By: Robin Kassman, chapter housing specialist
 As sorority women we know how important it is to work together toward a common goal. Teaming together on a house corporation is all about working towards a common goal, having competitive and attractive chapter housing. Whether your house corporation has two members or ten, each person is an integral part of the team.
Each person should have a clearly defined job description. For those house corporations with minimal personnel each person may wear multiple hats but for those lucky enough to have enough women serving on the board, each person should know what their job encompasses and perform that job, according to the House Corporation and National Bylaws. There are clear definitions in the Chapter Housing Manual for officer and committee head duties. Those can be accessed on the 24-7 filing cabinet in the “Manuals” section.
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Meetings should be productive, especially if board members are coming from out of town. Don’t over-schedule meetings, stick to your agenda and make sure if proposals for work are being presented that all the information is available to make an informed decision while at the meeting. At the end of each meeting, the secretary or her designee should send out the meeting minutes promptly so each member is reminded about what was discussed and decisions made.
As in any organization where there are multiple personalities and differing opinions, there will be disagreement and/or conflict.
Conflicts/disagreements should be faced as they arise by using some simple steps:
Make people comfortable to talk about the problem
Be clear about the problem that needs to be worked out
Find out what is important to people on both sides about the issue.
Solve the problem, looking at all the choices or things you can do.
At the end of the day we all need to remember why we serve on a house corporation board – it is for the success of a collegiate chapter. We all know it is certainly not about the paycheck! As your board works towards that common goal, take time to celebrate the things you complete, whether big or small.
In the words of Margaret Mead: "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world; For indeed, that's all who ever have."