Stepping into a chamber CEO, president, or executive director role is exciting. It can also feel like being handed the keys to a moving vehicle while everyone in the back seat explains a different route.
You are leading an organization that connects businesses, supports local growth, builds relationships, advocates for the business community, and somehow still finds a way to plan the luncheon, update the website, answer the board question, and remember who sponsored the golf tournament last year.
The first 60 days matter. They set the tone for your leadership, your board relationship, your staff culture, and your credibility with members. Those first weeks aren’t about proving you can solve every problem simultaneously. Instead, you’ll want to concentrate on listening, learning, building trust, setting boundaries, and choosing the right priorities.
Here’s how to start strong without becoming the chamber’s human suggestion box. Nobody has time for that.
Listen Before You Lead Too Loudly
Your first job isn’t to fix everything overnight (even if you’ve been told, “You need to turn things around.”) It’s to understand what you’ve walked into.
Start with a listening tour. Meet one-on-one with board members, staff, major investors, elected officials, community partners, and members. Include engaged members, quiet members, and a few who seem disconnected. Ask what they think is working, what needs attention, where they see opportunity, and what they hope your leadership will bring.
Nancy Olson, CEO of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce, offered simple but important advice: “Even if you think you know what people will say, listen anyway.”
Listening does two things. It gives you information you cannot get from a spreadsheet, and it shows people that you’re not arriving with a prewritten script and a dramatic plan to change everything by Tuesday.
Learn the Sacred Cows Before You Take Down the Fence
Every chamber has a few sacred cows. Maybe it’s an event. Maybe it’s a committee. Maybe it’s a tradition everyone complains about, but no one wants to eliminate.
Before making big changes, study what’s working and what’s simply familiar. Review your bylaws, budget, board minutes, membership data, event performance, sponsorship history, committee structure, strategic plan, and financial reports.
Kate Jacobson Kobs shared smart advice in the Chamber Pros Facebook Group: “Don’t reinvent the wheel. Someone has done it before, take their advice.”
That doesn’t mean you should avoid innovation; just understand the history, politics, and data before you start redesigning the organization.
Get Aligned on Mission, Goals, and Success
You’ll hear plenty of ideas in your first weeks. Some will be great. Some will be pet projects they couldn’t push through with your predecessor.
A strong mission helps you decide what deserves your attention.
Frank Kenny recommends updating the strategic plan early so everyone agrees on the goals, what success looks like, and what the CEO, board, committees, and volunteers should be working toward. Kelly Rose Hall recommends starting with Simon Sinek’s “why” to help the board define the chamber’s deeper purpose.
That kind of alignment matters because a chamber can do thousands of good things but it can’t do all of them well.
David Reid, executive director of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce, put it clearly: “Get a tight handle on your mission statement. There are thousands of really good things you can do for your community and the best way to choose which to tackle is a laser sharp mission.”
Build Relationships in Every Direction
Chamber leadership doesn’t happen behind a desk or in an ivory tower. It happens at coffee meetings, ribbon cuttings, city hall, boardrooms, member businesses, community events, and the occasional gathering where the real work is reading the room.
Jackie Ellerbrock from the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce reminds new leaders that relationships are their greatest currency, especially early on. Start with your top connectors. These are the people who know everyone, open doors, share context, and help you understand the community’s unwritten rules.
April Rome Wehrs, president and CEO of Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce, recommends visiting individually with board members, elected leaders, and high-level investors. Ask what they think is good and what can be better. If the conversation derails, gently bring it back to business issues.
You’re building your own reputation while inheriting whatever people already believed about the chamber. That takes presence, patience, and a lot of listening.
Get to Know Local Officials Early
Even if your chamber hasn’t been deeply involved in advocacy, you need relationships with local officials, candidates, and public-sector partners.
Meet them early. Ask about their priorities. Learn how your predecessor interacted with them and how the chamber has historically approached advocacy or government relations.
Some chambers are very active in legislative work. Others have stayed on the sidelines. Neither history must dictate your future, but you should know the starting point before you decide the next move.
Your personal politics shouldn’t lead these conversations. Your role is to understand the business climate, represent the interests of members, and build constructive relationships. Party platforms don’t matter; the interests of the business community do.
Set Boundaries Before Burnout Finds You
A new chamber leader is often greeted with enthusiasm, expectations, and a surprising number of requests that begin with “This will only take a minute.”
They won’t.
Ellie Van Doornum from the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce offers a reminder every new chamber leader should keep close: “It’s okay to say no to take care of yourself. Burnout is a real thing in this business.”
Anissa Starnes also advises new leaders not to make promises or join outside committees or boards for the first six months if possible. Get your legs under you first.
Remember, every yes takes time from something else. Be thoughtful about what you commit to publicly.
