An association can be defined as a group of people with the knowledge, enthusiasm and resources meeting together for a common purpose. They are usually organised through a Board or Committee which is elected by members and lead by a President or Chair of the association. These people are usually all volunteers, however there may be some form of remuneration for key positions if agreed upon.

There are usually two kinds of associations with the unincorporated Association not having a set of rules and the incorporated Association following a constitution or set of rules that outlines strict processes for activities such as the appointments of key positions and what those positions do. The constitution also outlines the rules of conduct for the Association with one of those being that if the association were to finish, then all assets of the association must be donated to others and not sold for the benefit of the association members.

I believe you can have an outstanding group of people who are meeting together and an excellent constitution, but an Association can still fail without two things - passion and commitment.

If passion and commitment are not present especially within the executive positions such as the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and other Committee members than the Association will never function as well as it could. Having the wrong people in these positions who are not passionate or committed to the purpose of the association means it will never run as well as it could do, and worse still, it could fail.

Leadership without passion and commitment is not leadership at all.

Every Association needs passionate and committed leadership and every leader needs a passionate and committed Association. They need and build each other.

So how do leaders in association lose their passion or commitment? There are many reasons for the lack or decline of passion or commitment in a leader. However one of the main reasons is not feeling appreciated. Leaders in associations give much of their time, energy and resources voluntarily to that Association because they feel their efforts are being valued.

These people could be leading other organisations but have chosen this particular association with its particular purpose, however, the very nature of an Association’s constitution never allows any of its leaders to receive the remuneration of benefits they so richly deserve, at least financially or through any remuneration anyway. By the very nature of Associations any leaders who are mainly motivated by remuneration will lose their passion and commitment for that Association.

Additionally, leaders who have been leading that Association for too long usually end up having their outstanding skills and abilities taken for granted by its members and those members just stop thanking them. It may have been small things that members used to do like acknowledge their birthday with a cake, or drop off some baking or send thank you cards after meetings or events, but in the realm of being appreciated, the total of those seemingly small acts of kindness is always greater than their sum. No one likes to feel unappreciated, especially leaders who could be voluntarily leading and being more valued somewhere else.

The cure? Set up a thank you person or small team in your Association whose job is to thank people in small ways for the excellent work they are doing. Give them a small budget to do small acts of kindness such as buy thank you cards or organise baking or do whatever they need to do to keep passion and commitment alive in your Association. Start with the leaders – who 9 times out of ten will say, “you did not have to do that”, the reply being, “and you do not have to be here in our Association either, but we are so grateful you are. Thank you.”

Ngahihi - o – te – ra Bidois is “The Face of New Zealand’ and is an international Leadership Speaker, author, columnist and leader who presents globally to organisations on leadership. He lives in Rotorua New Zealand and is married to Carolyn. Ngahi is a Professional Speaker, Leader, Professional Director, Author and Columnist. He holds a business degree, a teaching diploma and a Masters degree in Education with honours. www.ngahibidois.com