Many may only see Greek university life as a social group that hides its parties behind hours of community service and charitable donations. However, I would like to challenge that stereotype by focusing on professional development and the opportunity for self-improvement that is presented to Greek life members, especially those in leadership positions. Currently, I serve my 100-member brotherhood as a chapter president and work with other officers to maintain a well-balanced, structured, and involved organization.
Fraternities and sororities must operate first as a business and second as a socialite to be successful. I would like to point out some key concepts that show the relationship between Greek organizations and companies.
Greek organizations:
• Divide officers into teams to work on specific areas of the chapter.
• Must operate on a strict budget, driven solely by member payments.
• They must promote themselves well to keep recruiting new members.
• Have mission statements and values to keep your members and guide your brand.
• They must follow the rules of their national headquarters and report to it.
• Have insurance that covers your organization and its members, as well as many policies and procedures established for holding events.
These are just a few points that show how Greek organizations run like the best business, combining friendship with professionalism and offering members a great opportunity for personal development.
As president, I see all sides of the management of a Greek organization and I must help all the officials no matter what team their position is part of. My days are filled with constantly making decisions and weighing the consequences. I have learned to make fair decisions that benefit the common good, while remaining impartial in the process. I also answer everyone’s questions and concerns while troubleshooting when an unplanned event occurs. For example, we had a little crisis with flyers that were made to promote an event that we were having. When they came in, we noticed that the contact email on the brochures was misspelled. After some deliberation, we decided to use the brochures we had and made a new email address with the typo included.
A large part of running a successful organization is effective and professional communication. Our main forum for communication between officers and the advisory board is email. I have learned to send and respond to emails correctly in a professional manner. My communication skills have improved substantially since I was the leader of my chapter. I have learned to communicate concisely and to format information in the most effective way. I’ve found that providing information in bullet lists is the best way to get members to read your posts in their entirety. All of our officers are required to hold team meetings and obtain progress reports on the different areas of their team. Officers are responsible for organizing their own meetings and taking minutes to record what was discussed. Greek organizations teach members to communicate effectively and professionally through email, holding meetings, and working with others.
One of the most valuable traits that I am still learning during my presidency is how to feel comfortable with difficult conversations. I work closely with our Director of Standards and Ethics to ensure that our members hold ourselves to our lofty ideals and values. If someone is falling behind, it’s our job to talk to them about why this is happening and what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again. These difficult conversations are made even more difficult by remembering that our chapter members are also our friends and sisters. As the leader of a Greek organization, I am learning to have these difficult conversations while maintaining control of myself and the conversation.
Greek life has much more to offer than the social aspect of organizing, and it can really prepare young adults to join the professional world. Through the personal development of members and the development of staff members professionally, Greek organizations are able to offer life-changing university experiences that cannot be found anywhere else.