Leadership Conference 2015
CO Program Breakout: I’m In to Lead
I’m In to Lead
Objective:
The purpose of this breakout is to discuss student leadership, students leading amongst their peers, how to
delegate to the officer corps and effective communication. Students should feel comfortable and confident
moving forward in successfully leading their chapter.
Program Breakout Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Facilitation notes and PowerPoint presentation
Facilitation Notes
Leading Amongst Your Peers (15 minutes)
This portion of the session should be discussion-based using the questions below as an introduction on
effective leadership. Concluding the discussion, the Program Manager (PM) should use this time to discuss
goals and expectations for their chapter leaders including leadership development and communication.
Discussion:
 Struggles: what have been some issues with leadership? What isn’t working?
o How can we build on these struggles? What can we do to make our struggles into our
successes?
o Listen to struggles from students and offer feedback/advice with how to handle tough situations.
 Successes: what have been some strong points with leadership? What’s working?
o How do we continue working in this way? How can we ensure that chapter leadership remains
strong and successful?
How do we become effective leaders?
 What are qualities in effective/successful leaders?
 How can we mimic the qualities of a successful leader in our chapters?
 Examples for leading amongst your peers include
o Put completing fellow leaders ahead of competing with them. Success of the whole team is
more important than any individual wins. Therefore, build your officers up and they’ll want to
succeed with you.
o Be a friend. As leaders, our goal should be to be a friend, rather than find a friend. You may
need to continue working at being a friend even if your peers don’t initially reciprocate the
efforts. Ultimately, being a friend will give you the opportunity to influence your peers when the
time comes.
o Let the best idea win. Being a leader is not about getting your own way. It’s about winning
respect and influence with your peers so that you can help the whole chapter succeed. Having a
collaborative spirit helps immensely when you discover that your idea may not be the best idea.
As a team player, it’s important to recognize where you can add value when you let your idea go
and let the best idea win. That’s when you win friends and influence people.
o Don’t pretend you’re perfect. People who are real, who are genuine concerning their
weaknesses as well as their strengths, draw others to them. Pretending we are perfect doesn’t
get us anywhere. Instead, admitting faults, asking for advice, worrying less about what others
think, being open to learning from others, and putting away pride and pretense are important
steps to help us move in the right direction.
LC 2015: CO Program Breakout: I’m In to Lead
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Leadership Conference 2015
CO Program Breakout: I’m In to Lead
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Know the strengths of others. Put officers in positions where they can succeed and grow.
Officers who feel empowered are more likely to empower those around them, spreading
confidence and positivity.
o Spread confidence. Make others feel good about themselves. This is especially true for peer
leaders. As a peer, you know what an officer is experiencing because often you are feeling it
yourself. You know if someone needs a pick me up, or even a kick in the pants. As a peer
leader, you have earned the right to speak up.
How can we enhance your leadership role?
o What can your PM do?
o Brainstorm ideas on how to lead and grow the officer corps.
o Consider building a larger officer corps, engaging and empowering the associate members to
take on committee leads.
o Open up discussion for chapter member involvement and participation.
 What event, fundraising and recruitment ideas do they have? Consider incorporating a
chapter member suggestion box.
Delegation (15 minutes)
This conversation should be focused on delegation and what it means to empower the chapter leadership team
to take ownership of their individual roles. Keep the conversation flowing by using the questions below or
simply let the direction of the questions being asked guide the conversation.
Discussion:
 How do we delegate?
 What does it mean to delegate?
 When do we take responsibility and when do we need our officer corps to take responsibility?
Suggestions for successful delegation include:
 Don’t be a control freak. CP’s do not need to handle everything themselves - in the long run, it is not
necessarily better or more efficient. Delegating does not mean wasting time, losing control or showing
weakness. Delegating to others is not only helpful, but crucial to individual and chapter success.
 Sharing chapter responsibilities will help create a more productive, competent, and confident officer
corps. Allowing your officers to assist sends a clear message that you have faith in them, you value
their skills, and you want them to succeed and grow.
