Internal Operations

Internal Operations

PRESS START

Navigating the Structure of your organization

SUMMARY

• Internal Operations is the structure in which our organization is functioning inward so when we are out hosting meetings, recruiting, or having events members get an understanding of how your organization is meant to function
• This presentation will focus on Leadership Roles and Responsibilies, Meeting Dynamics, Expectations of Leaders and how to Recruit Members. All of these elements -- if successful -- will make your group shine!

SECTION 01

Your Leadership Team

Who They Are, What They Do, and How to Work Together

• Your leadership team at basic level is made up of 4 Leaders: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer
• Each role has unique roles and responsibilites that help contribute to the success of your organization. To learn more about some of their responsibilites, click the '+INFO' button.
• If your leadership team is bigger than the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer you will have position holders with their own unique responsibilities.
• Eventually, these four position holders will be signatory delegates for your organization if/when recieving USG/GSO Funding

President

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Treasurer

Choosing your Character: What do leaders in Student Clubs do?

Vice President

Secretary

• Leadership Collaboration: The president and vice president often work closely together to make decisions, plan events, and guide the club toward its goals.
• Clear Communication: Effective communication is key to any successful organization.

• Role Support and Balance: The president has a lot of responsibility, and the vice president often steps in when needed. A strong relationship allows the vice president to support the president effectively, whether it's filling in during absence or taking on specific tasks.

• Conflict Resolution: Disagreements or conflicts are inevitable in any leadership role, but if the president and vice president have a respectful and trusting relationship, they’re more likely to resolve conflicts constructively without damaging the club’s morale.

• Club Culture and Morale: The way the president and vice president interact with each other influences the overall atmosphere of the club.

• Delegation and Efficiency: A strong relationship helps them delegate tasks more effectively.

The Importance of the President and VP Relationship

While all leaders are the heart of the organization, the President and Vice President help maintain stability, productivity, and a supportive environment for all members. Everyone should work together, but this relationship is important as they both should support each other. Here is why working together as a President and VP Matter.

Celebrate and Empower

Roles and Responsibilities

Conflict Management

Setting Expectations With your team

Goals and Objectives

Communication

Feedback and Reflection

It's important for all leaders who are helping your club become successful understand the expectations of what it means to be a leader not only of their role, but as a team player within the group. Here are some tips/topics to cover in an Expectations Conversation with all of your leadership team.

Friendship is an AssetLean into the strengths of your friendship (teamwork, humor, empathy and respect) to create a culture of respect to all.

Maintain ProfessionalismTreat every leader with the same respect and avoid favoritism. Accountability should be maintain throughout

Open and Honest CommunicationExpress expectations early and be able to communicate where potential issues of friendship and leadership roles may arise. Keep conflicts in the spaces they belong in and try to manage them with honest convos.

Being Friends but leaders of a club

Set Clear BoundariesKnow when and how to separate the time when you are friends, but when you are club leaders.

• Start Shadowing and Mentorship Early: Shadow and mentorship to members whom you can identify being leaders of the group. Sometimes people do not know they are a leader until someone tells them. Be a mentor by providing insight into how the position run.
• Create Documentation and Folders with Important Information: A Transition Document should include advice, email addresses and passwords for other accounts, but importantly goals and how each position does their job.

• Meeting Between Incoming and Outgoing Leaders: A vital meeting, this is where new and old leadership can talk more about the ins and outs of the group.

• Get General Members in the Transition Too: Feedback from general body members can help provide strategy and strenghts for the group to successfully move forward. Always communicate to the club about the transition process being done.

• Training and Support: Provide as an outgoing leader support and training that may be needed; if you realize they might need additional help, loop in Student Engagement to provide additional resources!

Transitions of leadership positions

Your organization should always be looking for leaders to carry on the mission of the organization, here are some tips when thinking about your Transitions Process.

Investing and Keeping Members

Finding the Members

Retention

Recruitment

Recruiting and retaining members

• Use word of mouth to tell others about your group in classes or at any other club you are at
• Flyers throughout Campus, in appropriate places
• Tabling on campus by booking space on 25live
• Involvement Fair or any tabling opportunities that you can promote for your group

• Figure out your social media brand and post accordingly.
• Mailing Lists
• Newsletter about the things you want to do and how having members will help shape how the group runs

• Relationships/ Role Models: Create relationships and make people feel like they belong. Learn about your members as they are going to be the reason you THRIVE!
• Responsibility: Giving people responsibilities by immediately providing opportunities to volunteer for the club or giving them a chance to provide choices and execute them with other members.
• Requirements: Provide reasonable and doable requirements for club members to keep coming back. Requirements should be for the benefit of the club and should not be outlandish.
• Reward & Respect: Reward the responsibility and those who met the requirements. Respect is another part of retaining members; make sure that you are equally respecting every member of your club by providing genuine conversation, understanding, and caring about their thoughts, ideas, and your clubs purpose.

Your Leadership Team

• Attitude: How you act at the meeting sets the tone for how it will be throughout it's duration
• Atmosphere: Take into account where you are having the meeting (in person or virtual) and notice how this could effect how the meeting goes or needs that might be needed to accommodate everyone.
• Agenda: Know what should be discussed during the meeting and what could be discussed at a later time. Stay on track and don't lose time during the meeting.
• Accomplishment: Try to get done what is needed to be done during the meeting; end things on a positive note to ensure that everyone will come back and get positive assessment to figure out how to improve meetings.
• Adjourn: Adjourn the meeting, make sure everything can be wrapped up or carried on to the next meeting. Remind everyone the next meetings date and time; and thank everyone for coming.

