Zone Chairperson Training › resources › EN › docs › zc-c… · Web viewIt is important to note that the name ‘club consultant’ is not an official LCI position or responsibility

Instructor Guide

Zone Chairperson Training

Instructor Guide

Serving as a ‘Club Consultant’

Instructor Guide Serving as a ‘Club Consultant’

SESSION BACKGROUND

This session uses the concept of a ‘club consultant’ to describe an important function of zone chairpersons – to monitor club health and to provide advice, support, and guidance to help clubs solve problems and achieve success. Participants will learn the skills and resources needed to be effective ‘club consultants’, and will also have the opportunity to work through a basic problem solving process to identify solutions to current or future challenges in their own areas.

SESSION OBJECTIVES

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Describe the role of the zone chairperson as a ‘club consultant’ Identify healthy clubs and clubs in need of improvement Select resources to effectively support clubs Identify solutions to club issues using a basic problem-solving process

Lions Clubs International Page | 1


SESSION PREPARATION

Instructor Note: It is important to note that the name ‘club consultant’ is not an official LCI position or responsibility as it relates to zone chairpersons.

Preparation Suggestions:

Consider the technical requirements for the session. Do a test of the laptop/computer, the LCD projector and screen, PowerPoint slides, and the wireless mouse/laser pointer, if appropriate.

Conduct an inventory of the materials for the session. Utilize the Training Materials Checklist in the Instructor Preparation Guide to verify that you have everything you will need for the session.

Review the LCI programs and resources discussed in Module 1. Familiarize yourself with the programs and resources with which you have little or no experience.

Review all activities that will take place during the session. Have you obtained and organized all materials needed to complete the activities?

Do a review of content prior to the start of the session as a final measure of preparation.

MATERIALS

Instructor Guide Participant Manual PowerPoint slides Handout: Tips for Successful ‘Club Consulting’ – 1 per participant

EQUIPMENT

Computer LCD projector and screen Flipchart and markers Wireless mouse/laser pointer (optional)

ACTION ICONS

Refer toParticipant Manual

Activity DistributeHandout



SESSION TIMELINE

Overview of Instruction Materials

INTRODUCTION

(10:00)

Presentation/Discussion: Serving as a ‘Club Consultant’

Presentation: Session overview

PowerPoint slides 1-2Participant Manual p. 1Flipchart

MODULE 1:Club Consulting

(25:00)

Presentation/Discussion: Identifying Healthy Clubs and Clubs in Need of Improvement

Presentation/Discussion: Club Consulting Resources

Participant Manual p. 2-3PowerPoint slide 3Flipchart

Participant Manual p. 4PowerPoint slides 4-5

MODULE 2: Club Problem Solving

(35:00)

Presentation: The Problem Solving Process

Activity: Club Problem Solving

PowerPoint slide 6Participant Manual p. 5

PowerPoint slide 7Participant Manual p. 6-7

CONCLUSION

(05:00)

Presentation: Session Summary PowerPoint slides 8-9Handout: Tips for Successful ‘Club Consulting’

Total Time: 75:00



INTRODUCTIONTotal Time: 10:00

PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION: SERVING AS A ‘CLUB CONSULTANT’ (7:00)

StateAs zone chairperson, you will wear a variety of ‘hats’ that will guide your efforts as you support the clubs in your zone. One of these ‘hats’ is that of a ‘consultant’.

ShowDisplay Slide 1 and read the definition of a ‘consultant’ aloud: “An individual who is hired into an organization to identify specific problems that are affecting organizational success. He/she provides expert advice/support, with the ultimate goal of finding solutions to improve performance and solve problems.”

Explain that this is a common business definition of a consultant.

AskIf we were to consider a zone chairperson as a ‘club consultant’, how might this definition be different? How might it be the same?

Ask for volunteers to share their thoughts. Capture ideas on a flipchart.

Responses may include (differences): instead of being hired to support/advise, a zone chairperson is a volunteer; a zone chairperson is focused on specific clubs, not the organization as a whole



Responses may include (similarities): a zone chairperson helps clubs identify specific problems affecting club success; a zone chairperson provides advice/support based on experience as a means of finding solutions to improve club performance

Refer participants to page 1 in the Participant Manual and read the definition of a ‘club consultant’.

It is important to note that the name ‘club consultant’ is not an official LCI position or responsibility as it relates to zone chairpersons.

StateAs zone chairperson, clubs may approach you with their problems, or you may discover on your own or in working with club leaders that problems exist in the clubs within your zone.

The concept of a zone chairperson serving as a ‘club consultant’ is a way to describe an important function of the zone chairperson – to support, advise, and guide the individual clubs in your zone to success.

