CO-PRESIDENTS AND YOUR CLUB
In a study of Notre Dame undergraduate clubs, over thirty percent of clubs listed their structure as having co-presidents. As the demand for student leadership opportunities increase, clubs are finding innovative ways to provide leadership positions. The most common form of increasing leadership positions is to adopt a co-president concept. The following information is provided to assist you with determining whether or not your club should adopt a co-president leadership role.
ADVANTAGES OF A CO-PRESIDENCY
- Learn to collaborate.
- Provides more students a leadership opportunity.
- Provides members more accessibility to the president.
DISADVANTAGES OF A CO-PRESIDENCY
- Your club could lack a central spokesperson.
- Two leaders could result in increased miscommunication with members (i.e. sending mixed signals).
- There could be the lack of a central leader to "rally around."
- Decisions could take longer to make when you have two co-presidents.
- Clubs, offices and other groups may have difficulty reaching a central spokesperson for your club.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Every club is unique. Some clubs have been very successful by
having two co-presidents. With this in mind, here are some other
notes you should keep in mind:
- Avoid more than two co-presidents. Past experience has shown that clubs with more than 2 co-presidents have found difficulty in clearly achieving their goals.
- If you want to appoint three or more presidents, consider appointing one person a CEO and have the rest of the officers as an officer board which provides input into all decisions on behalf of the group.
- If you are considering a co-presidency, discuss these questions with your advisor.
- Why do you want to have co-presidents?
- Has the club ever had co-presidents in the past?
- What potential conflicts can you foresee with co-presidents?
- What will you do if the co-presidents disagree on an issue?
- