--- title: What Surprised Me About Association Staffing after Working on the AMC Side for a Year description: Momentum Association Management co-founder reflects on what surprised him about staffing after 1 year. image: https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Momentum%20Logo.png?width=1180&height=592&name=Momentum%20Logo.png --- [Skip to content](https://www.momentumamc.com/blog/what-surprised-me-most-about-association-management#main-content) [![MomentumAMCLogo](https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Momentum%20Logo.png?width=590&height=296&name=Momentum%20Logo.png)Homepage](https://www.momentumamc.com) - [About](https://www.momentumamc.com/about-momentum) - [Our Team](https://www.momentumamc.com/our-team) - [Clients](https://www.momentumamc.com/momentums-association-client-partners-association-management-clients) - [Careers](https://www.momentumamc.com/careers) - [Services](https://www.momentumamc.com/our-services) - [Full-Service Association Management](https://www.momentumamc.com/full-service-association-management-company-momentum-amc) - [Hybrid Management or Bring your Own Executive (BYOE)](https://www.momentumamc.com/hybrid-association-management-bring-your-own-executive-momentum) - [Strategy Services](https://www.momentumamc.com/association-strategy-services) - [Association Marketing and Communications](https://www.momentumamc.com/association-marketing-communications-services-momentum-amc) - [Association Event and Conference Management](https://www.momentumamc.com/event-conference-management) - [Board and Governance Support](https://www.momentumamc.com/board-governance-support-amc-leadership-strategy) - [Association Finance & Administration](https://www.momentumamc.com/finance-administration-association-accounting-reporting) - [Certification and Education Program Services](https://www.momentumamc.com/certification-education-programs) - [Association Membership Growth and Engagement](https://www.momentumamc.com/membership-growth-engagement-momentum-association-management) - [What's an AMC?](https://www.momentumamc.com/whats-an-amc) - [Are you AMC Ready?](https://www.momentumamc.com/are-you-ready-for-an-association-management-company) - [Blog](https://www.momentumamc.com/momentum-association-management-blog) - [Contact](https://www.momentumamc.com/contact-momentum) [Request a Proposal](https://www.momentumamc.com/amc-request-a-proposal) - [About](https://www.momentumamc.com/about-momentum) - [Our Team](https://www.momentumamc.com/our-team) - [Clients](https://www.momentumamc.com/momentums-association-client-partners-association-management-clients) - [Careers](https://www.momentumamc.com/careers) - [Services](https://www.momentumamc.com/our-services) - [Full-Service Association Management](https://www.momentumamc.com/full-service-association-management-company-momentum-amc) - [Hybrid Management or Bring your Own Executive (BYOE)](https://www.momentumamc.com/hybrid-association-management-bring-your-own-executive-momentum) - [Strategy Services](https://www.momentumamc.com/association-strategy-services) - [Association Marketing and Communications](https://www.momentumamc.com/association-marketing-communications-services-momentum-amc) - [Association Event and Conference Management](https://www.momentumamc.com/event-conference-management) - [Board and Governance Support](https://www.momentumamc.com/board-governance-support-amc-leadership-strategy) - [Association Finance & Administration](https://www.momentumamc.com/finance-administration-association-accounting-reporting) - [Certification and Education Program Services](https://www.momentumamc.com/certification-education-programs) - [Association Membership Growth and Engagement](https://www.momentumamc.com/membership-growth-engagement-momentum-association-management) - [What's an AMC?](https://www.momentumamc.com/whats-an-amc) - [Are you AMC Ready?](https://www.momentumamc.com/are-you-ready-for-an-association-management-company) - [Blog](https://www.momentumamc.com/momentum-association-management-blog) - [Contact](https://www.momentumamc.com/contact-momentum) [Request a Proposal](https://www.momentumamc.com/amc-request-a-proposal) ![](https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Momentum-three%20surprising%20things%20about%20associations.png?width=1200&height=628&name=Momentum-three%20surprising%20things%20about%20associations.png) Association Management Company Momentum 1 year anniversary # What Surprised Me About Association Staffing after Working on the AMC Side for a Year ![Matthew Ott, M.S., FASAE, CAE, CMP, AAiP](https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/matt%20ott.jpeg?width=48&height=48&name=matt%20ott.jpeg) Matthew Ott, M.S., FASAE, CAE, CMP, AAiP October 7, 2026 *For more than 20 years, I worked for associations in a direct staff model. I led teams, worked with boards, managed budgets, grew programs, handled crises and produced events. For part of that time, I was competing against AMCs. Then, about a year ago, I became CEO of an association management company.* *I understood the advantages of the AMC model conceptually before. Watching our team work across multiple associations has changed how I see them and how associations of all sizes could use AMCs to help improve their efficacy and efficiency in many areas.* ## Here are three standout thoughts on where the impact of AMCs is greatest. **1. Regardless of your current staffing size, you can build a bigger bench.** Most associations, especially small ones, make hard choices about where staff dollars go. Talented people end up wearing a lot of hats. Your membership person becomes your database expert. Your meetings person gets pulled into sponsorship. Your executive reviews contracts, troubleshoots technology, works through financial questions and fills whatever gap shows up that day. I lived that for two decades and I still do in many respects. An AMC gives an association access to a broader group of people without building that team internally. When one of our clients has a technology issue, we have someone who spends much of their time on technology and automation. When an event question gets complicated, we have experienced meetings professionals. The same holds for finance, membership, marketing, governance and operations. That capacity matters even when an association already has an executive. In our Bring Your Own Executive (BYOE) model, we bring expertise and capacity to a seated CEO or executive director as they lead the association. **2. We see what works (and what doesn’t) in real time and can use that to help others.