Officer Shadowing

by Philip Spence '09

With many of you having elections for new Chapter Officers coming up before the end of the year, it is important to make sure that all future leaders have the tools and the knowledge to be successful in new positions. One way brothers who are interested in running for Executive Board can make the election process easier is by shadowing those who currently hold the position they are running for. Much of the work done by officers often goes unnoticed, whether it be the Rex communicating with other organizations and the IFC or the K.O.E. balancing the budget and paying off bills. Taking the time to show future leaders a more in depth picture of what the specific roles require will allow them to be more knowledgeable during elections and able to focus on what can be improved upon instead of simply how to fulfill the duties of each role.

As a young undergraduate running for executive board, I thought it would be important to focus on my past accomplishments within my chapter as a testament to my dedication to Pi Lam and how I could work hard at any position I was in. Although I had ideas on how to improve the position I was running for, I did not have a complete understanding of everything that the specific position required or focus on what aspects needed the most improvements at the time.

Shadowing a current officer can be formal such as attending IFC meetings with the Rex, going over budgets with the K.O.E. or reviewing the performances and expectations of the different chairs and committees with the Archon. Shadowing can also be informal such as casual conversations about successes, failures, or general experiences that a current officer has learned from. Previous officers, including alumni, can also be sought out to share their successes, failures or experiences. Using the visions and goals of the current officers, future leaders can build upon and strengthen those ideas and make an immediate impact on the chapter, instead of spending weeks learning how to fulfill the basic duties that can be learned through shadowing.

Each Executive Board member learns and develops during their time holding a position and it is too often that their experiences are not passed down to those who replace them. Instead of relying just on an E-board transition meeting to teach new officers how to fulfill their positions, having interested brothers shadow officers before elections allows more than one brother to learn the ins and outs of the position as well as have first hand experience with some of the duties of the position.

Feel free to contact me with any general questions or for more in depth ideas on how to best gain knowledge from current and past officers. I hope you all have a successful election process and look forward to meeting many of you in the future.

Anyone can contact Phil by email at Phil.spence@pilambdaphi.org or call at 407-376-4150.