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This application brief shares Phase One of an action research project for the Association of Leadership Educators. This project demonstrates how a member-based association can successfully engage its members in terms of identifying needs, defining strategic priorities, and detecting resource development opportunities. This body of work has various implications for leadership and leadership education and provides a model that other associations can replicate to engage in resource development.

A brief history of the association’s first 25 years since its inception is provided in this brief and the work of the Resource Development Committee is presented. The findings from two focus group sessions conducted during the 2014 annual conference are highlighted and the paper closes with a discussion of how the Resource Development Committee can, through specific initiatives, support the association’s wellbeing and strategic direction. By sharing the rationale behind the Association of Leadership Educators board of directors’ decision to invest in a resource development strategy, other association leaders can access and implement a similar action plan to generate additional revenue which, in turn, can be used to enhance association membership services.

Resilience is the ability to snap back after experiencing trauma, and is increasingly important for leaders in today’s complex, global world. Resilience can be learned, which is a great news for leaders wanting to sustain through tough times. When adversity arises, resilience becomes the tool to help us grow stronger. Unfortunately, most organizations do not purposefully design themselves to foster a resilient workplace, leaving leaders to do this work on their own. By not investing in building resilience in employees, organizations are missing an important way to differentiate themselves from the competition. Workplaces that build resilience into their practices, culture, and development benefit from employees who sustain, even thrive, through complex change and market shifts.

This chapter explores how the habit of “stealing time” can build stronger, more resilient leaders, in adverse times. We will also discuss how reshaping our own mindset makes us stronger and ready to tackle daily challenges. Then we focus on spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental components of resilience. By increasing our resilience, we also gain a sense of cognitive freedom – a sense of empowered problem-solving and creativity – that can be a positive and contagious force throughout our teams and organizations. Finally, we focus on the organizational “streams” of resilience, which allow organizations to build greater resilience capacities at all levels. By using classic organizational design principles, we begin to see how we can help everyone live and work more fully and with more vigor.

This chapter describes the experience of a tenured, senior professional leader (chief executive officer [CEO]) of a nonprofit human service organization. Although strongly supported by the board, she was harassed by a small group of board members and a couple of their friends (nonboard members), who insisted she take actions that would circumvent legitimate board process. Their actions would have resulted in “underground communications” and unilateral decisions. By speaking up and calling them out, the board became divided and conflicted, culminating in the resignation of the CEO. The scholarly commentary that follows the story adds a framework for explaining how important it is to maintain a moral compass, to hold fast to personal integrity, and to refuse to keep silent in the face of adversity. By sounding the alarm, the chaos and disruption exposed the plan to take power and control from the board. Being courageous may not be intentional or include actions of choice; it stems from the belief that it is the right thing to do… therefore, acting on moral courage can mitigate remorse. You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity (Epicurus).