“Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Life”

1. “Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Life” 2011 – 2013 International Leadership Development and Training Committee Rhoda Struhs, Chair - Robin Hall, Vice Chair Committee Members: Christy Bryant BertheniaCromwell Chris Mouter

2. How will you lead in your Altrusa life? In Mamie’s Words: “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

3. Leading at Every Stage of Altrusa Life • The Seasoned Altrusan • The Altrusa Officer • The New Altrusan • Our Altrusa Organization • Group activity: Values Make Leaders • Our Challenge to You

4. What does leadership mean to the Seasoned 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

5. Seasoned Altrusan: …(cont.) • Become a mentor. • Make a point to get to know new members. • Help others develop their leadership skills • Empower others by giving them a chance to lead • Be a sponsor. • Leaders nurture their clubs by growing their membership • Be attentive to your sponsored member • Be positive • Share your favorite parts of Altrusa with others • As an advisor and mentor share your ideas with positive framing • Build confidence in others • When you are positive, then so am I - we learn by what we observe

6. Seasoned Altrusan: …(cont.) • Be Inclusive and flexible • Leaders are learners, don’t stop searching for answers • Leaders are open to new ideas • 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

7. What does leadership mean to anAltrusa Officer? • Responsibility to learn and develop your own leadership skills • Responsibility to ensure that members in your club have opportunities to develop leadership skills

8. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Develop your own leadership skills • Attend District Conference and International Convention • Request assistance from seasoned members • 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.”

9. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Provide opportunities to your club to develop leadership skills • Recognize you’re dealing with many different personality types • Create strategies to work with mix of people (Introverts and extroverts) • Members need to feel included and part of the team • Be flexible in how members participate in community volunteerism.

10. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Identify the mixture of personality types - introverts and extroverts • Introverts tend to be reflective and thinking through scenarios before taking action. They prefer direct communication that gets to the point. • Extroverts are talkative, share opinions easily, and enjoy social interaction. • Few people are completely one way or the other so keep that in mind when working with them.

11. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Strategies to help your introvert or extrovert members develop leadership skills • Communicate with your introverts in writing. • Assign extroverts to interactive tasks. • Monitor meetings. Extroverts may tend to dominate meetings so encourage everyone to speak so introverts get a chance to contribute. • Exercise and encourage patience. If you’re an extrovert, slow down your pace. Make sure your members respect each other’s styles.

12. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) Members need to feel includedand part of the team - Dale Carnegie states, “If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive. • Includeyour members as part of the team through: • Extrinsic Rewards • Intrinsic Rewards

13. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Includemembers through extrinsic recognition • Notes and phone calls • Public ceremonies and public recognition • Article in the club newsletter • One-on-one pat on the back • Certificates

14. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Includemembers through intrinsic rewards • Using their special skills and talents • Feeling needed and wanted • Experiencing personal growth • Being acknowledged as part of the team • Making a difference • Wanting to continue as a member of Altrusa

15. Altrusa Officer: …(cont.) • Flexibility builds participation that leads to a better community. • Don’t let meeting attendance impact leadership development • Encourage and allow members to contribute around their schedules

16. What does leadership mean to a New Altrusan? Leadership Myths • Leadership is a rare and unusual talent • Leaders are born, and only to elite families, races, castes, or social classes • Leaders are always charismatic • Leadership can be found only at the TOP of an organization • The leader controls, directs, prods and manipulates others The Truth: We are ALL leaders in Altrusa

17. NewAltrusan: …(cont.) • Be a “curious learner” • Be a listener • Learn from different members to gain an overall prospective • Ask to be mentored by your sponsor or another club member • Take advantage of leadership development opportunities • Keep an open mind to new ideas: community needs, club needs • Be flexible and inclusive

18. New Altrusan: …(cont.) • Be willing to take a risk • Volunteer to serve on a committee, or as an officer - don’t wait to be asked • Failures offer opportunities - Failure doesn’t mean you failed. • Leading in spite of circumstances - Look for options

19. New Altrusan: …(cont.) • Be a leader • Be prepared –it will give you confidence • Be a team builder • Nurture others, give them opportunities to lead with you • Optimism invites trust “The only real training for leadership is leadership.” Antony Jay

20. What does leadership mean to Altrusa? Now is the time to develop leaders for Altrusa’s future. We will do that through: • Clarity • Flexibility • Inclusion

21. 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

22. Altrusa: …(cont.) • Great volunteers love great leadership! We’re willing to take personal responsibility because: • 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.” • We’re passionate about helping other people • We’re willing to work long hours to get it right • We sometimes fail and then regroup to learn from our mistakes • We grow together as leaders and develop friendships • We stretch outside of our comfort zone in a nurturing environment • We experience volunteerism on our term as we additionally juggle work and family • We make a difference in the world through our combined efforts

23. 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!

24. “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?

25. Group Activity: Key Values of Leadership Clear Communication Diversity Ongoing Recognition and Support Participatory Empowerment From “Learning to Lead” by Warren Bennis & Joan Goldsmith, used with permission

26. Clear Communication • What are my goals for communicating more clearly and effectively within my club? • How can I express my goals and communicate them to others to gain their support? • How can I communicate more clearly my expectations for the work of others?

27. Diversity • How can I increase my capacity to understand and support others who are different from me? • How can I include the diversity of backgrounds and talents in my club? • How can I reward diverse styles, values, and points of view in my club?

28. Ongoing Recognition and Support • How can I recognize the achievements of others more openly and more often? • How can I create rich, varied and equitable systems of rewards and recognition for members in my club? • How can I do more to support not just those who agree with my ideas but also those who are critical of them

29. Participatory Empowerment • How can I encourage greater participation in decision-making by members in my club? • What can I do to empower and include members in my club? • What can I do to enable members to empower one another and achieve greater satisfaction when we succeed?

30. Our challenge to you: Set goals to realize commitments through action: • What is my vision for myself? • What is my vision for my club? • What four goals will I achieve this year to realize my vision? • Two personal goals • Two club goals

31. 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