Welcome to Revenue Speaks, where communication becomes growth. I'm Sheila Johnston, founder and CEO of Luminari Partners. This show is produced in partnership with Page Design Group, where together we align strategy, brand, and digital to drive growth, Revenue Speaks explores how strategic communication aligns leadership and drives measurable revenue, because communication is an overhead; it's infrastructure, and in the end, Revenue Speaks. Welcome to Revenue Speaks, Stephanie.

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Well, thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here.

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I am so glad you are here. Thanks. For people that don't know who you are, who are you, and who do you work for?

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Who am I today? I am Stephanie Stephens. I have the honor and privilege of serving as the executive director for the California Park and Recreation Society. So, get to work with the lovely humans who make parks and recreation happen in your local communities, it's really wonderful.

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Prior to starting with the California Parks and Rec Society, did you work at a different association?

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I did. I actually grew up in the Denver area and got to serve as the Colorado Park and Recreation Association executive director for about 10 years prior to moving here to California and taking on this role here in California.

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So two associations, two associations.

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If a third association dropped into your lap tomorrow, what would be the very first thing you would look for?

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For me, it's really about culture, right? Both with the staff and the team that I would get to work with, but also with the board, and how does that board function together? How does the staff and the board function together? Mutual respect. There's also a special energy I think that goes along with that good culture too, and to make sure that the industry that we were representing was also something that really aligns with what makes sense to me and to my heart and cause, I guess.

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So, I asked you to be a guest on the Revenue Speaks podcast because I've long admired your communication style. You bring in energy and excitement into a room, whether it's by wearing a necklace of glowing lights or also communicating the value and purpose of a role and responsibility of an organization. It's probably why you were the former president of Associations West. Yeah.

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In your role as president, what was important to you in communicating value and implementing enhanced communication strategies into the membership.

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Oh, that was such an interesting time when I was serving for Associations West. At that time, CalSAE we had just gone into COVID, and that presented itself with its own opportunities. I want to say I know it was challenges, but opportunities to really enhance our communication because we couldn't get together in person any longer, so we had to really step things up at that time. Whether it was with the board, making sure that our board members were well taken care of, but especially the staff at Associations West as well, making sure that we were taking care of each other, taking care of ourselves. It was just such an interesting time, and you're right. That is me. I like to bring that lightheartedness in. I grew up as a park and rec kid. That's why parks and recreation is so close to my heart because we really do bring that fun and lightheartedness into life, and I want to bring that into the work that we do as well. It's serious work. It's hard work that we do in governance, but we also have to have fun and enjoy ourselves, get to know one another, so that we can make sure that we're bringing our best selves into that space.

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That's really interesting because I know for me, I always try to humanize an organization, especially an association, where sometimes you only have one opportunity to convert a potential member to a member or a potential sponsor to a sponsor.

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Right.

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So when you came into the role at the California Parks and Rec Society, how did you assess the state of communications and the state of communications infrastructure?

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That's a really great question, and I've been with CPRS about 12 years now. I took the position after Jane Addams. She had been there for 27 years. So as you might imagine, the staff there had been there for a while, and here comes this fresh new face. And I asked a lot of questions, and I did a lot of listening. I think that's really the most important thing: is really listening, talking to our membership, talking to our staff, understanding what it is that they understood about the organization. What I also found when I first started was that there were a lot of words about CPRS. There were mission and vision and value, and this report and that report and this strategic plan and that strategic. Framework, and really tried to get my arms around all of those words and bring them all in together. Right, whether it's a communication strategy or line of what it is that we're all about. Why do we exist? And taking all of those words and really honing them in to make sure that now today we've got this clear framework around what it is we do and why we do it. Why do we exist? About four years ago, we honed that in even further and created a strategic framework. We call it our card framework. It's four pillars. We now know that very clearly. We provide community. We advance the profession. We provide resources and we develop each other both as professionals and as leaders. So that's our card framework, and now that's all of those words that started out 12 years ago condense down into those four things, and that's what CPRS is all about. I feel like that's what most associations are about really community, advancing the profession, resources, and really developing each other.

