Leadership by its very nature is limited to a select few. For every effective leader there must be many followers. In any company or organization, there can be thousands working together for a common purpose, but the key decisions and direction are set only by those select few. So what can we say about those that rise to such ranks? There is simply not a set definition or set of characteristics common among all, but there is one trademark that I have found common among every effective leader I have met. They are all able to inspire and lead through their ability to connect on a personal level to our needs, emotions, and beliefs. This ability to connect, communicate, and display charisma is developed through social or interpersonal interactions. These interactions are practiced, and occur, in social organizations across our country, mainly the greek system. I would point to the fact that a large percentage of today’s top leaders were members of greek organizations during their undergraduate years.
I have found that is always better to accentuate the positives and move forward. Greek systems across the country are currently, and have historically, become branded with images of drunken, unruly malcontents who have no direction in life. I myself have pointed the finger of criticism at a system that at times has seemed to falter. I would argue, however, that the growth and development that occurs in the greek houses on our campus is equally important to the wealth of knowledge and information that we accrue in the academic arena.
While this may seem outlandish to those on the outside, I contend that the life skills taken from one’s fraternity or sorority offer the competitive advantage necessary in a professional environment. At times it may seem the world is run by numbers, simple calculations, or a book of procedures and policies. As important as these may be, the fact is that the real leaders in our society are those that can connect, build mutually beneficial relationships, and use their interpersonal skills to pull together information to create a viable solution. Greek organizations are social orders that can take a young man or woman and give them the social development necessary to form bonds and gain faith from those around them. One can look at our own campus leaders; most of them are indeed greek. In almost every organization we find that there is a positive correlation between leadership and membership in greek organizations.
Higher education involves every aspect of one’s self. We learn, we grow, and we progress in every aspect of our lives. As a university we have taken extraordinary initiatives to expand the scope of our education with programs like the First Year Experience, to name one. The greek system is no different, with the only exception being that greeks are scrutinized for problems that are not unique to our houses, but are common among college students across the country.
Let us take a look at a system that has taken tremendous steps this year, and applaud them for their efforts, but also look at efforts that we are making as a university. We have campus housing that has professional staff, residence assistants, learning assistants, and a myriad of programming and positive attention. We must also take the same approach with the greek system, offering funding from an Institute level focused on enhancing the greek experience as opposed to yielding to the fears of litigation.
When it comes down to it, our lives and society are characterized by the relationships that we have with those around us. Our success may very well be determined by our ability to connect. I say it is time to look at the benefits that are unique to reek systems as opposed to the problems that are common with students, so that we may further the success of our students and the great name of Rensselaer.
