The event, which was held virtually January 14-16, expanded on its award-winning curriculum. Presidents’ Academy is designed to develop chapter presidents’ leadership potential in a way that has immediate benefits to them personally, to the chapters they lead and to the Fraternity as a whole. The academy provides young leaders with skills to serve as a foundation for success in business, civic and personal lives. This year was even bigger with a number of volunteer leaders (Regional Vice Presidents, District Directors, Assistant District Directors and Chapter Advisors) participating in the programming. Many topics throughout the weekend were introduced during large group presentations, in which volunteer leaders were invited, and then discussed and/or practiced in smaller group settings.

This year attendees had the privilege of hearing an inspirational keynote from Microsoft Customer Success Leader Stephen Sorenson, South Carolina. During his powerful presentation about Being a Modern Leader, Brother Sorenson encouraged members to build a diverse portfolio of people and experiences, operate with a growth mindset and make an impact by leveraging and sharing. During a Q&A following his presentation, he admitted that he wished he had focused more on the experiences he gained as chapter president and encouraged those in attendance to use their time as college students to grow.

Agenda

Presidents' Academy is an investment in our current collegiate chapter presidents, whose leadership has lasting effects. The Academy seeks out opportunities to better train presidents as leaders beyond manuals or other standard training opportunities. The agenda for this year included:

• Birkman Basics: Giving each attendee an authentic look at themselves, how they relate to others who may be different and how they adapt to organizations.
• Building Successful Teams: Exploring the assembling process based on providing a diversity of behaviors.
• Understanding Organizational Purpose and Principles: Exploring how knowledge of and adherence to a guiding star will assist attendees in both leading the chapter and their career.
• Incentivizing, Motivating & Accountability: Recognizing the differences between people and tailoring incentives to properly motivate. Plus, exploring methods to build a culture of accountability within the chapter and how this relates to professional environments.
• Navigating Difficult Conversations: Providing insights to help attendees navigate through challenging conflicts in their associations.
• Strategic Goal Setting and Planning: Discussing the goal setting process and how it can be used to not only provide direction and focus to the chapter, but also aid in accountability and motivation in all aspects of the attendee’s life.
• Leading Like a Facilitator: Learning how to approach leadership more from the mindset of a facilitator and less as a top-down, formal leader.

The Birkman Method
From: birkman.com

The curriculum, presented by Plaid, includes use of The Birkman Method®. The Birkman Method® is considered by many Fortune 500 companies as the most comprehensive and validated personality assessment tool on the market. Since it combines both behavioral and occupational data, it better reflects a person’s fit within an organization. It also measures individual’s needs to help each person be the best version of themself and further examines personality and perceptions in a social context to promote greater self-management and encourage mutual respect among colleagues.

Support Presidents' Academy!

You have the opportunity to play a leading role in investing in the future of this program through Delta Sigma Pi's Presidents' Academy Fund. The Presidents’ Academy Fund is a restricted fund set up to receive designated charitable gifts from those who wish to directly support the Presidents’ Academy. Invest in strong leaders to lead strong chapters by supporting the Presidents' Academy Fund.