— This Harvard Business Review blog uses Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr to illustrate how consumers (members of an organization, perhaps?) act when something changes that they don’t like. We either exit, or our loyalty gives us an even deeper commitment to make things better. What are you committed to improving?
Berry College, in Georgia, alleges that the Tennessee Higher Education Commission is discriminating against out-of-state institutions. How important is it for a college to be able to advertise in the venue they choose?
As my NODA summer internship looms closer, I find this “tips for summer interns” post provides a nice perspective. Having received some similar advice from a professor you can bet I’ll be 1-setting personal and professional goals and 2-discussing them with my supervisor!
The author of this blog observed four ways that ritual impacts team performance. My commentary is regarding how Ritual has similar impacts within a fraternity/sorority.
(To learn a bit about this Ritual: our Purpose.)
After reading this post on the Student Affairs Collaborative blog, I was reminded of a piece of advice from a mentor of mine (@booneshinn). When you have what you know is a good idea - write a proposal. It may not be something you can then go hand to your boss if resources aren’t available. But if they ever are - you’ll be the first person to hand in a sound proposal.
This year I wrote an unsolicited proposed recruitment plan for a chapter. Nearly three months later I was asked my thoughts on how to best approach recruitment for that chapter, and you better believe I was prepared for that conference call. I have a few other documents that never got shared… but at least I felt ready for the opportunity.
One of the biggest problems I encountered in working with my sorority this year was members being inappropriate on social media. If I could share these few tips with every member of our organization - or really, every college student and young professional - I would love to. Guard your personal brand, friends!
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Forbes recently published this article on the culture within the Boise State football team. I think the three main points are strong foundational values for any organization:
Accountability, Unity, Integrity
Don’t send your team the message that they need to be workaholics.
Links through to a blog I wrote for Alpha Gam. Of course our amazing Comm Team edited the writing to give it a consistent voice… but hopefully the idea behind it is strong!
There are offices, faculty, programs, staff members and communities on each and every college campus that, when coupled with your involvement in Alpha Gamma Delta, can help create for you and your chapter the most purposeful college experience possible. As you visualize the place or the moment when you decided to make Alpha Gamma Delta a part of your college experience, also visualize the countless other places, people and groups that you could also decide to utilize to make your college experience even better!
— A powerful call to action from a Sigma Nu Leadership Consultant. As the conversation about the relevance of fraternity/sorority life continues I could not agree more. We must challenge our chapters to innovate and to redefine their experience in a way that provides an obvious and concrete benefit not only to the involved students but to the campus and community.
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So often, we feel like we said the wrong thing. But what if we focused more on saying the right thing? Being aware of who and what is happening around us not only saves us from awkward fumbles but the right words can also lead to meaningful connections.
Source: PhiredUp Blog.
— One piece of advice on how female leaders can handle double standards. A desire to seem “stronger” has at times negatively impacted my authenticity. I hope that in the future my authenticity will champion more and more frequently!
Here are five probable international trends suggested by The Chronicle at the beginning of this year. I can’t claim to make an expert analysis on how they are(/n’t) proving to be true, but here are a few of my thoughts.
Within the last year or two, Pinterest has exploded as a popular social media site, commonly labeled as one for women (it was allegedly started as a social wedding-planning site). Yet one of my coworkers recently shared that in a way, Pinterest represents the ultimate pressure on women. Posts of cute outfits, clever sayings, well-decorated homes and delicious foods can send the message that all women are expected to be experts in all of these areas and more.
What do you think? Could Pinterest be having a negative effect on women’s self-perception?
The idea behind this article (linked above) is that the purpose of a company (or organization) should not just be for that organization, but with its customers (non-members). As an Alpha Gam, the Purpose I strive to live by holds me to a certain standard publicly - that Purpose is not just about me, or the sorority of which I am a member, but how I interact with the world around me. When I truly live by that Purpose, it should be inevitable that others would come to be familiar with it.
Whatever your own purpose is (as an individual, part of a company, or organization) - how does it lead you to interact with your community? How do you share your purpose?
