The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), in a booklet written to explain careers in association management, refers to a maze. In my experience, that is certainly true. Growing up, through college and into graduate school, I never heard anyone say that their career aspiration was to be an association executive. In many ways, it is an accidental career. Yet, it is a noble one, and can be incredibly meaningful for those who find their way to it.
The same is basically true for other nonprofit organizations, although cause based organizations do have a somewhat different pull and career path. However, the challenges faced once one arrives in nonprofit world are at least parallel, and in many cases overlap with those of leaders in associations.
What is needed to navigate this maze? A map and a compass would be helpful, along with the necessary supplies (or means to acquire them) that will allow someone to make the journey successfully. But here is the secret for any association/nonprofit executive director: there is no final destination. And in this environment, even to stay stable, one must continually be learning, adding tools and resources, and checking the map and the compass. The terrain and climate is changing rapidly.
This blog has one mission: to provide executive directors (and others who aspire to be) a resource and home for finding, sharing, building the tools necessary to continue through the maze successfully. We will want to build a community here and in related media, that can scrape through the clutter and noise and deal with the direct issues executive directors face. We will focus on the whole person—from the professional aspects, to the personal issues about what it all means, and how to continue to find meaning and fulfillment in a career as an executive director. Perhaps just as important, what does one do when the fulfillment and meaning is lacking. Our goal will be to find resource for replenishment as well.
Join us! It will be a worthwhile journey.
PS: You can find us on twitter at @exdirtoolkit.
Executive Director's Toolkit 