Leadership

            Hello everyone!  It seems this is the time of year that we band members are starting to get back into the swing of things and begin the upcoming marching band season, and I offer my best of well wishes to all of the bands working hard across the country.  Here at Michigan, we began our Band Week on Tuesday with the new members and are thrilled with how it’s going so far.

            For my blog this week, I wanted to talk a little bit about leadership.  As a rank leader candidate for marching band, I had to go to a leadership retreat last weekend where we not only went over marching fundamentals but also talked a lot about different strategies and tools to use to become better leaders.  We as sisters of Tau Beta Sigma have already proven ourselves as leaders, be it in our chapters, our bands, or across the district, and it is important to hone in on those skills to forge the path for the next batch of leaders to be welcomed to our organization.

            Being a leader takes more than simply knowing what the protocol is and abiding by it.  You must set the example and be the trend setter for those following in your footsteps, and often that means going the extra mile to ensure the success of your organization.  You can tell someone they’re doing something poorly or incorrectly, or you can show them and demonstrate how they can improve.  You can jump in with your opinion when you disagree with something, or you can listen and try to understand where this opinion is coming from.  Being a leader is about respect, dignity, and courage to stand for what you believe in and what is morally right.

            It takes more than letters on a shirt to be a sister.  We all represent Tau Beta Sigma in everything that we do.  Keep this in mind, and always remember the 8 and 5 because they’re not just words, they’re guidelines for how to live a happy and successful life.  With that in mind, I wish everyone the best of luck this semester and enjoy this wonderful time of year.

            If you have any comments or recommendations on what you’d like to see the district officers blog about, feel free to leave a comment below!

MLITB,

Zach

Let's Get Excited!

Hello All!

I am sorry that this blog is coming to you so late this week. I have started Pre-Season Camp here in Akron! I hope that everyone is/had/or will have a great camp experience this year! Remember that this is the first time that we are making impressions on new members for our organization. Did anyone have any good recruiting tools that you all used for your band camps?

Also, with the new semester getting ready to start, that means Membership Education Retreat will soon be approaching!!! We have a great day planned for you all! I am planning on having a workshop to help you all prepare in all Membership Education areas. We have some special guests to help present on all the various topics like, Continuing Membership Education, Ritual, Membership Education Process and recruitment!

MER is on October 6! It is also starting at 9AM in the morning! I know that we have some people with games on the 5th. However, I hope to see you all! It will be such a great experience for EVERYONE!!! I would love to see all chapters there!

If anyone has any questions, please contact me as soon as you can! Can't wait for a great year!

MLITB

Dallas

NatCon Hangover and Planning

Sisters,

It has been a little over a week since National Convention ended, and I am still at a loss for words. Over the past week I have tried to articulate the experience over and over an have come up with less than ideal phrasings of what actually happened. I made so many new friends, developed so many old and new ideas, and learned that there are people around the country who want to see our district thrive. With all of this support, I know that we will succeed in the future.

The one thing that I do want to talk about is planning for the year. At District Leadership Conference (DLC), we learned so many new ways to plan, and how to plan well (Don't worry! We are going to have a workshop on this at some point throughout the year). That's why I have come up with a "checklist" of sorts:

1) Plan early! Trust me, I understand procrastination. I am a pro. However, whenever I procrastinate my project is never as well-developed as it should be. No matter what you are doing this year, make sure you give it the necessary amount of time it deserves. Not only does it make the project better, but it helps you develop important planning skills for the future! Believe me, employers love someone who can plan things well in advance.

Planning early also allows you to trouble shoot. Whenever you are developing an idea, your path is going to shift over time. It is only natural! However, if you plan early you won't be surprised when your original idea doesn't work and you have to reevaluate.

2) Plan SMART! SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. If your goals do not meet any of these criteria, then maybe it is time for you to reevaluate what you are trying to do. Think about it this way:

Specific - If you told your goal/idea to somebody else would they know what you want to do? Do you know what you are wanting to do? A good way to see if your goal is specific is to write it out. Don't forget about the Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? that you learned about in middle school!

Measurable - Are you able to measure if you have been successful? This can come through a survey, visible improvement in a certain area, or increased morale. Figure out the best tool that fits your needs!

Attainable - Given the amount of time you have, are you able to complete your goal well? Make sure you are able to complete your goal well, otherwise, you are just wasting your own time.

Realistic - Is you idea/goal something you can actually do? Or, is it something you would like to see, but know it cannot be implemented right away? Remember, change takes time. If you goal doesn't seem realistic, then alter it so that it puts you on the path that will lead to your ultimate goal. Long-term goals are OK!

Timely - Do you have a set time frame for your idea/goal? If you don't then you should create one. Not only does having a time frame motivate you to complete things, but it also stops people from wasting each others time. If something takes too long then people lose interest!

3) Use you resources! Here are just a few resources that you have in TBS alone: Active Sisters, Exec Board, Sponsor, DOB, District Officers, District Counselor, friends in other chapters, TBS website, NCD website... the list goes on! No matter what you are trying to do there are people and places that you can use in order to ensure your success!

http://kkytbsncd.org/contact.html

Above is the contact section of the NCD website. PLEASE USE THIS! Any and all of the District Officers would be more than happy to talk to you about anything. Even if you just want to talk about nothing in particular... we would still love to hear from you!

I will leave you with this. There is a plan already in motion for this year, and I could not be more excited for the direction in which it is headed. MER, Leadership, Blocks, and NCDCon are going to be some of the greatest things you have ever experienced! We are planning these in advance (and being SMART about them), so that YOU benefit from what we have to say! Information on these will be given out at a later date.

I cannot wait to spend more time with my wonderful Sisters!

MLITB,

Anthony