Leaders have Vision part 1:
This means they know where they are going and basically how to get there. Which means they work backwards from their objectives.
This should affect the way you approach planning for the semester:
So first sit down for a few hours and think about the following question, if my chapter were the best and most fun out there what would be doing and how would be doing it.
Divide it up into categories, social, service, leadership . . . etc. And quantify and qualify it. How many projects/events what are their objectives etc.
Work it up into a plan that spans the entire semester in detail and the rest of the year more tentatively.
After you finish the plan, and you should have used resources like this site, manuals, magazines, conversations, other GLO web sites and resources, don't show it to anyone.
Get in touch with your EC officers which are like your cabinet heads, and give them the questions you asked yourself in advance, as well as the categories and resources, and tell them you are going to discuss ideas at an EC retreat. This should be on an agenda.
Before you go mentally review your plan (which is in writing or it doesn't exist) and don't be attached to the specifc idea but rather the concept. If you want a dance a thon for charity break it down to what it really is: A philanthropic event that has particpation and publicity from outside your group and that should be fun while providing a team bulding excercise for your chapter.
Go into your EC meeting and have them work together to formulate a plan, brainstorm ideas, but don't show them your master. And start piecing together the better ideas.
Then contact the chapter and tell them what you told the EC in advance of the EC retreat and that you are going to have a chapter retreat.
Don't show the chapter your master plan or EC plan, let them brainstorm. Divide into groups to brainstorm the varius categories that you set up. Have the EC facilitate with you as the overall facilitator, unless you are a bad public speaker.
Anyway during the second half of the Chapter Retreat start cutting and pasting the best ideas into their respective positions. And come up with firm dates for the larger stuff.
The purpose of this excersize is to make sure you are prepared, both in knowledge and a plan. This gives you a minimum standard to achieve.
The same thing is true of the EC they get more knowledge and help develop a plan, and during this step the plan should get better so that you have a new minimum standard.
Then in stage 3 when you walk into a chapter retreat you can guide the chapter into coming up with ideas even better than realized in the last two stages.
But you are more likely to come up with a better overall plan with the steps, and everyone will feel a part of it.
As an immediate follow-up make sure you print-up the plan and give it to everyone in your chapter, which should be placed in the notebook they bring to EVERY meeting.
EVERYTHING needs to be in writing.
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