IFC President Matt Tracy gives us his take on UIFI....
As I began
my trip to UIFI, I was unsure of what to expect. I have attended leadership
conferences in the past for AEPi, but I knew this would be vastly different, as
it encompassed leaders from across the country, from four different councils,
and many many organizations. Also having been a part of the Greek Emerging
Leaders program at Lehigh for the past two years, I had assumed that I knew
everything there is to know about Greek leadership and that this would be a
waste of my time. I’ve never been more wrong in my life.
From
almost the instant I got off the plane, I was surrounded by so many passionate
individuals who shared my common vision for a more united, values and
serviced-based Greek community. The first day our coordinators focused on
values; first identifying our personal values, then determining if they aligned
with our chapter’s or council’s values. This set the tone for the entire
weekend as everything we subsequently learned was based on our core set of
values and empowering others to live through their values.
Once we
determined what was important to us, we needed to understand how we got that
message through to our members, our leadership style. I learned that my biggest
strength in leadership is inspiring a shared vision; this is setting a
long-term direction for an organization and ensuring that members understand
its importance. This is something key that I plan to bring to IFC in the coming
year, a long-term vision for what we want our community to look like, as well
as getting buy-in from chapter members for this vision. Doing this same exercise,
I learned that I need to work more on challenging limiting beliefs. For me,
it’s really easy to continue doing something that’s working, instead of asking
“is there a better way to do this?” This is an aspect of my leadership style
that I must focus on in order to ensure that our community continues its path
of positive growth.
Another
takeaway that I found extremely valuable was understanding the importance of
leadership transition. It is far too easy for leaders to check out once they
are done in a job, but it is far more effective for them to leave a blueprint
and guidelines for their successors to ensure a continued tradition of
excellence for their organization.
Lastly, we
moved onto the “why” of our organizations, our ritual. Ritual is the basis upon
which all organizations are founded and contains all of the values each member
should embody. This is vital to any organization because everyone has a unique
ritual, separating what makes each organization special and unique. Leadership
expert Simon Sinek explains that at the heart of every successful organization
is a driving ideal, a “why.” Our coordinators conveyed to us the need for this
why in our chapters and councils, how it impacted our leadership styles, and
what values it creates. Starting with why and working our way to how and what
creates a foundation for success within our organizations.
I am
extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend UIFI, as I learned a lot about
myself and how to better my community. It is my hope to share this knowledge
with everyone I encounter at Lehigh.