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Council Best Practices

Overcoming Issues in Council Management

Where all best practices begin: Prayer

St. Francis Prayer for Discernment

(Prayer before a Crucifix)

O great and glorious God and my Lord

Jesus Christ enlighten I implore you the

darkness of my mind. Give me right

faith, certain hope and perfect charity.

Grant that I may know you o God, so

that in all things I may act according to

your most holy and perfect will. Amen

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Introductions

Joseph Basalla, GK • Catholic University of America Council 9542• Junior, History - Theology• 32Basalla@cua.edu

Evan Holguin, FN• Notre Dame Council 1477, John Francis Cardinal O’Hara

Assembly 3600• Senior, Program of Liberal Studies/minor in Philosophy• eholguin@nd.edu

Table of Contents

1. The Lifecycle of an Event

2. Speedbumps in Planning a) Event

b) Payment

c) Communication

3. Day-of complications

4. Team Building

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Generic schedule of events

• Brother Knights, happy first of [Month]! Here’s what you can expect to see:• At least one Faith event• At least one Fraternal event• At least one Charitable event

They need not be large, they need not be Knights only, but they need be

The Lifecycle of an Event

1. An Event is Conceiveda.What do you want to do? When do you want to do it?

2. Immediately after: How are you going to pay for it?3. Start Advertising

a. 3 to 2 weeks before

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The Lifecycle of an Event

4. Gather your volunteers5. The week before

a. Keep advertisingb. Gather all your supplies

6. The day beforea. Check in on volunteersb. Make sure you have everything you need

The Lifecycle of an Event

7. Day ofa. Pre-event preparationb. Stay calmc. Have fun

8. Wrap-up Sessiona. Meet with your volunteersb. What went well? What went wrong?c. How can we improve next time?

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Speedbumps, and how to avoid them

An Event is Conceived

Problem: It’s a straight up bad idea

Problem: It’s unwanted and/or unneeded

Problem: Your Council doesn’t know the Knights can do it

Solution: Constantly promote what you can do

Solution: Run your ideas by fellow Officers and Knights

Solution: Be brutally (but kindly) honest

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Time to Pay?

Question: When is the “time to pay”?

• You should have a plan for where the money is coming for before you even start to think about spending itAnswer: At the start of event

planning

Money is the easiest problem • Make an itemized budget for the year, and a general budget for the

event

• Make sure it is communicated with the event planner

• Always give yourself some room in the budget

• Assign an “underwriter” for every event

• The person who pays for the event is not always the event

planner

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Communication can make or break a relationship

Use the right platform

• Not every class uses the same platforms

• Ask your First Degrees what platform is best for them

• Remember, the best platform is always personal invitation

• Group messaging services can be great or a train wreck

• Look into a couple different options and test them before you

roll it out to everyone

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Not Getting Information Out Soon Enough

• Late advertisements leads to failed events

• Unless it is a timely last minute event, get the information out at

least two weeks in advance

• Plan a calendar with all the release dates for important info, and

then mark advertising start dates

Getting Information out too soon

• Less than two weeks is too

few, more than three is verily

too much

• College guys are spontaneous

but you also need to allow

them to plan their schedule

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The Cardinal Sin:

• Only Officers know what is going on

• When all of you know what’s happening, it can be easy to forget

that other people don’t

• Make sure to delegate tasks beyond just your officers. This gets

more people involved and active in the council.

• Ask non-officers frequently how they think your communication

is

Day of Disasters

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Tut, tut, it looks like rain

• Make sure to have a good bad-weather alternative

• Make sure the alternative is well advertised

• Otherwise, people with either just not show up or go to the

wrong place

“I forgot the…”

• Stay calm. Stressing out will make it harder to think of a solution.

• The best solution is proactivity.

• Sit down with another Knight and think about the event, making

a list of everything you need for every aspect. The earlier, the

better!

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There is no “I” in Team

Officer Transitions

• When a new Knight takes your place, meet with him• Offer advice, share notes, explain what you did wrong and what you did

right• Scheduling a time may be hard...

• Study abroad, incompatible schedules• ...but it is necessary!

• Institutional Memory and tradition makes a Council more efficient and effective in their mission

• Keep a Google Drive of information and traditions!

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

• Team management issues are hierarchical

• They need to be worked on in order• Issues in lower levels can

affect performance in other levels

Sources

• Lencioni, Patrick. 2002. The five dysfunctions of a team: a leadership fable. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Python Pictures. Monty Python And the Holy Grail. Burbank, CA :RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1991.

• Basalla, Joseph. “Generic Budget.”

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Questions?

Contact:Joseph Basalla, CUA32Basalla@cua.edu

Evan Holguin, Notre Dameeholguin@nd.edu