John Exley | Netxvoice247 Blogging & Emerging Leader Contributor
THE SITUATION
Corruption. Greed. The global economy in disarray. The world we know today needs leaders, perhaps more than ever before. For the young and ambitious who aspire to careers of leadership in business, it is critical to develop leadership in college.
An article featured on Entrepreneur.com titled: “Developing leadership skills in college and early career positions” http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/186785392.html offered the great advice that “College students and early career workers can benefit from continual leadership development in order to prepare for the business world and their first foray into the challenging world of leading others.”
THE OPTION
There are two approaches to developing your leadership in college, in my opinion: join an existing club that interests you and take on a leadership position, or defy the status quo entirely and start your own club.
If you are in college, I am about to urge you to pursue the second approach and cultivate your own leadership. Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, this approach can accelerate your journey towards becoming the leader we need you to be.
THE REASONS WHY
Starting a new organization can give you some great visibility with faculty and staff at your school. And, if you start a club around something that you’re passionate about, it presents the opportunity to not only connect with students who share the same passions as you, but to lead them towards accomplishing the vision of your new club.
The skills you will hone (including delegation, communication, sales, and creating value) from starting your own club have many parallels to entrepreneurship and the fundamentals of business, and you will undoubtedly draw upon them as you enter a position of leadership in your professional career.
The lessons you learn (from how to deal with the inevitable conflict that will arise periodically, to persevering through the obstacles that face you as you attempt to build your new club, to how to motivate others) will be highly applicable in just about every career path you may choose.
HOW…? GETTING STARTED
Find a niche, preferably one that you love. What are you passionate about? It could be working out, or perhaps you are captivated by current events. It might be basketball shoes or surfing or beautiful jewelry. What isn’t represented on your campus? Start a club that fills the void.
Or, take another route. Think creatively about a difference you could make in society with the help of others. Maybe you could start a ‘volunteering club’ whose sole mission is to organize weekly community service events.
THE EXAMPLE
Meet Francis Dayamba. Francis is a civil engineering major at Clarkson University. He is a close friend of mine who created a club this year that enables him to nurture his social engineering mindset and to express his concern about the lack of development in his continent of origin, Africa.
He is the Founder of The D’AMUGE Fund, a student-run organization that targets educational institutions, particularly primary schools, in an attempt to impact the dynamics of destitute communities in Benin. During a brief two week period this past spring, his club raised $650, which Francis donated in person in the form of school supplies, merit-based scholarships, and Christmas presents to students at the School of Avossa.
Check back here tomorrow for a full interview with this emerging leader – where you can find out more about Francis, his new club, and how you can get involved in making a positive impact on communities in dire need.
THE PROCESS
It’s time to create a vision. Start recruiting a few friends with similar interests and complementary skills and offer them the opportunity to be on the founding team of your new club. Brainstorm together and determine your mission, the purpose of starting of your club. Write out your goals and what you believe it can accomplish.
Think big.
Think of a name for your club. Talk to your school’s administration to determine what you need to complete to officially establish your new club. Formalize a 1-page action plan (with your mission and vision statements, about us section, and goals) and include by-laws if your school requires you to do so. Research your school’s student government, as there may be funding opportunities for your club.
Now, the fun part.
You’re official, so start creating a buzz on campus! Get the word out. Seek out students with similar interests and sell them on your vision, convince them of the opportunities your group provides and the potential for growth and improvement your group would have if they brought their value to your club. Once you have established a core group of members, engage them by discussing your formal organizational structure. How will you organize your new club? What leadership positions? What skills and talents will you need to attract to grow? Then, elect officers and revisit your initial goals for the semester; this time, with all members brainstorming.
THE SEMESTER PLAN
Think of a cool event you could organize, a conference related to your club that you might attend, or a contest you could hold on campus to generate awareness of and interest in your new organization. Think of ways you might involve the community as well, perhaps by offering sponsorship opportunities to local businesses.
Invite a local expert or someone well known in your club’s ‘industry’ to speak. Invite faculty and staff. Create flyers and brainstorm creative ways of marketing your event and your club. Hold an event that informs, entertains, and generates buzz about the value that your group adds to the campus
This could increase your membership! Engage your new members by asking for their ideas, and empower them to lead new projects. There is so much value in taking a project from start to finish. Ask any recruiter.
THE IDEAS
Build a website for your new organization. Research if there are similar clubs at your school that you might hold events with together. Comb the Internet for similar organizations (whom you might learn from) at other colleges. Contact them! There are so many opportunities to network. Organize a community service outreach to make a difference and to further enhance your club’s brand.
Engage with people online who share your passions. Begin branding yourself as an expert in the field that you are passionate about, on the collegiate level and based on the relevant club you started at school.
THE REALITY CHECK
Worried about failure as a young leader? Don’t be. In his blog post “A Wish For Leaders” http://leadershipinc.com/a-wish-for-leaders/520, the renowned author Ty Bennett says that he wishes all aspiring leaders “could know how it feels “to run” with all your heart and lose – horribly” as he believes this to be an important element in the “experience of leadership.”
THE SUCCESSION PLAN
Don’t forget: you’re graduating sooner rather than later, right? Better plan for the future! Who will take your place of leadership? How will you transition leadership? How often? How will you ensure that the club not only survives, but prospers and continues to grow? Remain involved as an advisor during your last semester at college and help the club transition.
