President & Vice President Training Workshop Division 15 | Officer Training Conference | July 9, 2011
Duties and Responsibilities -
Leading As the president or vice president, you are expected to preside over your club’s general and board meetings, the former being weekly and the latter being at least once a month. It is the president’s responsibility to prepare an agenda for each meeting and ensure that the meeting itself goes smoothly. Should the president be unable to attend a meeting, it is his or her duty to contact the vice president with the appropriate information. Be an exciting and creative leader! No one wants to sit through a meeting that’s just as boring as the classes they’ve been attending all day.
-
Delegating As the president, you are expected to lead your whole club – which can often be an overwhelming task, especially for the larger clubs. An effective leader understands how to delegate tasks so that everyone feels involved and duties are accomplished in an efficient manner. Delegation doesn’t make you a weak leader; on the contrary, it proves that you’re a rational and realistic one. Vice presidents that oversee a committee system are also expected to assign tasks to committee heads.
-
Educating As your club’s leaders, you need to understand the backbone of Key Club International, the history of your home club, and the organizations that your club completes service for. Inform your members of how widespread yet interconnected the international organization – tell them they’re making a difference by being a member of the largest and oldest student-run service program in existence! Give them an incentive to stick around at the first meeting when you share with them that, by helping UNICEF, they’re helping Project ELIMINATE and literally making the threat of MNT extinct. You should know about our district’s MEP, Partners in Service, and District Project – it’s their message that you want to spread through your service.
-
Communicating Not only must you communicate often with your board – through email, phone, in-person – but you must communicate effectively with your members. You act as their link between your home club and the rest of the international organization, and they depend on you for divisional or district updates. It’s your job to keep in touch with your LTG and stay updated on service opportunities. Remember that in all of your communications you are representing the Key Club organization – be respectful and maintain proper etiquette at all times.
-
Recruiting and Retaining Keeping your existing members active and interested and attracting new faces is essential to the success of any club. Remind members of their 50-hour service goal and make sure there are always opportunities available for them to achieve service. Offer incentives for new members (whether it is tangible or personal satisfaction) and consider offering recognition for existing members who have proven their passion. Consider the Meetings and Members tips offered in the section on the next page.
-
Supporting As presidents and vice presidents, you really are the backbone of your clubs. You must support not only each other, but also the rest of your board. Just because your duties are outlined here doesn’t mean you shouldn’t step in to help a secretary struggling to complete their MRF on time or a treasurer swamped by dues at the onset of the school year. Vice presidents, if you’re feeling superfluous, take the initiative and do what the president doesn’t have currently the time to accomplish – get the contacts or administrative approval for that new fundraiser, work with the treasurer to determine the costs for the service project your club has been debating starting. Your club can develop bonds as strong as a family if you work together to support each other in all that you do!
President & Vice President Training Workshop Con’t
2
Division 15 | Officer Training Conference | July 9, 2011
Characteristics of an Effective Leader -
Passionate: Be loud and proud about all that you believe in as the leader of such an amazing organization! Infect others with your dedication to service. If you’re not willing to lead the cheers, don the divisional colors, or attend the service events – why would you want to be leading anyways? Show others what a great time you’re having! They’ll get there, too.
-
Ambitious: Make goals that are realistic and timely and lead your club in achieving them. Shrug off the warnings that something “hasn’t been done before” – be the first person to do it! Take the initiative in leading your club; it’s completely acceptable to continue the success that your club enjoyed in prior years, but wouldn’t you rather set the path for an even more successful future?
-
Competent: You were elected to your position because someone, somewhere believed in you (: Don’t let them down! Don’t take on more than you can handle (that’s what delegating is for), give 110% to all that you do. Prioritize – obviously, school and family come first, but when you’re elected to as prestigious a position as the president or vice president of Key Club, Key Club is expected to come next on that list!
-
Active Listener: An effective leader never steamrolls over others’ opinions. Keep an open ear and mind – not only to your board members, but also to your general membership. There’s a difference between hearing someone and truly listening to them, so make sure you’re doing the latter or you might miss out on a suggestion that could open a lot of doors!
-
Organized: Keep a binder for what’s tangible and consider opening a separate email account for Key Club business (with an address more professional than “flirtygrl382@yahoo.com” XD). You should be able to find what you need when you need it. Have on hand agendas or minutes before you start running a meeting, and stick to whatever schedule you have prepared to keep from deviating or wasting time.
-
Analytical: Be able to keep a level head and respond rationally when problems present themselves. We’re human – mistakes will be made, but they can be fixed, too! Be willing to take others’ opinions into consideration and never feel ashamed of asking for help when you need to ascertain a resolution to a situation.
-
Objective: Key Club is a diverse group of students with colorful personalities, beliefs, and backgrounds. You’re not going to agree with all of them, and that’s okay. What everyone in Key Club can agree on, though, is the importance of service – and that’s what you’re providing leadership for. No one is asking you to compromise your own values, but always remember that not everyone learned to view the world in the same manner as you. Be respectful of others’ opinions and stay objective in your leadership.
Goals and Visions -
Membership
– Participation and Service
-
Fundraising
– Contests and Awards
Meetings and Members -
Atmosphere: What type of room are your members walking into? With what tone of formality do you open your meetings? Are icebreakers a viable option for your club? Is the president the only member with an opportunity to speak during the meeting? How are your public speaking skills?
-
Visual Presentation: Is a newsletter available to members either at the meetings or perhaps on a club/school website? Do you use a whiteboard or projector to run your meetings?
-
Public Relations and Promotion: Does your school bulletin advertise your club? Can you promote using flyers or the school website? Does your club interact often with the general student body or other active clubs on campus?
President & Vice President Training Workshop Con’t
3
Division 15 | Officer Training Conference | July 9, 2011
Resources -
Duties of the Club President and Vice President: http://www.keyclub.org/fad/gov/cbd.aspx CNH Recognition Applications Page: http://cnhkeyclub.org/recognition/contest-applications Kaila Corrington. k.corring@hotmail.com. 909.434.6769. AIM: hazelandocean.
Created by Kaila Corrington (June 2011)