alumni

The educational landscape is changing. Universities are adding more courses and degree fields to help prepare students for the perpetually changing professional world.

Purdue and Gallup recently collaborated on a report titled Great Jobs, Great Lives and found that “Graduates who felt “supported” during college (that professors cared, professors made them excited about learning, and had a mentor) are nearly three times as likely to be thriving than those who didn’t feel supported.” 

Having professors that care and professors that made students excited about learning are things that can be monitored by universities internally. Having a mentor, on the other hand, is something that occurs outside of the classroom.

What is mentorship?

Mentorship is the relationship between a pupil and a professional in which the mentee gains knowledge, while the mentor gains the opportunity to pay it forward and give back some of his/her knowledge to someone who will appreciate it.

 Why is it important? 

Mentorship is vitally important to the development of college students because it provides them with a basis for building a realistic expectation for their professional careers.

Mentorship is important to mentors because it provides them with an opportunity to teach, detail their experiences, and talk about themselves. Dale Carnegie said it best “Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.”

How can it be implemented in universities?

Mentorship absolutely can be implemented in the college setting. In order to properly implement a mentor system in a university, there are some key pieces of information that need to be kept in mind:

 While working with a university’s business school we had them take our 360 degree assessment in which students ranked themselves and their peers on soft skill characteristics like listening skills, communication skills, leadership skills, etc. When the students were told that the report was for feedback purposes only, they ranked their peers much lower on the skills. Yet, when the students were told that their report of their peers (and their peers’ reports of them) would affect their grades, students ranked their peers much higher on the skills.

 Keeping this information in mind when establishing a mentor program at your university is vitally important to achieving your program’s goals.

Therefore, mentorship can be successfully implemented in the university setting if:

Mentorship is beginning to permeate through the university setting as it has been successfully implemented in many companies through internal mentorship (i.e. senior leaders connecting with junior associates). Mentorship in college will not only help individual students learn from mentors but more importantly, help lead society towards careers they are passionate about.

 Will your university be able to implement mentorship successfully?

All successful managers have some form of personality trait or talent that predisposes them for leadership. Some of them may have attained this skillset through years of education and training, while others may have been naturally gifted with this, but at the end of the day, one factor holds true. These talents can be categorized into a Goleman Style. 

            Daniel Goleman is an American author, psychologist, and journalist, best known for writing a book in 1995 called Emotional Intelligence.  Some of the topics in this book aren’t necessarily ones that pertain to managers, but they can still get value out of reading it. However, the main point of interest from this work is that of the descriptions of Leadership styles, more commonly known as the Goleman Styles. 

            Each Goleman Style has both good values and bad values associated with them, and Dr. Goleman has recommended that the most effective leaders make use of all six of these styles. The styles are as follows:

1.     Commanding Leadership

2.     Visionary Leadership

3.     Democratic Leadership

4.     Coaching Leadership

5.     Affiliative Leadership

6.     Pacesetting Leadership

Each of the Goleman Styles has been studied by psychologists and business leaders to determine their flaws and benefits. For more information about the stories, I recommend reading the book Emotional Intelligence. While some of the concepts in this book may not hold true today as a result of further research, the leadership styles are still known to be true. 

1)     Commanding Leadership can also be known as Authoritarianism or Directive Leadership and is most often viewed as a negative method of leadership. In this style, the leader is responsible for making all the business process decisions. Leaders must exert tight control over their workplace and workforce and have a very clear goal in mind with what to work with. This is especially effective within workforces where employees are low-skilled or inexperienced, as well as in situations in which a leader might be called upon to make quick decisions. Commanding Leadership can also ruin direct-report engagement, since no one other than a leader will generally have any input on decision-making. Therefore, it is often passed up on in favor of different styles. 

2)     Visionary Leadership is largely dependent on a leader having a final goal in mind. This leader can then go on to inspire their direct reports and harness their participation and goal setting to accomplish this goal. Examples of these leaders include Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. While this form of leadership can completely allow for a corporate overhaul, it has a major flaw in terms of short-term problems. An example of this can be seen in Gandhi’s journey to free India from British Imperialism. While he was able to accomplish his goal in 1947, his marches were often divisive, prioritizing men over women, and Hindus over Muslims, along with upholding the Caste System, which are all problems that plague India to this day.

3)     Democratic Leadership completely enables all members of a team to participate in the decision-making progress. Any member can come in with an idea and can determine whether or not the idea is worth going forth with by using a consensus amongst other members, along with a final ruling by a leader. Democratic Leadership is particularly useful at getting team member involvement and retaining staff, but has a flaw in its speed, often taking time to come up with decisions. This can be dangerous when quick decisions are required to be made. 

4)     Coaching Leadership is all about Service Leadership. In this rarer form of leadership, a leader’s primary responsibility and first priority is to coach team members to develop and improve over time. This can dramatically assist in retention and engagement and creates a more skilled workforce. However, coaching can often prove to be very difficult, and does not provide an immediate result. This form of leadership is highly synergistic with AIM Insights and the AIM Insights People Leader Certification.