** When you work for an association, you end up knowing it and the members’ industries incredibly well. And while this knowledge is beneficial, your experience ends up being shaped by that organization and its industry. And sometimes, that leads to unexpected biases and blinders. Working across several associations widens the view. In a given week, we might help one board with governance, another association rethink an event, another tackle a membership challenge, and another use automation to cut hours of administrative work. This allows us to test improvements, especially on the operations and admin side of the business. Patterns emerge, ideas travel between industries that would rarely cross paths otherwise, and real improvements and efficiencies emerge. These new efficiencies allow us to improve both member service and value in all cases. Learning from others (both our clients and other AMC’s) and implementing new solutions quickly has been a game changer. When things work, we can roll them out across clients. When they don’t, we know to shut them down even quicker. **3. Business continuity used to terrify me. Now, it’s one of our greatest value propositions.** Anyone who has led an association knows what happens when a key employee leaves. Sometimes five or ten years of institutional knowledge walks out the door. *Where is that spreadsheet? Who has the login? Why do we do this every March? What did the board decide three years ago?* I’ve lived through those transitions from the association side and they eat an enormous amount of time. An AMC plans for people changing roles. Processes are documented and files are organized so the systems make sense to someone other than the person who built them. The relationship with the association also outlasts any individual team member. That matters because volunteers change too. Presidents and Chairs have finite terms, board members term out, and committee chairs move on. Members with significant institutional knowledge also come and go. Someone has to hold the thread. At Momentum, we like to say we make it easy for our clients to leave but our culture and results make them want to stay. An AMC that creates dependence is doing it wrong. Our job is to build resilience within an association, where the work is understood, information is accessible, systems are sound and the association keeps moving through change. **What I’d ask now.** When I led associations, my staffing questions were narrow. Could we afford another employee? Was there enough work to justify a full-time position? How could we stretch the team a little further? Those are fair questions. But they aren’t the only ones. I should have also asked: - What expertise do we need but can’t reasonably build internally? - Where are we relying too heavily on one person? - What happens if our executive or another key staffer leaves tomorrow? - How much time do we spend managing gaps instead of advancing the mission? - Would a broader team of specialists help us decide better, move faster or reduce risk? These questions won’t lead every association to an AMC. And I should be clear that I believe that flexibility in association operations, especially in staffing, is imperative. The right answer might be an internal team, outside expertise for a specific need, full-service management, or a BYOE arrangement that gives an existing executive more support. What matters is choosing the model deliberately. I spent two decades thinking I understood the staffing options available to associations. One year on the AMC side showed me more. I sometimes wonder whether I should have considered an AMC, even on a project or fractional basis, much earlier in my career. Associations can build strong teams on their own. They don’t have to build every capability themselves. **So here’s the takeaway for association leaders and boards: Don’t start with the structure you have. Start with the capabilities your mission requires. Then ask what team, partnership or operating model will deliver them best.** ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.momentumamc.com%2Fblog%2Fwhat-surprised-me-most-about-association-management](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.momentumamc.com%2Fblog%2Fwhat-surprised-me-most-about-association-management) ## Keep reading ### [![](https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1%20year%20anniversary%20post%20(1200%20x%20628%20px)%20(2).png?width=1200&height=628&name=1%20year%20anniversary%20post%20(1200%20x%20628%20px)%20(2).png) Association Management Company Momentum 1 year anniversary Momentum's first year: A conversation with our founders](https://www.momentumamc.com/blog/1st-year-anniversary) ### [News Press Release FLCEO and WREAA Select Momentum Association Management as its New Association Management Company](https://www.momentumamc.com/blog/flceo-and-wreaa-select-momentum-) --- [![MomentumAMCLogo](https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Momentum%20Logo.png?width=590&height=296&name=Momentum%20Logo.png "MomentumAMCLogo")](https://www.momentumamc.com) 2921 Landmark PL Suite 215 Madison, WI 53713 (608) 620-4930 | [contact@momentumamc.com](mailto:contact@momentumamc.com)  - [Home](https://www.momentumamc.com) - [Full-Service Association Management](https://www.momentumamc.com/full-service-association-management-company-momentum-amc) - [About Momentum](https://www.momentumamc.com/about-momentum) - [Our Team](https://www.momentumamc.com/our-team) - [Are You AMC Ready?](https://www.momentumamc.com/are-you-ready-for-an-association-management-company) - [Blog](https://www.momentumamc.com/blog) - [Contact](https://www.momentumamc.com/contact-momentum) - [Submit an RFP](https://www.momentumamc.com/amc-request-a-proposal) ![AMCi logo](https://www.momentumamc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AMCi%20logo.webp?width=225&height=158&name=AMCi%20logo.webp) Momentum Association Management is a proud member of the [AMC Institute](http://www.amcinstitute.org).  --- Privacy Policy · Legal · © 2026 Momentum Association Management. 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