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Having used communications to develop the card framework, what challenges did you have, and what opportunities presented themselves after you started listening and then enhance the infrastructure understanding. Right now, our members had a common language with which to bring things forward. Because of the size of our organization, we have 15 different districts. Each one of those districts has a board. So now we have common language with those board members. They're creating goals, making sure that the events that they do also fit into that framework, and now we can report out that all 15 districts are doing the same types of goals that the state board is doing, that the headquarters is doing, and we have this common language that we can now talk to one another about.

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It sounds like you had buy-in as well. 100% buy-in, absolutely, and I think again that goes back to board culture. When we rolled out this new framework, the buy-in from all of our top leaders to take that down into that next level of leadership, enhance that communication effort, and being able to get additional buy-in through all of that. I know you asked about challenges as well, and I don't want to say that there weren't any challenges, but I think that coming to this new framework that we had and the work that we did around the new framework to come to agreement on what that framework was actually solved a lot of challenges we were having prior to the framework. It was really actually a pivotal moment in CPRS's history, I believe. So

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I can imagine so. And correct me if I'm wrong here, but I found in doing similar work as a consultant for associations that the risk of not doing something is more than the struggle to do something.

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Isn't that the truth, right? Sometimes it's that fear of taking that step to solving a big challenge, stepping into that risk. But boy, it pays off in dividends on the other side when you really do bring someone like you or a consultant in to help you sort of see the bigger picture and have those big conversations, making sure that you've got the right people in the right seats on that bus to take that trip down that risk lane.

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Did you see revenue grow as a result of the strategic communications alignment?

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I don't know that I can draw an exact line, a solid line, perhaps a dotted line. Let's go with a dotted line. It goes back to that clear messaging of what the value is of being part of CPRS is of being part of that association is, because we can clearly draw the line between every event, program, or service that we offer back to one of those four pillars, or perhaps even all four pillars at the same time. So I think that that does add value, which then does bring in that additional revenue in the long run because members stay right or they join and they understand what the association's about.

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From an outside perspective, looking in, when I was preparing for our time together today, I saw one word that starts with an A that kept coming up in your website and your communications and even your job postings, and that word was awesome, and I thought it was really clever and also very reflective of the culture that you have built at CPRS. You're attracting a specific type of energy as well as a specific type of person to be invested in your mission and vision.

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100% We did just put out a job announcement that said that yes, if you're awesome, we're hiring because we do want that good energy at. Headquarters, which is what we call our staff. We spend a lot of time together, and we want to make sure that we're attracting those individuals into our team that are going to make all of us better. But our members are also that way too, right? I'm not going to say that every industry doesn't have their own energy about them, but parks and recreation really does have a special energy, and we want to make sure that we're fulfilling that at headquarters as well, so that we can emanate that out.

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Well, I think that's really smart because for many associations, you might be the first call that someone makes before even calling a legislator or an attorney or whatever else that a member of a professional society and association might be involved in. Whoever picks up the phone might break and or help a member. It's so true, right? Hi, this is CPRS, right? We don't want that to happen. It's yeah, we want that welcoming community environment. Again, it's what our members do. They help individuals in their own communities to thrive and feel welcome and be a part of a bigger community and that's what artwork is then for them.

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That's exactly what I believe too, and and this is why this podcast exists because communications is infrastructure. If you don't have the friendly voice on the phone or the friendly person that's typing an email, even though they might not feel that way. Right. Yes, the infrastructure that truly helps an organization succeed.

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It absolutely does.

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What are you most proud of in having changed the culture? If a culture needed to be changed at CPRS, what are you most proud of in terms of your communication infrastructure?

