The State of ACDA and Our Next Steps

When I started my work as Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association in 2008, I began with a vision for ACDA I have not varied from since the start: I envision an ACDA that establishes the opportunity for every child in the United States to sing in a choir; I envision an ACDA that is fully engaged in world choral initiatives; I envision an ACDA that utilizes the full extent of technological communication and other technologies for the benefit of our membership; and, I envision an ACDA that sets the research and publication agenda for the best thinking, past and present, in choral music.

 

In 2012, I entered what I consider the second phase of my work, beginning a period of strategic planning with our Association in order to discern the kind of ACDA our membership wanted to be in the twenty-first century. That process touched on planning that started with our national leadership, continued with a national survey of our membership, was followed by a period of reflection and refinement of the survey results, was distilled into ACDA’s first-ever Mission Statement, and finally culminated in reforms that were ratified in January of this year by our entire membership that will reshape the way ACDA does its work to fulfi ll its mission.

 

I now enter what I consider my third phase as ACDA’s Executive Director, looking to the next four years and the work that lies ahead for us. In this extended blog (spoiler alert!), I would like to reflect on what I know now that I may not have known as clearly earlier in my work, where I think we are as an Association at this point in time, and where I see my work headed in the years to come.

 

The American Choral Directors Association is a not-for-profit association of choral music educators, conductors, performers, students, composers, music industry members, and others involved in choral music performance, education, composition, and advocacy. The mission of ACDA is to inspire excellence in choral music education, performance, composition, and advocacy, and our twelve purposes are always printed in the sidebar of my monthly column in Choral Journal. ACDA is the world’s largest professional choral music association. Through its membership of more than 21,000 active, retired, student, international, and industry members, and hundreds of thousands of choral music performers, ACDA serves millions of singers of all ages and of all levels of performance. There are ACDA state associations in all fifty United States, which we organize into seven geographical divisions. ACDA provides a wide array of services to support choral music education and performance, including print and web-based media, professional development conferences and workshops, collaborative partnerships with similar associations, and a growing number of benefits to its members (see my editorial in the January 2016 edition of Choral Journal). ACDA is recognized as the national voice for choral music education and performance, and as such represents the field in national initiatives and advocacy. ACDA has an office staff of fourteen, with additional contract labor staffing.

 

My organizational leadership is characterized by innovation, collaboration, discipline, and mentorship. In order to meet the challenges of a twenty-first-century not-for-profit voluntary membership organization, today’s leader must be innovative. Strategic planning takes place in every area of an organization’s work to assist in charting a course of action pursued to address a mission and vision. Collaboration unifies stakeholders in the ownership of that vision and the pursuit of the mission. Discipline is required in order to provide stewardship in the directed use of the Association’s resources. Mentorship throughout this process creates a sustainable environment for the plans implemented and for the never-ending task of strategic planning. My professional experience over the last eight years in leading the world’s largest non-profit professional organization for conductors, combined with my earlier work as associate dean in higher education, teaching and research experience, and experience running my own successful corporation, has allowed me to work and lead in environments motivated by different action perspectives and motivations. Non-profit associational work, higher education, denominational church life, and my own for-profit corporation have each offered insights into the motivation for different aspects of our mission. All of these experiences have taught me a great deal about leadership, budgeting, management, human resources, business analysis, legal procedures, strategic planning, operational finance, technological systems, data systems, social media, and a number of other practical aspects of business and academic work, work within a faith community, and work motivated by profit. It is my desire to continue to channel this knowledge and experience for the benefit of ACDA and our mission. The greatest opportunity of all in the coming years for the work of ACDA will be to cultivate the resources necessary to accomplish our Association’s mission and vision. Strategic planning will be called upon again to develop the resource and financial architecture needed by ACDA. I am pleased that my interest, expertise, experience, and energy collide with this moment in the life of our Association. The guiding principles necessary for a successful development plan will again be in the areas of innovation, collaboration, discipline, and mentorship. A widening circle of stakeholders is involved in the development of the resources that will advance ACDA in this area, including partners representing both individual philanthropy and institutional philanthropy. These partners include current members, retired members, friends and donors, regional and national institutions, and others desiring to share in the mission and vision of ACDA. I am pleased we have had success in the areas of strategic planning, enrollment management, philanthropy and fundraising, conference planning, talent recruitment, and other areas. I am also pleased that I approach this work with a trajectory that offers confidence within my own scholarship and pedagogy but excited about directing my eff orts toward a worthy pursuit such as our Association’s mission.

