President Training

Nat ShiersSocs Committee Chair

How to be a Society President!

• Covering 3 main areas:

• Key areas of responsibility

• Skills needed to do a good job

• Trouble-shooting common challenges

Key areas of responsibility

• Understanding broader pictureo Responding to Union communicationo Attending trainingo Schedulingo Reviewing activities & events o Providing guidanceo Organising AGMs

• Scheduling meetingso Creating an agendao Chairing meetings

Key areas of responsibility

• Delegating taskso Identify who completes taskso Following up on actions

• Being spokesperson or figureheado Attending meetingso Public speaking

• Maintaining Motivationo Providing advice/supporto Running team building activities & exec socialso Rewarding committee members

President – Key Skills• Problem Solving• Decision Making• Communication• Time Management• People Management• Teamwork• Motivation• Organisation• Strategic Thinking• Delegation

• http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/scs

Challenge #1

Balancing your degree workload with exec roles can be challenging.

What practical things can you do to make this balancing easier?

Challenge #1A few ideas…• Your team may also be experiencing this so

support each other• Propose sharing tasks when someone has a

quieter spell• Diarise your time so that you are better organised• Speak to the SU if you are struggling!

Challenge #2

A committee member isn’t pulling their weight.

What do you do?

Challenge #2

A few ideas…• Is this personal or professional? Always back up

observations with evidence.• Look at their role description to assess their specific

duties.• Are they not fulfilling their role or what you expect of

them?• Put yourself in their shoes; think about why they are not

fulfilling their role; Personal reasons? Duties too big to be practical for one person?

• If this doesn’t work, follow the process below:

Challenge #2Step 1 – Informal• Have an informal chat with the Exec member.• Tactfully remind them of their responsibilities and ask if

they need any support.

Step 2 – More formal• Talk to them again. • Be specific about where improvements are needed. • Devise a clear list of what you expect to be done.• Set a timeframe for each.• Be specific, but reasonable and professional. • Decide a date to review their role.

Challenge #2Step 3 – More formal• This stage is all about assessing whether or not the

objectives set in Step 2 have been acted upon.• Has their performance improved?• Are there any more areas for concern?• If you have seen improvements then carry on as

normal, but continue to monitor the situation.

• If they haven’t improved then come and talk to the Societies Officer to help you instigate a more formal procedure (Step 4).

Challenge #2Step 4 – Final Step• An Exec member can only be replaced midterm

through a vote of no confidence, at an EGM.• The Societies Officer can give you advice on how to

do this if it is needed (but it should only be used as a last resort).

As President, you will need to resolve inter-personal issues or Exec disagreements in a professional and impartial manner – even if the person is your best friend/sister/brother/partner!

Questions?

President Training

End of session

Please take all of your belongings and return to Copper Rooms 2.