisa's commentary? Let us know!

The May issue of Associations Now featured the first article in our case study series to be written by a volunteer author; thank you to Jeff De Cagna for bravely taking the plunge!

Jeff's case study focuses on an association (the National Association of Chief Happiness Officers, or NACHO) facing many challenges: a strategic plan that doesn’t address the important issues facing his association, a board that voted down his best ideas, and a competitor eagerly gobbling up market share.

What should he and his association do to face down these problems? Virgil Carter and Nancy Green provided some great commentary from their perspectives as CEOs; I'd be very interested in Acronym readers' thoughts as well. Can NACHO be saved?

In the April 2008 issue of Associations Now, the case study "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" focuses on the stresses and strains that can develop in an association/vendor relationship. I'd like to express my gratitude to Kerry Stackpole, CAE, and James Maloney, CAE, for providing clear-eyed commentary to be published along with the article.

For those of you who have experienced situations like these before--and those who have managed to avoid them--what are your thoughts? What could the characters in "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" have done differently to avoid the difficulties they're facing now--and what steps can they take now to change things for the better?

Those of you who have seen the March Associations Now may have noticed several new columns and departments making their debut. One of those departments will be directly connected to Acronym: a series of Associations Now case studies.

Click below to discuss the March case study, “Blown Away," where an association wrestles with what to do when its annual meeting is threatened by a hurricane.

Continue reading "“Blown Away” case study discussion" »