Aaron Nelson, executive director at St. Maries Chamber of Commerce, recommends not telling people what you think you’re going to do. Just start doing the work. Sure, it’s less flashy than a bold announcement, but much less likely to haunt you.
Keep the Board in Its Lane
Your board is (and will be) an important part of your success. They hire, guide, govern, support, and represent the organization.
But they shouldn’t run daily operations.
If the CEO role has been vacant for a while and the board has stepped into management out of necessity, they may not understand where they need to step back. Diplomacy is a virtue here because you will need to tactfully reestablish appropriate roles.
Danielle Brown, VP at Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce, said it plainly: “Your Board sets policy. You run the operations. Do not let them overstep into operations!”
Alyssa Cook, CEO at Opportunity Strategies, recommends board training early and thoroughly. The sooner board members know their lane, the easier it is for you to manage the organization effectively.
Board alignment helps smart volunteers use their time where it matters most on strategy, leadership, relationships, accountability, and support.
Don’t Take on Every Issue Yourself
As the new leader, you may suddenly become the person everyone calls with an old frustration, unresolved issue, or personal campaign. Your job is to sort the real business issues from the noise.
Dan Schenkein shares advice often taught through Institute: “Put a volunteer between you and a problem.” You don’t need to hide from hard conversations. Instead, you want to use your board, committees, task forces, and volunteers appropriately.
Don’t personally carry every issue. In many cases, someone else may be better positioned to lead, advise, research, or respond.
Create Simple Systems Right Away
Even if you’re a one-person chamber, your work needs structure. Create simple standard operating procedures (SOPs) for renewals, event planning, sponsorship tracking, board packets, communications, deposits, ribbon cuttings, onboarding, and member follow-up. Jackie Ellerbrock recommends creating SOPs early because your future self and future hires will thank you.
This is also helpful for AI adoption. If you know your process, you can more easily see where AI might help draft, organize, summarize, or automate. If your process lives entirely in someone’s head, technology will mostly help you discover how chaotic things are and how you might start bringing things to order and steering away from institutional knowledge that walks out of the office at 5:00 every day.
Communicate Early and Often
Members need to know who you are, what you care about, and how to reach you.
Mason Hutton, executive director of the Huber Heights Chamber of Commerce, encourages new leaders to connect with the business community quickly. Be visible at events. Introduce yourself online. Share your priorities. Talk about what you’re learning. Let people see the person behind the title. Much of the groundwork can be done on social media and video.
Communication builds trust. It also prevents people from filling silence with assumptions.
Find Mentors and Connect With Chamber Peers
Chamber work is unique. Business leaders, nonprofit professionals, government officials, and event planners may understand pieces of it, but rarely everything that you coordinate. Joey O’Hern recommends finding a mentor. Tina Thompson, president and CEO of the Tomah Chamber and Visitor’s Center, recommends having a trusted adviser who can tell you when you’re wrong, not simply cheer you on.
Join your state chamber association. Connect with ACCE. Explore Institute for Organization Management through the U.S. Chamber. Join peer groups and chamber communities like the Chamber Pros Community group on Facebook. ACCE offers peer networks, benchmarking tools, AskACCE, and a large calendar of professional development opportunities, while IOM continues to provide nonprofit management education for chamber and association professionals.
You’re not alone. Plenty of people have survived their first board retreat and lived to share the templates.
Don’t Take Everything Personally
As a chamber leader, you will encounter some strong personalities. Some people will think you’re brilliant. Some will hold grudges because you changed the event’s napkin colors.
Shannon Walker, executive director at the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, offers this advice: “Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve, you can’t please everyone, always keep the best interest of the community and businesses in the forefront.”
Remember, the loudest voice isn't always representative of the business community, even when they have very strong opinions about which flowers should be the most prominent in the event centerpieces.
Do not let every criticism become a personal wound or reflection of your personal taste/style. After all, carnations don’t really matter—one way or the other—to most of the business community.
Celebrate Progress
The first months can feel heavy because there’s so much to learn and improve. You’ve been entrusted with a big role.
Tina Thompson reminds chamber leaders to celebrate even the smallest wins, especially when things don’t seem to be going well.
Small wins can be when a:
- member tells you the chamber helped them make a connection
- sponsor says yes
- staff member feels supported
- board meeting goes smoothly
- past member renews
- new member joins
Don’t let these things go unnoticed. Take a breath and a moment to recognize that progress is happening. That’s something to smile about.
Lead With Purpose and Grace
Erica Martinez advises new leaders to set the example of a humble, service-focused leader who inspires others to follow. That’s a strong way to think about the role. Leadership isn’t a performance. It’s a practice.
You’re going to make mistakes in the first 60 days. You’ll miss something and learn something the hard way.
That’s fine.
The first weeks aren’t about being perfect. That’s impossible. Focus instead on building the trust, systems, and focus that will help your chamber move forward long after the welcome emails stop.
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