Associative Thinking: A Path to Creativity in Associations

Creativity has long been thought to involve associative processes in memory: connecting concepts to create ideas, inventions, and innovation. Membership management software now allows association professionals to devote more time to creative thinking and program development, providing opportunities to excite and engage audiences and drive membership growth.

Why Associations Struggle to Innovate

Governance and Management has often dominated thinking in Associations, as volunteer leaders and professional staff look to meet economic challenges through greater efficiencies in the administration of traditional programs and benefits

As advancements in association management software continue to help reduce costs, and increase effectiveness, or at least efficiency, Associations continue to face stiff head-winds in building and maintaining membership bases.

Part of the problem may be a reluctance, or perceived lack of capacity to think creatively, and to consider and develop new engagement strategies and opportunities.

Worth remembering that the term associative thinking is associated with creativity and that there is no reason why associations can’t become best known for their innovative programming, rather than their approaches to governance and management.

Five Ways to Apply Associative Thinking to Membership Growth

Here are five creative opportunities

1. Reach Out And Engage

Without even discussing membership, determine who you would like to have as members and reach out to them to get their input as to the experiences and programming they would find valuable. No doubt, this will reveal some very interesting services they would appreciate, including personalized content and resources to help them improve, move forward, and connect with other like-minded people.

2. Consider Those Within Your Membership Who Can Offer Expertise

We often take for granted the depth of expertise and experience we have within our own membership. Successful leaders, at the top of their game who are capable of offering insights into trends, policy developments, and professional best-practices. Leveraging their expertise as featured speakers, content providers, or seminar leaders can demonstrate important value, and attract your target audience to engage with you, and consider membership more fully.

The opportunity to engage with such leaders personally, whether virtually or in-person, at events, is not to be discounted.

3. Creating A Sense Of Member Community

After all, the word ‘association’ says it all, or should. One of the most compelling reasons people join associations is to connect. This is especially true these days with so many of us spending so much time on our own, without contact with other like-minded professionals. The ability to bounce ideas off another person, interested in the same things you are, or to hear from others as to how they try to meet the same challenges, perhaps with more success than you, never gets old, and has tremendous value.

However, communities don’t just happen. There has to be a raison d’etre, an attraction to associate based on a communal learning experience, followed by an opportunity for exchange and discussion. Create that reason, and make it compelling.

4. Advocate

Associations can and do play a powerful role in shaping their members’ (and non-members) success by representing their members’ interests. Advocacy can be an equally powerful influence on membership development, but not as much as in times past. Many simply expect these activities to occur, with, or without, their membership.That said, communicating, broadly, beyond your membership, as to the key issues confronting members, and would-be members, is vitally important, reinforcing the importance of the work you do.

Asking your audience for their thoughts on efforts to-date, and how to improve, including what other issues to consider, is simply an excellent way of engaging, and demonstrating a very subtle, but foundational, principle of why associations exist.

5. Personal and Professional Growth

People are always looking for something special, possibly highly personal, that gives them a sense of development, of enrichment, of improvement. Associations should always be mindful of seeking out insight as to what people are looking for, and still haven’t found. It could be this value is derived from interactions with others, either on-line or in-person, or both.

How, exactly to express that goal — to offer value in terms of life and career experience — takes creativity and associated thinking, and the involvement of association leaders, members and staff.

The Future of Creative Associations

We are actually living at an exceptional time in the life of Associations.

Association management software platforms can offer so much efficiency and effectiveness to deliver traditional programs and benefits, leaving time for senior leaders and staff to move into more creative areas of program, and membership development.

The time for associative thinking, and creativity, is now.

It is an opportunity not to be missed.

One that just might excite potential members, and drive membership, while also re-engaging you, your staff, and senior volunteer leaders.

About the Author

Paul McKay CAE
Paul is the Senior Consultant with McKay Associates, specializing in personal and organizational consultative development. He can be reached through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckay-associates/