Where are we in the calendar?

DECA is, literally, enjoying their International Conference right now, and I hope if you are there you are not only having an amazing experience, but also that you see your own students up on that stage this week! There is absolutely nothing more exciting than hearing the name of your school or state on that stage. But is your CTSO planning for next year, yet?

For the rest of my CTSO family, we are sort of in limbo between State and National conferences. Here in sunny Nevada, we haven’t even had our State Conference for FBLA yet, but my mind is already on the next steps for my overall chapter. Long before we board the flight for nationals, I need my CTSO leadership team in place, planning for the next school year. The main focus of my time is always on the continued success and improvement of my chapter. When I retire in four years, it won’t matter how many state or national champions or officers I produced if the club ceases to exist. Continuity is key. 

Local Officer Pre-application steps for you!

It’s brutal honesty time. I know the majority of next year’s officer team already. You should, too. Your officer team should be a combination of underclass officers from this year taking on more responsibility, and newer members who have stepped up this year and become passionately involved in the organization. 

None of your officers should be a surprise. None.

Some of your applicants might be.

This is why you need to design your application very carefully, so that you can reward loyal dedication to the organization while encouraging newer and younger members to step up into leadership. This is not the time for people to jump out of the general membership so they can beef up their resume. We have some of that during most years, and they are definitely not the best officer candidates. That is why we prepare our application process with future growth and development in mind. 

Application steps:

Groom Potential Officers

Reach out to them personally or through your current leadership team to broach the subject of pursuing a leadership position. Sometimes, all a student needs to become a leader is an invitation. We do this throughout the year, as we watch students grow in maturity and passion for the organization. This is an ongoing step as your entire CTSO begins planning.

Make Way For New Members To Shine

You need to advertise your upcoming elections to the entire student body. You never know who has been waiting in the wings looking for an opportunity to shine in your CTSO. Everyone is always welcome, so make sure you not only have a video announcement, but also flyers posted, and Reminds sent out to the general membership.

Paperwork Comes First!

1. Basic information, obviously. This includes a resume for us, and parent signatures.
2. Signatures from admin. This ensures that your potential candidate isn’t in trouble with the Dean’s office, and has consistent attendance.
3. Counselors documents. This includes an unofficial transcript (for us, your Business classes must be highlighted) and a quick signature indicating support for the candidate.
4. Questions and personal statement. This step is further evidence of dedication to the process. We immediately eliminate applications that skip this step—-they didn’t even read the directions carefully. 

Interview

Try to include an additional teacher or administrator in this process. Make sure you have a good rubric for them to fill out while the student is talking. If your president is graduating, they should sit in on the interviews as well.

General Membership Voting

This is an important step in the process, but should NOT solely determine the winner. The meeting this is conducted is considered the final meeting of the school year for us. This way, as our CTSO advisor and leadership team finalize planning the start of next year, we get to see what the membership want, versus what they need.

Advisor Meeting

After the voting, we meet to combine the three scores: Paperwork, Interview and Voting. Each section is weighted equally, to ensure that the membership has spoken, for sure, but that the dedication of the applicant is respected as well.

I really want this kid on the Board—Slating candidates

We use slating for the candidates.

This is our method. You may not choose to do this, but this is part of what makes us successful, and ensures the continuity of our program. 

The paperwork clearly states that the officer position you choose is your PREFERRED position, but that you will accept the slating set by the Advisers. Frankly, some candidates for President just aren’t quite “there” yet, but would be excellent candidates for a Vice President position. We simply move that student to that position. We’ve got five people this year who indicated “President” as their preferred position. If we leave it like that, and let the membership vote for one of the five, we will lose four potentially amazing Vice Presidents when they lose. By creating a slate of candidates, we ensure that our continuity is protected, and that we will have a strong and powerful leadership team moving forward.

If a member chooses not to honor the results of Adviser slating, that is their choice, and they will not enjoy a leadership position next year. Honestly, this rarely happens. Officer candidates are generally excited to assume any leadership position, and will work with whatever we feel is best for them.

What if the wrong person wins?

It happens. I’ve had subpar officers. By having seven or more officers, though, it can’t possibly sink our ship. This is why you build the strongest team you possibly can—you don’t know the future. I’ve had kids go MIA, and I’ve had a President who moved away, but I’ve never had a situation that was untenable or fatal to the CTSO.

Your CTSO should start planning for the following year, and find a way to avoid this situation in the future.

The dream team – adding strength

I’m just about positive you didn’t get the greatest team in the history of your CTSO. That’s okay—I don’t, either. I do, however, get a strong team that can grow in leadership and maturity, and has the ability to move the organization in a positive way. 

Did your slating not work out well? Do you have a “hole” in the Membership VP slot? No candidates for Finance VP? 

You can solve anything.

Just add water and stir. Or, just add officer positions! Nobody—and I mean nobody—can stop you from adding additional positions for you to either grow the team, or make room for somebody you think has something to add to the group. If your Charter is super specific about officers, re-write the Charter with the new officer team! It is all within your purview to make necessary changes to the CTSO. Don’t be afraid to do it if it will improve your organization!

What officer position might you have overlooked? Underclass Representative. This is our “proving ground” of sorts. It allows freshmen to start on a leadership journey without waiting for the following year. In the fall, we elect two of these positions after the first month of membership. Their responsibilities are minimal—”hero support” if you will—but it gives them some awesome opportunities and will feed their newfound passion for the CTSO. This is also the time we re-open any available slots in the officer team, for people who may not have been enthusiastic in the spring. 

Their First steps

When does their year of leadership start? That’s entirely up to you. I have always done elections in the late spring for the following year, so we can get started immediately when school starts, and recommend you at least have your Executive positions (President, VP, and Finance) in place before you leave for summer break.

We announce next year’s officers at the last general meeting of the year in May, and their term begins immediately with their first officer meeting after that meeting. This is usually a long meeting, and consists more of team-building and building friendships than actual duties. It’s important that the group develop rapport as soon as possible, so we have two officer meetings before summer, and encourage them to get together without us before everyone scatters for the summer. 

If you follow these steps, your future CTSO will be brighter, bigger and will involve even more students next year than this year!

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR

Wow, thank you for reading about how your CTSO should start planning for next year!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some other ways to win CTSO performance or testing events, here, and how to handle your non-winners, here! Check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

Please leave a COMMENT about any tips you may have!! Or comment what your favorite tip of mine was! How do YOU start these difficult conversations with your students? Let me know.

Feel free to contact me or leave a COMMENT with anything you would like to hear more about! Or reach out with any unrelated questions, comments, concerns, or random outbursts of excitement by clicking here.