In serving as a ‘club consultant’, it is important to remember, that you are not part of club leadership. Your job is to work with club leaders to help them solve their own problems – to enable them to be successful.

PRESENTATION: SESSION OVERVIEW (3:00)

ShowDisplay Slide 2 and review the session objectives:



StateThis session will provide you with the skills and resources you need to be an effective ‘club consultant’. You will also have the opportunity to discuss current or potential problems in your own area, and work through a process to identify solutions.

Transition to Module 1 by explaining that the first step in acting as a club consultant is identifying which clubs are operating successfully, and which may require a greater level of support.



MODULE 1: Club ConsultingTotal Time: 25:00

PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION: IDENTIFYING HEALTHY CLUBS AND CLUBS IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT (10:00)

StateClub health is likely the best indication of the extent to which you, as the zone chairperson, will serve as a club consultant. Being able to discern the characteristics of a healthy club as compared to a struggling club will provide you with valuable insight into the level of support, advice, and resources that will best help clubs solve problems.

Refer participants to page 2 in the Participant Manual. Review the characteristics of both healthy and struggling clubs.

AskCan anyone think of other characteristics of healthy or struggling clubs that were not mentioned on the list?

Capture participant responses on a flipchart.

StateIn many cases, it will be obvious as to whether a club is healthy or is in need of improvement, and what problems may exist. In fact, you may have been able to learn a lot about the health of the clubs in your zone as you completed your pre-assignment prior to this workshop. However, there may be times when assessing a club’s health requires a bit more research. In either case, there are some strategies that you can use to help you determine how much support you should provide as a club consultant.

ShowDisplay Slide 3: Strategies for Determining Club Health



Refer participants to page 3 in the Participant Manual and review the strategies listed.

AskAre there other strategies that a zone chairperson/club consultant might use to help determine the health of his/her clubs?

Capture participant responses on a flipchart.

StateOnce you have determined the health of the clubs in your zone, the next step is to select the appropriate resources that can best address any weaknesses that may exist in the clubs.

PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION: CLUB CONSULTING RESOURCES (15:00)

Instructor Preparation Note: There are several resources reviewed in this portion of the module. While you are not expected to be an expert on each resource, you should have some familiarity with the basics of each. If an Internet connection is available in the training room, you may find it valuable to show participants the location of several of these resources on the LCI Web site.

The Zone and Region Chairperson Center is a webpage on the LCI Web site dedicated to the support of these important positions. It contains links to some of the resources discussed in this section.

StateBefore we begin discussing the resources available to support clubs, it is important to mention that struggling clubs are not the only ones that need the support of the zone chairperson/club consultant.

Healthy clubs also need your support! They should be encouraged to continue the practices that have made them successful, and should be recognized for their achievements. The Zone Chairperson Manual includes a section, titled Recognizing Achievements, which provides resources and information about awards available for clubs.

For clubs that can benefit from assistance, LCI offers a multitude of resources to help address the issues that are most commonly present in struggling clubs.



Refer participants to page 4 in the Participant Manual.

Briefly review each of the resources listed. As you review each item listed, you may wish to relate your own experience with specific resources, if applicable, or ask participants to share their own experiences.

StateIf you unfamiliar with any of the items listed on page 4, you should spend time reviewing the key components of those resources. This will help you select the appropriate resource to address the needs of any club.

ShowDisplay Slide 4: LCI Resources

All of the resources discussed on page 4 of the Participant Manual can be found using the search function on the LCI Web site by entering resource keywords or publication codes into the search field.

ShowDisplay Slide 5: “People Resources”



There are also additional resources that are not located on the LCI Web site – the “people” resources that you can find within your own district.

These individuals include members of the district governor team, district committee chairpersons, and region chairpersons (if applicable). They can provide suggestions or additional support to you and your clubs, if necessary. As a member of the district GMT and GLT, you should also actively work with your fellow team members to identify resources and opportunities to address challenges related to membership growth and leadership development.

AskAre there any questions about the resources we just discussed?

Transition to Module 2: Club Problem-Solving.



MODULE 2: Club Problem SolvingTotal Time: 35:00

PRESENTATION: THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS (5:00)

StateSometimes understanding the problem and providing clubs with the right resources and support will be enough to improve club health. However, there are occasions where more complex problems will exist, and may require more involvement on your part as a zone chairperson and club consultant to help clubs find the best solution.

ShowDisplay Slide 6: 5 Steps for Solving Problems

Refer participants to page 5 in the Participant Manual.

Remind participants that this 5 step process was discussed in the online zone chairperson training module.

Review the definition on page 5 of the Participant Manual, and then briefly review each step of the process using the information provided. You may wish to provide examples of each step to aid in learner understanding.

