by Matt Mattson
Values-Based Membership Selection. If you’ve seen our programs, you know that we have a lot to say when it comes to choosing members using a set of measurable, objective criteria that are based on your organization’s stated values. If your criteria for determining whether or not to give someone an official invitation into your chapter is “He’s a Good Guy,” or “She’s a really great girl,” then it is hard to justify a claim that your chapter is a quality chapter.
If you’re looking for examples of what a Values-Based Selection Criteria might look like, see the fraternity example and sorority example in our free resources section. Notice how these don’t just use “values” words, they use measurable “standards” to make it an ubiased screen of “quality” as defined by your organization.
Yesterday during a conversation with a student at Northwestern University, I was reminded of an organization that has had a clear set of criteria for membership selection for a long time (126 years or so). Sigma Chi fraternity uses something called the “Jordan Standard.” Many of our organizations have sets of guiding principles by which the members are expected to behave, but not all of our groups have this clear set of criteria by which to evaluate potential members. What a powerful set of guidelines to ensure that the organization is consistently growing in quantity and quality. Here’s the Jordan Standard (from Wikipedia):
The Jordan Standard
The Jordan Standard is intended to be a guideline and minimum set of requirements for new members. Founder Isaac M. Jordan addressed the 15th Grand Chapter in 1884, and his speech provided the basis for the current Jordan Standard.
“The confidence of the Founders of Sigma Chi was based upon
a belief that the principles which they professed and the ideal
of the Fraternity which they sought were but imperfectly
realized in the organizations by which they were surrounded.The standard with which the fraternity started was declared
by Isaac M. Jordan to be that of admitting no man to
membership in Sigma Chi who is not believed to be:~A Man of Good Character…….
A Student of Fair Ability…….
With Ambitious Purposes…….
A Congenial Disposition…….
Possessed of Good Morals…….
Having a High Sense of Honor and
A Deep Sense of Personal Responsibility.”
The challenge for Sigma Chi members (and all of us with regard to our organization’s core values) is to figure out how to objectively measure whether or not a potential member has proven him/herself, through past performance, to have lived by this standard. Chapters that do “values-based recruitment” and claim to be made of “quality members” must choose members by a criteria like this – and not by their gut feelings or hunches or if they “like” the person after a short period of “rushed” interaction.
I’ve heard many members speak in serious tones about how “one bad new member class can ruin the organization.” Of course this is wrong. The reality is that ONE WRONG MEMBER is always responsible for the death of any of our Greek organizations. One wrong member can destroy all that we work to build.
Membership organizations are made of members. The quality of the organization, then, can be directly correlated to the quality of the members it selects. A large part of “values-based recruitment” lies in using the values of your organization to make objective decisions on invitations for membership. What is your organization’s “Jordan Standard”? And how do you measure it in potential members.
[Special thanks to Zach Gray, Northwestern University Sigma Chi Recruitment Chair]
Become a Fan of Phired Up on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PhiredUp
