Transitioning into Leadership

Transitioning into Leadership:
It’s More Than Just Handing Over a Binder
What to include in officer manuals:
• Chapter/Council General Information: Information about the history, mission, vision, values/creed/open
motto/pillars and goals of your governing council or national organization, the structure of the chapter/council (if this
is for a council, also include general information about each member organization)

• Chapter/Council Specific Information: Constitution and Bylaws, past and current budgets, calendar of events

• Position Specifics: overview of the role and responsibilities, Operating Procedures or Policies related to the
position, goals for the position (for your predecessor and for you), position specific resources, ideas for the position
(including notes or handouts from conferences, retreats, etc)

• Minutes: minutes from the past year’s council/chapter executive board, general body, and committee meetings (the
new officer should also place his/her minutes in the binder)

• Resources: Parliamentary procedure at-a-glance, room reservation forms, event planning checklists, student
organization resources, your institution’s fraternity and sorority life office policies, national organization/council
policies and standards

• Contact Information: include information for the most important contacts including the staff members of the
fraternity and sorority life office, campus departments that the position interacts with or should use as a resources,
chapter presidents and other council officers, contacts throughout the fraternity and sorority community, national
organization contacts (for example: headquarters staff members, national board members, province/regional
officers, etc.)

• Materials you created: provide samples of all of the materials you created during your term – that way things
don’t have to be recreated, only improved!

What to include in a transition materials:
 A list of officer responsibilities per the Constitution and Bylaws

 The goals you had for each semester during your term

 An overview of the events/programs you completed during your term as well as the events/programs you have
started working on that need to be completed during your successor’s term

 Provide a timeline of your term (include due dates for any paperwork that needs to be turned in, when you started
planning events, when you completed events – basically what you did from beginning to end and what your planning
process for completing these tasks was)

 Contact information for important individuals (those you regularly collaborated with, people in your institution’s
event services office, any staff members or advisors you communicated with for the purpose of planning events or
public relations, your school’s media, etc.)

 Budget information (how much was budgeted for your office for each semester, how much you had left after the end
of each semester, how much you suggest the next officer requests)

 A list of materials you purchased that need to be replenished and materials that need to be bought under your office
for your successor to have a successful year (Ex: materials for programming, checks etc.)

2011 Central Fraternal Leadership Conference, St. Louis, MO
Presenters: Allen White • Allen.White@unt.edu & Viancca Williams • viawilliams@usf.edu

 Commonly used resources (Ex: Recruitment Rules and Guidelines, Shared Standards, etc.)

 A summary of your successes throughout your term

 A list of things that need improvement within your office

 Paperwork your position is responsible for (and provide an overview of how to fill each form out)

 Ideas for the office you had but were never able to act upon

 The "Outgoing Officer Worksheet" (see below) completed

Outgoing Officer Worksheet
Thoughts to pass on to your successor during officer training

1. The most useful skills for this office are:

2. One thing I wish I had known when I started:

3. One good idea I never got to use:

4. If I could do it over again, I would:

5. One thing I want you to do differently:

6. Never, ever:

7. Other useful thoughts:



8. One reason I will miss this position:


What to discuss in your transition meeting with your successor:
 Your officer responsibilities per the Constitution and Bylaws and answer any questions your successor may
have about these responsibilities

 Present the goals you had for each semester during your term and your accomplishments based on these goals

 Go over the events/programs you completed during your term as well as the events/programs you have started
working on that need to be completed during your successor’s term

 Paint a picture of what the entire year is like for your office and go over the timeline you created for your transition
materials

 Identify the most important individuals the officer needs to keep in contact with and discuss the best way to
contact them, how often, what it is like to work with those individuals, and anything else that would allow the new
officer to be successful in working with this group of people

 Review the budget for your office, how you created it, how much you had left after the end of each semester and how
much you suggest the next officer requests and for what purpose

