A Rebel Without a Title

Being a Leader in your chapter without having a Title

James Dean was a rebel without a cause, Tom Petty wrote about a rebel without a clue, and while you may have a cause and a clue - you just don't have a title! There are guys in every chapter with this problem: They want to be a leader. They know they are a leader and can do a good job. But they haven't been recognized as one yet. You may be in these shoes yourself. You've got lots of ideas, but don't feel like you can contribute or make a difference without having a fancy title like President or Vice President of blah blah blah . . .

This can be a frustrating situation for many guys, but giving up on being a leader is not the right thing to do. There are many ways to be a leader without having a title, and being one may help your cause later if you do decide to go for one of those titles.

Here are some ideas:

• Talk to people about your ideas: This works especially well one-on-one. You don't have to
  force it either, just let it come naturally.  People usually love to give their opinion, so just ask! Tell them about your idea, get their input and if they like it - make them a part of it. Now you have one supporter. Now you are a leader.

• Volunteer: There will be lots of opportunities to step up and take care of special projects. It may be as simple as your president asking for someone to round-up guys for shoveling snow off neighbor's driveways. Or as big as being asked to head-up a temporary committee to come up with a solution like finding a new food service. Hard work gets noticed fast! Actions speak louder than words. So, be available to volunteer when help is needed.

• Speak up: Make your voice heard at meetings. If you have good things to say, you will be heard and people will start to think of you as a leader. Don't just speak for the sake of speaking, though. I've seen lots of people make complete fools of themselves doing this. Also, people only really listen to you for the first few sentences. After that, you've lost 50% of your audience - so keep it short and to the point.

• Be a GREAT brother: This goes along with the second point. Do what's expected of you as a brother. Go to every risk management and community service event. Go to meetings. Go to every chapter function you can. And then, go beyond that. Be a representative of your chapter to the rest of the Greek community by supporting their causes and philanthropies - and get other brothers to join you. Volunteer to play an active roll with chapter functions you are no longer required to do, like Greek Week or Homecoming, Float building, etc. Go above and beyond requirements like community service hours, recruitment and risk management event, etc. People who are always there, always working, always get noticed.
  

*Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn't let the rest of your life go by the wayside just to accomplish these things. School should be your number one concern at all times - just below your own health and well being. What you do after that is up to you.

I've seen guys with lots of potential give it all up because they tried once and failed. Don't give up so easy! And this applies to all of life. If you want something, go out and get it. The worst thing that can happen is failure. At which point, you get up and try again. Do you think the people like President Obama, Bill Gates, and Payton Manning got where they are today without failure? Absolutely not! They responded to failure by learning from it and trying again. That's how they got what they wanted. Jim Stark wanted a new beginning and acceptance. Eddie wanted to be a star. What do you want?