Why Smart Partnerships Matter More in 2026

By Jana Darling, MGI President

Over the past year, I’ve had many conversations with association leaders about capacity, priorities, and how to keep pace with rising expectations. There is a genuine desire across the association community to do what’s best for members and the industries they support. Often, the challenge is delivering at a high level while working within limited time, resources, and specialized expertise.

I understand why doing everything in-house still feels like the gold standard. It represents control, efficiency, and the self-sufficiency associations value and protect. That instinct hasn’t gone away. With tight budgets, lean teams, and the importance of institutional knowledge, keeping work under one roof can feel both responsible and practical.

This tension isn’t new. But increasingly, the conversation shifts from “Can we do this ourselves?” to “Should we, and what are we trading off in the process?”

Marketing today spans more channels, technologies, and skill sets than ever before. Teams are navigating:

• regulatory & platform disruption
• rising expectations from members and stakeholders
• more data and more pressure to make sense of it
• content complexity & channel fragmentation

Where a small team once could manage it all, today’s complexity often requires deeper specialization. Not because teams lack capability, but because the work itself has become broader, faster, and more technical.

At the same time, internal teams are balancing campaigns, leadership priorities, member needs, and daily requests. It’s not a talent issue. It’s a capacity reality.

Even strong teams feel pressure in this environment:

• Data without interpretation
  Reports exist, but turning insight into action takes time.
• Platforms without full optimization
  Organizations invest in powerful tools but rarely have the expertise or bandwidth to maximize them.
• Strategy without execution capacity
  Great ideas stall when there aren’t enough hours or specialized hands to bring them fully to life.

These aren’t failures. They’re symptoms of a more complex marketing landscape.

A More Sustainable Approach

What I’m seeing work best isn’t a choice between internal teams and outside support.

It’s a blended approach.

• Internal teams stay focused on mission, members, and priorities.
• Specialized expertise can be brought in when deeper skills or additional capacity are needed.
• High-level strategists can be engaged to shape plans and frameworks that internal teams can confidently execute.
• Leaders gain momentum without overextending their staff.

This isn’t about outsourcing core capabilities. It’s about structuring work in a way that protects team focus while adapting to growing complexity.

Today, success isn’t about keeping up. It’s about staying ahead. Organizations that embrace this mindset aren’t giving something up. They’re creating space to move faster, make smarter decisions, and support their teams more sustainably.

To me, partnership is not about replacing internal strengths. It’s about reinforcing them.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “A jack of all trades is a master of none.” In today’s environment, trying to do everything at once can dilute focus and strain even the strongest teams.

What I continue to see is this: strong teams become even stronger when they focus on what matters most and draw on the right expertise to support the rest. That combination gives them the space to excel, the insight to stay ahead of change, and the ability to serve their members while staying true to their mission.