• Running Effective Meetings

• Motivation

• Role of Advisor

• Goal Setting

• Leadership

• Officer Transitions

• Program Planning

• Campus Policies

Running Effective Meetings

Before you schedule a meeting ask yourself:

1. What do we hope to accomplish by having a meeting? (Goals)
2. What do we desire to occur as a result of having the meeting? (Outcomes)

Be sure to:

1. Create a clear and organized agenda for the meeting prior to the meeting time.

2. Greet members as they enter

3. Start the meeting on time

4. Stick to the agenda

5. Encourage discussion and interaction to get all viewpoints and ideas (use facilitation skills)

6. Delegate responsibilities and establish due dates

7. Use icebreakers and team building activities

8. Record the minutes for the meeting (have a plan for distribution of minutes following the meeting)

9. Summarize agreements made and end the meeting on a positive note

10. Allow time for questions and clarification

11. Set the date and time for the next meeting

Motivation in Student Groups

All members of an organization have an important role in motivating one another. This task is even more important for student group leaders and advisors. Leaders and advisors should aim to facilitate a supportive environment where members are supported and challenged. The ideas below will help you learn more about motivation and give you the tools for promoting motivational principles in your student group.

An important piece to consider when motivating your student group is why members get involved in groups. There are a variety of reasons why people join organizations.

These include:

• Security- through being accepted in a group

• New Experience

• Self-Esteem- need to feel important, view of the self through how other people see us.

• Response- as persons we like to be liked, to be wanted and to have others seek out our help and our advice.

Other important factors which affect motivation:

• Group Size

• Group Goals

• Publicity

• Competencies of the members

• Leadership

• Meeting Time and Length

• Social Interaction

Ways to Motivate

• Evaluate Them- everyone has the potential to succeed and leaders must foster that potential

• Model for Them- People will do what they see!

• Give Them Permission to Succeed- help others to believe that they can succeed!

• Transfer Authority to Them- do more than delegate; share power and ability. People need to be given the opportunity to make decisions, initiate action, solve problems, and meet challenges.

• Publicly Show your Confidence in Them- public recognition reinforces people's ability

• Supply Them with Feedback- not only publicly, but give honest, open feedback in a one-on-one setting

• Release Them to Continue on their Own- give members freedom when they are ready

From Maxwell, J. & Dornan, J. Becoming a Person of Influence

Additional Hints

Enabling Others to Act

• Always say "we"

• Create interactions between and among people

• Delegate

• Focus on gains and not losses

• Involve people in planning and problem solving

• Keep people informed

• Give people important work on critical tasks

• Be assessable

Encouraging the Heart of Others

• Foster High Expectations

• Make Creative use of Rewards

• Say, "Thank You"

• Link Performance with Rewards

• Provide Feedback with Results

• Be personally involved as a motivator

• Create Social Support Networks

• Love what you are doing

Role and Characteristics of Exceptional Advisors

Exceptional Advisors:

• Build a good rapport with students in the organization they advise. Only through building good relationships with group members can advisors be effective and influential. Advisors begin building rapport simply by knowing everyone in the organization and attending group functions.

• Find a good balance between being overly involved and under-involved. Advisors set principles and offer guidance and do not directly do the work which is the responsibility of the students.

• Strive for the group to be self-sufficient where the members resolve their own conflicts and solve their own problems. Students grow more from their own choices than following orders.

• Allow the group to fail. Although this is often a difficult thing to watch, it is a very powerful in developing student leaders. Failure can be the best learning experience. It is also important that the advisor not take responsibility for an organization's failures. The choice of whether or not to act is the students' decision.  An advisor feeling overly responsible is most likely too involved in the group.

• Model the behavior they would like to see repeated. When a good rapport has developed students will model themselves after their advisor.

• Provide members with constant support but also challenge leaders to continue developing themselves and the organization.

• Develop a presence at organization meeting and functions.

Goal Setting

Why should Student Organizations Set Goals?

• To improve the self-image of a group by making members aware of strengths and weaknesses.

