Organizational Lessons from the Sorority House

DISCLAIMER: Now that some people that know me in real life read my stuff, I feel it necessary to introduce a caveat. If you’re my sister, please don’t be offended. This isn’t about you. This is about corporate strategy. So please please don’t take it personally. And please don’t get pissy and tell standards to call me in for high treason. I’m already going to standards. Don’t make it worse.

So in about two hours, I will be walking into the lion’s den. I will be reprimanded for my lack of participation and chastised for my lack of loyalty. A panel of my peers will patronize me and exert their arbitrary superiority in an effort to force me to relinquish all defiance and admit defeat.

So where am I going, you ask? Into a board meeting with the possibility of getting fired? Into a group meeting for a class in which I make no effort? Nope… I’m going to my sorority house.

I’ve been in a sour mood since yesterday morning when I received a phone call asking me to come meet the standards committee to discuss some of my recent missteps. Laundering chapter funds? Treason against my sisters? Nope. Three unexcused absences. Mind you, I am a senior with 3 months left, and I’ve put in more than enough of my time and my parents’ funds. That’s not the point.

I’ve been looking for a silver lining with this situation all day. How can I grow? What can I learn? And then it hit me. Well, no. It hit me two years ago when I realized how sororities are really run. But I didn’t have a blog back in those days. But now I have a platform… And here comes the sonic boom of applicability:

My sorority is a perfect analogy for an explosively dangerous organizational model.

Granted, we look like absolute gems on the surface. Flawless members. Great reputation. Apparent success in social and philanthropic efforts. But under the corporate veil lies some truths that no sister wants to admit.

• Misallocation of funds
• Dissent within the ranks
• Obligatory hierarchical structure with no controls
• And worst of all (and most typical)… incompetent middle management.

This is not meant to be an expose of my sisters. I love them. I love my chapter. They have given me an irreplaceable, unrivaled college experience. I’m lucky as hell.

But this is another unfortunate example of an organization that, because of historical success, feels no sense of urgency to change. Innovate? Oh no, no, no. The chapter bylaws would not permit that. What would nationals say? Our advisors feel it best to keep things the way they are. And thus, we continue on. Leaving our six-figure budget in the hands of unqualified sophomores, choosing leadership based on charisma rather than competency, and restricting ourselves to one degree of success because we are not willing to shatter the status quo and move forward.

Does this not sound like every HBR case you ever read as an MBA student? A couple years ago, I got some fire in my belly and attempted to change my organization, if only in one area. One of my very best friends was chairman of recruitment, and I, her loyal assistant. We wanted to shake things up and do it our way. And we did. She was our fearless leader. And I was our logistical prodigy. Together, we created a vision, communicated that vision, and executed. Flawlessly. Why were our tactics not emulated? Because the rest of the leaders felt that because we were the outliers, we were wrong. We were dangerous. We should not be praised. They pimped us out for our clever ideas and leadership abilities, then proceeded to shove us under the rug when the task was done.

Why did we not stay true to the cause? Why did we cease fire? Because we were seniors, and we would much rather have fun and enjoy our final days of college than fight for an organization from which we were about to retire.

So I challenge you all to take a good hard look at your organizations. Are there inadequacies? Inefficiencies? Opportunities for growth and development? Why have you failed to capitalize on these opportunities? What are you doing to change the situation?

So rather than await impending doom found in the form of a board of advisors that will rip you a new one for going against the grain..

Be proactive. Change your organization before you abandon all hope and send yourself out to pasture.