It is crucial for you to ensure that all members are engaged throughout the year. Here are some ideas to help keep all of your members involved and engaged in organization activities.
- Ask individuals to join if you know that they are interested.
- Use inclusive language on your membership materials (avoid community based language/slang and use standard language).
- Make sure that you genuinely want to engage members and be able to articulate how and why.
- Co-sponsor events with other types of groups.
- Determine how program topics impact your members.
- Make sure that your programs meet the needs of all of your members.
- Ask members if things need to be changed to make you be a more inclusive group.
- Are your meetings at accessible times and in accessible places for all.
- Understand differences in priorities.
- Make sure that the environment includes where all members feel heard.
- Change things to meet the needs of your members.
- Grow leadership skills of those interested.
- Discourage cliques from forming.
- Give the members something to do, even if informally.
S.M.A.R.T. goals are a way to lay out your goal setting and recognize how to achieve your goals. S.M.A.R.T. Goals are not only smart, but they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.
Specific
- What: What do I want to accomplish?
- Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing this goal.
- Who: Who is involved?
- Where: Identify a location.
- Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
Measurable
- How much?
- How many?
- How will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable
- How: How can the goal be accomplished? Is it actually within reach?
- How will I know when it is accomplished?
Relevant
- Does this seem worthwhile?
- Is this the right time?
- Does this match our other efforts/needs?
- Are you the right person?
Timely
- When?
- What can I do six months from now?
- What can I do six weeks from now?
- What can I do today?
To recruit lots of new members.
S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
By the end of the fall semester we will have recruited 22 new members in order to help create a larger presence on campus and assist with our upcoming planned activities.
- Advisor conversation starter.
- The success and effectiveness of your organization can be improved a great deal through a good relationship between advisor and student leader. In the advisor/student leader pairing, a general understanding and a concerted effort to develop the relationship is essential. Too often we take relationships for granted and think things will automatically fall in place. As in all relationships, it is important to learn about one another’s expectations, goals, wants, needs, strengths and weaknesses. To help you do just that, we have provided you with the following list of questions. We encourage you to sit down together and discuss your answers to the questions provided.
- What motivated you to assume your position (advisor or leader)?
- What are you most excited about as we begin this year?
- What are you most anxious about as we begin this year?
- What personal and/or professional goals have you made for this year?
- When you think about your skills and abilities, what would you list as your strong points?
- When you think about your skills and abilities, in what areas would you like to improve?
- What are you hoping to learn from this experience?
- Which of your personal qualities do you admire most?
- What kind of advisor/student relationship would you like to see?
- What kind of relationship would you like to have with the other officers?
- How would you describe your advising/leadership style?
- What techniques do you use to motivate yourself and others?
- When you are upset or disappointed about someone’s behavior or performance, how do you respond?
- When people meet or exceed your expectations, how do you respond?
- What are some of the things you think we should do in training officers and members?
- When considering your position, in what areas do you feel confident or comfortable? In what ways are you least comfortable?