As Tau Delta Phi enters its second century, we can not forget that each year we add to our alumni community - the source of many of our traditions and a sense of brotherhood that never ends. In my experience, this time of the year is usually when brothers are trying to wrap up loose ends, get in assignments that were due long ago and trying to get ready for the finals fast approaching. But we sometimes forget that graduation will bring a new chapter in the lives of our brothers.
If your chapter has an associated alumni chapter, remind him to register and get involved during the summer. If your chapter does not, talk to your graduating seniors about working with the Executive Council to create one. With more and more colonies in the works, we will need more active alumni within our region (and afar) to get connected and support our fraternity's expansion efforts.
We can never forget that our fraternity has survived because our most dedicated fraters have put in the time to lead and support the necessary work at the national, regional and local level to keep us alive for the last 100 years. Imagine how our fraternity will look in the next 10 to 20 years if our recent alumni gave just 2 hours a month to support our chapter and colony efforts! From hosting events for the next graduating class to raising money for scholarships and chapter housing efforts, our alumni are critical for our continued growth and success.
I want to encourage all of you with brothers graduating to take a minute to thank him for his service to the undergraduate chapter. Wish him well as he continues on his journey through life. Share with him a moment or memory that you will tell your new pledges when he is gone.
And above all, continue to remind him of his importance to your chapter and all of our chapters. Good luck with finals, enjoy your graduations and best wishes for the future!
TDF.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Highlighting Fraternity on your Resume
I have worked with many graduating seniors or rising juniors that try to hawk their fraternity experience on their resumes and only list 'Name of the Fraternity, Initiated 20XX.' If I hiring people and were to see this on your resume, I would wonder what you learned about leadership - and leaving me wondering isn't a good way to get a job from me.
We know that many business leaders have benefited from fraternity and sorority experience. But not all of them know your chapter lingo - does anyone else ever really use the word Quaestor anymore?
When I review the resumes for fraternity men, especially for the Tau Delta Phi men I know, I encourage them to expand on their leadership experience and connect it with the job or internship they are looking to get. For instance, if you want to get a job where you are doing sales, you can highlight your recruitment/rush chair experience - you recruited X number of men through values-based programming, created an online tracking system for recruitment interactions and developed a matrix for offering fraternity membership.
You can also highlight the same chair experience if you wanted a job where you could manage other staff - you delegated tasks among X number of active brothers, held one-on-one trainings with new members to teach them skills for recruitment, and evaluated the overall team based on bid-matching and unaccepted bids. As you can see, you don't need to put the same bullets for the same position - change up the bullets so they reflect the type of job you want
Or if you want a job that handles money you want to list ANY position where you handled money, such as Steward or Philanthropy chair:
Fundraising Chair Fall 20XX
or
President January 20XX – Present
Vice President January 20XX – December 20XX
Noting money on your resume is a great way to demonstrate trust - because anyone who trusts you with money is likely to trust you with something else valuable.
Also, when you list your chapter leadership positions, it's ok to use a term that is more clear in regular terms such as President (instead of Consul), New Member Educator (instead of Magister), or Treasurer (intead of Quaestor). This way hiring managers know what you are trying to share without guessing.
Good luck to all the graduating seniors that will be looking for jobs (if you haven't found one yet) and to all the fraters who are being elected into new fraternity positions. We know you will learn many things that will help you with your professional life after graduation!
We know that many business leaders have benefited from fraternity and sorority experience. But not all of them know your chapter lingo - does anyone else ever really use the word Quaestor anymore?
When I review the resumes for fraternity men, especially for the Tau Delta Phi men I know, I encourage them to expand on their leadership experience and connect it with the job or internship they are looking to get. For instance, if you want to get a job where you are doing sales, you can highlight your recruitment/rush chair experience - you recruited X number of men through values-based programming, created an online tracking system for recruitment interactions and developed a matrix for offering fraternity membership.