 Discuss the materials that are important for that officer to have, what is already available per the list you created,
how much you use per event or initiative, what needs to be replenished and how often

 Identify the most commonly used resources and provide an overview of them

 Share your thoughts on the following: the successes of your office throughout your term, things that need
improvement within your office, and ideas you had for the office but were never able to act upon

 Provide an overview of how to fill out paperwork your position is responsible for and share deadlines forms need
to be filled out by

 Review portions of the officer manual that you feel are important for your successor to be aware of

 After discussing the above items, allow your successor to discuss his/her ideas for his/her term. Provide
some feedback to your successor about these ideas (but make sure you don’t over critique or kill that officer’s
momentum).

Sample Leadership Kick-Off Retreat Agendas

One-Day Version
• Teambuilding and getting to know you (2 hours)
• Discussion on teamwork (.5 hours)
• Communication Skills (1 hour)
• SCOT Analysis (1.5 hours)
• Review organization structure and roles and responsibilities (1 hour)
• Expectations (.5 hours)
• Idea Sharing (.5 hours)
• Calendar Planning (1 hour)
• Goal Setting (1 hour)


Two-Day Version
Day 1
• Icebreaker and Teambuilding activities (3 hours)
• Ethical decision making skills (1 hour)
• Group roles (1 hour)
• Discussion on teamwork (.5 hours)
• Review roles and responsibilities and organization structure (1.5 hours)
Day 2
• Parliamentary procedure and meeting structure (1 hours)
• Managing others (1 hour)
• Expectations and quality of leaders (1.5 hours)
• SCOT Analysis (1.5 hours)
• Idea Sharing (.5 hours)
• Calendar Planning (1 hour)
• Goal Setting (1 hour)

What is a SCOT analysis? It’s a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of
planning and helps leaders focus on key issues. SCOT stands for strengths, challenges, opportunities, and threats.
Strengths and challenges are internal factors (in other words, refer only to things that are controlled by the
organization). Opportunities and threats are external factors (or things that are not controlled by the organization).
Keep your SCOT short and simple. Avoid complexity and over analysis and remember, it’s brainstorming so things don’t
have to be debated!

Types of Meetings You Can Conduct to Assess and Plan
Adapted from the book Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni

Meeting Tactical Meetings
Type
Purpose Review weekly activities and metrics, and resolve tactical obstacles and issues
Sample • Lightning Round (5-10 minutes): Ask each team member to list the Top 3 things on their plate for the
Agenda coming week. This should take no longer than 1 minute per person, even with a couple of follow-up
questions. Note any issues that need to be discussed further.
• Key Metrics Review (5 minutes): Review the key metrics of your organization and note the current status
of each. These metrics should be ones your team has previously identified as critical for your success.
• Tactical Agenda Items (30 minutes): Discuss the potential tactical issues to be covered, assign an order
for the discussion and dive in. These issues may have appeared either in the Lightning Round or the Key
Metrics Review.
• Potential Strategic Topics: As you progress through your meeting, use this area to note the topics that you
need to cover during a strategic meeting. Be sure to resist the temptation to resolve these issues right
away.
• Decisions/Actions (5 minutes): Ask one team member to chart the decisions and actions that were
committed to during the meeting. Team leaders should note these, as well.
• Cascading Messages (5 minutes) Discuss what, if anything, each team member should communicate to
their direct reports from the meeting. Agree on a timeframe for that communication to occur.



