“Leadership is not an expertise. Leadership is a constant education.” -Simon Sinek
Every winter, newly-elected members of SigEp chapter executive boards attend Carlson Leadership Academies across the country. This weekend-long program specializes in teaching each executive board member to be effective and successful in their respective roles. This year, the Mississippi Beta chapter was able to send all eight traditional executive board members, our newly appointed Vice President of Alumni Relations, and one “Rising Leader” to participate in the Atlanta Carlson Leadership Academy.
The Rising Leader track is held to train brothers who have the leadership and passion to tentatively be not only a leader in SigEp, but also in the community as a whole. This year’s Rising Leader, Anthony Mattina, felt that he was able to envision what his role as an executive board member might look like because of this program.
“I learned about personal leadership, optimizing the chapter as a younger, non-executive member, and how networking beyond my chapter and university can provide wonderful resources and relationships that benefit myself and Sig Ep,” Mattina said.
“I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses, as well as the areas of excellence and needs for improvement within the chapter. I left Carlson feeling equipped to handle challenges as a leader in several aspects of my life and career,” he continued.
In addition to our Rising Leader, all of our chapter’s executive board had personalized classes, led by volunteers and leaders from all over the southeast, based on their specific roles in the chapter. One executive board member, Will Woods, felt that he learned how to better service in his role as Vice President of Finance through the lessons he was taught at Carlson.
“I was able to learn about the different kinds of receivables that we need to have as a chapter,” Woods said. “I also really enjoyed being able to learn how to better keep track of our chapter’s finances in a more successful way.”
SigEp National Headquarters staff puts on multiple Carlson Leadership Academies across the country ever year with the purpose of impacting chapter members by preparing their leaders for success in their roles. MS Beta has been an active participant in these academies, as well as other national programs, since our return to Mississippi State.