AskAre there any questions about the problem solving process?

StateNext we are going to engage in an activity to see how this process works with real club problems.



ACTIVITY: CLUB PROBLEM SOLVING (30:00)

Instructor Note: This activity requires participants to reference the information gathered in the assignment for the workshop, ‘Preparing for Your Term as Zone Chairperson’. Participants should be sure this information is accessible prior to starting the activity.

StateIn the assignment that you completed prior to this workshop, you were asked to communicate with the clubs in your zone and gather information regarding the current situation in each club. In this activity, you will use some of this information to simulate the application of the 5 step problem solving process to a real club problem.

In practice, you should never attempt to solve a club’s problem on your own. The problem solving process is meant to be completed in collaboration with the clubs. For the purposes of this exercise, however, you will complete each step with your peers in a small group setting.

Participants will only complete steps 1-4 of the problem solving process in this activity. Step 5, Implementation, cannot be completed in the workshop setting.

Because this is a simulation of working through the process in a real situation, participants may have to make assumptions about certain information.




ACTIVITY DIRECTIONS

1. Divide participants into groups of four or five. 2.

Display Slide 7: Activity – Club Problem Solving

Refer participant to page 6 in the Participant Manual.Give the following directions:

Each participant will refer to the information he/she gathered in the assignment that preceded this workshop

Each group member will identify one club problem that he/she feels would benefit from application of the problem solving process. For example, he/she may have discovered that member morale is very low in one of the clubs in the zone, causing members to leave.

Each person will share the club problem with the rest small group

As a group, select one member’s club problem

Using the selected problem and the worksheet on page 6 of the Participant Manual, work through steps 1-4 of the problem solving process

You will have approximately 20 minutes to complete this activity. Be prepared to share your results with the rest of the group.

Ask if there are any questions about the activity directions.

Begin the activity.

Call time after 20 minutes.

Ask for a representative from each group to briefly summarize each step in the activity.

Explain that page 7 in the Participant Manual contains a blank Club Problem Solving Template for participants to reproduce and use as needed.

Debrief the activity by explaining that the 5 step problem solving process is flexible, and can be conducted in a variety of ways to fit the needs of the club. Additionally, the zone chairperson’s level of involvement in guiding clubs through this process may vary. Once the club has used the process,


Transition to the conclusion.



CONCLUSIONTotal Time: 5:00

PRESENTATION: SESSION SUMMARY (5:00)

ShowDisplay Slide 8 and review the session objectives:

AskDid we meet our objectives?

Distribute the Handout: Tips for Successful ‘Club Consulting’

Review the handout. Explain that these tips will help zone chairpersons be more effective as club consultants.

ShowDisplay Slide 9: Footprints

State



Serving as a ‘club consultant’ provides the opportunity for you, as zone chairperson, to use your knowledge, skills, and resources to make a lasting impact on the clubs in your zone. The ‘footprints’ you leave behind will not only provide the support clubs need to be successful today, but will also provide the guidance they need to be successful in the future.

Conclude the session.



APPENDIX

Handout: Tips for Successful ‘Club Consulting’ (1 per participant)



Tips for Successful ‘Club Consulting’

þ Understand Your RoleRemember that your role is to enable clubs to be successful by offering your advice, guidance, and support – not by giving orders or making demands. Respect club boundaries and club leadership, and work collaboratively to find solutions.

þ Recognize the GoalFocus on what the club wants to achieve when dealing with issues of club health or solving larger club problems.

þ Keep the Lines of Communication OpenWithout good communication between yourself and the clubs, you will have a difficult time trying to fulfill your role. Practice active listening skills, be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues, and maintain a positive and supportive tone in your verbal and written communications.

þ Check Your AttitudeA positive attitude can help build rapport and can inspire and motivate others. Research has even shown that a positive attitude can increase creativity and the ability to solve problems. Make the choice to approach any club situation with a positive attitude.

þ Acknowledge the Possibility of ResistanceRealize that some clubs may be wary of change or concerned about losing control of the situation, causing them to resist your opinions, recommendations, or new ideas. Acknowledge the resistance and have a supportive conversation about how you can overcome it together.

þ Use Your ResourcesThe resources from LCI and the people resources that exist within your district are invaluable assets to you as you work to support the clubs in your zone. Learn about each of them so that you are prepared to use the right one when the need arises.

þ Follow UpWhen a resource or solution has been implemented in a club, follow-up with the officers or members to find out how it’s working and if additional support is needed. This continued support will establish the foundation for a productive, long-term relationship with the club.


Documents

Zone Chairperson Training › resources › EN › docs › zc-c… · Web viewIt is important to note that the name ‘club consultant’ is not an official LCI position or responsibility