Types of Meetings You Can Conduct to Assess and Plan (cont.)
Meeting Monthly Strategic
Type
Purpose To dive into a given topic or two without the distraction of deadlines and tactical concerns
• Cannot put too many items on the agenda because it dilutes the quality of debate
• Everyone needs to be committed to doing research and preparing ahead of time
• Need to engage in unfiltered, productive debates
Sample • Overview of the topics selected (no more than 3)
Agenda o What are the topics and why
o What decisions need to be made
• For each topic do the following:
o Present information researched
o Discuss the information researched
o Discuss implications of information researched and the perceptions of the issues
o Debate ideas shared
o Determine action steps
What
Meeting Semester Offsite (whole day)
Type
Purpose  Assess strategic direction
 Assess executive board and behavior as a team – including behaviors that may not be helping the
organization move forward
 Discuss high performing personnel and those who need help or direction
 Spot trends happening within the overall organization

Note: Do not invite outsiders to this meeting unless they are there to facilitate – the facilitator needs to be
someone who understands the organization’s business and is driven to help the organization
Sample • Guidelines for the today
Agenda • Each person discusses highs and lows of the semester within his/her position
• Revisit accountability contracts and expectations for each other
• Review of the semester
o Accomplishments
o Challenges
o Unfinished business left for the following semester
o What to stop, change, continue as an Executive Board and whole organization
• Discuss personnel (Committee Chairs, etc)
o Who deserves recognition?
o Who’s doing well?
o Who needs help or direction?
• The trends of the organization
• Strategic direction for the following semester


Sample One-on-One Meeting Agenda
I. Important upcoming events/projects/programs
II. Status of events/projects/programs?
III. Past Successes (What were you proud of?)
IV. Past Challenges (What did you struggle with?)
V. What are two “stretch” goals for your position (what can be attained through your term)?

VI. What are two “manageable” goals for your position (obtainable by the end of this semester)?
VII. What can I do to best support you in your position? Are there anything’s in your personal life that might hinder
you to fulfill your role?
VIII. Any comments/questions/concerns or requests?

Sample Monthly Report
Officer: Month/Year:

1. Goals for this month:

2. The main projects I worked on during this month included:

3. The people I worked with to accomplish the projects listed above included:
Name How he/she Assisted You Email and Phone Number

4. What deadline(s) did you have to meet this month?
Project/Report Deadline Date Actual Date Completed

5. What outstanding item(s) are left from this month that need(s) to be finished next month?

6. What approved expenses did you encounter this month?
Expense Amount

Total

7. List things you wish you had known to make this month in your office run more smoothly:

8. What advice would you give to your successor regarding your office this month (be specific)?

9. What are your priorities for next month?

Sample Accountability Contract #1
As elected officers to (insert organization), it is your duty to fulfill the standards set forth in the (insert organization)
constitution and bylaws. In order to maintain a high degree of officer productivity in (insert organization), it is through the
following system that all Executive Board members will be held accountable:

First Offense: If at any time your commitment to your elected position is called into question, you will be verbally
warned by the (insert organization) President or (insert organization) Advisor. This warning will be documented for
future reference and will include a summary of the action[s] for which you are being warned. A plan of action to avoid
future offenses will also be completed at this meeting.

Second Offense: Should a second offense occur, notification will come through a written warning by the (insert
organization) President or (insert organization) Advisor in case it is the President. At that time, the first offense will be
taken into consideration and a meeting with both the (insert organization) President and (insert organization) Advisor will
occur. Minutes will be taken at said meeting and kept on file for future reference. Previous action plans will be reviewed
and revamped as deemed necessary.

Third Offense: In the event there is a third offense, the consequence shall be removal from office. A meeting between
you, the (insert organization) President and the (insert organization) Advisor is required in order to inform you of the
decision as well as evaluate your time in office. Documentation of the prior offenses will be revisited and minutes will be
kept of the meeting as well. Following removal from office, the position will be filled as necessary. Your cooperation in the
transition of your successor is expected.

I have read and understand the (insert organization) Executive Board Member Accountability System. I am aware of
the consequences for each offense and agree to uphold the expectations set forth in this position.

