NPC Transitions

We can learn a lot about teamwork and transitions from watching geese in flight.

This fall, thousands of geese will fly south in the United States to escape the cold, Canadian winter. They fly together in V-formation, each goose providing additional lift and reducing air resistance for the goose flying behind it. Scientists who study migrating birds note that the flock can reach the destination more quickly and with less energy when members fly together in formation.

Equally important, geese rotate leadership many times during the course of the journey. This practice allows for the flock to function at full capacity while the lead goose drops back and another goose moves to the front position.

Inter/national sorority leaders gather later this month in Irving, Texas, at the National Panhellenic Conference annual meeting. The rotation of leadership in NPC will pass from one member organization to another - Chi Omega to Sigma Kappa.

Leadership rotation happens in NPC for a member organization every 52 years. Like the geese flying in V-formation, it is our tradition every two years for the lead sorority to step back and make way for the next member organization to step forward and serve in the front position. The designee for the member organization serves on the NPC Executive Committee as vice chairman for two years before beginning her two-year term as chairman. This smooth and seamless transition exemplifies the mutual trust and respect we have in one another.

It has been humbling in my role as chairman to represent NPC as one of the largest women's organizations in the world. Chi Omega set me on this course as a sorority woman 35 years ago, providing growth and leadership development through volunteer opportunities at the local and national levels. I was asked to serve on Chi Omega's NPC delegation in 1993. That appointment was a turning point for me in my life. NPC recognized the passion in my heart for Panhellenic and took me miles down the road with new interfraternal friendships.

Indeed, this has been a remarkable journey. It has been my distinct honor and privilege to lead and to serve as NPC chairman. I have been blessed to have many mentors in both Chi Omega and NPC. And it has been my good fortune to work alongside such talented and dedicated women on the NPC Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Foundation Board of Trustees, as well as all those seated around our U-shaped table arrangement at NPC business meetings. Some of you went out of your way to acknowledge my efforts, and your kind words lifted me. This reinforces our friendship beyond badges and illustrates the true beauty of sisterhood in our women's-only organization. Thank you for your encouragement and support.

At this transition time, it is appropriate to reflect on the recent accomplishments and think forward to what awaits us. We have navigated new waters and climbed new heights together as a unified coalition of women. Our shared commitment has resulted in positive outcomes. Here are a few highlights. NPC has:

• Become more visible and recognized as the authority for the sorority experience through our media placements and advocacy efforts.
• Gained credibility through Gallup research findings on sorority membership and well-being, and private research on sorority membership and retention.
• Forged new relationships with interfraternal partners and college and university officials through campus visits, and additional forums for outreach and collaboration.
• Provided educational tools and College Panhellenic essentials for campus sorority leaders with the introduction of College Panhellenic Academy.
• Taken a stand with position statements on discrimination and sexual assault, and raised our voices in favor of legislative solutions on student safety and success.

Can we sustain our momentum? There are daily challenges that have the potential to knock us off course. But our work to preserve our timeless core values and our relentless drive to stimulate progress motivate us all to press on. This fundamental duality is what characterizes NPC as an enduring great organization, as described in Jim Collins' monograph, "Good to Great and the Social Sectors."
 
NPC will continue to soar as we take flight in the coming years. We have learned through our history that we are lifted up by the energy of one another.