creating change in your council or community

Going the Distance: Change in Your Fraternity/Sorority Council or Community

Teniell Trolian [email protected]

Assistant Director for Greek Affairs, Kent State University

Whitney Swesey [email protected]

Graduate Assistant for Greek Life Programs, The University of Akron

AFLV Central Conference Pathway Program St. Louis, MO ‐ February 11, 2011

A Model for Sustainable Change John Kotter (1994)

Notes

1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency

2. Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition

3. Creating a Vision

4. Communicating the Vision

5. Empowering Others to Act

on the Vision

6. Planning for and Creating

Short‐Term Wins

7. Consolidating Improvements and

Producing Additional Change

8. Institutionalizing New

Approaches

GOING THE DISTANCE: CHANGE IN YOUR FRATERNITY/SORORITY COUNCIL OR COMMUNITY

AFLV Central Conference Pathway Program ‐ St. Louis, MO ‐ February 11, 2011 Teniell Trolian, Kent State University and Whitney Swesey, The University of Akron

Who Should be Included in Your Guiding Coalition?

Stakeholder What is their role in your chapter or community?



Where Does Your Chapter or Community Stand? Academics/Scholarship

Accountability (Individual and Chapter‐Level)

Active Member Education/Development

Administration/Staff Relations

Chapter and Council Advising

Alumni Relations

Cohesiveness/Unity

Communication

Community Service

Diversity

Educational Programming

Faculty Relations

Financial Stability

Housing/Chapter Facilities

Inter/national Headquarters Relations

Leadership Development

Membership Recruitment

New Member Education/Development

Non‐Greek Student Relations

Philanthropy

Publicity/Public Relations

Risk Management

Social Activities/Programming



How Can You Assess your Chapter or Community?

Survey Research Program Evaluations Feedback/Opinion Surveys Individual Meetings/Interviews Meetings with Faculty/Staff/Administrators Meetings with Chapter Executive Board Members Meetings with Chapter Presidents Meetings with Non‐Greek Student Organization Presidents Meetings with Residential Life Staff Focus Groups/Group Discussions Officer Retreat

Chapter Presidents’ Summit New Member Focus Groups Suggestion/Comment Opportunities Online Suggestion/Comment Space Greek Council/MGC/NPHC/IFC/Panhellenic Meeting Discussion Topics Comparative Institution Research Website Research

Nearby Campus Visits AFLV Awards Criteria



Developing Your Vision Statement

My ideal Community/Chapter/Campus looks like…



Communicating Your Vision Communication should be:

Clear Focused Compelling

Stakeholder How will you share your vision with them? When will you share your vision with them?



Developing SMART Goals

S: Specific M: Measurable A: Attainable R: Realistic T: Tangible

What are 3‐5 goals that you can set for this year that will help you to achieve your vision?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.



Potential Obstacles and Possible Solutions Lack of awareness and knowledge about where your chapter/community is at now and where you want to take it. Possible Solution: Perform assessments of your chapter/community to find out exactly where you’re at and where you want to go.

Lack of creativity or ideas to start or reinvent new initiatives. Possible Solution: Hold roundtables with chapter and community leaders. This will help in getting more minds involved in the process. If leaders have complaints about what is currently going on, they will definitely have ideas for possible solutions. You do not have to do exactly what they want, but it will help with starting the creative process and getting ideas flowing.

Lack of support from faculty and staff. Possible Solution: Start to build relationships. Host a faculty recognition week, where you thank professors for all of their hard work and highlight what they have done to contribute to your success.

Lack of money to make proposed changes. Possible Solution: Go through your budget as a chapter or council to see where costs might be able to be cut in order to provide money for new ideas or for making old programs better. This will take a lot of give and take on everyone’s part, but if it what is best for your chapter or community it should be clear what needs to be done.

Lack of time or competing priorities. Possible Solution: You need to decide whether or not if you have the time necessary to put in to making the change happen. If you are too strapped for time or cannot get the job done right by doing the right things, then you need to be mature enough to either not run for a position in the first place or step down and let someone else step in who can carry out the responsibilities.

Lack of knowledge or resources. Possible Solution: Do some research. Take the time to look at information online—you would be surprised how much information you can gather from a simple Google search. See what other schools are doing and what can possibly be used effectively in your chapter/community. Also, utilize your Greek Advisor. They have access to a plethora of resources, and can help by providing information to get you going in the right direction.

Lack of support from chapter or community members. Possible Solution: Try communicating your vision again or in a different way. Roundtables are an excellent way to have some face‐to‐face communication and get the input of chapter leaders (making them feel included in the process). They have a voice in what is going on and should not just be told what is going to happen or what they need to do. You can never communicate something too much—even if you feel like you have told your chapter/community members a hundred times what is going on, tell them again in a different way until you get the point across.



creating change in your council or community

Education

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