A strong leadership team is essential to the success and sustainability of a club. Building a successful leadership team requires thought and planning around the following areas:
- Club Officer Job Descriptions
- Committees and Advisory Boards
- Succession Planning
- Stewardship of Volunteers
Committees
Committees can benefit the structure of the club by assisting in programming, recruitment and retention of members, leadership identification, and succession planning. Some examples include:
Program Committee
- Focuses on program, event planning, and execution
- Can be subdivided into speakers, social, educational, professional etc
Membership Committee
- Focuses on membership recruitment nd sustainability, services/benefits, and engagement
Communications Committee
- Focuses on the internal and external communication to members and the wider community
- May include website content
Career Management Committee
- Focuses on career development, job opportunities, and strategies to increase collaboration between Wharton Career Management and respective global club
Student/GOLD Committee
- Focuses on outreach to GOLD and future alumni
- Assists in planning welcome events for new MBA students and recent graduates
Sponsorship Committee
- Obtains and manages sponsorship for your club to provide funding, increase membership benefits, decrease event costs, and expand speaker options
- Manages in-kind donations and donated meeting spaces
- Markets the benefits of partnering with the club to possible sponsors
Advisory Boards
Many clubs have alumni who wish to be involved in an advisory capacity, but not as fully active officers. For clubs with these types of volunteers, we recommend the institution of an advisory board. An advisory board may consist of former club officers, influential alumni with limited time resources, alumni with connections to speakers and event space, or alumni who are members of one of Wharton's Executive Alumni Boards (please reach out to your staff liaison before contacting an alumnus on an Executive Board). The advisory board may provide strategic advice to the club and its officers. Your staff liaison can recommend a structure for your advisory board depending on the size and needs of your club. We recommend establishing term limits, guidelines on how these members are appointed, and specific expectations of the advisory board in the bylaws.