Student Organizations: An Ideal Canvas
For most students, university provides the first taste of true (or more) control over their lives. What we often realize after graduation is that university is a great opportunity to not only learn from new experiences, but also to take an active role in shaping our environment.
Student organizations provide a great medium for such impact and are an ideal canvas for students to draw the world and life they’d like to build. Below, I’ve outlined a few takeaways that made my experience worthwhile and will hopefully serve as insight into what you can gain by leading a student organization.
Listening
Impactful leadership does not exist without great listening. This was the first lesson I had to learn, and quickly, during my student leadership experience. I heard some difficult things. I wove through relationships that crisscrossed between personal and professional. I got into some arguments, though none of it was malicious. I was sometimes even called to provide a shoulder for someone else to lean on.
While things may never actually get that bleak for you, difficult situations can feel like the end of the world, and these experiences formed my ability to actively listen. Listening isn’t just taking feedback; it’s creating an environment where people feel comfortable voicing their concerns and feel heard.
Encouraging everyone that their voice matters isn’t even just about successful leadership; it’s about successful collaboration. Active listening builds a foundation of trust.
Which leads me into my next two takeaways.
Product Design
Unless you were a young entrepreneur, by the time you enter university, you won’t have had many experiences with people buying your product. If you worked in retail, you sold someone else’s product. But when you are you selling something to members of a student organization that you lead, it’s akin to selling a product you created to your customers.
Every event, initiative, or project you do in your organization is ultimately a product for your members to experience. This is the first time that students engage in creating a product designed around their “customers.” You start asking questions, and learn which are most important to ask. What exactly are you building? Is this the best way to deliver? Is this a want or a need? How can I use resources effectively?
Relationships
The relationships you have within a student organization are ultimately the defining components of the whole experience. The projects and initiatives may fade in your memory, but the relationships do not.
An incredible key to those relationships is creating a culture that lasts. When you are interning or working part-time, you’re participating in a culture, not shaping one. As a student leader, you get to the heart of creating a quality culture. You have the ability to build a micro version of the world you’d like to see.
This is a powerful realization that ties into listening. Start by listening and asking questions so that you can design the best product and culture to create a comprehensive experience for your members.
Finally, I want to end on an important piece of advice: you do not need to be the President or VP of an organization to have these experiences. Being involved at any level of a decision-making process can give you great insight into the lessons I have discussed and more. So, if student organizations are the canvas you choose to define your college experience, what will you draw?
