5 minutes with Jack DeLange

I’ve been a member of AuSAE since…
About the late 1990s – but who’s counting?

The most valuable thing about my AuSAE membership is…
Networking, networking, networking. I wish there were more opportunities and I had more time.

Before I was an association executive I was…
Manager of the Queensland branch of a large company in the spatial industry and, for a few years, a Quality Management Consultant.

If I wasn’t an association executive I would be…
Michael Palin and David Attenborough all rolled into one. But to get a bit more realistic, my ideal job is a combination of lawn mowing and typesetting/graphic design – half the day getting exercise and the other half being creative. Trouble is, it probably wouldn’t pay well enough.

The thing that gets me out of bed every morning is…
The fact that I have woken up alive. After that, everything is possible.

My career highlight would have to be…
Winning the SIBA National Chairman’s Award for 2010 at the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards dinner in October this year. I joined a pretty exclusive club that day, but the award is due in no small part to the opportunities presented by my boards at both state and national level – and that is perhaps the best part of the award.

I love working in this sector because…
The variety of activities and the opportunities that exist to help members solve their problems.

The trouble with some associations is…
Lack of participation by members. Most association members have forgotten that an association is a collection of individuals doing collectively those things that are more expensive or more difficult to do individually – with or without paid staff. Many now seem to regard associations as a shop and walk out without buying if they don’t see something they like, rather than working together as a group to change the products. I think it is a modern society trait, but haven’t found the answer to it yet.

As a manager it’s important to…
Manage, I guess. But in very small associations like ours, it’s more about managing time than people. There never seems to be enough time.

The relationship between CEO and board is…
Critical, and each needs to know what their role is. I think that US-based governance advisor John Carver got it absolutely right when he said that board members need to represent the constituents and make policy, while the CEO implements it. His ten principles were a revelation when I discovered them. There is nothing more inhibiting than micro-managing boards.

I am inspired by…
Many things and many people, but most of all by people who have an open mind and are prepared to have a go.

When I am not working you can find me…
I’m not sure you’re ever ‘not working’ in association management, particularly with small associations like ours. I seem to get emails and phone calls 24/7. But I do enjoy a bit of gardening and house renovation – again being creative, I guess. My wife and I also take a nice overseas trip every year (leaving the phone at home). We call them SKI Trips (Spend the Kids Inheritance). We’re off to Mexico and Cuba next month.