The State of the Association Getting Healthier: A 2017 New Year’s Resolution for NCAP It is a new year and during this time, many of us think about our health and how to get healthier. At the NCAP Convention on November 5th, Executive Director Shelton provided a “State of the Association” address that was framed around the context of organizational health and just how healthy is our Association. Organizational health can be assessed by a variety of definitions and metrics, but overall is usually described as: the healthier an organization, the greater its agility and ability to function effectively. The more nimble an organization, the greater its ability to adapt and respond to internal needs and external pressures. McKinsey & Company, a global organizational consulting firm with decades of qualitative analysis on leadership structures and management decisions in both public and private sectors has found that healthy organizations, regardless of size or mission, are the ones that are both stable and dynamic. Stable, meaning the organization has processes built in to allow for resilience, reliability and efficiency; and dynamic, referring to the organization’s nimbleness and capacity for timely adaptation.
and finances. In Shelton’s convention address, she was transparent regarding areas of concern, what work has been devoted to these areas of concern and where ongoing improvement is needed. She shared with the audience that the NCAP BOD had been developing a sound Strategic Plan that would serve as the guiding document for the Association’s resurgence and transformation. There are five overarching goals within the Strategic Plan and each addresses an aspect essential to the sustainability and relevance of the Association. The Strategic Plan can be found in this issue of The North Carolina Pharmacist or online at the Association’s website at www.ncpharmacists.org. During the third and fourth quarters of 2016, the BOD examined closely NCAP’s governance, volunteer and operational structures. Considerable time was devoted to determining an optimal Board size, one for which the Board positions better facilitate performance and outcomes, as well as changes to various working groups to help improve organizational connectedness and effectiveness. Changes to the Bylaws were addressed, and are currently being enacted. Orientations for all leadership groups, including training for new Directors on the Board are in progress in an attempt to more clearly delineate roles and expectations. Regarding internal operations, Shelton shared with the membership that she had been updating many of the operational policies and procedures, as well as a number of contracts. The focus has been to ensure the Association is operating legally, ethically, efficiently and as cost effectively as possible.
In the world of non-profit membership associations, such as NCAP, the health of the organization is also based on relevance, as defined by the ability to: 1) align people around a clear vision, strategy and inclusive culture, 2) successfully execute initiatives, and 3) adapt overtime to new needs and changing trends. In essence, NCAP’s health is dependent upon our ability to engage, be effective and stay current. The effectiveness and success of membership associations, like NCAP, are often determined based on metrics examining governance, From a financial standpoint, Shelton portrayed confimembership, planning, operations, services, resources dence in the Association’s financial procedures, assuring
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