Building Strength Through Challenge
I recently attended a panel discussion at the American Society for Association Executives’ Annual Meeting, where the panelists shared the challenges their boards had navigated. One panelist shared a story about her board’s decision to revamp their decades-long awards program. Each year, the awards committee struggled to identify qualified candidates, and younger or newer members rarely seemed to be nominated. The board determined the problem lay in the outdated award criteria.
They made the bold choice to pause the program for a year while they researched, evaluated, and made strategic changes to make the program more equitable and inviting. The immediate feedback from membership was outrage. The panelist — the organization’s Executive Director — described the flood of emails, letters, and phone calls protesting the pause and potential changes. A small group of members even circulated a petition to remove the standing board.
Her board held strong. They did the work, reimagined the program, and launched a new version the following year. When they did, they began hearing from a quieter but much larger portion of their membership — members who had never been nominated before now felt welcomed and valued. That year brought a record number of applicants, and the ceremony was described as joyful and invigorating for the first time in years. In her closing, the Executive Director shared that she continually reminded her board: “We can honor our history without showing our age.”
The Weight of Leadership
Her story so clearly illustrates the weight that board members carry and has had me thinking about the courage required in board service. Volunteering for a society board is hard work that is often under-appreciated. Board members are elected to represent their peers and their profession. They must get up to speed quickly on history, finances, and strategy, and are often asked to make important decisions right away. And when members are unhappy, it’s the board that takes the heat.
It’s not easy to be the “buck-stops-here” person — especially when you remain a colleague among those you serve. Yet, that’s what leadership requires.
Making Difficult Decisions as a Bridge to Transformation
There was a time when courageous leadership was defined by strength, aggression, and infallibility. Today, it looks different. Courageous leaders require empathy, perseverance, resilience, and integrity. Infallibility isn’t required — what matters is the willingness to act strategically despite obstacles, criticism, and uncertainty.
As Brené Brown has described, courageous leadership means taking risks, having difficult conversations, and moving forward even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. Change is often the bridge to a better future, both in organizations and in life. Hard choices force leaders to confront what truly matters, shed practices that no longer serve, and create space for innovation. Without those moments of reckoning, organizations risk stagnation.
Choosing Courage Over Comfort
This is where the work of boards lives: in the uncomfortable space between preserving what has been and building what could be. It takes the capacity to sit with uncertainty, to risk criticism, and to act in the face of discomfort. Sometimes that means cutting programs, scaling back in areas, or forging new partnerships. These decisions are never easy — but they are often the very choices that allow organizations to survive, adapt, and thrive.
Just like the board that reimagined its awards program, your board’s choices may face loud resistance at first. But if you hold steady and keep the long-term vision in focus, you may find that those decisions create renewed energy, inclusivity, and strength for your organization.
Every board will face its share of crossroads moments. In those moments, the choice is clear: courage over comfort. That is the kind of leadership that transforms organizations — and the kind of legacy boards can be proud to leave behind.
