The Most Important C

The most important “C” to keep in mind when acting as a change agent is Consciousness of Self.  No matter how many people are involved- four, forty, or four hundred- the only person that I have control over is me.  I cannot make my roommate do something; I cannot make my officers do something; I cannot make other Greeks do something.  But I can make myself do something.  This action, though, will only occur if I know my values, desires, and goals.  If I do not know what I value, I cannot expect to build a Common Purpose around my values because obviously I do not know what they are.  I also cannot promote Controversy with Civility because I will have nothing to fight for, no goals and desires to push for.  Additionally, I cannot align myself with values (congruence) and remain consistent with them if I have yet to identify them.  And quite obviously, I cannot commit to my goals if they are absent.  Clearly, in order to initiate any type of change, one must first be aware of who they are as a person and what they stand for.

I think the biggest challenge to becoming a change agent is getting yourself prepared.  This involves outlining values and goals, and showing them consistently.  Once you are confident in who you are and what you want, it is easier for people to jump on board with you.  If you are unsure, people will notice your uncertainty and be hesitant in creating a common purpose and committing to it.  It all comes back to you.  Know who you are, know what you value, know where you want to go.

Values

I tend to place value on elements that benefit me in some manner.  I value my family and friends because they are my support system who guide me through life and are there for me when I am up or down.  I also value my chapter because it pushes me to be the best person I can be by aligning myself with its values.  I place value on my studies because without them, I will not be living my life to its greatest potential.  Upon seeing the benefits of my friends and family, my chapter, and my studies, I begin to value them because I have proof that they will help me grow in a positive manner.  This can also be seen in placing value in the traits of others.  The values found in accountability, honesty, anti-hypocrisy, and genuineness come about after seeing how those containing the trait impact your life.  An accountable individual is valued because they are always there for you and always follow through on that which they say.  After seeing this benefit, one places value on the trait.

Sometimes, though, we know that we value things but there is a poor correlation between the amount of time spent on it and the amount we value it.  In order to better the correlation, I think we really need to think about how we spend our time.  This will cause us to either reconfigure our time allotments or reconsider our values.

Personal Vision

My vision for the chapter is to be a chapter full of confident women who are all the best people they can be.  In the past we have struggled with who we are and what AOII stands for.  Our vision has often been cloudy because we have not understood who we are on an individual level.  It is impossible to identify who the chapter is if we do not know who the components of the chapter are.  

In order to reach this vision, we must help each other become confident in themselves.  We also must help each other grow into the best person they can be.  This will be done by improving each other mentally, bodily, and spiritually.  It is important to note that not every member is at the same level.  What is best for one person may not be best for best for someone else.  Once we have all become the best individually, our chapter will naturally better.  We will exude confidence which will help us with our PR efforts as well as recruitment.  It is very difficult to explain why someone would be one of us when we don’t know who we are.  Having a clear definition will eliminate this problem.

I want AOII to produce women who are happy with themselves.  I think we can use each other to bring out the best in everyone.  Successful individuals will be able to form a successful chapter.

Collaboration is Key

Collaboration is an essential part of successful leadership, but it is also one of the most challenging aspects because it involves working with others and developing the same ideas and goals.  With collaboration there can be no dominating individual whose ideas are pushed forward without the support of the rest of the group.  Collaboration is challenging because it is not meant to be a compromise amongst individuals.  Instead, the whole group should develop the idea together.  This is difficult because most people have differing opinions and desires.  It is hard to please everyone, which makes collaboration challenging.

Sometimes one or more members of the group do not want to work collaboratively, which has the potential to destroy all momentum built up by the group as well as the success of the group.  It is easiest to simply say too bad to these individuals and continue on with what the rest of group wants, but this is not collaboration.  Collaboration also does not mean that the group tries to incorporate some of the individuals’ ideas into the group’s ideas.  This is compromising, which is also not a part of collaboration.  The best way to work with these individuals is to try and show them why the group’s ideas are the way to go.  The group can also steer in another direction in which both the group and the individuals are on board.  Forcing collaboration will never lead to production, though, because members of the group will really not be a part of the group as they are not fully on board with the project.  At the very end, sometimes the only option is to remove the individuals from the group.  If they are not on board and no future can be established with them, sometimes they need to be left behind.

