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Managed Change and Transition:
You Can’t Do One
Without the Other
By Paul Lombardo, MPS, RPA-C
APAP President
Those who have been involved with successfully managing
organizational change often use words like “energizing,”
“thought-provoking,” and “challenging” to describe
their experience. Some whose experience has been less positive might
use words that are a bit harsher like “arduous,” “stressful,”
and “time-consuming.” No matter the words, anyone who has
ever been involved with growing an organization acknowledges that
effectively managing change is fundamental to success and meeting
an organization’s mission and goals. Managing change is also
a key responsibility of any board and, indeed, any leader involved
in association management. In truth, nothing less than assuring the
vitality of an organization and optimizing its potential to provide
the best services possible to its members guarantees an organization’s
success.
That is why I am particularly pleased to report that
at its January planning retreat, the APAP Board of Directors took
the next step toward managing change and realizing our organizational
goal of achieving independent management. Consensus on the
need to realize this goal was achieved through a wide-ranging, thoughtful,
and frank exchange among APAP board and Transition Task Force (TTF)
members in the context of a careful evaluation of the Association’s
operations and resources. Throughout the meeting, retreat participants
were clearly guided by the belief that our members both want, and
deserve, to be part of an organization that personifies both their
unique identity and their contribution to the PA profession and which,
at the same time, ensures that they receive the highest quality, most
cost-effective services possible. The use of a facilitator with expertise
in working with organizations in transition and the input of Association
staff provided invaluable contributions to this positive and productive
planning retreat.
As noted by many retreat participants, the goal of achieving
independent management is not a new one, but rather one whose time
has come. This fact was brought home through a presentation on the
“state of the Association” that included an extensive review
of Association financial reports, past planning documents, and recent
membership and stakeholder surveys. These materials provided information
vital to understanding past planning for transition, the current status
of the Association, and the strong sense of where our members and
leaders thought the organization needed to be in the future. They
also provided the context for future Transition Task Force activities
and helped TTF and board members formulate the steps in transition
planning.
In continuing the process of communicating with you,
I would like to share what the board and TTF members identified as
some of the next key steps in transition planning
- Reviewing and, as necessary, revising APAP’s mission statement
to reflect our current operations and member needs;
- Articulating succinctly to our members and principal stakeholders
the reasons for APAP’s planned move to autonomy;
- Developing a communication plan that will keep members abreast
of TTF and board activities related to transition planning;
- Completing a thorough analysis of the costs associated with such
a move (this will build on the analysis that was conducted as part
of APAP’s five-year business plan in 2001) and relating this
to the Association’s revenue stream;
- Formulating a clear time line that identifies past and future
transition activities;
- Providing both the board and TTF with training and resources that
will help to hone their individual and group skills as transition
planners.
Patrick Knott, chair of the Transition Task Force, will
soon be convening a meeting of the task force to take the next steps
in transition planning. Our membership can be very confident that
he and the other members of the task force and board intend to move
toward independent management in a thoughtful, deliberate way to guarantee
that the needs of our members and the Association continue to be met.
You may also be assured that in this process the structure of our
organization will be carefully reviewed to be certain that it best
supports the functions and membership services of the Association.
I encourage you to communicate with Dr. Knott or me, should you have
any thoughts concerning this initiative.
Finally, during our retreat it was clear that the days
ahead will test our capacity as an organization to achieve our vision
and realize the Association’s full potential. It was also clear
in working with the inspired group of leaders who attended the retreat
— and the many other members who have spoken with me about this
change — that we are rich in resources, not the least of which
are the creativity, intelligence, patience, dedication, endurance,
passion, and vision of our constituents. I look forward to working
with you to ensure that our dream is fulfilled and that our contribution
to the PA profession is optimized.
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