Ohio Academy of Family Physicians President-Elect Ryan Kauffman, MD, and Deputy Executive Vice President Kate Mahler, CAE, traveled to Chicago April 4-5 to attend the American Society of Association Executives Symposium for Chief Executive Officers and Chief Elected Officers (CEO).
Dr. Kauffman, in his report back to the board, stated, “This meeting was an opportunity to learn more about good leadership in an association and how to be a more effective leader. It focused on developing confidence in the competence of your partners, making knowledge-based decisions, having clarity in roles and responsibilities, and creating clarity and consensus on what constitutes success.”
“One issue that was discussed at length was reaching out to members from different generations including subpopulations of each of these groups and how that will impact the future of our organization. There was also significant discussion on levels of involvement of members and how to increase the engagement of members,” Dr. Kauffman continued.
“The exercise that I found to be particularly useful was evaluating programs based on their program attractiveness, competitive position, and alternative coverage,” Dr. Kauffman stated. “A matrix was provided as a way to look at the many good programs we have and decide how we may want to re-allocate resources.”
Dr. Kauffman concluded by saying, “Overall, the meeting was an excellent learning experience and gave me some new ideas and insights that will be very valuable as I look forward to my year as OAFP president.”
OAFP’s incoming president and senior staff attend this conference annually to prepare for the upcoming Academy year. The symposium encourages staff and volunteer leaders to explore annual priorities and determine how to best work together. Designed for leadership of professional societies, trade associations, and voluntary non-profit organizations, the CEO Symposium provides insight into challenges facing association leaders, and highlights the value of informed policy and strategy as primary tools of the leadership team.