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Definitely the strategic pillars that we came up with. I think that was instrumental again in refining our message, in creating one CPRS with you might imagine 15 different districts with 15 different boards. You know, bringing them all in under one flag. I think was really important and pivotal. Just recently, another way that we have improved our communications infrastructure, which is such a great word to call that, we've done some very intentional board work and our culture work. Definitely not a working genius commercial here. However, we employed that communications tool, that assessment and workflow tool with our board, and again was another piece to that puzzle of how do we communicate with one another? How do we have that common language that we can talk to one another? And understanding what fuels me, what gives me joy in the work, what fuels you and gives you joy in the work and being able to say, "Okay, I'm the idea girl. Give me a problem and I can solve it 100 ways to tomorrow. But when it comes to getting it across the line, I'm going to hand it over to you because you have tenacity as your genius and that's your thing. And that alone has changed that communication piece for our board and been able to give them a structure and some language to talk about projects that need to happen, as well as to take that information to our district and section boards as well. Now they've got common language, so it really does all come down to communication, doesn't it? And having that common language to be able to fall back on.

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So when we were doing our prep call, we talked about your communication expertise and examples, and you said these words to me. You once described your relationship with the board as going from a wall to a chain link fence.

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Ah, yes. Can you share that story?

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I sure will do that. When I came in to CPRS about 12 years ago, we were using policy governance, and if you're familiar with policy governance, it's a pretty rigid governance system. I understand why we were using it, and it really creates a strong line between the board and the staff. The board lived on one side of the wall; the staff lived on the other side of the wall, and it was a pretty thick brick wall. If I'm going to be honest with you, and the challenge with a brick wall is you can't see each other, you can't hear each other, you can't talk to each other. There was a sense of, hey, what's going on over there? Who's doing that work? Who? How's that work coming along? So I spent many years really taking that brick wall down and putting up a chain link fence. Anybody who works in this work knows that there has to be a boundary between the board work and the staff work. It's very different work that we each need to do, but having that chain link fence now between gives us that boundary, but gives us that opportunity to see and feel and hear and talk to one another through that fence without either one of us stepping into each other's work and space. So, don't do the brick wall. Don't do the brick wall. A really lovely chain link fence works well.

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How thick was that wall before you came in?

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Three and a half feet? No, at least one brick length, right? Exactly. It was pretty thick. And as a somewhat new executive director, yes, I'd been serving for about 10 years in Colorado, but but moving here and getting used to that policy governance and having that strong line in between board work and staff work offered itself some unique learning opportunities. Is that a positive way to say that? It is a positive way. Yeah. And you had mentioned earlier on in our interview that you were listening a lot. Yes. Did you find that you also had to change your communication style to meet the California way or various board personalities, which we always know there are many, right? Exactly, yes. Learning, listening, all adds to growing as a leader, right? So we do learn to pick up on different cues in different ways with different people as we experience new leaders within our own boards. We have that opportunity to learn one more thing about yourself every single year when that board changes over. There's a new leadership personality that you get to figure out. Okay, what's my role this year? What do I get to learn about my leadership style this year based on what Sheila's bringing to the table as our board chair? It's just a constant, especially in this kind of work, when we get to be a part of that learning and growing of our board members too.

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So culturally, now that we have a chain link fence, yes, right, CRS. Have you noticed the interactions between your staff and the board change for the better? I suspect yes qualities such as trust and camaraderie have just absolutely grown higher than the fence.

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It it absolutely has, and trust. That's the perfect word to really add to that. Is because now we can see what's going on. We can see each other. Part of our culture as well is that we do have fun together as well, and I think that that's a really important piece to this board and staff relationship puzzle and communication. Also, taking the time to get to know one another, even personally, breaking bread together. We are very fortunate in our board meeting structure. We only meet four times a year, so we make those meetings really count. We spend a solid two days together, so we have those opportunities outside of the traditional board room to get to know one another, and whether that's singing karaoke or enjoying Thai food, or we were just at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center for our board and staff retreat, and what a beautiful space to be in to get to know one another and learn about each other, sitting around a campfire one evening, that communication infrastructure, listening to one another, getting to know what those personalities are all about, and how that then shows up in the boardroom and how that shows up in decision-making processes, is really an important thing too.

