Toward more effective internal communication
February has become a busy month for AIA Houston. Our Chapter meeting, dedicated to design dialogue and the design awards announcements, is February 5th. In collaboration with the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, the "Good Brick" Awards and our own 25 Year Award will be presented February 7th at Union Station. Later this month is Grassroots 2001, AIA National's annual leadership and legislative conference in Washington D.C. This is the yearly gathering of chapter presidents and presidents-elect for the purpose of sharing information and ideas and to learn about national legislative issues of interest to our profession. In addition, it is an opportunity to meet with and lobby our legislators. I'll write about the issues and our efforts and responses from our legislators in a future letter. This is also the month that the long awaited CRS reunion is scheduled to take place in College Station.
Last month I wrote about visions, contradictions, and strategic directions as part of the long range planning process for the Chapter. Throughout the development of our strategic directions the Long Range Planning (LRP) Committee and the Board have considered three things: What is our preferred future? What are the obstacles to that future? What initiatives will get us past the obstacles and allow us to achieve that preferred future? In terms of how we interact externally, this process has generated ideas for initiatives designed to create strategic partnerships, similar to the MFA/AIA decorative arts program and collaborative relationships with our partners in the building industry. This month, I want to focus on some thoughts regarding the development of effective strategies for how we interact internally. In our preferred future how would AIA Houston tailor its services to focus on individual member needs and expectations?
A program called Allegiance developed for organizations such as ours offers a pragmatic framework for understanding why members are involved in an organization and using that understanding to develop strategies to provide the services you want. Allegiance proposes that there are two essential components for developing an effective "internal" strategic plan responsive to the various needs and interests of an organization's members. The first component is an understanding of individual member expectations and their reasons for involvement. In our case, developing an understanding of what you want AIA Houston to be.
At our Board Retreat in November, Board Members responded to this question. Their responses reflect the diversity of expectations for our organization. Some want an organization for social interaction and fellowship, "a place to go for architects." Others see the need for a nimble organization easy for members to get in and out with what they want, "a place to get something of value when you want it." Several expressed the desire for more issue orientation, expressing publicly the value of design, more vocal in support of good design, "setting the agenda for urban issues." Also expressed was the desire for AIA Houston to be more than what it is in terms of a willingness to take risks, and to express strong opinions on issues affecting architects, "an organization that pushes itself and is capable of reinventing itself, learning and adapting." What do you want AIA Houston to be for you?
The second component is to develop a relationship between the individual member and the organization specifically for the purpose of providing focused information about services that satisfy the needs and expectations of that member. In other words, what can we do for you? As an example, members who prefer to use the Chapter as an information resource "get in and out with what they want when they want it" will likely be responsive to improved electronic access and communications that can be focused to meet their specific information needs quickly.
As an initial step the Board and various committees will be working to design and implement a framework for member involvement. Such a framework would ideally provide avenues designed for the individual member to access and/or participate in the organization in the manner that satisfies those individual motivations for membership. The objective being to address the strategic directives of the LRP Committee for a comprehensive "internal" communications plan and to create policies and programs directed at architects currently under-served or untapped. Building committee involvement and membership, a plan for broader use of the web, expanded educational programs and a program for developing future leaders are just some of the initial goals. Stay tuned.
Ray Leiker, AIA
