Quote:
Originally Posted by 33girl
Quite frankly - and obviously I am speaking about my org as well as others - I just don't get the "initiating women to be advisors" deal. Advisors by definition are people with greater knowledge than their advisees, and I don't see how a woman who was just initiated 2.5 seconds ago can be that. I think in this day and age, with email, texting and Skype, the concept that the advisors need to be THERE is ridiculous. Perhaps it's time for the organizations to catch up with technology, or to think outside the box.
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I agree to some extent and my last Chapter Advisor at one of our chapters up there was doing it from downstate, via Skype. She did go to that school, had family in the area and had to travel to the area for work a few times a year. That helped a lot. There are requirements though, especially with finance, that are tough to meet that way. To be bonded, we are supposed to have two signatures- one alumna, one collegian- on every check written. That is very difficult to do with only remote advisors. The person has to be willing to go that area at least once in a while.
There's also just a different vibe when they are advising by Skype. When I was a Chapter Advisor, I lived nearby and could drop in on events all the time. There was value in that. There was value in hanging out at the house office for "office hours" one night a week. Women would wander down just to chat about all kinds of things. I was able to pick up on themes and vibes that I wouldn't have been able to detect from a once a week phone call with the President or a once a month executive council meeting. There is value in being able to form a relationship, see people face to face, etc. I could see leadership qualities in certain young women and encourage them to reach for higher offices. I was better able to figure out what the chapter needs were.
We can give anybody the knowledge of how things should work. Having someone nearby to coach and mentor them on a more continuous basis has value. A woman who works at the University or owns a local business can serve as a mentor whether she had a sorority collegiate experience or not. Anybody can open a handbook and read the way things should be done. Advisors provide more than knowledge.. they provide continuity over many years and maturity to crisis situations. And, if you can find a combination of women who have experience with your organization to serve remotely and a few newer women who can be there locally, you can groom those local women to take over with time.
If we want to get past the "four years and out" mentality, I think we need to focus more alumnae membership. This is an area where the NPHC orgs are way ahead of us.
