23rd District PTA

Serving

Riverside County

Leadership

Job Descriptions

Click on officer/position to go to PDF file of CSPTA Toolkit Job Description

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23rd District PTA Counterpart Workshops

“Advocates For Success”

 

June 6 & 7 at Tahquitz High School, Hemet

Click here for AGENDA and REGISTRATION PACKET in PDF. 

 

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Education Summit

Twenty-third District leaders attend 2007 Education Summit.

Shown here with RCOE Superintendent Kenn Young.

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Reward Results, NOT Activities

By Mimi Badura, 2005-07 Leadership Director

 

Years of research have shown that many organizations value activity, not results.  Here are four suggestions that you can utilize to train, work with, and reward your board members to produce value added results:

 

1. TRAIN, train, train.  Leadership is a skill that can be learned.  You must model and train desirable leadership results-orientated skills.  The Twenty-third District PTA Leadership Team offered council board training in August.  We learned creative ways to serve more effectively and have FUN while we are at it!  We developed new boardmanship techniques through the strategies taught in the FISH! video presentation.  The training concluded with an action packed game of PTA Bylaws Jeopardy.  This training is one that you will not want to miss next year!

 

2. ENCOURANGE your board to take the time to understand a problem or opportunity before trying to come up with solutions.  Make sure that they understand why something is happening and its affect on your PTA.  Successful organizations encourage action:  some are successful by taking risks.  Your attitude as a leader will set the pace and tone for others in your organization.  If your attitude is positive and dynamic, people you work with will reflect your attitude by becoming more positive and dynamic.

 

3. START by setting goals and evaluating your actions in terms of your goals and objectives.  Is this activity moving you towards your goal?  Is this action adding to your school or community?  The children have been in school for a couple of months now.  This is a good time to evaluate that your PTA is off to a great start.  Has your budget been approved by the association?  Have the program idea motions been made and approved by the association?  Is the Reflections Program underway?  Are all of the officers and chairpersons documenting information concerning their positions and including it in a procedure book that will be passed on to the next person to hold the position? 

 

4. OFFER support and training for all members of your PTA.  Make sure that everyone understands their responsibilities and has a chance to honor them.  Delegating is a wonderful training tool.  Twenty-third District PTA Leadership Team has modeled this behavior by taking financial training on the road!  We have traveled throughout Riverside County presenting the most up to date financial information to PTA board members.  Thank you for keeping your PTA unit in good standing and ensuring that all of your financial officers receive their annual financial training.

 

(Ideas taken from The Communicator May/October 2006)

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Advice for PTA Leaders: Step Outside the Box

Many of us find it hard to challenge ourselves to think in different ways--to approach a problem from a new perspective. Yet, when we do so, we often come up with more workable, more effective solutions. National PTA's training department recommends that PTA leaders challenge themselves to think differently about how to lead, how to work effectively with their membership, and how to be more inclusive.

For example, to truly work collaboratively with others in managing a PTA, a leader might

• Resist guiding people to do things his or her way.

• Use questions to empower others to do things their own way.

• Encourage new people to take leadership roles rather than assigning such roles to the same people or to one's friends.

• Focus on making progress toward shared goals rather than on personal dynamics.

For more ways to "step outside the box" in working with your membership, community businesses, and other groups with similar goals, and in making your PTA reflect the diversity of your community, visit www.pta.org/members/respub/OurChildren/archives/articles/box.asp.

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PERCEPTION OF A SUCCESSFUL LEADER

 

The holding of a leadership position does not always dictate that the leader shall be involved in all activities of the organization. Instead, leadership often requires the surrender of one’s own wishes as well as great patience. The following suggestions may be helpful for those who seek to become good leaders.

1. Always remember that what authority you have comes form the job and not from the person. You are but the temporary holder of your present responsibility.

2. Remember, too, that there probably isn’t any single best way to do anything.  The thought may jolt you a bit; but progress will come only because, some day, a better way than yours will be found.

3. Surround yourself with people who are knowledgeable about the PTA. The more everyone knows, the better your board will function and the less likely it is that you will make mistakes.

4. Listen to the board members. Make it easy for them to talk to you. Don’t tell them what the problem is – ask them.

5. Find out what your board members do best. Delegating is an extremely important aspect of leadership. Effective delegation can save time and energy, provide diversity in approaches and promote efficient use of human resources.

6. Give board members challenges and responsibilities. Do it as soon as possible.

7. Give board members credit for their accomplishments. Let them know that their work is appreciated

8. Do whatever you can to support the effort of other volunteers, wherever they may be in the organization. If you want others to help, you must help them.

9. Effective leaders recognize that no one leadership role will be appropriate at all times. Leadership roles must suit the situation; the needs and preferences of the team and the needs and preferences of the leader. Remember to remain flexible enough to switch roles when necessary.

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