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It's sounding like you agree with me that trust and communications offer an intangible monetary benefit to the organization.

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100% If our members see that our board and our staff are working well together, and trust each other, and are moving forward together, then the members feel heard and valued as well, and they feel that. So that is an intangible. That is value added because they see that happening, right? They see that the staff work well together. They hear that through our communications, whether it's an email or the newsletter that goes out. There's a certain energy about those things, so we have to trust one another in order for all of our leaders to thrive, in order for the organization to thrive.

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Exactly. Yeah it's like you want the cement wall to just be the cement foundation. Yes, yes. Thank you. You've just added to that analogy. Perfect. Yes, we have the cement foundation and a nice chain link fence. A nice chain link fence. Yeah, I really do need something prettier than a chain link fence. I'll have to work on that one. It works. Yeah, right. The last five years have just been such a change for us.

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I can tell it doesn't even seem like a job, right? Yeah, just as fun. Exactly. Yeah,it's been transformational. I've always loved this work, but yeah, the last probably four or five years have been really, really meaningful.

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What has been something that's become clearer to you over time?

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I think leaders are good humans, and we are all human at the base of it all. And we need to teach each other that, and remember that we're all humans, and that we all have opportunities to grow and learn with and for each other, and I think that's an important thing. Taking all of those words and being clear about who you are, why you exist, what you do, what you want to accomplish, I think is an important thing. Making sure that that's clear to you and to your leaders and to your members, it becomes ever clearer every day and. Every opportunity I have to be in a park, how important parks and recreation is. I have to add that in there because I can't even tell you how many articles I've written, or email responses I've written, or opening general session speeches I've written, walking through my local park, because it's the sunshine and the fresh air and the green space that clears my head and grounds me. I get to be a part of that with all of our membership as well. So I think that's an important thing to bring in.

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As executive director of CPRS and as a former board president of Associations West, you can answer this with either hat on.

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Okay.

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What has ended up mattering to you more than you expected?

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It's that relationship piece. It's that human piece. It really is. We can teach or learn the bylaws and the policies and committee structures and things like that. It's really bringing that authentic human self into those spaces, and whether it is the crazy string of Christmas light necklace that I bring into the board meeting every December at Associations West, or it is those harder conversations that we might have to have, it really does come down to good communication and remembering that we're all human and we bring our authentic selves into each one of those conversations and interactions, and that that's actually a good thing to do.

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If you were to meet someone that is just starting their tenure as an executive director or a CEO of an association or a mission-driven organization, what is one piece of advice that you would give them as it relates to how they enhance and/or sustain the communications infrastructure they're coming into, be authentic, be real. Make sure you're clear on what that mission is and what your leadership style is, and where you want that to be too, and grow towards that. Make sure that you're reaching out to your tribe, right? Whether it's Associations West or other sister associations, reach out. There are people out here to support you, and none of us can do this work alone. It's okay to reach out for help. And again, it goes back to communication. Ask those questions. Make sure that you're getting the support that you need in the work that you're doing.

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My last question to you, Stephanie, is which character from Parks and Rec do you most relate to?

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Hmm. I guess you can probably imagine I might be the Leslie Knope of the world, and yes, I do have binders still sitting on my bookshelf. They might be online portals now, but yes, there are still some binders there.

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Binders are very important.

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Absolutely, they are.

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Stephanie, you have been a delight. Thank you for being on the Revenue Speaks podcast. Where can people find you?

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Our website is cprs.org. My email is stephanie at cprs.org. It's pretty easy. You can find me on LinkedIn, Stephanie Stephens with a PH, and thank you so much for having me. This has been a great conversation.

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Thank you for being here.

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Thank you.

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Thanks for listening. We invite you to subscribe to this podcast and take our Revenue Alignment Assessment, a short strategic diagnostic for mission-driven executives. You will find everything you need at RevenueSpeaks.com. Because communication isn't overhead; it's infrastructure. And in the end, Revenue Speaks.

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