ASBO International is the premier organization is developing, maintaining and elevating school business officials around the globe. ASBO accomplishes this by offering best in class professional development, providing opportunities to network and collaborate, providing advocacy, promoting best practices and promoting the SFO program and other award programs. I am eager to bring my passion for the profession, and for the development of future leaders, to ASBO International.
Organizations across the country are grappling with this issue as professionals find themselves trying to balance work and family commitments. Then, trying to add time to volunteer for boards or organizations that have a mission they believe in is tougher than ever. I think ASBO needs to show they respect the time constraints that many are facing today by introducing new and flexible options for people that will allow them to share their time and talent. My suggestions to expand membership include, but are not limited to:
- Develop online options for ASBO to interact with Board members in an effort to make communication options more viable and ways to share information.
- Increase options for expanding ASBO’s partnerships to include state and national affiliates to engage in addressing national issues.
- Review and revise professional development offerings to ensure the organization is delivering current information and program options to all members.
- Increase the use of alternative delivery methods such as online learning, interactive tools, etc…
- Explore strategies to implement micro volunteer opportunities to increase engagement while respecting members’ time constraints.
I believe there are three key characteristics of an ethical organization: honesty, integrity and accountability. By maintaining an atmosphere that promotes transparency, an organization can address issues that might arise in an upfront and truthful manner. That includes sharing decisions that are difficult to agree upon and might be considered unpopular by the community. In the end, integrity involves all members of ASBO adopting and following the organization’s mission and vision. In my opinion, this is the standard other organizations need to adopt when addressing issues and challenges. It is also important that members hold the highest expectations for ASBO leadership. The organization must reciprocate that respect when recruiting new members and maintaining the support of those who have been involved in the organization in the past.
I believe ASBO International can strengthen relationships with its affiliates by enhancing collaboration efforts, sharing resources, offering joint professional development and developing a way to provide affiliates easier access to ASBO leadership for support on governance issues. This can be accomplished by creating best practices across affiliates, initiating partnerships between affiliates and sharing proven best practices related to successful initiatives.