Don't Lay Around this Summer
We're not saying don't have fun this summer. This is a time to recharge your batteries and relax a little. But it is important to get a head-start on the rest of the Greeks on your campus by doing a little work while everyone else is doing nothing. Gather members of your executive board and other Fraters in the area for a quick summer retreat to discuss the upcoming year. One of the main topic areas to cover: Recruitment.
Recruitment is a time to assess what your chapter or colony has, what it wants, and what it needs to be even more successful than it currently is. Take an honest look at what each member has to offer. More importantly, ask what the weaknesses of the collective group. Maybe your chapter runs effective meetings, but struggles in intramural competition: you need athletes. Maybe your chapter has good grades, but doesn’t do community service events: you need service-oriented men. Whatever the case, you can find the missing puzzle pieces by putting the chapter through brotherhood and teamwork building exercises.
Employers in every workplace talk about building the team and working as a team, but how can you learn these skills as a college man or recent graduate to have a leg up on the competition? Few men understand how to create the experience of team work or how to develop an effective team. Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than yourself. It has a lot to do with your understanding of the mission or objectives of Tau Kappa Epsilon, your organization (see mission, vision, purpose statements at
tke.org).
In a team-oriented environment, you contribute to the overall success of the organization. You work with fellow Fraters to produce these results. Even though you may have a specific job function and you belong to a specific department of the chapter, you are unified with other organization members to accomplish the overall objectives.
The bigger picture drives your actions; your function exists to serve the bigger picture. You need to differentiate this overall sense of teamwork from the task of developing an effective intact team that is formed to accomplish a specific goal. People confuse the two team building objectives. Developing an overall sense of team work is different from building an effective, focused work team when you consider team building approaches.
Here is one Teamwork and Brotherhood building activity you can do.
Carousels
Instructions
- All chapter members should make one large circle. Instruct members to count off by twos. Ask all ones to take one step inside the circle and face out, thus facing one of their Fraters on the outside circle. This step should form two circles. Make sure each has a discussion partner.
- Instruct the men that they will be given a topic that they will discuss with their partner for 60 seconds. Each partner should share during that time. Let them know that you as the leader will let them know when their time is up.
- Ask all to stop talking when their time is up. Instruct the inside circle to move one person to their right. All members should now have a different discussion partner. Give them another topic. Continue through the following questions.
- Initially, what drew you to our fraternity?
- What is brotherhood?
- How do you define respect?
- What is your favorite brotherhood building activity?
- I am most proud of this fraternity because…
- A brother is considering dropping out of school and the chapter. What would you say to him?
- What is trust?
- What do you enjoy most about our fraternity?
- Finish the sentence: I feel closest to my fellow Fraters when…
- I am most frustrated with our chapter when…
- The most important aspect of our fraternity is…
Take some time to discuss these topics in the large group to review what has been said and on the minds of other Fraters.
Outcomes:
- Chapter members who don’t normally share these insights with each other will have a safe climate to deepen their bond as brothers.
- Some of the questions are designed to bring light to issues members are struggling with but don’t feel comfortable speaking out about. The discussion afterwards would allow the comments to be anonymous.
- Brothers who normally remain silent when brain storming will not have that option, and often will discover an answer to one of the issues your chapter is struggling with.
Sample Questions to Ask During Debrief To help participants reflect and learn upon this experience, the following are some good sample questions to ask following the Carousel team building activity:
- What do you think is the purpose of this team building activity?
- What was it like to answer these questions?
- Did you have any difficulty answering these questions? Why or why not?
- Why is trust in the fraternity important?
- What are some other questions that need to be asked and answered by members?
- How does this relate to Tau Kappa Epsilon and more specifically our chapter?
For more activities or ideas, please contact us. Be sure to follow the latest TKE News with the RSS Feed, on Twitter or the official TKE Facebook Fan Page (Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity). Submit your news today.
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