“Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Life” 2011 – 2013 International Leadership Development and Training Committee Rhoda Struhs, Chair - Robin Hall, Vice

““Leading at Every Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Stage of Altrusa

Life”Life”2011 – 2013 International Leadership Development and

Training CommitteeRhoda Struhs, Chair - Robin Hall, Vice Chair

Committee Members: Christy Bryant Berthenia Cromwell

Chris Mouter

How will you lead in your Altrusa How will you lead in your Altrusa

life?life?

“How then, shall we build a successful club and what is the future of Altrusa? Will you not agree with me after all, it simmers down to personal responsibility? It is my club and your club, not just a general idea with no personal responsibility. I have just one concern to make my club a better club by making Mamie Bass a better person.”

Mamie L. Bass, 1938

In Mamie’s Words:In Mamie’s Words:

Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa

LifeLife

The Seasoned Altrusan

The Altrusa Officer

The New Altrusan

Our Altrusa Organization

Group activity: Values Make Leaders

Our Challenge to You

What does leadership mean to the What does leadership mean to the

Seasoned AltrusanSeasoned Altrusan??

Now is not the time to sit back and relax.YOU have so much experience and knowledge to share. "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Seasoned Altrusan: …(cont.)Seasoned Altrusan: …(cont.)• Become a mentor.

o Make a point to get to know new members.o Help others develop their leadership skillso Empower others by giving them a chance to lead

• Be a sponsor.

o Leaders nurture their clubs by growing their membershipo Be attentive to your sponsored member

• Be positiveo Share your favorite parts of Altrusa with otherso As an advisor and mentor share your ideas with positive framingo Build confidence in otherso When you are positive, then so am I - we learn by what we observe

Seasoned Altrusan: …(cont.)Seasoned Altrusan: …(cont.)• Be Inclusive and flexible

o Leaders are learners, don’t stop searching for answers

o Leaders are open to new ideaso Give others a chance to grow, learn and lead

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to

share your riches but to reveal to him his own." - Benjamin Disraeli

What does leadership mean to anWhat does leadership mean to an

Altrusa OfficerAltrusa Officer??

• Responsibility to learn and develop your own leadership skills

• Responsibility to ensure that members in your club have opportunities to develop leadership skills

Altrusa Officer: …(cont.)Altrusa Officer: …(cont.)

• Develop your own leadership skills o Attend District Conference and International

Conventiono Request assistance from seasoned memberso Be clear about your club’s focus and what is expected.

As Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up some place else.”


•Provide opportunities to your club to develop leadership skills

o Recognize you’re dealing with many different personality types

o Create strategies to work with mix of people (Introverts and extroverts)

o Members need to feel included and part of the teamo Be flexible in how members participate in community

volunteerism.


•Identify the mixture of personality types - introverts and extroverts

o Introverts tend to be reflective and thinking through scenarios before taking action. They prefer direct communication that gets to the point.

o Extroverts are talkative, share opinions easily, and enjoy social interaction.

o Few people are completely one way or the other so keep that in mind when working with them.


•Strategies to help your introvert or extrovert members develop leadership skills

o Communicate with your introverts in writing.o Assign extroverts to interactive tasks.o Monitor meetings. Extroverts may tend to dominate

meetings so encourage everyone to speak so introverts get a chance to contribute.

o Exercise and encourage patience. If you’re an extrovert, slow down your pace. Make sure your members respect each other’s styles.


Members need to feel included and part of the team - Dale Carnegie states, “If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.

•Include your members as part of the team through: o Extrinsic Rewardso Intrinsic Rewards


•Include members through extrinsic recognitiono Notes and phone callso Public ceremonies and public recognitiono Article in the club newslettero One-on-one pat on the backo Certificates


• Include members through intrinsic rewardso Using their special skills and talentso Feeling needed and wantedo Experiencing personal growtho Being acknowledged as part of the teamo Making a difference o Wanting to continue as a member of Altrusa


•Flexibility builds participation that leads to a better community.

o Don’t let meeting attendance impact leadership development

o Encourage and allow members to contribute around their schedules

What does leadership mean to a What does leadership mean to a

New AltrusanNew Altrusan? ?

