TheKK Arpeggio

IS SU E 10 V OL UM E 1 AP RI L 2012

ENGAGE. COLLABORATE. INSPIRE.

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT

t seems just yesterday that Joe Norton, Chris Grapis, Kyle von Neumann, and myself were standing humbly at the front of a vast ballroom in Merrillville, Indiana, taking our oath of office. We promised to serve to the best of our abilities, and members of the district echoed back their support for our positions. We had just learned two days prior of the resignation of a former North Central District governor, and I, for one, could not help but notice Governor Rod Whitemans anticipatory gaze upon the council-elect as we officially began our terms.

It seems just yesterday that we hosted Summer FUNction, met at Purdue to discuss the future of our positions and the NCD, discussed a theme for the year, published a new publication for the district, trekked to Colorado Springs for National Convention, planned and executed Leadership Conference, got our first look at the Fort Wayne Convention Center, and hosted Membership Education Retreat. We successfully developed three block meetings with different guest speakers for each region of the district, sent a representation to visit the Midwest District at their convention in Missouri, and began to read the last chapter of our stories. The term is coming to a close, and it is impossible to

believe that this is truly our reality. This convention promises to be one of the best yet Joe has done nothing but spearhead the councils work in a diligent effort to see to that! Fort Wayne is sure to hold the tools necessary to Make the Connection with brothers and sisters from across the country. And thus we prepare to bid you all farewell. We have become Unified through Music in Dearborn. We truly Crossed the Boundary in Merrillville. And this year we prepare to Make the Connection with one another in new ways in Fort Wayne. On behalf of the North Central District Council, I bid you all a heartfelt farewell. Strive for the highest, brothers, forever and always. AEA, Jason A Mlady NCD VPP 11-12

Lessons from the NCD: One-On-Ones

Chris Grapis
Delta Upsilon 2011-2012 NCD VPM
Throughout my life, I keep saying to myself, I have the COOLEST job in the world! First, through my campers at Interlochen, then as Vice President of Delta Upsilon, then my students in band, and now through my amazing brothers in the North Central District, my responsibilities have been so invigorating. Through working in the aforementioned positions, and with the aforementioned people, I have learned so much from engaging great people, collaborating with them on projects, and being inspired by their fascinating stories, that I felt actuated to share what I have gleaned in The Arpeggio. My thoughts in this first volume originate from my favorite program that our district has: the illustrious One on Ones. At block meetings, chapters are given an opportunity to speak to the NCD council and governors to receive personalized attention about their chapter. My findings are organized starting with the broad level of ideals, gradually become more focused on the individual, finishing with a personal approach. The first lesson that I learned was the lesson in which I found myself most convicted. Organizations are recognized by what they are doing, not what they are saying or what they say they believe in. Chapters wisely take valuable time to establish their identity and their goals. However, these goals are only worth anything if severe action is taken to implement them. Chapters can achieve many of their goals and fix many of their problems by putting a focused effort into instilling these things into their recruitment and MEP. It takes time, but it works. Your chapter vision is made up of the collective vision of each constituent. Any important conversations or decisions that a chapter makes should be discussed with the chapter and fortified by a united front of dedicated brothers. Rod Whiteman took valuable time to analyze carefully how the important aspects of trust and relationships have a significant impact on everybody. The simplest, yet most important example of a diminution of trust and effectiveness comes from a mismatch of expectations and reality. Contradicting information and mixed messages can prove fatal to a chapters operation. Just as the MEP should reveal an accurate portrayal of fraternity expectations, chapter projects, events, and activities should paint a picture of the ideals for which Kappa Kappa Psi stands. We spent a significant amount of our conversation on apathy. I learned that you could motivate the middle third by making those members feel like their contribution is worthwhile. From our discussions, it seems that the best way to engage these brothers are to discuss goals in a manner that they will be interested enough to retain the information presented. How do we do this? Using S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely) as an incredible guideline for selling ideas to people has proven worthy of our consideration. Celebrate the people who showed up! Sell the sexy; do not grant the guilt. Be excited about what you gleaned, and people will follow you; do not forget that being a brother is fun! Communication is the foundation of trust. On a personal level, responsibility displacement and becoming stagnant will leave giant holes in your chainlink armor of brotherhood. Responsibility displacement seems to be the greatest pitfall of communication. The idea of, I was not part of causing the problem, and therefore my guilt is absolved, creates more problems. Be a part of the solution! The most frequent complaint from most chapters was that a 90% of the work in a chapter is executed by 10% of the membership. A brother does not need a title to participate in the development of an idea, nor does he or she even need to be on a committee relevant to that idea. Both on a chapter level and on a personal level, if you take the time to administer a time audit of exactly how much time you spend doing each daily task (both in chapter operations AND in your personal life), you can clearly see if the ratios match your priorities and goals. If you are active status, you are expected to be taking an active responsibility. Brothers, if you take nothing else from this article please take this with you. Trust is the foundation of everything, compliments of Kyle von Neumann and The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander. Chapters (and individual people) are so radically unique, interesting, and complicated, that you cannot possibly accurately predict them, assume things of them, or categorize them. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need. - The Beatles

