In the past few months, I've had several people ask me how to motivate members and encourage dedication to the chapter. Every chapter has occassional problems with "activeness" -- or the level of participation at which their actives operate -- but some chapters seem to be plagued with low involvement and interest. There's no easy fix, but once you realize what motivates people, you can work toward crafting strategies to get your members moving and involved.

People are almost always motivated by things they help create. Members who feel they have a stake in the outcome of an activity are more likely to be motivated and dedicated enough to see that project through and make sure it succeeds. They have a vested interest in that project because they helped create it and that their input is valuable. They don't want to see it fail.

Ask all of your members for input. Presidents and officers, have faith in your committee members and ask them to come up with ideas on their own. We complain that members aren't doing enough to help the chapter and that some are "dead weight." More often than not, no one asked the "dead weight" to participate or unconsciously indicated that their ideas were not wanted or valued. Leaders, ask members directly for participation and you may be surprised how dedicated your members really are.

I'm reminded of a story about a fraternity chapter who asked their biggest "do-nothing" member for help and was shocked at the results. Bob was known throughout his house for his non-participation. Members assumed he felt he couldn't be bothered with extra work because he never took the initiative to help out. What they didn't know was that Bob never volunteered for projects because he didn't think anyone wanted him to help. You see, no one ever asked Bob for his input -- he figured since no one ever asked that it meant his brothers didn't have enough confidence in him to give him projects. They must not think he could handle the work, he reasoned.

One semester, the chapter desperately needed help before rush. The rush chair had a mountain of potential rushees to contact and all of his committee members were unavailable. He decided to ask Bob for help. Bob, the rush chair thought, was a very social guy and easy to talk to (and he wasn't doing anything anyway) so he probably wouldn't have any trouble contacting rushees. Bob was surprised at the request for assistance and jumped at a chance to prove himself. During that pre-rush period, Bob called every potential rushee on his list and persuaded many of them to stop by the house and meet the guys. Bob's brothers saw that he had a knack for persuading people and making the visitors feel at ease. That semester's rush was phenomenal for Bob's chapter. The next year, the chapter made Bob rush chair and he continued to be one of the most enthusiastic and motivated members. After graduation, Bob went on to become rush coordinator of his national.

We all wish for motivated, dynamite members like Bob. But if you don't ask for help, you probably won't get it. Have faith in your members. Ask them to complete tasks and brainstorm ideas. In the end, you'll be surprised to find how many dedicated members you actually had right under your nose.

Fran Vincent
Editor