The Spark.
The Spark: Taking the Baton - Officer Transition for Incoming Officers
Welcome to The Spark - a tidbit of wisdom to stimulate ideas and help you transform your student organization. The Spark is a bi-weekly resource provided through the Center for Student Involvement which is sent to all registered officers through PantherSync.
Congratulations! You have just been selected by your peers to serve in a leadership role for your organization. These next few weeks are a critical time for the future of your organization. Make time to complete the following steps and plan ahead for next fall so that you can start the academic year off on the right foot.
A smooth officer transition is:
• The responsibility of both the outgoing and incoming officers
• A way to avoid starting over from scratch each year
• A transfer of significant organizational knowledge
• A sense of closure for the outgoing members
• A time for new leadership to absorb the experience of the outgoing members
• An opportunity to evaluate and reflect on the past year
• An orientation and goal setting process
Obtain important materials. Hopefully the outgoing officer has put together a file (electronic or paper) of all of the materials that you will need for the upcoming year. A suggested list is offered below. If you don't receive these items, you will want to check in with others in the group to make sure you have them before the year ends. If there are any that you do not receive, this is a great opportunity to begin creating the files you need to set your organization up for success.
• Officer manual and position description
• Constitution/bylaws and any other governing documents
• University policies and procedures
• Budget and financial records
• Grant applications – make sure you know what funds your group applied for.
• Checkbook/ledger (if you have financial responsibilities)
• Keys and/or passwords
• Organization/team equipment
• Contact list
• Past goals/strategic plan
• Calendar
• Past meeting minutes
• A report on any major events, including the planning timeline
• Any other important files or documents
Meet one-on-one. Set aside at least an hour to meet face-to-face with the officer who previously held your responsibilities. Appreciate their role as the expert and consider their feedback and suggestions. Listen for things that are going well that you can avoid recreating from scratch, as well as key opportunities for areas that need development – those are the places where you can leave your legacy.
Utilize the following questions as a guide for your conversation:
1. Who are the top 5 people that this officer position needs to know?
2. What went well? What should the group/officer continue doing?
3. What problems or stumbling blocks did you encounter? How did you handle them?
4. What projects would you have liked to do if you had the time?
5. What would you have done differently if you had the opportunity?
6. How did you stay organized?
7. Is there any unfinished business that the new officer needs to address? Any summer tasks?
8. What advice do you have?
Meet with your new team. Set aside at least an hour, if not a few, to begin planning ahead for fall. Make note of any responsibilities that officers will need to take care of during the summer months, and determine your summer communication plan. If your organization will be hosting meetings or events at the beginning of the semester, develop your event planning timeline, to ensure that you meet any deadlines that may fall during the summer. Make good use of the energy and excitement that you have at this time to get a jump start on planning.
Set organizational goals, as well as position-specific ones. Consider both current organizational needs, as well as what you hope the organization will look like in the future. Do you hope to grow a certain program or event? Do you want to increase the group's membership? Develop three goals which you will focus on over the course of your officer term to take the group closer to its ideal. Use those as a guide for action planning in the fall.
Consider training needs and opportunities. Are there skills that you or your fellow officers will need to develop in order to be successful in your position? Are there resources with which you will need to become more familiar? The Center for Student Involvement Staff are happy to get you connected to the resources that you need. To make a training request, visit www.activities.uwm.edu and click on Organization Training and complete the Training Request for Registered Student Organization form. You can also access this form in PantherSync through the "Forms" tool. Consultations may also be requested by emailing activities@uwm.edu or calling 414-229-5780.