You can also highlight the same chair experience if you wanted a job where you could manage other staff - you delegated tasks among X number of active brothers, held one-on-one trainings with new members to teach them skills for recruitment, and evaluated the overall team based on bid-matching and unaccepted bids. As you can see, you don't need to put the same bullets for the same position - change up the bullets so they reflect the type of job you want
Or if you want a job that handles money you want to list ANY position where you handled money, such as Steward or Philanthropy chair:
Fundraising Chair Fall 20XX
· Worked with chapter membership of 22 men to raise chapter funds for philanthropy and chapter resources
· Raised over $XXXX in monies in one semester, donated to 3 national philanthropies
· Tracked expenses and income with chapter treasurer
or
President January 20XX – Present
Vice President January 20XX – December 20XX
* Managed a group of 25 chapter members, including directing weekly chapter, executive meetings
* Overall responsibility for $15,000 in continual renovations to chapter house
* Responsible for annual $20,000 chapter budget; supervised chapter leaders on responsible budget management
Noting money on your resume is a great way to demonstrate trust - because anyone who trusts you with money is likely to trust you with something else valuable.
Also, when you list your chapter leadership positions, it's ok to use a term that is more clear in regular terms such as President (instead of Consul), New Member Educator (instead of Magister), or Treasurer (intead of Quaestor). This way hiring managers know what you are trying to share without guessing.
Good luck to all the graduating seniors that will be looking for jobs (if you haven't found one yet) and to all the fraters who are being elected into new fraternity positions. We know you will learn many things that will help you with your professional life after graduation!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Creating a Tau Delt Values-Based Program
April is a popular month for college students to do on-campus programming - the weather is warmer, you can see the end in sight for your classes, and the new member process is winding down enough for all members (new and old) to put focus into campus involvement. Have you considered this in your programming calendar: do a campus program about one of our fraternity values? I know, I know - "it's one more thing to do and programming calendars are already full and brothers are really busy with (_____________ fill in the blank)."
Think about it - this is when the freshmen and sophomore students are finally picking their heads up out of their books and looking around, thinking to themselves "what is next year going to be like?" Their attention is just begging to be sought out - why not do it with a program that highlights the best of our fraternity?
1. "Can-struction" Project: Building character in Tau Delt men is a cornerstone of our fraternity, and we strive to identify men of character during our recruitment efforts. One way to help men build character is to provide service for others. An easy effort to coordinate quickly is to collect cans and dried goods from students, faculty and staff (and your own family's pantries) and do a can-stacking or building program. Give a prize to the group that brings in the most food, one to the group that builds the tallest structure, one to the best-looking structure, etc. Then you and the men you want to recruit next fall can deliver the food (and any money collected) to your local Feeding America food pantry. Stick around to help in in the pantry, feel good about your work and know that you are helping others in need. Call it a gym-day if you have to - your arms and shoulders will get a workout!
2. Tutor Nights before Finals: Highlight the best academics you have in your chapter or colony by hosting a tutor night for freshman-level exams. Reserve a room in one (or more) of the freshmen residence halls on your campus, co-sponsor the event with an RA, and bring in healthy 'brain foods' with lots of B vitamins. If you need to, bring in tutors from your learning center for classes your brothers don't (or can't ) give the best tutoring advice. And think about it- you can recruit the RA, the tutors and the Freshman all in event while focusing on academics. This might be a new way to recruit - using studying - but it shows that our fraternity cares about the grades of its members.
3. Alumni Resume Review/Interview Skill Night: Our fraternity alumni are committed to life-long brotherhood - and one way they can demonstrate that with your campus population is to help them understand what it takes to get a job! Invite alumni - from your chapter or elsewhere - to help out with resume reviews or with internship and first-job interviews. This shows any potential members that our alumni care about the chapter, that we have professionals working in many different areas of the business world, and that brotherhood doesn't end when college is over. Plus it allows your alumni members a chance to see your best work in action - recruiting men who have goals and dreams of their own. It's a win-win-win situation.
These are just three ideas that can be arranged within the next 6 weeks, but if you need more time make them your Fall recruitment programs! Remember that recruitment is a year-round process and you need to finish the year with Tau Delt on the minds of the men you want to invite to be a member in the Fall. Good luck with the rest of the semester!
