---
title: "In-Demand Skills for Today’s CEOs"
id: "61553"
type: "post"
slug: "in-demand-skills-for-todays-ceos"
published_at: "2021-01-25T13:00:11+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-07-11T18:10:13+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/in-demand-skills-for-todays-ceos/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/in-demand-skills-for-todays-ceos.md"
excerpt: "The past year forced association executives into challenges and decisions they may not have been ready for, and the crises of 2020 will have long-term impacts. As 2021 dawns, the most important skills that CEOs can cultivate are the ones..."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Executive Leadership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "Associations Now"
  - "C-suite"
  - "Established CEO"
  - "New CEO"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Executive Team"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Executive Leadership"
---

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Part of the Deep Dive[Lead2021](https://associationsnow.com/deep-dives/lead2021/)
To helm organizations that will succeed in meeting the challenges ahead—as the pandemic continues and a recovery eventually follows—association CEOs need a slew of skills that will help them take on significant and lasting change.

“There aren’t that many businesses or companies who can say they aren’t in substantial change,” says Cynthia Mills, FASAE, CAE, an association leadership consultant and president and founder of the Leaders’ Haven. “Not only do you have to be the change leader and understand change, you have to love being that kind of leader.”

Nell Edgington, president of the management consulting firm Social Velocity, added that the requirements of leadership are pivoting as well. “So much more is going to be asked of leaders,” Edgington says. “Basic things like flexibility, openness to working with others, building networks, the ability to understand your organization.”

[Rasheeda Childress](https://associationsnow.com/author/rasheeda-childress/)

Rasheeda Childress is a former senior editor at Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/rasheeda-childress/)

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 [#C-suite](https://associationsnow.com/tag/c-suite/)
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## More in this Deep Dive

- [Strategic Planning in 2021: The Same, but Different](https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/strategic-planning-in-2021-the-same-but-different/)
- [What Should You Keep From Your Pandemic Pivot?](https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/what-should-you-keep-from-your-pandemic-pivot/)
- [Reinventing Association Business Models](https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/reinventing-association-business-models/)
- [Beyond Data: How to Decide What’s Next](https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/beyond-data-how-to-decide-whats-next/)
- [A Reckoning With Ethics and Injustice](https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/25/a-reckoning-with-ethics-and-injustice/)
- [Keep Your Board Focused on Strategy](https://associationsnow.com/2021/01/20/keep-your-board-focused-on-strategy/)

[View the full Deep Dive →](https://associationsnow.com/deep-dives/lead2021/)

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