[adpiucf]

It is very hard to advise a chapter when you're newly graduated, even if it isn't your own chapter. For 2 years, the house mom at the chapter I advised couldn't keep it straight in her head that I wasn't one of the live-ins! (And it wasn’t my collegiate chapter, either!)

My advice to advisers, young or wise,

- You are a VOLUNTEER, not a martyr. Never forget this. If your volunteer position becomes a drain, finish out the school year and submit your resignation to the chapter and the national officer who appointed you. Be professional, but also explain why you are leaving. And look for other ways to be involved in the sorority--- you will find your niche elsewhere. It’s your life. If your adviser position isn’t working out, your negative energy and unhappiness, like happiness, is catching.
- When starting out, watch and learn. Observe the chapter; ask questions about the culture of the chapter and the advisory board. You’re here to fit in. If you try to change everything overnight, you will alienate everyone around you. This is also true of the workplace!
- Brainstorm with your officers when you meet them. Review their role and yours together. Let them run with their ideas if they don’t violate any laws or sorority policies. Let them take ownership.
- Encourage regular telephone and face-to-face communication with your officers. Email is one-sided communication, there is no guarantee of timely receipt of the email depending on when you check it, and tone of “voice” can be misinterpreted.
- Don’t micromanage. They are responsible for contacting you and meeting their deadlines. Help them learn time management by providing them with calendars or dropping an email (email is ok in moderation!) once a month with deadline reminders, but don’t baby-sit them. They wanted to be leaders--- let them learn how. If they don’t do what they are supposed to, there are consequences—informal meetings and documentation—things that can prevent them from going onto future leadership roles and things that will teach them NOW the importance of time management and follow-up so they don’t make this mistakes later on as working career women.
- IMPORTANT: Advisers ADVISE. Chapter officers do their own work. If the women aren’t violating any laws or sorority policies, let it be. Let them learn from their mistakes.
- Chapter members will cover up mistakes. They are used to being punished when they mess up, and they will view you as “sister-parent.” Go into your adviser-officer relationship with your officer understanding she won’t be belittled or punished for admitting errors and that you are here to help each other. Then, live that credo.
- Sandwich your criticisms between praise. This goes for the workplace, too. You have to be encouraging in order for anyone to accept feedback.
- Rotate attending chapter meetings with the advisory board. Make sure the chapter knows who you are, what you do “in real life,” how to contact you and that you are a volunteer.
- The advisory board needs to present a united front. Unless the chapter house is burning down or there’s a seriously injured member standing in front of you, don’t act without the advisory board. A divided advisory board can rip a chapter apart.
- Encourage a supportive relationship with nationals through guest speakers at chapter, a pen pal program, reporting successes to nationals and membership education workshops on what it means to be a national chapter.
- If it’s not fun, what is the point? Every alumna has special talents to share. Maybe you’re not a fit with the chapter you advise or your talents might be better served working with alumnae rather than collegiate officers? Or you are great at making presentations—be a guest at a member education workshop. Or serve a national committee. If you’re in a situation with the sorority where you’re not happy, I again encourage you to finish out the school year, be professional about it and then go your separate way. Everything is a learning experience, both for you and the organization!