Want to rise through the ranks at your association? Don’t have time for career development standards? This ultra-quick guide is for you.

In collaboration with Associations Now, we asked this question on behalf of association executives: What should you do when you’re feeling left behind. But that’s a little too “glass half empty” for this particular blog post.

Instead, consider this question: What should you do to get ahead?

This is where association career development enters the picture. But maybe you’re not looking for your next landing spot. Let’s assume, for this guide’s sake, your education efforts are aimed at helping you climb the ladder closest to you now.

This guide will teach you, or reaffirm everything you already knew, about association career development. And hopefully by the end, you’ll have a little more confidence to go after that next job opening when it comes around.

Step 1: Understand Your Goal

Knowing is half the battle.

Why do you want to light a fire under your career trajectory at your current association? What do you need to put you on track toward becoming the next executive director, or whatever is your ideal position among the trade or professional association?

Once you’ve answered those questions, here are your next steps.

The Harvard Business Review suggests starting here:

1. Understand How You’re Evaluated
2. Isolate Your Weaker Skills
3. List Your Competencies
4. Increase Your Visibility
5. Become an Expert in a Growing Field
6. Seek a Strong Mentor

Now that you understand your goal and know how to achieve it, you’re on the right track.

Step 2: Learn Everything You Can

This will take time, but it won’t take as long as earning a master’s degree. And, you’ll likely learn a lot more, too.

Try asking fellow association staff if you can tag along for a day. Learn what they’re doing. How they’re advancing your association’s goals or helping it achieve its mission.

That puts you on track to know a little bit of everything. Trust us, you’ll enjoy that leg up on the competition later on.

Finally, be sure to learn all of your association’s business-critical tools.

Email marketing. Your online community platform. The association management software. These are the things that will give you an edge on everyone else.

Be sure to make use of the educational tools and guided learning made available. If not, this process is going to take you a little longer.

Step 3: Stop Time-Wasting

Your association future probably hinges on this step more than anything else.

If you’re spending way too much time in meetings or sending useless emails, that’s the image you’ll cultivate for yourself around the office. Is that really the image of a leader?

Instead, budget time for necessary meetings, and set aside a block to answer necessary emails. Then, leave a couple of hours every week to make the most of the learning opportunities available to you.

Ideally, you’ll make progress toward mastering a new skill every week.

Take Your Association Career Development to the Next Level

Nothing in this guide will take your breath away — as you’ve probably noticed. It’s common-sense stuff, but suggestions which are made to work and often get overlooked.

Try mastering the hard stuff — the things no one else wants to learn. Be the first at your association to adopt data-driven decision-making. Or, make the most of your real-time data visualizations available in your AMS to show your team you’re a results-driven leader.

Anything and everything anyone else can’t or won’t do… Start there, and your association career will take off in no time.

Want to learn more about the association universe? Register for the next free Protech webinar.