Battling Burnout
As the school year Then, when convention begins to wind down, I find is all said and done do not Andrew Cress myself, as well as our return to your home chapters Beta Kappa chapter, battling our old foe empty handed. Rather, burnout. After two entire return with the fountain of semesters serving the bands, knowledge bestowed upon us we are tired and worn out. Are we really and share it with your chapter. UTILIZE it, expected to strive for the highest to the very because convention does not mark the end of end? I mean really convention is coming up the Kappa Kappa Psi calendar, but rather the and there have been block meetings. Is all of beginning; it is a time to begin making changes that not enough? Have we not done enough for so when next school year starts our service to our beloved bands? The answer is no. the bands can be just as effective as it was Simply put, our motto is, Strive for the when we ended. Highest, not strive for up there somewhere. So do not let our old nemesis burnout To be completely honest, this is one of the best catch up with you or any of your brothers as times of the school year for chapter we watch the year conclude. Take this development. If you think about it, you have opportunity to be reflective and proactive for had the entire year to watch your chapter in the future! You might just be surprised what action and see what it does well, but more you can accomplish during a time when many importantly, what is not done as well. Now is chapters become stagnant. the time for us to be proactive in bettering our chapters. Take some pre-convention time and evaluate what your chapter does well and what you need help with so that when we are assembled with our brothers (and sisters) at convention you can utilize all the resources that we have at our disposal. Take your problems to the other chapters! In many cases, I have found that other chapters are having or have had the same issues in the past. Take the convention time to help yourself and others, because in many cases the time between sessions can be just as helpful as the presentations themselves. Furthermore, if we are all aware of the strengths and weaknesses found throughout the district, we can contribute to electing district officers who will strive to address the issues that we need addressed.

Leadership in the Brotherhood

As brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi, we are called to be Robby Allen outstanding band members; to go Upsilon above and beyond the responsibilities of the average band member. But as a lot of us either have or will come to realize, being a leader is not always fun or easy. Its frustrating and exhausting, time consuming and challenging. Many leaders get little recognition and their work and ideas go unappreciated. However, these are not reasons to give up. Being a part of Kappa Kappa Psi and our respective band programs gives us the opportunity to not only further develop our leadership skills but also put these skills into use. It also gives us a tremendous support system for when we feel overwhelmed or frustrated. With all that being said, what does it mean to be a leader within the band and Kappa Kappa Psi? Is it being a section leader? Is it being an exec member? Do you have to talk the most in meetings or count the loudest and know your music the best? Everyone will have a slightly different list of qualities that a leader should possess and display. For me, the most important type of leadership is leading by example. The most essential people in any organization, business or group are the ones who work behind the scenes. They dont talk the loudest or the most, and they dont necessarily have the best ideas but they are the ones that make sure things actually get done. Its not possible for everyone hold a position, (unless you have a really small chapter, then I guess thats a whole other issue all together) however every brother should have the opportunity to be a leader within the chapter. Everyone is going to have different strengths. It is important to capitalize on these strengths not only to give everyone the opportunity to shine but also to strengthen the chapter. Some brothers will be more talented musicians, some will be great at organizing and putting on social events, and others talents lie in building the brotherhood. While for the most part these are things that typically line up with the responsibilities of officers, great ideas can come from any and every brother. Older members have more experience and know the organization better but sometimes a fresh perspective is needed. The phrase too many cooks spoil the soup is often used when describing leadership and hierarchies. However, the brotherhood aspect of Kappa Kappa Psi should always come before the business side. You should always encourage your brothers and give them an equal chance to succeed. There may be too many cooks in the kitchen but there can never be too many leaders in the brotherhood.

This publication created, edited, and formatted by the North Central District Vice President for Programs. Many thanks go out to brothers Robby Allen, Andrew Cress, and Chris Grapis for their contributions! AEA, Jason