Remember: Your Club is Important to ALL Members

You are working so hard to produce great meetings that include both substance and fun, teaching and learning, serious and silly. With all that, you could easily forget the value of the organization for every type of member you have. It’s important for you to identify the different types of members who walk through the door, and then to work diligently to improve their experience. Always remember why your club is important for all of its members: YOU!

Do not minimize the impact you and your organization can have on every type of member. Participating in extracurricular clubs and organizations is an extremely important part of the school experience. These activities lead young adults to find their life’s passion. What you are doing IS worthwhile, so let’s help you do the best you can for every type of kid who walks through your door.

The Member Archetypes

Club Member #1: The Professional Joiner

This bright and wonderful student has a club for every day of the week. Actually, they have two on Mondays, so they are constantly running back and forth. You wonder if they are truly interested in your organization, or just passing through on their way to a different club.

Well, it’s a little of both, and you need to feed that desire.

This member is why we need to be somewhat flexible with our membership rules, so don’t alienate students who like to be involved in a variety of clubs. We suggest sticking to a 75% of meetings requirement for a graduation cord (but don’t be afraid to make exceptions).

Take these examples of exceptions:

Our Student Body President loves coming to our FBLA meetings, but is sometimes called away as a result of her position with StuCo. We don’t want to push her away, as she adds a lot to our activities and meetings, so we try to be flexible.

The same is true for our upperclassmen who have jobs. Particularly in FBLA and DECA, having a job or volunteering in the community are core values for us. So, obviously, we need to make allowances for that in our membership regulations. 

Don’t alienate a great, productive club member just because they are busy! Sometimes they are getting busy with the process of finding their passion, and that is exactly what the teen years are for!

Club Member #2: The Serious Student

Do you have a member or two who are only there for the substantive portions of your organization? They are the serious students.

We have several members this year who are quite serious about being successful business leaders, and are not here for the cookies or games. They are the ones who ask every week if we have a guest speaker from the industry or what books would be good to read on the subject. These are the members who will one day guide our city and country through economic success and failure, and it’s OUR job to feed that passion. Your club is important to these members because it genuinely feeds their passion.

To support this member, it is important to provide links and suggestions for further study, and to show short videos (gotta love youtube) during the meeting to pique their interest. These members are also good resources to find and recruit speakers to future meetings. If you give this member a lead, they will follow-up and sign community members up to come speak either live or virtually. This will help them develop better networking skills, while providing your organization with a steady stream of keynote speakers.

Club Member #3: The Résumé Padders

This one is a tough sell, no doubt about it. Your club is important to these members only to put it on their résumé…but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! In fact, I suggest students do this!

My advice to high schoolers is to get involved with a national organization (Key Club, FBLA), a local organization (Red Cross, feeding the homeless), AND an organization just for fun (D&D club, Cooking club). This rounds out their resume, and fulfills different needs for the student. I encourage them to choose wisely, and participate fully in the organization, seeking a leadership role to both help the organization, and to improve their skills as a leader.

That said, there are always members who are LITERALLY only in it for the padding.

The Padding Predicament

Unfortunately, we come across too many students who are pursuing leadership roles just for their resume, thinking it will help them get into the “best” college. This type of member can be difficult, as they are a tough sell for inclusion in the inner workings of the organization, and, worse still, they can effectively “steal” leadership spots from kids who are truly passionate.

The most important thing for this member is that they be held accountable to the team. As a regular member, we can engage them as we do everyone else, but in a leadership position, it is extremely important that they receive oversight. These members are the most likely type to go MIA as soon as college applications are done. 

This member is why some of our officers are appointed instead of elected—so you can be sure your officer team is primarily students with a passion and drive for the organization. 

Club Member #4: The Friend-of-a-Friend

This is your “golden opportunity” kid! Your club is important to these members because of one simple reason: They already have a friend who is invested. Through them, helping this member become active and involved is relatively simple.

Whatever committee the BFF is on, is now their committee. Any “team” the BFF is on for the activity, that is their team. You allow them to experience the club alongside their friend; the passion and interest will be infectious.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURPOSELY SEPARATE THIS PAIR!!!

If you are breaking into groups or doing a partner activity, let them choose to be together or not! We want, above all, for the newcomer to feel comfortable and confident at our club meeting. Only if they feel comfortable and welcomed will they return—with or without their original friend.

This group of newbies could be your greatest strength in your new member drives. It really only takes one meeting for students to become comfortable and interested in your organization. The next meeting, it is not uncommon for that former newbie to bring another friend. This is because they don’t want to come alone, but they seriously want to come to the meeting!

QUICK TIP: Make sure your officer team is keeping an eye out for these new and nearly-new members. Learn their names on their first visit—nothing makes someone feel more comfortable than being addressed properly.

Club Member #5: The Snacker

This one makes my officer team frustrated. They take it personally when they believe someone is only at the meeting for pizza day, or when we decorate holiday cookies. I say: “Let ‘em come!” I don’t care what gets them in the door—it’s our job to make them want to come back.

It’s your job to make them realize your club is important to ALL members (INCLUDING THEM)!!!

In a future blog, we will discuss those students who truly need that nutrition because things are tough at home. It’s virtually impossible to figure out who that is at first glance, so feed them all with a happy smile!!! Turn no one away.

Club Member #6: The Sneaky One

No! Not sneaky like “shady,” I’m talking about the students who literally sneak into the meeting and try to hide in the background.

My desk is near the entrance door to our room. I see these people sneaking in after the meeting has already started, taking the chair closest to the door, and already planning a quick escape if they get called on. It is extremely important that one officer—only one—approaches this person in a quiet, non-confrontational way to greet them.

Don’t single them out or yell, “Hello!” across the room. Teach your leadership team how to unobtrusively come up next to these students and greet them. Then, at the next meeting, send THE SAME OFFICER to greet them! If they start to become comfortable with one of the officers, they will be more likely to keep coming to meetings, and start to open up. *Extra points if the officer remembers their name after the first meeting!*

A Thought Based on my Decades of Experience

I have to say an additional word about this type of member, because I’ve seen this for decades: The Sneaky One, my friends, is your future Chapter President. This is your next National Winner.

They sit quietly and absorb everything that is happening around them. This type of member seems more likely to do independent study about the organization. Then, in March or April, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see their application for an officer position next year.

Feed this type of member—they are your future.

Yes, Your Club Is Important To ALL Of These Members!

All of these are, obviously, only stereotypes of different students who cross your doorway. However, they are exactly the reason why we need to develop club meetings that are inclusive, and offer a little bit of everything for our members. Every member has value, and every member should receive value for the time they spend with you.

Work with your leadership team immediately and often about the different ways to greet members. Your quieter members don’t want a literal shoutout; recognize them in a way they are comfortable with. If you are going to single out a member for accolades or birthday or congratulations, speak to them first privately, and make sure what you plan is in their comfort zone. They deserve respect for their individuality, and appreciation for their membership!

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some other ways to boost membership in your student organizations, 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! Why do YOU leader your students? Let me know.

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