Think about it - this is when the freshmen and sophomore students are finally picking their heads up out of their books and looking around, thinking to themselves "what is next year going to be like?" Their attention is just begging to be sought out - why not do it with a program that highlights the best of our fraternity?
1. "Can-struction" Project: Building character in Tau Delt men is a cornerstone of our fraternity, and we strive to identify men of character during our recruitment efforts. One way to help men build character is to provide service for others. An easy effort to coordinate quickly is to collect cans and dried goods from students, faculty and staff (and your own family's pantries) and do a can-stacking or building program. Give a prize to the group that brings in the most food, one to the group that builds the tallest structure, one to the best-looking structure, etc. Then you and the men you want to recruit next fall can deliver the food (and any money collected) to your local Feeding America food pantry. Stick around to help in in the pantry, feel good about your work and know that you are helping others in need. Call it a gym-day if you have to - your arms and shoulders will get a workout!
2. Tutor Nights before Finals: Highlight the best academics you have in your chapter or colony by hosting a tutor night for freshman-level exams. Reserve a room in one (or more) of the freshmen residence halls on your campus, co-sponsor the event with an RA, and bring in healthy 'brain foods' with lots of B vitamins. If you need to, bring in tutors from your learning center for classes your brothers don't (or can't ) give the best tutoring advice. And think about it- you can recruit the RA, the tutors and the Freshman all in event while focusing on academics. This might be a new way to recruit - using studying - but it shows that our fraternity cares about the grades of its members.
3. Alumni Resume Review/Interview Skill Night: Our fraternity alumni are committed to life-long brotherhood - and one way they can demonstrate that with your campus population is to help them understand what it takes to get a job! Invite alumni - from your chapter or elsewhere - to help out with resume reviews or with internship and first-job interviews. This shows any potential members that our alumni care about the chapter, that we have professionals working in many different areas of the business world, and that brotherhood doesn't end when college is over. Plus it allows your alumni members a chance to see your best work in action - recruiting men who have goals and dreams of their own. It's a win-win-win situation.
These are just three ideas that can be arranged within the next 6 weeks, but if you need more time make them your Fall recruitment programs! Remember that recruitment is a year-round process and you need to finish the year with Tau Delt on the minds of the men you want to invite to be a member in the Fall. Good luck with the rest of the semester!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
What New Members Need
As your chapters and colonies engage in your new member education I would like to reinforce the 'education' part. In my experience working with Tau Delt chapters, and other chapters at the college where I work, many times issues with chapter operations and programming usually center around a lack of understanding of when to best teach the skills it takes to be effective chapter leaders. Do you wait until they are finished and initiated? Or when they hold a chapter leadership position? Or only when called up in a committee?
I suggest adding this sort of education during the new member education program. That way it connects the ideas of developing leadership with being a strong brother, and that the chapter and colony benefits from the leadership development in tangible ways.
1. Encourage community service and philanthropy: One easy program to plan is a passive program around our national philanthropy, Feeding America. We require our brothers to get involved locally to support their local Feeding America food banks, but do all of them understand issues surrounding poverty and hunger? Encourage new members to research poverty and hunger statistics in your city or county and make posters to advertise why donations to the food banks make a real difference, making the donations personal to the campus and the community. This also allows them to learn how to advertise on-campus in ways that attract positive attention, and why our fraternity consider this type of service relevant and important. Plus the posters can be used at future programs hosted by the chapter regarding philanthropy and community service.
2. Reflect on skills it takes to be a chapter leader: Hopefully during your selection of your new member class, you thought about the skills each man was bringing to the chapter - but do the men know and understand what you saw him in and what else he can and should learn to be a better leader? Ask the men to write a short essay on his strengths he could bring to the chapter and what skill he wants to learn before taking on chapter leadership roles. Then connect the men with an on-campus leadership workshop so they go and learn that skill! This also brings up a great conversation between the new men and their Big Brothers, so that their education is now directed toward their personal development.