• To give the organization orderly direction.

• To set priorities.

• To make the organization responsible for its own activity.

• To sharpen decision making.

Setting Goals as Team

It is very important that the entire group has a part in setting group goals,  not only the executive board or the president. If members have input on the group's goals they will be more motivated and committed to achieving them. Furthermore, inclusion by everyone will lead to better goals and those goals will be clearer to all members.

What are some characteristics of well constructed goals?

One way to construct useful and meaningful goals is to use the "SMART" method.

SMART Goals are:

• Specific- the more specific the more likely the goal will be accomplished

• Measurable- tracking progress makes accomplishing goals easier. Set a timeline.

• Attainable- goals that can be achieved are more likely to be worked toward

• Realistic- choose goals you are willing to work toward and that are in your control.

• Timely- make goals that have a timeline

Accomplishing Goals

Once goals are set there needs to be some plan in order accomplish them. Group members will feel a great sense of accomplishment when goals are met and this will in turn motivate them to become more involved in the group. Remember to be flexible in goal setting as circumstances will change and might call for attention placed elsewhere.

Action Plan

An Action Plan comes after a decision has been made to do something. Goal setting by the group is their decision to work on something and the action plan is how that is to be done. Use the steps below to guide your group towards accomplishing their goals.

Action Plan Steps

1. What is to be done (objective)?

2. How will it be accomplished?

3. Identify appropriate resources

4. Assign Tasks to Members

5. Develop a timeline

6. Determine Results expected and how they will be measured or evaluated.  

Leadership

The key role of a leader is to bring the best out of the group they lead to help them to be productive and effective. There are many different leadership styles, each that works best with many different groups. Understanding leadership style and the fundamentals of good leadership can help students and faculty leaders more effectively lead and advise their organizations.

Ten Commandments of Leadership

1. Search for challenging opportunities to change, grow, innovate, and improve.

2. Experiment, take risks, and learn from accompanying mistakes.

3. Envision an uplifting and ennobling future.

4. Enroll others in common vision by appealing to their values, interests, hopes and dreams.

5. Foster collaborations, ownership, and trust.

6. Strengthen others abilities, will, and sense of personal worth.

7. Set an example for others by behaving in ways that are consistent with your stated values.

8. Plan small wins which promote consistent progress .

9. Celebrate team accomplishments.

10. Recognize individual contributions to the success of every project.

Copyright 1986, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

Five Steps to Leadership

Don't be a Manipulator

The most certain way to assure being eliminated as a leader is to act and talk in such a way that the other perceive that you are attempting to manipulate them or the group. We should all belong to groups in which we have a sincere interest. We should be dedicated to their welfare and not feel desire to manipulate them. A good salesman knows that he must be sold on his product to sell it to others. the member who emerges as the natural leader must be sincerely and completely dedicated to the welfare of the group.

Be Willing to Pay the Price

To emerge as the natural leader you must want to help the group enough to do the work. almost everyone would like the rewards of leadership, but not everyone member is willing to work, "above and beyond the call of duty" for the group. They work overtime, inconvenience themselves, and tackle even low status tasks with enthusiasm. Members who emerge as leaders are willing to arouse resentment and take criticism. The group requires that its leader make some of the tough decisions. When painful decisions about distributing rewards unequally, for example, must be made, the group usually pushes them on the leader. Such decisions inevitably arouse resentment. the person who emerges as leader must demonstrate the she/he is tough enough to make decisions wisely and take the criticism.

Talk up

If you wish to be a leader, you must take an active interest in the group's work. You must make a contribution. Your talk and action must show an active commitment to the group, a concern and consideration for others as people, and understanding of the task. Remember, however, that the person who talks a lot but who seems to be the manipulator or who seems inflexible, or uninformed, does not emerge as leader.

Do your Homework

If you wish to be a leader you must know what is going on. Members who emerge as leaders have sensible ideas and state them clearly. They know things that will help the group. Be informed about the group's work. Plan for the good of the group. Put in extra time working out ways to improve the group and to help it achieve its goals. Members who emerge as leaders demonstrate that they can provide workable and efficient plans of action.

