What the Mavence–ESAE Survey Reveals About Today’s Association Reality
The 2025 Mavence–ESAE Association Governance and Membership survey reads like a portrait of the very leaders who gather around the Novya Leadership Lab table. Seventy‑four associations in eight cities, spanning 22 sectors and representing thousands of employees, were asked to describe how they really work. The picture that emerges is of a sector that is lean, stretched and under pressure to adapt faster than its traditional structures were built for.
And it is exactly this reality that the Novya Leadership Lab is designed for.
If you lead an association or nonprofit in Brussels, the survey’s numbers will feel very close to home. Many respondents report compact secretariat teams – often well under a dozen people – responsible for policy, events, member services, governance and communications across several countries and time zones. At the same time, membership is evolving: new categories, new geographies, new expectations about value and visibility.
On paper, this might look like “efficiency”. In daily life, it often feels like a constant juggling act. The inbox never really quietens, new files appear faster than old ones close, and strategic projects have to compete with the urgent demands of the week.
When we started listening to association leaders in Brussels, this was the theme that came back again and again. The question was not just “How do we do more with less?” but “How do I stay clear, lead my team and move my organisation forward in this kind of environment?”
The Mavence–ESAE data gives that experience a clear statistical backbone. The Novya Leadership Lab is one way of responding to it.
Governance that moves slowly, realities that move fast
Look a little deeper into the survey and you quickly see another tension. Voting rights, board selection practices and membership fee structures point to governance models that were designed for stability and continuity. Fees are often reviewed on multi‑year cycles. Strategic planning still tends to happen in set periods, around familiar milestones.
Meanwhile, the ground is shifting more quickly. EU policy priorities evolve, new regulatory frameworks appear, and members expect their associations to respond at the speed of their own markets. Leaders sit between those two tempos: the slower rhythm of governance and the faster rhythm of political and economic change.
This is where the “leading agile transformation” pillar of the Novya Leadership Lab comes in. Rather than promising a grand reinvention that few associations can realistically deliver, the Lab focuses on small, concrete shifts:
Using scenario planning so boards can see more than one possible future.
Testing new ideas with members through pilots instead of sweeping reforms.
Clarifying who decides what, and when, so that leaders can act without overstepping governance.
In other words, the Lab helps leaders introduce agility inside the systems they already have – precisely the kind of practical adaptation the survey suggests is needed.
Behind the charts: the weight leaders carry
The report is rich in numbers, but every bar and percentage stands for the lived experience of real people. When secretariat teams remain small while responsibilities expand, someone is absorbing that extra work. Often, it is the leader: juggling strategy and operations, staff support and board relations, external representation and internal stability.
At Novya, we heard this clearly in conversations ahead of launching the Lab. Leaders talked about the weight of political uncertainty, the complexity of multi‑stakeholder expectations and the emotional load of leading teams through constant change. Many of them were still performing at a high level – but at a personal cost.
That is why the first pillar of the Leadership Lab is “Authentic Leadership for Impact”. Before diving into tools and models, participants are invited to pause and take stock:
What do I stand for as a leader in this role?
Where am I spending energy that does not align with that?
What would it look like to lead with more clarity and less contradiction?
This work is not abstract introspection. It is about making daily leadership more sustainable. When leaders are clearer on their values and boundaries, they can navigate the sector’s pressures with more confidence – and that has a direct impact on how their organisations function.
Turning lean structures into real teams
Another message running through the Mavence–ESAE survey is that structure and reality do not always match. Organigrams may show neat lines, but in many associations the real work happens in small, multifunctional teams that cross formal boundaries. Staff wear several hats. Volunteers and board members step into operational questions. External suppliers become part of the extended team.
The second pillar of the Novya Leadership Lab, “Empowering & Growing Teams in Complex Environments”, takes this as a starting point. During the Lab, leaders map their teams as they actually are, not just as they appear on paper. Together with peers, they explore questions such as:
Who is really carrying which files, and where are we overloading people?
Where do we need clearer agreements between staff, leadership and board?
How can we support growth and learning in a small team where “promotions” may not always be possible?
The tools they work with are deliberately simple, precisely so they can be used back in organisations where time is limited and HR departments may be small or non‑existent. The aim is to enable high‑performing teams in lean structures – the exact context the survey describes.
Insight to practice: a lab for the sector we actually have
The section of the survey titled “Planning for the Future” makes one thing very clear: associations know that change is coming. Many expect shifts in membership, revenue and strategic priorities in the years ahead. But awareness alone does not create capacity. Someone has to translate those expectations into concrete plans, conversations and decisions.
This is where the “lab” in Novya Leadership Lab becomes more than just a name. Over three months, participants bring their real challenges into a structured environment: fee reforms they are considering, governance updates they need to secure, new services members are asking for. In facilitated sessions and coaching conversations, they test options, gather feedback from peers, and build action plans that are tailored to their own associations.
The result is a direct line from what the survey reveals to what leaders can actually do:
Data shows that many secretariats are small and stretched → the Lab focuses on team capacity and realistic delegation.
Data shows that governance cycles lag behind external change → the Lab offers tools for agile planning within existing structures.
Data shows that pressure on leaders is high and rising → the Lab starts with self‑leadership and resilience.
Why this matters now
The Mavence–ESAE report gives Europe’s association community something it has not always had: a shared, data‑driven picture of how the sector is evolving. It confirms that many leaders are operating in lean, complex, fast‑changing environments – and that current structures are under pressure to keep up.
The Novya Leadership Lab was built for that picture, not for an idealised version of association life. It offers a small, focused cohort of peers; a clear three‑pillar framework; and practical tools rooted in the realities of Brussels‑based nonprofits and associations.
If you recognise your organisation in the survey charts – the team size, the governance patterns, the membership shifts – then you are exactly the kind of leader the Novya Leadership Lab was created for.