3. Develop recruitment strategies: Some of the best men to recruit your next class are the current men - they are typically closer in age and taking classes with the men you want to meet. So ask the current class to plan an on-campus event. It doesn't have to be a recruitment event, but all events sponsored by the chapter are unintentionally recruitment events since they showcase the best the chapter has to offer. Good events could be a game-room pool tournament, flag football pick-up game on the campus green, a video game release party in a dorm - it doesn't need to be so large it becomes impossible. But we all know that successful programs are always in the details - so teach them now to look at the details of their first program based on your campus policies. There are multiple rewards for this - you get an on-campus event, an alcohol-free program, a leadership development experience, a recruitment event for the next class, and you've taught your newest members how to recruit!
Ultimately, your newest members need to have these skills reinforced in positive and educational ways. Being an effective chapter leader isn't accidental - it takes time, effort and energy. So why not put the time, effort and energy into the start of the process before they finish instead of putting in extra time, effort and energy after they are done? Figure out what could or would work most effectively and your new members (and the chapter) will be most appreciative!
I suggest adding this sort of education during the new member education program. That way it connects the ideas of developing leadership with being a strong brother, and that the chapter and colony benefits from the leadership development in tangible ways.
1. Encourage community service and philanthropy: One easy program to plan is a passive program around our national philanthropy, Feeding America. We require our brothers to get involved locally to support their local Feeding America food banks, but do all of them understand issues surrounding poverty and hunger? Encourage new members to research poverty and hunger statistics in your city or county and make posters to advertise why donations to the food banks make a real difference, making the donations personal to the campus and the community. This also allows them to learn how to advertise on-campus in ways that attract positive attention, and why our fraternity consider this type of service relevant and important. Plus the posters can be used at future programs hosted by the chapter regarding philanthropy and community service.
2. Reflect on skills it takes to be a chapter leader: Hopefully during your selection of your new member class, you thought about the skills each man was bringing to the chapter - but do the men know and understand what you saw him in and what else he can and should learn to be a better leader? Ask the men to write a short essay on his strengths he could bring to the chapter and what skill he wants to learn before taking on chapter leadership roles. Then connect the men with an on-campus leadership workshop so they go and learn that skill! This also brings up a great conversation between the new men and their Big Brothers, so that their education is now directed toward their personal development.
3. Develop recruitment strategies: Some of the best men to recruit your next class are the current men - they are typically closer in age and taking classes with the men you want to meet. So ask the current class to plan an on-campus event. It doesn't have to be a recruitment event, but all events sponsored by the chapter are unintentionally recruitment events since they showcase the best the chapter has to offer. Good events could be a game-room pool tournament, flag football pick-up game on the campus green, a video game release party in a dorm - it doesn't need to be so large it becomes impossible. But we all know that successful programs are always in the details - so teach them now to look at the details of their first program based on your campus policies. There are multiple rewards for this - you get an on-campus event, an alcohol-free program, a leadership development experience, a recruitment event for the next class, and you've taught your newest members how to recruit!
Ultimately, your newest members need to have these skills reinforced in positive and educational ways. Being an effective chapter leader isn't accidental - it takes time, effort and energy. So why not put the time, effort and energy into the start of the process before they finish instead of putting in extra time, effort and energy after they are done? Figure out what could or would work most effectively and your new members (and the chapter) will be most appreciative!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Reflections on the Pyramid Leadership Institute: The Student Perspective
Below is an article written by Anthony Krake, TE F10 for the NJIT student newspaper, The Vector.
*******
On Saturday January 22, Tau Delta Phi hosted its 2nd Annual national leadership conference, the Pyramid Leadership Institute in the New Jersey Institute of Technology Campus Center. Around 80 Tau Delts from our active chapters and colonies - plus executive council members from around the country - attended the event, which discussed everything from the preservation of fraternal rituals all the way to the future of Tau Delta Phi.
This eight-hour event consisted of multiple breakout sessions where alumni, new members, and general members discussed different topics involving the fraternity as a whole and had an opportunity to express their ideas and opinions to their national officers about the roads they would like to take in the future. Each group also had individual discussions about their personal role in bettering the fraternity for the new era of Greek Life.