Make Personal Sacrifices

Nothing tells the others more clearly that you are sincere and not a manipulator than your willingness to make personal sacrifices for the group. The manipulator gets his way at the expense of the group. The natural leader gets the group's way at his personal expense. Volunteering to aid the group or help members work for the group is evidence of your sincerely. Members who emerge as leaders do not worry about who gets the credit for work or for ideas. They often give credit the credit offered to them to others. People who worry about recognition of their plan, or their way, or their ideas, seldom emerge as leaders,

Excerpted from "Looking Into Leadership," published by Leadership Resources, Inc. 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C

Officer Transitions

A smooth transition is the responsibility of both the outgoing and incoming members of an organization, acts as a means of providing training for new officers, closure for the outgoing leaders, and helps the organization maintain consistency from year to year. Below is a list of suggestions for officer transitions.

Set up a meeting and/or plan a retreat.

• Do not just drop off a binder and leave a note that says, "Good luck!" 

• Make sure that the outgoing and incoming officers meet together - uninterrupted - for an hour or two (or as long as it takes to answer the questions).

• Retreats are a fun way to train new officers.  Retreats held off-campus help facilitate good relationships and are a great way to avoid distractions or disturbances.  Topics to consider on a retreat include: goal setting, idea brainstorming, group development, and direction of the organization.  Make sure to plan some fun as well!  Work with your advisor and/or the Office of Student Programs to plan an appropriate Officer Transition Retreat.

Share files related to your position and organization.

• What?  You don't keep any files?  It is highly important to make notes on projects and/or tasks that were completed throughout your term. 

• Written information is very helpful if the outgoing officer graduates or moves on to a different role on campus.

Make sure the incoming officer has a copy of the following items:

• Copy of Constitution and Bylaws  (required of all student organizations)
• Position description of officers and members
• List of committees and their description
• Member & officer contact list
• Contact information of important people/offices on campus
• List of basic annual procedures and/or calendar of annual events
• Web page and webmaster information.  How do you maintain the site?
• Mission, philosophy, goals and/or purpose statement of organization
• Financial records
• Evaluations of previous and current projects
• Meeting minutes and agendas
• Any historical records of the organization
• Any other pertinent documentation

Review a calendar of the year and begin to prepare for the next year.

• Take out a calendar of this school year and review it together.  What were the busy times?  What kinds of things should the new officer anticipate?  You may not remember how crazy it was last fall, but looking at your calendar may jog your memory.

Make introductions to resources.

• Schedule time to walk around campus together so the outgoing officer can make introductions to the important people who can serve as resources to the incoming officers (Office of Student Programs, room reservations, academic department, etc.)  Make sure new officers meet with the organization advisor as well.

Review budgets and funding.

• What is the financial status of the organization? 

• Where did the organization receive money from this year? 

• Did the organization apply for SOAC funding and/or receive funding?

• Which fundraisers worked - which did not?

• If you are unsure about funding procedures or how to work with your organization account, visit or call the Office of Student Programs.

Review past and future organization events, then PLAN AHEAD.

• Which events were successful this year?

• Which should be continued? 

• When should the planning start? 

• Which events did not go well?  Should they be revamped and tried again or just dropped?

• Were there any pitfalls or things that could have been improved?

Meetings & Organization

• Where were meetings held?  What worked?  What did not? 

• Has a summer contact list been created for the organization?

• What is a typical week like?

• What were the most and least challenging parts of responsibilities?

• What recruitment activities were done?  What worked?  What did not work? 

• Why did new members stick around?  If they did not - what made them leave? 

• A great way to recruit new members is at the Student Activity Fair which takes place the first week of school. 

Next Step

• Work together to make a list of "things to do" for the incoming officer.  Which items need their attention now?  Make this list together so the outgoing officer can help with direction.  Make sure to trade contact information so that the outgoing officer can be a resource in the year ahead!

Information adapted from Ohio University, Office of Student Activities