Last year, ASAE conducted a Job Task Analysis that explored the core functional areas of association management. The results of this work will help in developing a comprehensive Body of Knowledge for the association field and CAE content outline. Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) conducted the research, and the survey results confirmed identifiable competencies that reflect important elements of knowledge for those who work in associations.
The results also highlighted that professionals working in associations have a broad range of responsibilities that can be organized into strategic, applied, and foundational levels of application for purposes of understanding and acting upon individuals’ content needs. The job task analysis, particularly the strategic-level view of functions, was used for refreshing the CAE content outline and exam for 2015. Additionally, ASAE has begun using the job task analysis as a framework for products, including the new ASAE Handbook of Professional Practices in Association Management, Third Edition and the CAE Study Guide 2015. The new ASAE Handbook of Professional Practices in Association Management includes an additional emphasis given to the Chief Staff Executive (CSE) lens in each of the functional areas and the business acumen required to lead and manage associations. The third edition is dedicated to the Founding Executive Editor, John B. (Jack) Cox.
Both resources are co-published with John Wiley and Sons and are available online in ASAE’s Bookstore.
Hard times that sap your energy and leave you frustrated are an inevitable part of life. Maybe you lost a job. Maybe your finances took a turn for the worse. Maybe your personal life is in disarray or a health problem emerged forcing a lifestyle change. Such setbacks can leave people feeling afraid, uncertain, angry or unsatisfied, says Darlene Hunter, author of Win-Ability, Navigating through Life’s Challenges with a Winning Attitude (©2015, ??). Hunter offers five tips that can help change your thinking, which in turn will change your behavior and, ultimately, change your results.
- Be a planner. To live your dream, you need to know what you want and have a plan for getting there. Planning your day, week, and month are critical ingredients to living your dream and purpose. The "how" and "why" elements are important factors in planning, as they guide you in the direction you want to go.
- Be goal oriented. Once you set goals, the next step is to work on completing them. That’s why it’s important to set goals you can accomplish. Each time you can check a goal off your list, you are one step closer to what you ultimately want to achieve. The sense of accomplishment that comes from reaching even the smallest goals will help you keep moving and striving to get your desired end.
- Be driven for results. When you are driven, you have a compulsive and urgent desire to accomplish what you are seeking, whether it’s a bonus, a promotion, additional knowledge in a particular area or some other goal. The important factor is to always know what you are seeking. Results-driven people focus on meeting objectives and delivering on the goals they set.
- Have a winning attitude. You must be determined, dedicated and devoted to succeed. You should never give up on your goals and dreams simply because something goes wrong or you are not getting where you hoped to be fast enough.
- Be focused. When you are focused, you have a clear perception and understanding of what you want to accomplish and where you need to go to get there. Think about long-distance runners who will run a 26-mile marathon. They find their pace and then they stay with it. They may get weary and tired, but they find their zone and stay focused and concentrate on what is needed to get to the end.