To help understand where fraternities will be heading, Mr. Greg Hauser, a renowned New York attorney who specializes in fraternity affairs, presented his speech, “The Future of Greek Life.” His speech explained where fraternities have been, where they are going, and the actions that must be taken to help them survive and prosper.
The leadership institute was a great success in helping Tau Delta Phi continue its 64-year standing at NJIT, as well as help future development and expansion of the fraternity. Leadership is one of the most important qualities to have, and Tau Delta Phi uses events like these to ensure their fraternity builds leaders within every member.
******
If you have positive experiences from the Pyramid Leadership Institute that you want to share, do so now! We want to hear from all of you about how you are using the Institute to make your chapter and colony better.
*******
On Saturday January 22, Tau Delta Phi hosted its 2nd Annual national leadership conference, the Pyramid Leadership Institute in the New Jersey Institute of Technology Campus Center. Around 80 Tau Delts from our active chapters and colonies - plus executive council members from around the country - attended the event, which discussed everything from the preservation of fraternal rituals all the way to the future of Tau Delta Phi.
This eight-hour event consisted of multiple breakout sessions where alumni, new members, and general members discussed different topics involving the fraternity as a whole and had an opportunity to express their ideas and opinions to their national officers about the roads they would like to take in the future. Each group also had individual discussions about their personal role in bettering the fraternity for the new era of Greek Life.
To help understand where fraternities will be heading, Mr. Greg Hauser, a renowned New York attorney who specializes in fraternity affairs, presented his speech, “The Future of Greek Life.” His speech explained where fraternities have been, where they are going, and the actions that must be taken to help them survive and prosper.
The leadership institute was a great success in helping Tau Delta Phi continue its 64-year standing at NJIT, as well as help future development and expansion of the fraternity. Leadership is one of the most important qualities to have, and Tau Delta Phi uses events like these to ensure their fraternity builds leaders within every member.
******
If you have positive experiences from the Pyramid Leadership Institute that you want to share, do so now! We want to hear from all of you about how you are using the Institute to make your chapter and colony better.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Five things I learned at the Pyramid Leadership Institute
This past weekend, we had a significant number of our undergraduate men and recent alumni show up for our second Pyramid Leadership Institute. As a student affairs educator and advisor, I have planned, presented or facilitated sessions at my fair share of leadership experiences and I can say, hands down, that this was one of the best programs I have been part of. Here are five reasons why we should all be proud of our work together this past weekend:
1. We doubled our attendance. A year and a half ago, at the inaugural Pyramid Leadership Institute, we had a number of men show up from our colonies but not nearly as many from any one group as we did this past year. I know that making events 'mandatory' isn't the best way to motivate men to attend - and it almost makes it seem that leadership development is a punishment for 'having to' go to an event. This year, however, we had 80 men participate with entire neophyte classes and more than the required leadership asked to attend. Hopefully we have begun to create a culture of new fraternity men that value leadership as part of their fraternal experience. Or more simply - it's not so bad going to this kind of event and you're going to bring more brothers next time!
2. We shared our challenges. All chapters and colonies have issues making things work the way they are supposed to. But sometimes we have to let go of our ego and admit to our brothers near AND far that we need help. From the conversations I overheard and the comments shared in the tracks I was in, some brothers shared challenges include motivating brothers to do, well, anything, better ways to collect dues and fund-raise money, and how to create new tradition programs and the use of our values to recruit. These are not unique issues by any means, and some chapters deal with them better than others. But brainstorming with a group of men sharing the same issue can sometimes lead to solutions no one could imagine. Which is a good lead-in to the next point of pride....
3. We shared our successes. It was great talking to our leaders about how they deal with the challenges of running their chapters and colonies and who were so gracious to share what is working well. Taking pride in what your chapter and colony is doing and wanting it to be just yours is a natural reaction - but we had a moment where our men were willing to share what they do best...and then invite others to do the same thing on their campuses. When we share in our successes, we are all going to succeed. Plus the benefit of having our current number of chapters and colonies is that our leaders can share their successes in person more often. Don't stop sharing and don't wait for the next Institute!