Citizenship

I always thought of community service when I heard the word citizenship.  Working at a soup kitchen, picking up trash, cleaning up a park or singing carols at a nursing home were always the staples of citizenship for me.  I now recognize that citizenship is not just actively doing something to better the community, but it also includes simply being aware of what is happening in the community.  In the world of my chapter, I can be a more effective citizen by reading our magazine, To Dragma, and by contributing pictures or an article to the magazine.  In the world of the Greek community, I can be a better citizen by participating in other chapters' events and attending PHA and presidents' meetings.  In the world of OSU, I can be a better citizen by helping a sister with her campaign in USG.

I think members of my chapter consider citizenship to be direct service to the community, whether the community be the chapter, our national fraternity, PHA, Greek life, or OSU.  Most often, we consider helping at the animal shelter, walking in a 5K for Arthritis or raising money for Buckeyethon to be examples of citizenship, but we fail to see being a leader as citizenship.  Serving on an executive board is an example of citizenship because it allows you to be educated about the chapter or council.  You are also giving your time and services to better the community.  Citizenship does not have to be a direct service involving physical labor.  Instead, it can appear in creative ways.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.  We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.  We are the change that we seek.”  -Barack Obama

People are often unhappy with the way things are, but they never do anything to promote a change.  They expect others to implement a change, but this cannot happen if the other people do not know about the need for change.  In my chapter, I often hear about how unhappy someone is with an event, but this unhappy member does not hold an office nor does she attend her committee meetings in which the events are planned.  Clearly, waiting for someone to change an event results in nothing happening because the member who desires change is responsible for making it happen.  This can be as simple as having a conversation in which the member shares new idea.  It can also include running for an office so that the member can make sure things are done differently.  I think these are examples of second-order change because they involve altering the member’s approach to the institution of change.  Simply changing the rules or procedures will not make change happen.

Post-elections, I have heard of a few women who seem to have an issue with everything we as a chapter do, but these women do not hold an office, nor have they approached officers with their suggestions.  Complaining to your roommate will not make things occur differently.  If your idea is as great as you say it is, the officer isn’t going to ignore the idea so chances are it’s not happening because the officer doesn’t know about it.  If members want change, they need to seek it out or at least tell the appropriate people about it, because it will never happen if no one knows about it.

Implementing Social Change

Although I was not one of the presidents who decided to place a ban on tabs at socials, I was involved in implementing this change.  During Homecoming Week, our president had to go home for family reasons.  She asked me to keep an eye on things, especially our social events.  She had received some information that there was going to be a private party with one of our partners, which would break PHA rules.  While she had squashed the first one, she had received a lot of backlash and believed there would be attempts for more.  She was right.  I had to stop a large group of girls from going to a house so it would not be seen as an AOII party.  Furthermore, we had a social at a bar later that week at which our partner decided they were going to have a tab.  Although our social chair had told them tabs were not going to be used, they still had one and we had to try and get our girls to not use it, which was an extremely difficult task.

I was hassled by the girls a lot at the time because they didn't understand why they couldn't go to the party and why they couldn't use the tab.  Looking back, our president had never clearly explained to them the reasons why before I had done so those nights.  Of course the girls would resist, they thought they were simply being told no for no reason.  I felt like such a bad guy, like a party pooper, because I was ruining one of the most fun weeks in the quarter by telling them they couldn't party the way they wanted to.  After Homecoming Week, we asked Sharrell to speak at chapter to help explain these decisions.  The girls asked a lot of questions, but afterwards they understood the decisions and had brainstormed ideas to prevent these occurrences from repeating themselves.  I learned that sometimes people are unaware of your reasoning.  When I receive resistance in the future, I am going to make sure that people are aware of why I believe things should be done this way.  This gives them the opportunity to see my side as well as the opportunity to work out a compromise.