LCA 101: Understanding the High Beta Position

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The High Beta position is critical to any chapter/colony’s success. As the First Vice President, the High Beta assists the High Alpha in performing his duties and ensures that all officers, committees and individual members are performing to the highest degree.

Within the role of High Beta, a member should focus on the following:

Rethink the structure (number, size, purpose, operations) of the chapter’s committee system.
Identify what committee system will be most effective for chapter’s specific needs.
Set goals and measurable tasks for a committee to accomplish.
Empower committee members to become agents of success through participation and decision making
Track committee progress week to week to ensure future success and hold members accountable.

As the officer in charge of committees, it is important for the member in the High Beta role to remember the Four P’s of Committee Creation:

Purpose
- Description: What is the committee’s written description?
- Vision: What is its vision statement?
- Defined, Measurable Goals: What will success look like? How will we know when we’ve succeeded?
Prototype
- Officer-Lead: Delegate officer tasks to other members
  - Kappa Committee, Theta Committee, etc.
- Project-Based: Plan and execute specific events/projects
  - Formal Committee, Watermelon Bust Committee, etc.
- Goal-Oriented: Organize solutions to chapter needs
  - Retention Committee, Management Committee, etc.
Permanence
- Standing: What is the ideal number of people for this committee?
- Ad-Hoc/Select: Operates on an as-needed basis, per project
- Advisory: Operates as long as something that needs “addressing” exists; No set endpoint
People
- Size: What is the ideal number of people for this committee?
- Membership: What type of member do we want involved in this committee? Officers? Non-officers? Talent/interest based?
- Leaders: Who will take on a leading role in this committee? How much experience do they need to have?