Meeting Tips

Executive Board Meetings

General Body Meetings

EBM

GBM

GBM vs. EBM

• General Body Meetings (GBMs) are repeating meetings where you connect with your membership to talk about updates on your group and connect together. Whether weekly, bi monthly or once a month, these meetings should be organized to ensure all items are discussed. .
• Meetings should create a space for interaction and progress of the groups successes
• Weekly meeting are known as block-booking through 25Live!

• Meetings for the Leadership Team to discuss ideas and updates before a General Body Meeting or Event
• Set a designated time to plan for GBMs
• Decide if this should be every week/month or before the semester
• Designate responsibilities to each eboard member to prepare for or during the GBM
• Everyone should be contributing updates to these meetings
• Notes to be taken here so there is continual review and growth for the group!

Treasurer

• Manages club finances, including budgeting and tracking expenses
• Handles club bank accounts
• Collects membership fees and fundraising proceeds.
• Prepares financial reports and presents them to the club
• Ensures proper use of funds and financial accountability
• Works with the school or financial advisors on funding matters
• Communicate with USG/GSO, their Admin Directors, Auxilary Services Association (if applicable), and/or vendors and additional clientele

Vice President

• Supports the president and assumes leadership in their absence
• Assist the president in planning, initiating, and executing tasks/events
• Help president during meetings if there’s anything that’s been forgotten to tackle or suggest your own ideas
• Often joins president in representing the club
• Helps coordinate events and activities -> tend to act as event coordinator if eboard has none
• Think of event ideas, activities, and potential collaborations
• Assists in managing club operations and committees
• President and VP discuss on what they will manage (EBM/GBM/collabs/other meetings)
• Acts as a liaison between officers and members
• Communicate what you believe club/members/other board members need to the President
• May take on specific projects or responsibilities as assigned (fundraising, tabling, GBMs, planning)

President Responsibilites

• Ex officio member of the organization, of all committees and organization
• Does not vote in meetings!
• Creates agenda with Secretary for meetings; schedule and runs meetings
• Leads and oversees all club activities
• Main decision maker, for any major decisions on where you want to lead the club
• Ensure everyone is on track and on the same page
• Represents the club to the school, administration, and other organizations (tabling, club fairs, interviews)
• Know your club’s purpose/activities
• You’re the face of the club so be sure to give a good impression

• Delegates tasks for each position and ensures officers fulfill their duties
• Encourages member participation and engagement (outreach)
• Plans and oversees events, projects, and initiatives

Secretary

• Records and maintains meeting minutes
• Creates Agendas for each GBM or EBM with support of President
• Takes down notes during EBMs/GBMs
• Manages club records, including member lists and attendance (Corq, Excel, Google Forms, Google Drive)
• Handles club correspondence (emails, announcements, newsletters)
• Assists in organizing events by keeping track of logistics
• Ensures compliance with school regulations and deadlines

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals: Have a conversation about what the club’s short-term and long-term goals are, and ensure all leaders are aligned on these goals. This might include membership growth, event planning, or advocacy work. Each Semester these should be reviewed to see what has been done; in some instances you may need to refer back to them if somehow the leadership team goes off track Mission and Vision: Revisit the club’s mission and vision to ensure everyone’s actions align with the group’s purpose. This keeps the leadership team united and focused.

Goals and Objectives

Regular Check-Ins: Make sure there are regular check-ins to reflect on what’s working and what’s not. Be open to constructive feedback within the leadership team, and continuously improve how the group functions. Self-Reflection: Encourage leaders to SELF-REFLECT REGULARLY and consider their contributions. This helps ensure everyone remains accountable and committed to the club’s success. you’ll meet as a leadership team to discuss the club’s progress, plan events, or address any concerns. PRovide CONSTRUCTIVE feedback: When giving feedback, is should be constructive and meant to provide growth and SELF-AWARENESS

Feedback and Reflection

Preferred Communication Channels: Discuss how the leadership team will communicate (e.g., email, group chat, in-person meetings) and how frequently. Ensure everyone is comfortable with the method and responds in a timely manner. Transparency and Honesty: Emphasize the importance of keeping each other informed, especially regarding important decisions, issues, or conflicts that may arise. Transparency builds trust and ensures everyone is on the same page. Meeting Frequency and Structure: Agree on how often you’ll meet as a leadership team to discuss the club’s progress, plan events, or address any concerns.

Communication

Addressing Issues Within the Group: As leaders, you may need to mediate conflicts among members. Discuss how you’ll approach issues such as disagreements, lack of participation, or disruptive behavior, and how to handle them fairly. Preventative Measures: Set expectations around behavior and communication for all members from the beginning. Creating a culture of respect and inclusivity can help prevent conflicts before they arise.

Conflict Management

Clarify Expectations: Each leader should have a clear understanding of their individual role, tasks, and responsibilities. For example, what is the president’s specific job? What are the vice president, secretary, treasurer, and other leaders expected to do? Role Overlap: If there’s any overlap in duties, leaders should discuss how they will divide or share responsibilities to avoid confusion or conflict. Back-Up Plans: Discuss what happens if someone is unavailable or unable to fulfill their duties (e.g., during illness or personal commitments). Who steps in, and how do you maintain smooth operations?

Roles and Responsibilites

Empowerment is a key expectation for student leaders to ensure the club functions at its highest potential and fosters a positive, productive environment. Empowering leaders within the club can lead to better decision-making, increased engagement, and stronger team dynamics. Empowering others on your team creates CONFIDENCE, decision making, leadership skills, trust and shared responsibility. Always always always celebrate and empower each other to create ways of meaningful CONNECTIONS and community as a group to not only your leadership team but to members who come here!

Empowerment and Celebration