4. Our guest speaker added prestige. Greg Hauser from Delta Chi Fraternity, past national president of his fraternity and the NIC, spoke about the history of Greek Life and its future on our college campuses. His impression of the men who attended was very complimentary and most assuredly his positive perception of our fraternity and its development will be shared among our national colleagues. Setting the tone as he did has helped elevate our Institute from simply a chance for brothers to network and talk to a true student leadership and educational experience that compares nationally with our fraternity peers. This really is a recruitment tool, even if you didn't know it.
5. We met your (and our) needs. I have talked to many of our attendees about their reactions to the program and nearly all of their reactions were positive. We were able to have men leave NJIT knowing what could work better within their chapters, reinforcing for some of our chapters that their work is aligned with the Fraternity goals, encouraging our new and old members to learn from each other as well as our older alumni. We know that some needs still need to be met (such as helping undergrads gain more professional skills, learning to network with alumni, etc) but the more critical needs were met and set us up to meet more needs with other successful programs in the future. We should have more conversations about our Obligations and starting with having tracks for each Obligation was a good start.
Again, this was one of the best leadership programs I have been privileged to be part of and while we can improve aspects of the program to better meet your needs, I am confident that this program could stand next to any other fraternity or student development program as a point of pride. If you attended the program, talk it up with potential members and those brothers who couldn't or wouldn't attend. Only by creating the expectation that TauDelt men attend leadership programming as part of the fraternity experience will we be be able to increase attendance at all of our programs - and this helps all of us.
We should all be proud of our work this past weekend and begin to brainstorm how to make it better next year! It's great to be a TauDelt!
1. We doubled our attendance. A year and a half ago, at the inaugural Pyramid Leadership Institute, we had a number of men show up from our colonies but not nearly as many from any one group as we did this past year. I know that making events 'mandatory' isn't the best way to motivate men to attend - and it almost makes it seem that leadership development is a punishment for 'having to' go to an event. This year, however, we had 80 men participate with entire neophyte classes and more than the required leadership asked to attend. Hopefully we have begun to create a culture of new fraternity men that value leadership as part of their fraternal experience. Or more simply - it's not so bad going to this kind of event and you're going to bring more brothers next time!
2. We shared our challenges. All chapters and colonies have issues making things work the way they are supposed to. But sometimes we have to let go of our ego and admit to our brothers near AND far that we need help. From the conversations I overheard and the comments shared in the tracks I was in, some brothers shared challenges include motivating brothers to do, well, anything, better ways to collect dues and fund-raise money, and how to create new tradition programs and the use of our values to recruit. These are not unique issues by any means, and some chapters deal with them better than others. But brainstorming with a group of men sharing the same issue can sometimes lead to solutions no one could imagine. Which is a good lead-in to the next point of pride....
3. We shared our successes. It was great talking to our leaders about how they deal with the challenges of running their chapters and colonies and who were so gracious to share what is working well. Taking pride in what your chapter and colony is doing and wanting it to be just yours is a natural reaction - but we had a moment where our men were willing to share what they do best...and then invite others to do the same thing on their campuses. When we share in our successes, we are all going to succeed. Plus the benefit of having our current number of chapters and colonies is that our leaders can share their successes in person more often. Don't stop sharing and don't wait for the next Institute!
4. Our guest speaker added prestige. Greg Hauser from Delta Chi Fraternity, past national president of his fraternity and the NIC, spoke about the history of Greek Life and its future on our college campuses. His impression of the men who attended was very complimentary and most assuredly his positive perception of our fraternity and its development will be shared among our national colleagues. Setting the tone as he did has helped elevate our Institute from simply a chance for brothers to network and talk to a true student leadership and educational experience that compares nationally with our fraternity peers. This really is a recruitment tool, even if you didn't know it.