 

The further development of the financial architecture of ACDA will be one of the greatest intrinsic rewards of my work with our membership and leadership in the years ahead. As Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, my official contractual duties are as follows:

 

1. Coordinate and communicate with the National Executive Committee to supervise all operations of the ACDA organization.

2. Supervise the programs, projects, and activities of the ACDA staff.
3. Direct and coordinate development activities of the ACDA organization, all endowments and all entities, and the programs and events related thereto.

 

Practically speaking, these duties are worked out in the daily and ongoing responsibilities described by the following tasks I have identified over the last eight years. This list is developed to inform and guide the work of my position now and in the future:

 

• Fiscal management of the ACDA budget and staff .

• Communicating clearly and listening to members, including the ability to clearly articulate ACDA’s message and to command the respect of the ACDA audience.

• Building relationships within a diverse membership organization and with other organizations, business groups, and coalitions.

• Negotiating and building consensus.

• Building teams, including the recruitment, development, and supervision of staff .

• Developing sources of non-dues revenue.

• Understanding business issues as they affect ACDA, knowledge of how associations can work most effectively, and a familiarity with the legal issues related to association management.

• Developing a global vision and an ability to understand and anticipate emerging needs as they might affect ACDA.

 

In addition to the effective performance of the above responsibilities, I have concluded that the Executive Director of ACDA should demonstrate the following personal attributes in the accomplishment of the duties of this position:

 

• Strong personal character, a keen sense of protocol, and respect in the discipline.

• Proven leadership ability and demonstrated business management skills.

• Strong strategic-thinking and listening skills.

• An entrepreneurial spirit.

• Sufficient self-confidence to place service over ego.

• Diplomatic skills necessary to reach common ground and build alliances without compromising ACDA’s interests, and the ability to command the respect of colleagues and political communities.

• The ability to build and maintain key relationships through networking.

• An understanding of the role of Executive Director that supports the policy-making role and responsibilities of elected leaders.
• An understanding that the Association belongs to the members and a willingness to put members and mission first.

• An ability to work in a decisive manner in a results-oriented, decision-making environment.

• A reputation for being energetic, intelligent, hard working, enthusiastic, and willing to offer opinions and judgments. Further, the Executive Director of ACDA will be responsible for the following as we look to the future:

• Implementing the vision of the Association.

• Managing the operations of the Association.

• Providing leadership to the staff , including responsibility for hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating staff .

• Providing advice and counsel to the appointed and elected

officers and members to ensure the achievement of the Association’s mission and goals.

• Managing the strategic planning process in conjunction with the Executive Committee.

• Overseeing and managing the development of the budget of the Association while identifying new sources of revenue.

• Developing and implementing a robust membership retention and attraction program, and ensuring that the Association’s offerings are aligned with the needs of the membership.

• Building and enhancing relationships with the Executive Committee, the National Board, and with state and division leadership.

• Demonstrating responsiveness to the needs of the division and state ACDA chapter leadership and membership.

• Ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the operation of the Association.

• Leading a results-oriented, responsive, and well-integrated senior management team focused on goals and objectives designed to meet the needs of ACDA’s growing membership.

• Articulating clearly the issues of concern to ACDA and the choral music profession and serving as an effective advocate for the interests of choral music education in interactions with other associations, business groups, the music industry, government policymakers, and other organizations.

• Advocating for the visibility of the organization with all of its publics.

• Overseeing and participating in the implementation of ACDA’s governance structure.

 

 

Utilizing my ongoing study and evaluation of the work of ACDA, along with the evaluation data collected over the last four years, I have developed the following goals for my work in leading the Association in the years ahead in three key areas:

 

1) Association Strategy and Planning

To lead the Association in its first-ever study of the financial architecture at work throughout the Association and, after a thorough study of the findings, develop a plan for addressing the interrelated financial needs of the Association as we move into the future.

 

2) Program Management

To lead the Association in staffing and engaging our new program structure, a process that began with the final constitutional vote of the membership in January 2016. The initial program and committee staffing aspect of this goal will take place in the spring of 2016, and engagement will begin with the gathering of the leadership at the National Leadership Conference in June 2016. Further engagement will take place as agendas are carefully built by the Standing Committees, and Committee Chairs are motivated to lead the work and achieve the outcomes defined.

 

3) Personnel Management

To continue the development of a professional staff in the National Office, aligning current and future staff with new structure (as of February 1, 2016), program, and financial requirements identified in the ongoing process of strategic planning.

 

It is with a sense of excitement and humility that I anticipate the coming years of serving the American Choral Directors Association as Executive Director.

 

Tim Sharp