Officer Name Signature Date

President Name Signature Date

Sample Accountability Contract #2
As a Member of (insert organization) Executive Board, I will:
1. Maintain a 2.5 grade point average
2. Abide by all University and Council policies, the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws, and my national
organization’s rules and regulations
3. Serve a minimum of two office hours per week
4. Be prepared to give full reports at Executive Board and General Body meetings
5. Help fellow Executive Board members carry out duties and/or events as may be deemed necessary

As (insert position name), I understand the following are my roles and responsibilities per the
Constitution and Bylaws and promise to:
(Insert responsibilities per the Constitution and Bylaws verbatim)

Time Management & Prioritizing Your Position
a. I will be present at all Executive Board and General Body meetings (unless otherwise excused due to emergencies and/
or other uncontrolled events) as well as any other meetings that are deemed necessary by the President
b. Return phone calls and/or emails within three business days
c. Interact and work cooperatively with members of the Executive Board, Committees and General Organization

d. Be on time to meetings and events
e. Attend scheduled one-on-ones with organization President and/or Advisors
f. Act in a professional manner and be a good representative of this organization
By signing this contract, I acknowledge and understand the expectations that have been placed upon me as an Executive
Board member of this organization and promise to uphold these responsibilities throughout the duration of my term in
office. I further accept that if at any point during my term I do not meet the terms of this contract, I may be removed from
my position on this Executive Board as deemed by the President, Advisor, and/or General Body.

Officer Name Signature Date

President Name Signature Date

Sample Constituent Assessment – For Chapter
1. What was the primary reason you joined the chapter?
2. What were concerns you had about joining the chapter before you were initiated?
3. What was your perception of the chapter before you joined?
4. What is your perception of the chapter now that you have joined?
5. In what area(s) do you feel the chapter excels?
6. In what area(s) do you feel the chapter struggles?
7. How satisfied/dissatisfied are you with the chapter’s new member/intake process? What do you feel needs
to change?
8. List 3 programs you feel the chapter should continue hosting:
9. List 3 programs you feel the chapter should stop hosting or improve:
10. Do you feel the chapter is aligned with the national organization’s espoused values?
11. How would you rate your experience as a member on a scale of 1-10 (1=Poor, 10=Excellent) and why?

Sample Constituent Assessment – For Council
1. My council officers are productive (conduct effective meetings, have reports, host educational programs,
etc).
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

2. My council has clear policies and procedures (complete bylaws and judicial practices, etc.).

3. The chapters in the council are involved in the council’s activities (attend meetings and events sponsored
by the council, members apply for positions, etc.).

4. My council has built strong partnerships with other councils, departments and student organizations across
campus.

5. There is trust among chapters and the council Executive Board.

6. The council participates in and encourages visionary thinking.


7. My council operates with fair and just accountability for Executive Board members, delegates, and chapter
presidents as well as general council members.

8. My council has consistent, open and clear communication.
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree

9. Overall my council is successful.

Leadership Conferences & Programs
Central Fraternal Leadership Conference/National Black Greek Leadership Conference (CFLC/NBGLC)
CFLC is the largest of AFLV’s programs. Programming includes position-specific information for Fraternity/Sorority
governing councils and chapters. Also included is specific information about current events and issues that impact the
Fraternity/Sorority community on campus.

NBGLC is held in conjunction with CFLC. More than 2,000 participants come together creating the ideal setting for
networking and idea sharing. The event serves as the largest gathering of undergraduate fraternity and sorority leaders
from councils and chapters across the country.
www.aflv.org

Southeastern Panhellenic Conference/Southeastern Greek Leadership Summit (SEPC/SEGLS)
SEPC unites collegiate women to explore philanthropic initiatives, leadership programs, and social excellence education.
Through the diversity of all members and our shared values, we strive to empower women to impact their communities
and ultimately our world.