5)     Affiliative Leadership solely targets the feelings of direct reports. The main goal of this is to make everyone “feel good.” This is especially useful in situations where a pool of individuals are in disagreement. HR professionals are often highly adept at Affiliative Leadership and patching relationships between people. This relies on having a strong moral compass and a strong desire to avoid tension. One fatal flaw with this form of leadership is that these leaders are often avoidant of conflict and have trouble making difficult decisions that may cause someone to suffer. In business, there are sometimes difficult conversations that are well-needed, such as talking to underperforming employees. Affiliative Leaders may not necessarily be the best at addressing this.

6)     Pacesetting Leaders are similar to Commanding Leaders in which they are both the primary driver of the workforce. The concept of the Pacesetting Leader is similar to that of a Pacesetter in a marathon. These individuals serve as an example and the epitome of the statement “do as I do.” Pacesetting leaders are often highly motivated, are good at clearly communicating tasks, and are talented at setting trends. These leaders have expectations of their subordinates and know exactly how much work they can do without failure. This style of leadership can also stress direct reports and does not allow for much feedback or engagement. Therefore, it has another similarity with Commanding Leadership in that it is poorly regarded by direct reports.

Understanding what situation to exercise each type of leadership is a benchmark of a talented leader. While Commanding and Pacesetting Leaderships aren’t to be used at all times, they have certain benefits in certain scenarios. The individual fallings and strengths in each style can allow for a balanced leadership style, and overall make a better leadership experience as well. Goleman Styles aren’t a panacea by any means, but they can come together to truly make a leader. 

Fraternal organizations are frequently associated with strong bonds of brotherhood, supporting members throughout college and building relationships that withstand post-graduation. Despite their impactful role throughout the members' college experience, many fraternity alumni struggle to remain engaged with the organization after graduating. With a new career, family to spend time with, and other new responsibilities, alumni are left with little time to dedicate to fraternity events or reunions. Over time, how alumni want to remain connected with their fraternity also shifts from less of a social focus to more of a leadership development focus. Keeping alumni engaged in a meaningful way is critical for the success of fraternities moving forward.

Traditional methods of email newsletters, social media, or donation requests often fall short of maintaining engagement. These traditional methods fail to replicate the sense of brotherhood and purpose alumni felt during their collegiate years. A solution fraternities can implement to foster continued brotherhood within their organization is executive mastermind groups. 

To determine if an executive mastermind group is a viable solution for fraternity engagement challenges, it's important to understand how these groups function. Executive mastermind groups are a group of peers collaborating to provide support to one another through shared experiences. During regular meetings, each group member can discuss recent challenges they encountered in the workplace and receive guidance from group members who have endured similar struggles. 

For fraternities, this presents an opportunity for alumni to reconnect with college friends and continue to build relationships with other members of the organization. With a focus on professional development and current leadership and executive issues, alumni can solve problems in their professional lives and simultaneously enhance their social connections. Ultimately, alumni will be more connected with the organization in a more productive manner than interacting with emails or donations. 

Post-graduation many fraternity alumni feel a sense of distance from the organization. Career and personal responsibilities increase causing a loss of connection with the fraternity. Executive mastermind groups provide a format for sustained, high-quality interaction. The facilitation of executive mastermind groups encourages regular meetings of alumni who can support each other and offer constructive career insights. 

Through these groups, fraternities create a space for alumni to strengthen bonds and create new ones that go beyond college experiences. Shared values and experiences from their time spent at college in the fraternity will be amplified through these close-knit conversations. The support in personal and professional endeavors can lead to tightly connected alumni networks reaching across generations. 

 
2. Supporting Professional Development 

Implementing executive mastermind groups allows fraternities to serve as a platform for executive development. Alumni who are already executives recognize that it can be lonely at the top and having a group of peers that can relate to their unique challenges creates a safe space to work through those issues. Their valuable insights and guidance for navigating executive struggles can have a powerful impact on fellow alumni in leadership roles. Groups can also be comprised of alumni from varying industries, allowing for diverse perspectives and enhanced professional knowledge sharing. 

The discussion format of executive mastermind groups encourages problem-solving and collaboration which creates an environment supportive of growth. Alumni will benefit from this style of communicating and contributing to complex situations. As alumni gain professional development from these groups, their fraternity loyalty deepens as this growth is supported by their fraternity peers. 

3. Enhancing Alumni Involvement 

Fraternities strive to maintain an active alumni network to encourage alumni to contribute time and financial support to their fraternity. Implementing executive mastermind groups offers a high-value engagement opportunity far more valuable than traditional alumni events. Alumni will become more active contributors to the fraternity when they feel that their fraternity supports their growth and success. 

The structure of mastermind groups convening regularly reinforces the sense of fraternity identity and loyalty. It reinforces the lifelong commitment to a fraternity that evolves alongside their career and personal development. Regular involvement maintains this ongoing relationship and helps the organizations remain strong. 

Executive mastermind groups are an innovative approach for fraternities to re-engage their alumni in a powerful way. Mastermind groups can enhance the alumni experience by fostering professional development and support. By implementing mastermind groups, fraternities provide benefits for their alumni base and create a culture of engagement. Creating ways to support alumni throughout their life post-college continues to fulfill fraternities' mission of developing strong, well-rounded individuals far beyond their college years.