The ABC’s of Leadership
Chapter Presidents’ 10-10 Checklist
As we elect new leaders to hold the reins of our organization at the chapter level, we must provide them with the tools necessary to drive our organization to higher heights. And, that starts with our chapter presidents possessing certain basic information at the very outset in order to have the best foundation for leadership success. To that end, the following chapter president’s 10-10 checklist is provided – divided into two parts.
What all chapter presidents should know
- The website address for our national organization, www.bignet.org, and working knowledge of the information contained thereon to direct members and prospective members to what they need (e.g. online membership functions, national leadership, delegates assembly information, joining BIG’s national email distribution list)
- The website address for your Regional Council and working knowledge of the information contained thereon (e.g. model chapter bylaws, Form 4, weekly announcements, email addresses for other chapter presidents)
- Your personal membership number and how to use it to access your chapter’s membership roster on the national website
- Your chapter’s tax identification number -not to be confused with the Region XI Council’s or the national organization’s number (your chapter treasurer should not be the sole person with this information)
- Your chapter’s bank account number (your chapter treasurer should not be the sole person with this information)
- Working knowledge of parliamentary procedure to more effectively chair meetings
- The website address for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (www.eeoc.gov) and working knowledge of the information contained thereon to direct members and prospective members to what they need (e.g. complaint process, types of discrimination, discrimination elements, prohibited employment policies and practices)
- Names and contact information for the heads of your agency’s Human Resources, EEO, and Counseling Offices which you should have used to send a letter or email of introduction to each of them upon taking office
- Names and contact information for the presidents/chairs of other employee organizations which you should have used to send a letter or email of introduction to each of them upon taking office
- The history of your chapter’s past successes – if your chapter has not previously done accomplishments reports, then you should be the first
Documents every chapter president should have
- A printed copy of the BIG National Constitution and working knowledge of the mission, goals, objectives, leadership position duties, etc. (yes, we are going green but you are more likely to read it and refer back to it if you have a printed copy preferably in a binder with the other documents set out below for quick reference)
- A copy of your agency’s latest MD-715 report (required by the EEOC) which describes your agency’s affirmative program of equal employment opportunity accompanied by the agency’s demographic data (usually available on your agency’s intranet site);
- A copy of your agency’s de minis use policy which allows employees to use the internet, copy machine, conference rooms, etc. for limited personal use (usually available on your agency’s intranet site)
- A copy of your agency’s internal solicitation policy which will impact how much and what types of fundraising your chapter can do inside the building (usually available on your agency’s intranet site)
- A copy of your agency’s ethics rules which describes laws and policies related to political activity, outside employment, accepting gifts, etc – these are issues that employees face and may ask you about (usually available on your agency’s intranet site)
- A written BIG elevator speech that answers the question “Why should I join BIG?” in two minutes or less (when we write things down we are less likely to ramble on)
- A written copy of your goals and action plans for the chapter (research shows that when we write things down we are more likely to act on them)
- A copy of Roberts Rules of Order (parliamentary procedure book) and a Roberts Rules of Order cheat sheet
- A copy of the Region’s Standing Rules of Order (which can also be adopted by your chapter) to assist in holding orderly meetings (effectively a Robert’s cheat sheet)
- A copy of your chapter’s bylaws and full knowledge of what’s contained therein.
Taking on the role of chapter president is a big responsibility. With the right foundation, and this checklist, you can provide the leadership and vision the chapter needs to support agency employees as they in turn fulfill the agency’s mission.
