Effective Team DevelopmentExecutive Director Essentials

ABOUT USAH is a professional services firm that specializes in helping non-profit organizations achieve their mission, create value, and advance their causes, industries, and professions. 

We have four main divisions within AH: A full-service association management company (AMC); a marketing and communications agency; a meetings and events management team; and a division that focuses on other custom solutions, such as education, strategic planning, website builds, database integrations, public affairs, certification management, and growing non-dues revenue.

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Note:

• AH webinars are delivered by experienced association executives who will share information in an easy to relate to fashion.

• The sessions do not provide official legal or insurance advice, rather just necessary information so you will feel more confident in being able to ask the right questions.

We offer various live and on-demand webinars with topics ranging from board governance to content marketing.

Today’s Topic: Effective Team Development

Whether you are tasked with building a management team for your organization or filling seats on a volunteer board, the tips presented in this webinar will guide you through the process to make sure that you’re making sound decisions based on knowledge and experience, rather than timing and costs.

Following this webinar, attendees will:• Understand how to create an accountability chart• Know how to fill the seats they have with the right talent• Understand how to conduct meaningful meetings and deal with healthy conflict• Learn how to incorporate culture into the team building process• Measure success

Kelly Mariotti is the Vice President of Client Services for AH and Executive Director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), the North American trade association for manufacturers of products for the prenatal to preschool marketplace. As Vice President of Client Services, Kelly is responsible for all aspects of a seamless delivery of contracted services to AH's client partners. In her role with JPMA, she is directly accountable for all activities of the association and implementing the strategic direction provided by the board of directors. Her responsibilities include direct oversight of JPMA’s programmatic, regulatory, legislative and public affairs activities as well as the JPMA Certification Program and engagement in the ASTM standards-setting process.

Before joining AH in 2013, Kelly was the founding owner and President of Green Frog Art, a juvenile products manufacturing firm for 17 years during which time she was an active volunteer leader and board member of JPMA. After selling her company, she served as CEO of First Candle, a national safe sleep non-profit organization. She is a lawyer, certified public accountant, Certified Association Executive (CAE) and has graduate certificates in both non-profit management and advanced product safety management.

Amy Barra is an Account Executive with AH and the Executive Director of the Midwest Nursing Research Society and the Church Benefits Association. She also works on various AH project clients. Amy has over eleven years of Association Management experience. She has extensive experience with strategic planning, board and volunteer management, event management and creative problem solving for non-profits. Amy’s career has been distinguished by increasing visibility, improving programs, and strengthening the financial and operational performance of non-profit organizations. She enjoys working with organizations as they look to the future and helping them achieve the greatest success.

Amy is currently completing her Master’s in Public Administration at Rutgers University.

Kelly Mariotti, JD, CPA, CAEAmy Barra

Agenda• Accountability Chart• Right people, right seats• Delegate accountability, not “stuff”• Meaningful Meetings• Healthy Conflict • Culture• Hire vs. Train• Measure Success

Accountability Chart

Start with an accountability chart that identifies seats or roles, not people. It should have a direct and obvious relationship to the organization’s strategic plan.

This exercise will help you identify the critical functions and skill sets required on your team. Once you begin to fill in the people who occupy the seats, note that individuals may play more than one role, but each area of accountability must have only one person ultimately responsible.

Often, shared responsibilities or unclear accountabilities underlie in team dysfunction and undermine maximum performance.

Executive Director

Member Relations, Programming, New

Revenue & Operations

Strategy #2

Government Relations, Advocacy & Regulatory

Affairs

Strategy #1

Certification and Product Expertise

Public Affairs, Education & Safety Initiatives

CRM, Alliances/Partnerships

and Non-Dues Revenue

Operations, Program & Committee Support

Marketing and Communications

Strategy #3

Consumer Outreach Program Support

SAMPLE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREBY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE ACCOUNTABILITIES

Right people, Right seats

Get the right people on the bus(and the wrong people off the bus)

• Begin with who, rather than what.• Do not fill seats, fill needs.• The right people don’t need to be tightly managed; they will be self motivated by

their inner drive and commitment to mission.• Great vision without great people is irrelevant.• When you have the right people, they will do everything in their power to build a

great organization.• Skills are important, but character, work ethic, intelligence, and values are more

ingrained.• Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems.

Delegate accountability, not “stuff”

Responsibility, not tasks

• Each individual on the team should clearly understand his or her role and be held accountable for outcomes, not tasks. Get in the habit of asking “What did you accomplish?” rather than “What did you do?”

• ‘Accountable’ means that it’s up to you to ensure that there will be a successful outcome. Even though you might not actually be performing any of the tasks involved.

• Encourage team members to take an active role in defining, implementing and communicating progress on tasks.

• Entrust team members with completion of whole projects. • Provide training and guidance necessary to complete

delegated tasks satisfactorily and when possible, delegate tasks on the basis of interests.

Meaningful Meetings

Make Meetings MeaningfulAll meetings should have a defined purpose and an agenda, and the facilitator should be prepared. Before the meeting wraps, review all decisions made, the list of action items, and who is responsible for each.

If you participate in a meeting with a high performing team, you will note that every person participates and has valuable information and insight to provide, no matter how junior the person’s role. This results from each person having clear accountabilities.(Credits: Axbom)

Healthy Conflict

Conflict is healthy!• High performing teams are not made up of a group of “yes-

men-and-women.” Differences of opinion and respectful, professional conflict are healthy attributes of successful teams. When accountability is clearly defined, the ultimate decision maker is informed by the varying opinions of other team members.

• The process of gaining multiple perspectives on any issue is critical to identifying problems, designing interventions, and producing optimal solutions.

• The goal of conflict isn’t necessarily to “win” or to change other peoples’ minds, but to gain understanding and to make optimal decisions based on the input given.

• If a team can have open, honest, and respectful disagreements to achieve their common goals, that is the sign of a very strong team and a very strong leader. The results of conflict can be stronger, self-managed teams, improved processes, improved strategies, better outcomes, and closer relationships.

• Create an environment in which healthy conflict is encouraged by setting clear expectations.

Culture

Core values are a small set of vital and timeless guiding principles for your organization. These core values define your culture and who you truly are as people.

• YMCA– Caring– Honesty– Respect– Responsibility

• National Education Association

– Equal Opportunity– A Just Society– Democracy– Professionalism– Partnership– Collective Action

• AH– Customer Service– Expertise– Social Responsibility– Innovation– Flexibility– Respect– Accountability &

Transparency

Hire vs. Train

Hire or Train?• Be clear within your team if your preference is to hire (or for a board, elect)

strong talent for defined seats or train from within. • The decision is often one of time vs. expense. • If you decide to train your talent, it is critical you dedicate the appropriate

time and resources to accomplish that training. Otherwise, the rest of the team may simply view the trainee as an underperformer.

• The value of training your own talent is that you can shape and mold that person for your unique culture and environment.

• Bringing in someone from the outside adds something that an internal candidate cannot: new knowledge and skills. External candidates may have experience with new ways to operate or a new perspective.

Measure Success

Measuring your Success The success of your team should be measured against the outcomes defined by the organization’s strategic plan. Within your operating plan, team members should be clear on what metrics will be used to measure success within their areas of accountability. Be sure to celebrate successes and acknowledge achievement!

References:• Collins, Jim (2001). Good to Great. New York, NY: Harper Business.• Wickman, Gino (2011). Traction. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc.

Q & A