Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
OK, maybe nothing quite that dramatic will happen if the leaders of your campus’ clubs and organizations don’t create a vision. But, they may not have as much fun if they have no idea where they are going or what they are trying to accomplish. A vision operates like a G.P.S., it shows the path that we need to go down and how we will get there.
Many times officers of clubs and organizations are elected because they have been a good member, or they served as an officer the year before so they have experience, and sometimes even get elected because they did not show up at the meeting where elections were held and they reluctantly agree to serve anyway. None of those scenarios necessarily mean that a student has a vision for the org.
In my program “Turning Your Vision into a Reality” I show students how to create a vision for themselves and their club/organization. I used to facilitate this program as part of our club officer leadership training when I was the District Administrator for Circle K in Georgia. I sometimes had the exec boards of up to 25 chapters in a room and, within an hour, they all had the foundations of a vision for their year! Here are the basics:
- Create a Dream Statement for the year: This is the driving force that will excite and motivate their members. It does not have to meet all of the specifics of the SMART acronym (more on that shortly), but it has to be powerful. When I began my speaking business, I created a Dream Statement that read “My Dream is to Make My Career as a Professional Speaker”. It has excited and motivated me to this day. One of my favorite chapter Dream Statements was from the University of Georgia. Their’s was “Maximum Circle K!” Their dream was to maximize all areas of their club: recruitment, service, membership retention, fundraising, awards, etc. They created a logo and made t-shirts for all members. They had an amazing year and won a ton of awards at our district convention.
- Establish Goals as Stepping Stones to the Dream: You may be familiar with the SMART acronym as it relates to goal setting: S is for Specific, M is for Measurable, A is for Attainable, R is for Realistic, and T is for Timetable or Truthful. I guide the students to create goals that fit the acronym. For example, if they choose a recruitment goal, it cannot be something like: “We will recruit more members.” It has to be something akin to “We will increase our membership to 50 paid and active members by the end of the first semester.” See the difference? The latter is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and has a deadline (timetable). The big question would be “Is it truthful?”, is it a goal they will really try to pursue? Only they can answer that!
I would suggest having 4-6 SMART goals that will lead to the realization of the dream/vision.
- Develop Plans for the Achievement of Each Goal: Plans are the foundations of the vision! Without plans, goals are unattainable. They still must be SMART. For example, plans for the recruitment goal might include: 1) Have a recruitment table at the club fair and get 100 sign-ups, 2) Hold a new member meeting 7 days after the club fair, calling each sign-up with a personal invitation to the meeting, 3) Give each potential member a returning member as a point of contact. And then do this for each of the goals, at least 3-4 plans for each one.
Here’s the big question: Does this work? We used this format to set goals each of the nine years I served as District Administrator.We received 7 Distinguished District Awards, 34 officer distinguished awards, and 13 distinguished administrative team awards.Even if you know nothing about Circle K, you have to agree that is a lot! Our chapters that stuck with their vision won the most awards each year at the District Convention and many went on the win awards at the International Convention.
Want this kind of success for you students? Then have me come to campus to present this and other Student Leadership Workshops .Call me at 770-552-6592 or email me at DaveKelly@GonzoSpeaks.com. Booking me will not break the bank – check out my Affordable Pricing Model for a quote! I look forward to serving your students!