Leadership Mythso Leadership is a rare and unusual talento Leaders are born, and only to elite families, races, castes,

or social classeso Leaders are always charismatico Leadership can be found only at the TOP of an

organizationo The leader controls, directs, prods and manipulates others

The Truth: We are ALL leaders in Altrusa

NewNew Altrusan: …(cont.)Altrusan: …(cont.)

• Be a “curious learner”oBe a listeneroLearn from different members to gain an overall

prospective

• Ask to be mentored by your sponsor or another club memberoTake advantage of leadership development opportunitiesoKeep an open mind to new ideas: community needs, club

needsoBe flexible and inclusive

New Altrusan: …(cont.) New Altrusan: …(cont.) • Be willing to take a risk

o Volunteer to serve on a committee, or as an officer - don’t wait to be asked

o Failures offer opportunities - Failure doesn’t mean you failed.

o Leading in spite of circumstances - Look for options

New Altrusan: …(cont.) New Altrusan: …(cont.)

• Be a leadero Be prepared –it will give you confidenceo Be a team buildero Nurture others, give them opportunities to lead with

youo Optimism invites trust

“The only real training for leadership is leadership.”Antony Jay

What does leadership mean to What does leadership mean to

AltrusaAltrusa??

Now is the time to develop leaders for Altrusa’s future. We will do that through:

o Clarityo Flexibilityo Inclusion

Altrusa: …(cont.)Altrusa: …(cont.)

• Seasoned Altrusan – Mentor, sponsor, cheerleader, inclusive and flexible

• Altrusa Officer – provides opportunities to members for leadership development. Promotes clarity, inclusion and flexibility within the club.

• New Altrusan – Understanding leadership myths, curious learner, risk taker, open to leadership opportunities

Altrusa: …(cont.)Altrusa: …(cont.)

• Great volunteers love great leadership! We’re willing to take personal responsibility because:o We’re working together toward shared goals with a group of people we

care about. According to Mahatma Ghandi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

o We’re passionate about helping other peopleo We’re willing to work long hours to get it righto We sometimes fail and then regroup to learn from our mistakeso We grow together as leaders and develop friendshipso We stretch outside of our comfort zone in a nurturing environmento We experience volunteerism on our term as we additionally juggle work

and familyo We make a difference in the world through our combined efforts

Altrusa: …(cont.)Altrusa: …(cont.)“The purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we have lived at all”. (Leo Rosten) Altrusans make a difference!

““Values make leaders”Values make leaders”

• What is one value for which you wish to be remembered in your Altrusa community?

• How do we develop goals to strengthen Altrusa

leadership?

Group Activity:Group Activity:

Key Values of LeadershipClear CommunicationDiversityOngoing Recognition and SupportParticipatory Empowerment

From “Learning to Lead” by Warren Bennis & Joan

Goldsmith, used with permission

Clear CommunicationClear Communication

o What are my goals for communicating more clearly and effectively within my club?

o How can I express my goals and communicate them to others to gain their support?

o How can I communicate more clearly my expectations for the work of others?

DiversityDiversity

o How can I increase my capacity to understand and support others who are different from me?

o How can I include the diversity of backgrounds and talents in my club?

o How can I reward diverse styles, values, and points of view in my club?

o How can I recognize the achievements of others more openly and more often?

o How can I create rich, varied and equitable systems of rewards and recognition for members in my club?

o How can I do more to support not just those who agree with my ideas but also those who are critical of them

Ongoing Recognition and SupportOngoing Recognition and Support

Participatory EmpowermentParticipatory Empowerment

o How can I encourage greater participation in decision-making by members in my club?

o What can I do to empower and include members in my club?

o What can I do to enable members to empower one another and achieve greater satisfaction when we succeed?

Our challenge to you: Our challenge to you:

Set goals to realize commitments through action:o What is my vision for myself?o What is my vision for my club?o What four goals will I achieve this year to realize my

vision?• Two personal goals• Two club goals

Make YOUR Altrusa Life Count Make YOUR Altrusa Life Count

"What shall be the ultimate force of Altrusa, in local communities and in the nation, and even internationally, no one can say. We know that Altrusa is the sum total of my best self, of yours and yours, and it is something more. It is for us to put into each day's work our conception of the things for which Altrusa stands, the composite of the goal of every member of Altrusa."

Mamie L. Bass, 1938

Documents

“Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Life” 2011 – 2013 International Leadership Development and Training Committee Rhoda Struhs, Chair - Robin Hall, Vice