The Weight We Carry: What Teams Wish Leaders Understood

In recent months, association professionals have been navigating a landscape that feels increasingly complex and emotionally charged. Conversations across departments and leadership circles often echo a shared sentiment: something feels off. The pace is relentless, expectations are shifting, and the emotional toll is quietly accumulating.

This is not just anecdotal. It reflects a broader truth about the state of our workforce and the world around us. At the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, author Brené Brown captured this reality with striking clarity:

If you’re leading people, you probably know people are not OK… People are emotionally dysregulated, distrustful, and disconnected so you’re leading a workforce that is increasingly struggling. You’ve got really massive instability geopolitically, changing markets, and AI and tech.

Does this statement resonate with you? More importantly, does it leave you wondering what can be done about it?

It appears that we are burnt out both as a workforce and a society and that’s a tough place to operate from. On one hand, leaders do hold a deep concern for the welfare of team members but on the other, team members feel that they aren’t being appropriately heard. Clearly if we are to move forward, this isn’t a sustainable situation for any of us and our members and the organizations that we serve will suffer.

In fact, most of these pain points are so sensitive that when I contacted individuals about this article I found that they were eager to share but that they had no interest in being directly quoted. So, what we hope to do here in limited space is to respectfully convey their sentiments and then offer some thoughts about what we as leaders and team collaborators can do to create small changes in the right direction.

From the team members point of view, this is some of what was expressed…

• The push for productivity is always on us, but we are still a non-profit with non-profit limitations.
• We live in a ‘work in progress world’ with the expectation that we should somehow achieve competency.
• We are being asked to stand up new tech without being given a break.
• AI is making my job harder not easier, that is until it takes my job away.
• Technology is always moving but we can’t catch our breath to train, build skills, and finesse things – we launch and survive.
• Since 2020, we have all expanded our online education programs, but we haven’t added more staff to manage; we did gain compliments but that doesn’t ease my work or give me more pay.
• I don’t understand some of the changes, I wish I did, but I don’t.
• We need grace as we learn.
• Because the association needs to innovate and change, we are being asked to do more with the same resources.
• The expectation of what the Board wants done and what we can do is skewed.
• Leaders are not brave in the boardroom; they are just keeping boards happy, or at least that is how it seems.
• Boards and executives don’t understand the financial outlook for young staff – loans, rent, even food. I don’t want a side hustle, but I need the money.
• You can work hard and still only see a small merit increase. Because more money has to go into tech or other areas there’s no money for the humans.
• People [above me] are staying in their jobs longer so there’s no chance to be promoted.
• The political landscape means we have to figure out how a policy or law will impact our members (and our revenue).
• There are deeply troubling issues in the world, and you are asked to compartmentalize it, but we are still human beings. People have disappeared and tear gas deployed on the street where I live and I’m getting on a Zoom call with a smile.

The voices above reflect a workforce that is not only stretched thin but also yearning to be seen, heard, and understood. In your view, what was missing or what would you add?

Not addressing the problems doesn’t make them go away or build happy, productive teams so, the question on the table is how can we as leaders and colleagues professionally ‘love one another’ through this time of chaos and rapid evolution? While every situation is different, here are some ideas to get you thinking.

Position yourself as a leader teacher

Consider your department or area of work as if you were in a classroom where you would be developing detailed lesson plans, explaining what was required to get the grade, leaning over a desk and coaching a student, allowing questions, or accepting the theory of the ‘power of yet’ (look up the Power of Yet by Carol S. Dweck.)

Explain the broader scope

If it is worth doing it is worth explaining to teams the why behind it. They don’t have to agree, but laying out the advantages of change are critical to buy-in.

Shine the spotlight on things unseen

Better understand the ‘hidden work’ that is happening in the operation. Train teams to speak in terms of quantifiable data that can be better understood and evaluated. This can help leaders with decisions on reducing work or streamlining work before adding the pressure of new work.

Ensure there is clarity in the work, define scope as much as possible

Make sure expectations are clear to both boards and staff. We can’t reach success if we do not know what success looks like and when it is supposed to be achieved.

Acknowledge when things are tough

At times leaders don’t know what to say so they say nothing. Waiting for a quarterly town hall or newsletter does not cut it anymore. Leaders need to acknowledge situations as they arise, even if they don’t have the solutions or next steps. Teams need to know that leaders are not blind to what is going on.

Assign a project champion in addition to a project manager

Make sure that on work teams there is a clear champion whose job it is to compliment the team and pass out awards. Build celebration points in the project workplan. Ask teams how they wish to be recognized or rewarded. Think beyond a free Uber Eats lunch or Amazon gift card.

Build up stronger leaders in the middle

In our hurried world we are propelling individuals into manager and director roles with little training but these are the individuals directly responsible for the workplace satisfaction of the associates and coordinators. Love them, and you are loving everyone.

Help boards understand the importance of investing in their humans

Our board members can be so appreciative of staff and yet they do not understand the totality of the business operation needs so they will naturally ask for more. Most boards are also not made up of individuals who have ever held P&L responsibility, and this makes it difficult for them to understand as well. All too often boards will ask staff to do more with less at ‘nonprofit’ wages for the sake of the mission, rather than reduce programs. Once I sat in a board meeting where it was said ‘employees can purchase their own health insurance’ and it absolutely turned into a bold moment for me as an executive director to explain why the association benefitted from meeting expected market salaries and benefits. So, leaders, gather your data points and present them to your boards and your teams will thank you for it.

Strive to earn trust daily

Your title does not mean you receive automatic respect. It’s just not the society we live in. As a leader, conduct a ‘trust check-in’ with yourself on how you have communicated, paused and listened, and given credit to others. Your team is not only watching you, but they are also creating live-feed comment strings of opinions. It certainly doesn’t make it easy, but we can choose to work within modern culture or against it.

Give grace

Yes, hold people accountable, but have an awareness when grace is the best choice. Know when the team needs a ‘mental recess’ on the tough stuff.

The challenges we face are real, and the emotions behind them are valid. Within this complexity lies an opportunity: to lead with greater empathy, to listen with deeper intention, and to build cultures where trust and grace are not just ideals, but daily practices. The association community has long stood as a place of inclusion and care—and that spirit has never been more needed than now.

Let this article be more than a reflection, let it be a beginning. Share it, discuss it, and ask your teams what resonates most. Together, we can shape workplaces where people feel valued, understood, and empowered to thrive.