Opportunities Of Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity

Opportunities for YOU

• Become a leader.
• Make friends.
• Make local and national contracts.
• Get help with school.
• Get involved in philanthropy.
• Meet upper classmen in you major.
• Meet friendly women.
• Scholarship's from the National and/or local Fraternity.
• Road trips around the country.
• Weekend getaways.
• Last but not least ...
• HAVE FUN!!!

Leadership

The Essence of Leadership
Excerpts from Pete Smithhisler, Director of Leadership Education for the National Interfraternity Conference

Leadership is the relationship between leader and follower. Leadership implies that someone will "affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community, and society." If this definition is accepted then everyone has the potential to be a leader. The Higher Education Research Institute defines leadership as a collaborative relationship that leads to "collective action grounded in shared values of people who work together to affect positive change." Fraternity members fall squarely within this definition. Our very mission as a fraternity is to affect change in our members and as a result, affect change within the community in which we live.

There are certain qualities and characteristics that all leaders share, which include honesty, forward thinking, ability to inspire others to action, competence, caring, commitment, involvement and organization. A leader who is seen as honest, committed and caring has credibility and integrity and can be trusted. It is likely that people will follow this leader. There are also people who are clearly competent, dynamic and inspirational, but are not seen as trustworthy. It is likely that people will shy away from this person's leadership. If people are going to 'follow' someone's leadership willingly, they first want to ensure themselves that the person is worthy of their trust. They want to know that the leader is truthful and credible. Again, fraternity members must heed this leadership advice. For only insofar as a leader is seen as credible, will others follow. There are some keywords within the Research Institute leadership definition that deserve comment. The definition requires that the leader will work towards a positive change. That means that a 'leader' will not just do what has been done before. A leader will change, for the better, what has been done before. A fraternity leader will affect a positive change within his organization. Earlier, it was agreed that everyone has the potential to be a leader, therefore, every fraternity member has the responsibility to change, improve, strengthen, enhance, influence, and/or develop his fraternity.

Often the terms 'management' and 'leadership' are spoken in conjunction with each other or used as synonyms. However, management is a process that keeps organizations running smoothly, keeps things in order and deals with any problems that occur within the system. In other words, management maintains the status quo (effectively and efficiently). As important as these qualities are to an organization's success, it does not fit within the definition of leadership.

A practical definition of leadership is a process that will define the future of an organization (fraternity), aligns people (fraternity members) with that vision, and inspires others (fraternity members) to make it happen, despite obstacles (Kotter, 1996). This definition is consistent with the Research Institute definition given earlier. Kotter goes on to say that the driving force of change is "leadership, leadership, and more leadership." Managing change is important. Without competent management, the change process can get out of control. For most organizations, however, the bigger challenge will be finding the leaders to drive the change. Only leadership can get change to stick by ensuring that it is anchored in the very foundation of the organization. Given what was said about credible leaders previously, how can fraternity leaders convince others that there must be change within this fraternity?

If we think of fraternity in the sense of a team, leaders need to build teams with spirit and cohesion that will increase action and lead to positive change. Real teamwork requires people to have faith in one another and to rely (trust) on others to share the responsibility (Prichette, 1998). Everyone on the team needs to protect and nurture the trust that exists between members. This is certainly consistent with the mission of fraternity. Even little violations of trust can fracture people's credibility. Good leaders will ensure that the team feels support and encouragement. This will propel the team to new heights, thus fulfilling the definition of leadership affecting positive change.