SEGLS is hosted in conjunction with SEPC. The purpose of SEGLS shall be threefold: to create a supportive environment
that is conducive to open and honest dialogue regarding the current state of our culturally based Greek Organizations; to
provide an opportunity for students to be educated and enlightened through a holistic approach to analyzing our
respective organizations and the Greek Community in its entirety; and to expose our students to other culturally based
Greek organizations hence fostering a sense of unanimity among all culturally based Greek Organizations.
www.sepconline.net

Southeastern Interfraternity Conference (SEIFC)
Each February, nearly 600 fraternity leaders throughout the southeastern U.S. attend SEIFC Leadership Academy. The
Academy is a three-day educational conference that features something for everyone, regardless of his/her role in the
fraternity community.

Well-known educational speakers anchor the Academy’s curriculum. At least one general session covering broad fraternity
issues is scheduled each day. Smaller, more-intimate breakout sessions are also scheduled daily. Breakout sessions
provide a variety of opportunities to discuss specific challenges, learn new ideas and interact with fraternity leaders from
around the region. Both students and advisors will find programming geared specifically toward their varied interests and
challenges.
www.seifc.org

Northeast Greek Leadership Association (NGLA)
The Northeast Greek Leadership Association exists to promote the founding principles and positive traditions of all Greek
letter organizations through opportunities that encourage learning and leadership for the Northeast region. Hundreds of
fraternity and sorority leaders from the Northeast attend our Annual Conference each year to participate in three days of
workshops, general sessions and idea sharing.

www.ngla.org

LeaderShape
Six intense days of dialogue and interactive self-discovery in a supportive Learning Community. The LeaderShape
Institute® challenges participants to lead with integrityTM while working towards a vision grounded in their deepest
values. Participants explore not only what they want to do, but who they want to be. Dynamic, challenging, and exciting,
the week is intended to produce a breakthrough in the leadership capacity of participants — benefiting them individually,
as well as their respective communities and the organizations they will go on to lead and serve in the future.
www.leadershape.org

Futures Quest
Futures Quest provides leadership training to men who have joined a fraternity within the last year. The focus of the
weekend is identifying personal strength and challenges, developing leadership and communication skills, exploring
personal values and strength of conviction, and making a commitment to fraternal ideals. Past participants have left with a
plan for their future.
www.nicindy.org/programs/futures-quest/

Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI)
UIFI is a five day institute that brings together fraternity men and sorority women from across North America to create
opportunities to explore, define, and enhance their leadership skills, personal awareness, commitment to their fraternity
or sorority, and grow to expect values based action from themselves and those they lead. At UIFI, you will be given the
skills to improve your own leadership abilities and positively affect your chapter, council, and community.
www.nicindy.org/programs/uifi/

Impact
IMPACT is a campus based leadership institute designed to foster improved relationships among campus leaders through
an intensive, interactive two and one half day program. The IMPACT curriculum emphasizes problem solving, leadership
development, values-based decision making, effective communication, and community development. It is expected that
change will be the result of an IMPACT weekend. Participants determine what that change is through their participation
in the institute.
www.nicindy.org/programs/impact/

IFC Academy
IFC Academy is a national program of the NIC designed for EVERYONE who has a vested interest in the success of your
IFC. The Academy will convene as one large group and then break into separate educational tracks.

The Public Relations / Marketing track will focus on issues in a way that speaks to how we are publicizing the fraternal
experience to potential fraternity members. PR/M is the place for Recruitment, community relations, education,
philanthropy, and external affairs officers. The Executive Track will focus on the role of the presiding officer in the council
and how he can be a better steward of the office. We'll welcome IFC Presidents, Internal affairs, administration, judicial,
and other key executive officers.
www.nicindy.org/programs/ifc-academy/

List of Topics to Consider for In-Service Skills Development
• Providing effective feedback • Maintaining a balanced lifestyle/stress and
• Working with different constituent groups time management
• Presentation and facilitation skills • Confrontation skills
• Community building • Creating/adapting to change
• Strategic planning • Diversity and social justice
• Event planning • How to successfully collaborate
• Budgeting and fundraising • Marketing and public relations skills
• Building/boosting morale

• Bystander intervention
• How to delegate


Transitioning into Leadership

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Transitioning into Leadership