Working Together, Apart

Next month I’m going to Miami Beach, Florida to help put on the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) for one of my clients, the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare (AACH). The preparation for this conference has required innumerous hours and a great deal of communication between our client team at Drake & Company and the scientific committee of the conference (including our vendors, sponsors, attendees, etc!). While I am excited to experience the largest annual gathering of researchers, educators and administrators from around the globe to focus on improving communication in healthcare there is one thing that I’m excited about more than anything (and it isn’t the ocean!). I will finally shake hands with the people whom I’ve worked with for over a year, but have never met!

That’s right. I have never met any AACH member, even those I talk to on the phone or via email each day. That is one of the most interesting aspects of working for an association management company like Drake & Company. Since our members are spread out all over the world we normally don’t get to meet up with them until a conference or special meeting. We work closely with our members, especially those who serve on the executive board or in committees, but we rarely see them. Over time we learn about their lives, their families and their careers. It is like having a super pen-pal; we’re “doing good” as we remotely work together to forward AACH’s mission and values.

When I started working at Drake & Company I didn’t have much knowledge about communication in healthcare. With the help of our members and leaders in the organization, however, I quickly learned about a really fascinating industry and group of people. I talk and work with our members so often that I feel like I already know them and have worked with them for years. The rewarding challenge of association management, for me, is that I can work well as a team and accomplish goals with people I have never met. I think the fact that this is possible (and the fact that it works) is a testament to both our clients and our company.

I’m definitely looking forward to putting faces with names next month!