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Tired of reinventing the wheel? Organizations often spend too little time in the transition stage and consequently new officers spend too much of their time acclimating to their positions. A smooth officer transition will improve the abilities of newly-elected officers, decrease the amount of time each officer spends “learning” his position, and ensure the chapter continues progressing toward its goals. Through an effective transition, the incoming officers will be able to learn from the experience of the previous officers and offer continuity and continued growth for the organization.
The transition of leadership for your organization is the single most important event in a viable student organization’s year. It can be smooth or a complete disaster, and may determine the effectiveness of the group for years to come.
A smooth transition is:
- The responsibility of both the outgoing and incoming leaders
- A way to help the group avoid starting over or starting from scratch each year
- A transfer of significant organization knowledge
- A sense of closure for the outgoing members
- A utilization of the valuable contributions of experienced leaders
- A time for the new leadership to absorb the expertise of the outgoing members
- A great opportunity for outgoing leaders to evaluate the year
- An orientation process for new leaders
- A time for the incoming leaders to ask questions and the outgoing leaders to offer advice
- An outgoing leader’s chance to say “I wish I had done this...”
Source: Officer Transition Manual Kansas University