ZTA HEARD THE CALL: OFFICER TRAINING UPDATED By Leslie J. Pedigo, Education & Curriculum Coordinator
This biennium, the Fraternity “Heard the Call” to revamp officer training for collegiate leaders and advisors to meet the growing needs of Zeta Tau Alpha’s evolving collegiate chapters. A team of members from National Council, the Training Committee and International Office staff gathered to brainstorm new ideas for officer and leadership development. The final outcome was a combination of Officer Leadership Academy (OLA) and online workshops for those officers who do not attend OLA. The inaugural Officer Leadership Academies took place over four weekends and combined leadership skills and officer training. There was an OLA for each of the three geographical areas of ZTA and a fourth for chapters with 200 members or more, known as “mega chapters.” The Mega Chapters OLA was intentionally designed to benefit chapters that have similar experiences because of their large sizes. The OLAs took place in the following locations: • • • •
AREA I
AREA II
AREA III
Area I: Baltimore, Maryland Area II: Atlanta, Georgia Area III: St. Louis, Missouri Mega Chapters: Dallas, Texas
For the three Area OLAs, four collegiate officers and two advisors from each chapter attended. For the Mega Chapters OLA, seven collegiate officers and two advisors attended. Overall, more than 1,000 Zetas attended the four events, including almost 40 volunteer facilitators who are either current or former Collegiate National Officers and six International Office staff members.
The OLA curriculum catered to the ever-changing needs of our collegiate leaders. To kick off each OLA, participants and advisors discovered their leadership styles by taking the Noble Practices Assessment (NPA), a tool created by ZTA and Dyad Strategies based on the Five Practices of Noble Leadership and The Creed of Zeta Tau Alpha. The NPA is very specific to Zetas and allows members to align their leadership styles to the values of ZTA. Throughout the weekend, participants explored additional leadership topics such as addressing confrontation and practicing conflict management, building sisterhood, facilitating workshops, working in teams, defining success, and setting goals for their chapters. Throughout the weekend, participants had the opportunity to explore their specific officer or advisor duties and learn transferable skills that will help them in their individual roles. Advisors also had their own sessions to discuss building relationships with collegians and other topics relevant to their unique roles. One advisor said, “I am honored to serve as an advisor and want to lead with dignity. I realize my responsibility as a role model and look forward to many more years of service to Zeta Tau Alpha.” This was just the start of ZTA’s evolving officer training as the Fraternity will continue to develop curriculum for OLA and the online workshops. ZTA is excited to see how this newlyrevamped officer training model will give our collegiate leaders and advisors the tools they need to succeed and lead their chapters to greatness. Fraternity News · Spring 2018 · 7