Organizational Excellence

McKinley has an unrivaled track record of partnering with associations to support their challenges and opportunities related to people and structures, governance and leadership, talent strategy and organizational assessments.

Governance and Leadership

Association governance and leadership is unique, and we understand it backward and forward. From facilitating transformational change with board leadership to designing and implementing new modes of governance, our consultants are well-equipped to support the unique needs of mission-driven organizations.

Talent Strategy

McKinley partners with associations to align their people, culture and organizational structures with their strategic goals. Whether navigating change, planning for growth or strengthening leadership capacity, our talent strategy services enable associations to build future-ready and high-performing teams that drive mission impact in alignment with business goals.

Facilitation

Our team excels in creating inclusive and participatory environments for organizations and their people to have better discussions, better decisions and better outcomes. We have led thousands of facilitated sessions for leading associations, enabling transformational change in their organizations. We build our work on proven processes and methods that foster the conversations that need to happen, are inclusive of all voices and optimize the way forward.

Governance Structures

McKinley’s consultants can assess a board’s effectiveness and provide recommendations to address needed change. Our team doesn’t just help build new governance structures, we make sure organizations reach the finish line.

Governance Effectiveness

A healthy, well-functioning board is key to an association’s success. Our team helps build highly effective boards that are ready to tackle an organization’s biggest challenges.

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Next-Level Governance™: Leading with Strategic Agility

Leadership Development

High potential staff and member leaders sometimes need a boost to reach their next level of impact and success. McKinley has decades of experience supporting the leadership potential of individuals and teams in service of your mission.

Experienced Team

Our team includes recognized and credentialed experts in facilitation, equipped with the expertise needed to navigate essential discussions. We encourage open communication, constructive feedback and efficient decision-making throughout every facilitation.

Outcome-Oriented Sessions

We always begin by collaboratively identifying the intended outcomes of the facilitation. We then build our facilitation plan using effective techniques, tools and timing to ensure we deliver on your outcomes.

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Next-Level Governance™: Leading with Strategic Agility

Expertise in Engaging All Voices

Successful facilitation must be inclusive of all voices. Our team is an expert in designing for inclusion and engagement from every participant. The result is stronger outcomes that are better poised to drive future success.

Highly Customized Offerings

We customize every facilitation session to meet your needs and intended outcomes. We have worked with groups ranging from two people to two thousand people and we are experienced with in-person, virtual or hybrid settings.

Organizational Talent Assessment

We uncover the strengths, gaps and cultural dynamics shaping your organization. Through stakeholder interviews, cultural analysis and applied best practices rooted in both experience and knowledge of organizational design, McKinley delivers a clear diagnosis and actionable recommendations to inform future strategy and change.

Strategic Talent Alignment

We empower associations to unlock the collective talents, skills and abilities of people and stakeholders to propel business strategy and success. Whether you’re restructuring, responding to change or planning for growth, we align roles, capabilities and staffing models to ensure your talent strategy supports high performance and unrealized innovation.

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Your First 120 Days: A Strategic Guide for New Association CEOs

Leadership Development and CEO Acceleration

We provide new and emerging leaders with coaching, transition services and succession planning to accelerate impact and effectiveness. This approach builds association expertise in operations, governance and stakeholder engagement while strengthening leadership capabilities. From the board to the executive team, we develop leadership capacity aligned with culture and mission.

Culture and Change Management

Culture is the engine of execution. We partner with associations to articulate cultural values, map the change journey and equip teams with the tools they need to adapt, engage and thrive in the face of transformation.

Meet our Organizational Excellence Team

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Chief Practice Officer

“McKinley provided expertise and guidance to the task force to ensure our DEI effort was a success. Our board unanimously approved the recommendations and requested that implementation begin immediately to transform our Society.”

Chris Busky, CAE

Chief Executive Officer, Infectious Diseases Society of America

“McKinley exceeded our expectations, bringing great depth and knowledge of the industry and strong engagement skills. So not only did they come up with good recommendations because of their approach, they left us in a place where those recommendations could be implemented and sustained.”

Chris Morrill

Executive Director / CEO, The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)

“The team at McKinley was so skilled at listening. It was critical for the PATH Intl. Board and staff to feel heard and to have what they were saying and thinking reflected throughout the project. With concrete data, skilled facilitators, and a whole team of experts that could support us from the first project meeting to our game plan facilitation, we had what we needed to make this a true investment in PATH Intl.’s future.”

Kathy Alm

CEO, PATH Intl.