After graduating, stay in touch. As the group’s founder, establish a network of alumni and reach back to the club to help out when needed. Hold networking events. Be a door to career opportunity for student members of your club. Help the group continue to live on after your departure and you will have established a legacy.
More importantly, you will have left an impact on your school, and created value and made meaning for your student body. And in the process, you will have cultivated leadership opportunities, both for yourself and for those who joined your organization.
THE LAST TIP
Are you an unemployed college student or recent graduate without a job? Check out the blog article “Graduate school for unemployed college students” http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/graduate-school-for-unemployed-college-students.html by one of the world’s most famous marketers, Seth Godin, for the secret to your future success as a leader.
YOUR HELP
What tips do you have for starting a club while on college and cultivating leadership? What critical steps did I leave out of the process for starting an organization?
listen. learn. share. repeat.™
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For those of you who might wish to talk to Francis Dayamba (founder of The D’AMUGE Fund) about his experiences and perhaps how you might help out his new organization, you can email him at:
dayambfo@clarkson.edu
Get in the trenches and START A MOVEMENT ON YOUR CAMPUS! Don’t let others dictate your future; instead, craft opportunities that enable you and others to develop leadership and reach your full potential.
- X
John – thanks for your insights on building strong leadership skills and networks while in college – great point of view and good leassons for everyone quite frankly – G.
John – thanks for your insights on building skills and networks while still in college. Quite frankly these are great lessons for all of us.
G.
Good stuff John – and agree with Gilbert they are great lessons for us all. The process of learning, failing, and succeeding are inevitable and the sooner we begin experiencing these the quicker we advance. Rich practical points on how to begin or advance a club with valuable life lessons. Thanks for the links to related blogs, too. Looking forward to hearing more about Francis Dayamba!
This is all so true, John! When I was President of my fraternity, there were countless numbers of my younger brothers that wanted more from their available student organizations and went out to find a following and make it happen. Each one of them embraced their passion and made it happen. Most of those groups still exist on campus and in some cases have an exponentially larger following. I can’t stress enough how important it is to encourage others to take this kind of action instilled by pride in something they enjoy, and create leaders within themselves, or develop the skills they already have. I would love to hear some other testimonials of people that have taken these monumental steps!
Drew, thanks for great examples! This is something I too am very passionate about – get out and make things happen! Unite a following, create the leader within yourself, and do it around something you’re passionate about! We all have skills – it takes action, getting out of our comfort zone, and taking a project from start to finish to really develop them! Don’t you think?
I’m very glad to hear that the groups your fraternity brothers started on campus are still doing well. Succession is a key component of leadership.
I would love to hear other testimonials as well! Did you check out the interview with Francis Dayamba? He’s starting an organization here at Clarkson that’s going to help schools in Benin, Africa!
Dad, you’re the greatest! Thanks for checking my blog out and for the terrific insight. I hope you enjoy Francis’ interview. Can’t wait to see you in a couple weeks. Gotta keep up the hustle – lot of work here at school! Hope PropertyCare is doing well, please tell Jeff I said I miss him.
Great one. I myself began to look at management in 180 degree different view since I took president and vp roles in clubs. It is also very different experience of being a founder & president than joining a club as a director. There are much work to do to create a business and help it grow, same work for student organization. Why it is beneficial? the risk and cost of possible “unfortunate” discountinuation / failure is much lower than real-life business.
Won, what a great story! You are a perfect example of an emerging leader who created leadership opportunities for yourself in school! I love how you describe the benefits of working hard for a student organization. I too agree – the possibility of failing is far outweighed by the process of learning that is sure to occur.
Successfully balancing homework, involvement with student organizations, and other goals is what turns an ambitious college student into an action-taking leader.
I can’t stress it enough….I am urging students everywhere to stop what they’re doing and create a new organization. What value will you add? What movement will you begin?? Start now.
Johnny – Tremendous insight from a mere lad! I like the part about sticking to something you love. I am convinced that it is the key ingredient to success that most people either overlook or don’t think is a realistic pursuit.
I know you wrote this for the budding entrepeneur but the words ring true for all vocations. There is such a void in the public and private sectors for experienced leaders who see that true leadership has more to do with advancing others rather than oneself. One of my favorite quotes is from Zig Ziglar…”You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” I first read that when I was in college and it has helped shape my philosophy of management for several years.
P.S. – don’t be too shocked by my uncharactericly verbose contribution. I just thought such a well convceived piece deserves more than a one word response
hello,
thanks for the great quality of your blog, every time i come here, i’m amazed.
black hattitude.
Thanks for the feedback – we are glad we get after the things people want to hear or read. Offer up your ideas or things you would like to learn or things you want to know and we will learn together. Have a bang up week. G
My friend and I were recently talking about the prevalence of technology in our day to day lives. Reading this post makes me think back to that discussion we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.
I don’t mean this in a bad way, of course! Societal concerns aside… I just hope that as memory becomes cheaper, the possibility of uploading our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It’s one of the things I really wish I could see in my lifetime.
(Posted on Nintendo DS running R4 DS SurfV3)