First Day of NGLA with Michael Miller!

After waiting the time has finally come and the first day of NGLA is over! Most of the day was spent getting ready and driving, but we were able to listen to a great opening key note and I got to buy some stuff for my new little at the Greek boutique.

Michael Miller was the opening keynote speaker at the 2015 NGLA Conference. This was my first time seeing him in person, although I have seen him in podcasts and Youtube videos.I really thought he lived up to all the hype I have heard about him. he focused on how to help Greeks navigate their campus and show their value.

I connected with a lot of the things he said, but I especially liked his comments on delegation and motivation. I think delegation is one of the most difficult things to deal with as a leader. I think, especially going into a position of leadership, you often feel like delegation is a weakness. I know when I first became president I felt guilty giving tasks to other, or I felt like it was easier for me to just do something. Michael made the point that giving work, especially to the younger members, motivates and empowers them to be the future leaders they need to be. At the end of the day the way that seems like the easiest, just doing everything yourself, can be harmful to the chapter because you are not allowing future leaders to train and grow. Every member is essential to the growth of a chapter.

The other point he made that I really liked was about motivation. I think motivating an entire chapter can be super difficult. A great tip he gave was to make ideas a competition. When you need a theme or a solution to an issue split the chapter up into teams and have them try to come up with the most. Competition drives people a lot more than just staring at them waiting for an answer. He also brought up that if you need volunteers, point at people and ask them in front of the chapter if they will. This way you aren't waiting for individual chapter members to volunteer on their own, especially when they are usually the same people every time. Pointing eliminates the bystander effect, and asking in front of the chapter holds them accountable.

Even though we just had the opening keynote today, I already feel like I learned some great tips to bring back to my chapter and leave a great legacy.