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REPORT FROM THE APT LEADERSHIP MEETING

Chicago February 4 - 6, 2000

Each year, APT hosts an annual meeting to familiarize the Board with what is happening in the regions and consider the direction and events for the coming year.  Although it was the middle of February, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.  It provided the chance to meet many of the well respected people who are leaders in the Association, as well as the new management staff.

THEME

APT is undergoing major change and that was quickly apparent at the meeting.  This year's theme was  "Back to the Future: New Decades, New Paradigms" -  2000 The Year of Outreach - Strengthening Connections Among APT Central, Regions and Chapters.  APT now has a new logo that moves "out of the box". 

As an opening exercise, Otto Kroeger, President of APT, posted highlights from each decade on sheets of paper around the room.  We then had to guess the decade and indicate which decade we were born in.  This was a great exercise as we quickly mixed and shared our guess about the information sheets.  However, identifying our own decades, brought home the realization that we had very few younger members in our group, a serious consideration for the Association, as it embarks on an Outreach program.  An animated discussion followed about these demographics and what we need to do to attract younger members.

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

Very early in our meeting, the impact of the Internet and new communication technologies became an important issue for discussion.  The business community now extensively uses technology and seeks its tools and researches its questions on the web.  It was noted that sites such as Kiersey's temperament sorter, which allow online testing, experience as many as 10,000 tests being conducted in a day.  What impact will this have on the MBTI when other tools are more easily accessible and can be used individually in this way?  What are the pros and cons of Internet use?  What are the inevitable changes that will come with the continued growth of technology?

There was unanimous agreement that APT needs to consider the use of technology to better connect its members, market its services and offer education and member dialogue.  As we broke into two groups for the remainder of the Leadership meeting, i.e.: Board and Regions & Chapters, the same issues and needs kept emerging. It was apparent to everyone that we need to use technology to become more proactive and reach out not only to our existing members but to our potential members as well.

REGIONS & CHAPTERS MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Peter Noble, the Board Member responsible for Regions and Chapters, chaired our meeting.  We reviewed the activities of all of the Regions & Chapters to share successes and concerns.   As your representative from Canada, I shared our plans for this spring's trial in a Distance Learning approach. There was great interest by the other Chapter leaders.  They asked if they could participate and learn with us from the experience.

We then consolidated our thinking using this background about the key concerns and priorities for the future.   The following issues were discussed and motions were taken to the Board.

Issue 1 - Membership

A)         Scope of Membership / Tiered Membership

This discussion looked at who should be a member and whether or not there should be various categories of membership, to encourage and expand membership to those who may not otherwise consider it.  Questions that arose from our discussion included:

B)        Marketing Strategies

How can APT promote and market membership?

Motion:
That the APT Board create a member needs and services survey to determine:

§         The basis for member fees and services

§         A fee structure for a tiered membership

§         The needs of the Chapters (both leaders & members)

§         Other needs that should be researched.

This motion was unanimously approved and was taken to the Board at the March meeting. 

Issue 2 - APT Conference

  A report on the APT conferences with several options was considered.  The primary question was whether or not the International Conference should be an annual event, co hosted with the regions. Following a discussion of his report the following motion was made and passed unanimously.

Motion:

That the Regions and Chapter Development Committee (RCDC) recommends and endorses an annual International Conference co-hosted in rotation by the regions with profit sharing and that regional activities not be in conflict with the international conference.

Issue 3 - Interest Area Co-ordinators

The main questions discussed related to the current structure and whether or not it was too limiting.  Is there a need to broaden it?

Motions:

That APT serve its membership in addition to its chapters by developing on-line services including discussion forums for global interest areas and other interactive activities.

That each Interest Area Co-ordinator be encouraged to develop a formal council structure for each interest area in order to:

§         Serve members in new ways

§         Involve more members especially those without chapters

§         Provide service to non-APT members

§         Expand the capacity of the interest area consultant

Both motions were passed unanimously.

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Last updated: January 28, 2005.