10 Reflective Questions To Answer Before You Transition Officers

It’s that time of the year again. Time to pass on the baton to the newest leaders in our chapters, charters, and councils. Time to reflect on the great achievements, good work, missteps, and mistakes that may have happened this last year. Time to assess when to hold on to traditions and ideas that went well while also identifying what didn’t go well and reflecting on how we can improve. Time to pay it forward and make sure the next team of chapter officers doesn’t hit repeat on everything you did – the good and the bad. It’s time to ensure you can make the path more smooth for those on the road to leadership – ensuring their path is paved better than perhaps yours was.

As we prepare to transition the newest leaders on campus, let’s start with 10 important questions. These questions will help us as we move forward into next semester, as we finish our leadership positions, and as we build seamless transitions for the future leaders of our chapters, charters, and councils as you hand off your legacy to them.

10 Reflective Questions To Answer Before You Transition Officers

1. Who does your successor need to know to be successful?

• Who in the organization did you work closely with? In the fraternity and sorority community? In your campus community? In the town/city/state/region you’re located?

2. What are the most useful skills for an officer in this position? 

• This will help the next leader know where they may need to grow when taking on this new role. What skills are beneficial for the small tasks and the big ones?

3. What are 1-3 things you wish you had known when you started?

• Really think about this one, since you knew it was going to be work and it would take time, but what else specifically do you wish you had known? What do you feel was not represented well in the job description? What came up in “other duties as assigned?”

4. What are some things you’re glad your team/committee was able to accomplish? 

• This is your time to brag about big wins, and what those in your corner accomplished in the past year.

5. What are good ideas you never got to use? 

• Maybe if you had more time, more people, more money, you could have done more, share what that would have been.

6. What are things you wish you and your team would have approached or handled differently?

• If you could do it over again, what would it have looked like? Where did your team misstep? What questions would you have asked yourself? What would better prepare your successor for the same situation?

7. Then, what’s 1 thing you want your successor to do differently? 

• This can be an important perspective, because sometimes our successors don’t know that something was a bad idea internally. Think about the things you were able to accomplish, despite bad planning or execution. What would you change about that?

8. What are some things to never, ever do in this role? 

• Nothing is common sense, and it’s helpful to ensure they know what’s a no-go in their role.

9. Any other useful thoughts/words of wisdom? 

• This is your time to offer your sage advice they can carry into their role. 

10. Finally, what’s one reason you will miss this position? 

• However long you were in your role, there is something you’ll miss.

This is a reminder that transitioning leadership is more than a collection of good and bad experiences. You gained new skills and experiences, and you owe it to yourself, your successor, and the future of your organization to share your experience. Remind yourself of what you learned, and be sure to articulate these experiences somewhere so someone in your role 5, 10, 20 years from now will have access to your thoughts in their seamless transition.