Associations run on relationships — with sponsors, government, sister organisations, commercial partners. Handled well, these multiply what a lean organisation can do. Handled vaguely, they curdle: the sponsor who expected more than they got, the partner who quietly drifted, the arrangement nobody can quite remember the terms of.
Almost always, the trouble isn't bad faith. It's a lack of clarity at the start. What does each side actually expect? What are we each giving and getting? How long does this run, and how does it end? When those things live only in a handshake and a shared sense of goodwill, the goodwill eventually meets reality and someone feels short-changed.
The fix is unglamorous: be explicit. Write down what the partnership is for, what each side commits to, and what success looks like. It's not about distrust — it's about protecting a good relationship from the slow erosion of mismatched assumptions.
And from the board's seat: any significant partnership should be visible to the board, aligned with the mission, and free of conflicts. Relationships are an asset. Unmanaged, they can become a liability.
How a board oversees partnerships and stakeholder relationships is covered in both courses.
Free first step: the Stakeholder Engagement Plan builder.
Annie
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