Are You Ready to be an officer?

               Being an officer in your chapter has large responsibilities. Your biggest responsibility has to be to leaving your chapter better than what it was when you came into office. How can you do this? There are three simple steps:

1.      Stay organized

There are many tasks that will be given to you as an officer. It is very easy to become unorganized with all of the paperwork and duties you are responsible for. The simplest way to stay organized is keeping a separate folder solely for DECA. Make sure that this folder is always in an accessible place at all times and keep everything DECA related in it. Your DECA folder needs to be your best friend throughout your term!

2.      Manage your time wisely

It is hard to manage school and all the responsibilities you have as a chapter officer. School work can be overwhelming at times. One thing I have learned in being an officer on both the chapter and state level: KEEP A SCHEDULE! It is amazing how easy life becomes when you have a schedule. Put all deadlines and important dates on this schedule, both academically as well as DECA related or anything else you know you have such as a doctor’s appointment. This will help you manage your time wisely. It will not only help you become a better officer, but also become a better and less stressed out student!

3.      ASK FOR HELP!

I know it is a little awkward, you’re the leader of your chapter and everyone expects you to know everything. That is not the mentality you need to have. We all have things we don’t understand and it is better to ask for help than waste your time doing something and having no clue what you are even doing. DELEGATE YOUR TASKS! Remember, you are an officer, but you are part of a TEAM of officers! You are a team for a reason, and there is no ‘I’ in team. Making you chapter is not a one person show, such as a sports team cannot win a championship with one star player. You are elected as a team, now it is time for you and your team to hold up that Gold Level Chapter plaque at the 2015 Career Development Conference!

               If you follow these three simple steps you will become a great officer. I know you all will leave your chapter better than what it was when you first took office. Good luck this year and remember to Make it Count!