5. We met your (and our) needs. I have talked to many of our attendees about their reactions to the program and nearly all of their reactions were positive. We were able to have men leave NJIT knowing what could work better within their chapters, reinforcing for some of our chapters that their work is aligned with the Fraternity goals, encouraging our new and old members to learn from each other as well as our older alumni. We know that some needs still need to be met (such as helping undergrads gain more professional skills, learning to network with alumni, etc) but the more critical needs were met and set us up to meet more needs with other successful programs in the future. We should have more conversations about our Obligations and starting with having tracks for each Obligation was a good start.
Again, this was one of the best leadership programs I have been privileged to be part of and while we can improve aspects of the program to better meet your needs, I am confident that this program could stand next to any other fraternity or student development program as a point of pride. If you attended the program, talk it up with potential members and those brothers who couldn't or wouldn't attend. Only by creating the expectation that TauDelt men attend leadership programming as part of the fraternity experience will we be be able to increase attendance at all of our programs - and this helps all of us.
We should all be proud of our work this past weekend and begin to brainstorm how to make it better next year! It's great to be a TauDelt!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Kicking Off a New Year with Transitioning
Welcome to the 2011! I know many of you are still enjoying your winter break and haven't begun to think about your life back on campus just yet. But I wanted to prepare you with some things to think about for when you do start again - as a student and as a leader in your chapter/colony.
Many of the chapters elected new consuls and executive boards for the year - congrats to our newest chapter and colony leaders! What is your plan for transitioning into your new positions? What materials have been passed on - with a context to understand them - so you can use them to avoid mistakes and make good decisions? What are the goals you have for the year - and how do you plan to measure them?
That's a lot of questions, I know. But these are just the tip of the iceberg. Any leader will tell you that there are so many good intentions when starting in a new leadership role, but so few resources. So find some resources!
If you do any one of the ideas above, you will have effectively changed the culture of your chapter or colony. Add in one new step a year and newly elected officers years from now won't remember a time when they weren't doing transitions. As always, if you have questions about leadership, let me know.
Enjoy what time off you have before the semester starts - you're going to be busy!
Many of the chapters elected new consuls and executive boards for the year - congrats to our newest chapter and colony leaders! What is your plan for transitioning into your new positions? What materials have been passed on - with a context to understand them - so you can use them to avoid mistakes and make good decisions? What are the goals you have for the year - and how do you plan to measure them?
That's a lot of questions, I know. But these are just the tip of the iceberg. Any leader will tell you that there are so many good intentions when starting in a new leadership role, but so few resources. So find some resources!
- Do you have a transition plan? We sometimes assume that people elected into positions have natural abilities to know their jobs the first day. But my experience has shown that people need a little more coaching than that. Pick a day when your new executive board can meet - hopefully within the first couple of weeks of the new semester if not sooner - so you can talk about strengths, challenges and goals within the board. If you can invite previous exec board members, the better. If not, at least get their comments in an email about what challenges they faced and what goals were not met as a board.
- Do you have a binder? I've seen the same binder passed from exec to exec, in some chapters, without any editing or time-line, so that each time the new person gets the binder it just keeps on growing. A new binder is purchased but nothing is ever thrown out. Each exec should take the time to put together a binder that is actually useful! It can be divided in any number of ways: responsibilities, monthly, projects, etc. If you find something that looks like trash, throw it out. Or put it in a box to be archived in case you fear you might need it later. But if you don't within the year, toss it. Whatever you do, make sure you create a time line for your binder, so whoever looks at it next knows what to look for, and when.
- Have you set goals? Wanting to be a 'good chapter' and recruit 'solid guys' are what we all want - but how are you going to do it? Who is going to be responsible for each part? How will you track progress? Use the SMART Goals model and make sure that all of your executive board members have an action plan - to help him organize his work and help you track his progress (or lack thereof). Plus the goals help you decide as a group how to set up your finances - are you saving money now in case you need it later? What are your goals for paying off back debt?
If you do any one of the ideas above, you will have effectively changed the culture of your chapter or colony. Add in one new step a year and newly elected officers years from now won't remember a time when they weren't doing transitions. As always, if you have questions about leadership, let me know.
Enjoy what time off you have before the semester starts - you're going to be busy!
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