 Decide what to delegate. If a CP is nervous about delegating, advise them to start with small tasks that
don’t have to be completed in a specific way or that are time sensitive. Don’t delegate something that
you’re not willing to do yourself- this can lead to losing the officer corps’ respect.
 Pick the right people. Understanding the officer’s strengths and weaknesses is key in delegating. Give
projects or tasks to officers who you believe will succeed or enjoy working on the project at hand. This
will build the confidence of your team and empower members to take on more responsibilities within the
chapter.
 Communicate clearly. Be precise and not ambiguous when delegating to others. Set goals and
guidelines and be clear about your expectations. Putting things in writing can be helpful for those who
may forget- the more direction you give someone, the more likely they will come back with what you’re
looking for.
 Check in, but don’t be overbearing. Once you delegate a task, give your officers flexibility on how they
get it done (unless, of course, there’s a specific protocol or procedure). Dominating a project with an
overbearing presence doesn’t encourage anyone to succeed. Do check in periodically to make sure
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Leadership Conference 2015
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everyone is on the right track and to offer to answer questions as needed. Try using systems like
shared Google docs and spreadsheets or having periodic meetings to keep everyone on the same
page and moving forward.
Be patient and understanding. Don’t get frustrated and stay positive when giving feedback.
Share in the rewards and give credit where it’s due. Don’t take the credit for a project that an officer or
the officer corps assisted you with- make sure to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts.
Understanding the Chapter Leadership Roles (10 minutes)
Use the slides in the PowerPoint presentation for full officer corps descriptions and sample officer contracts.
 Chapter President:
 Buddy Director
 Vice President
 Treasurer
 Secretary
 Faculty Advisor
 Host Site Coordinator
Discussion:
 How can understanding these roles make you a better leader? How does understanding your role as
CP and your officers’ roles help you when delegating tasks? How engaged is your chapter’s buddy
director?
 How can advisors support to achieve chapter goals? Help the chapter to connect with parents? Engage
more faculty and the administration?
 What do you typically think of when you think of these officer roles and descriptions? Does your
chapter’s officer corps function in this way?
o If so, what helps the officer corps function in this way? What advice can we offer to other
chapters who are struggling with this issue?
o If not, why do think this? What can we do to create a more successful officer corps?
Effective Communication (5 minutes)
Use this time to discuss what chapter needs are with the officer team and setting realistic expectations from
the chapter leaders.
Discussion: How can we effectively communicate these needs to the officer corps and advisors?
Suggestions for effective communication include:
 Good leaders are also good communicators. Communication should be clear, concise, credible and
direct.
 Your behavior is your single greatest mode of communication, and it must be congruent with what you
say. If your actions don’t align with your words, there’s trouble.
 Effective communication should be about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the
information. Effective communication is how you convey a message so that it is received and
understood by someone in exactly the way you intended.
 Be a good listener. Focus fully on the speaker, avoid interrupting, set aside judgement and show your
interest. Effectively listening to others will make them also want to effectively listen to you later on.
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Leadership Conference 2015
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Aim to increase understanding by considering how your message might be received by the other
person. By communicating clearly, you can help avoid misunderstandings and potential conflict with
others.
Ask open-ended questions when communicating to make sure your message was properly
disseminated.
Be aware of non-verbal signals and ques. Pay close attention to body language and facial expressions
and adjust communication style accordingly.
Know the audience that you’re talking to and try to communicate more in their style and with what they
respond to and less in your style.
Follow up with communication. Don’t assume that everyone knew exactly what you were talking aboutcheck in the ensure accuracy and accountability.
How can we more effectively engage and incorporate the Buddy Director role?
How can this role better support the chapter’s growth? How can the officer corps better incorporate this
role into chapter growth/progress?
Scenario Exercise (15 minutes)
Please see the PowerPoint presentation for a list of potential scenarios that could occur within your chapter.
Read these to your students and see how they would react as leaders in these tricky situations. PMs should
tailor these to their specific region or state.
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