Shelley was excited to be elected as President-Elect of her chapter.
Traditionally PE’s used this year as a coasting year.
Some even joked it was a year to rest up because being President is one of the most draining experiences life offers.
Shelley didn’t buy their approach.
She planned to keep some balance in her life as Chapter President – and knew the critical key would be a strong team working with her.
She also had big dreams about what could be for the chapter.
As soon as Shelley was official as PE, she began recruiting people to step up to leadership during her term.
Shelley wanted a diverse group willing to try new things – as well as some traditional folks for institutional memory.
The challenge?
The newer folks Shelley wanted on her team didn’t have the depth of experience in the chapter.
They were sharp as leaders in other organizations – but did not know the chapter’s big picture.
Shelley decided to manage their leadership development since no one else was.
She personally talked to all of her prospective leaders and encouraged them to be more involved this year.
Supporting the chapter would help them build an internal network – and learn how things work.
She also started sending out regular update emails.
In these emails she explained:
- Big picture decisions the board made.
- How the strategic plan was moving forward.
- Other food for thought items to get her team thinking bigger.
Her target leader pool loved Shelley’s guidance and information sharing.
A few belonged to the chapter for several years but never had some of the inner workings explained.
The first quarter is almost over.
Shelley just sent an email update and for some time to chat with each of them.
Shelley wanted to see how they were doing and how she could help them.
Within two days, all of the folks on the list had booked time – definitely proof of their excitement.
Shelly just smiles and looks forward to involving even more folks as she moves closer to being President.
Being a Lazy Leader is going to help her take the chapter to new heights.
How does your chapter prepare future leaders? How does your PE spend their year?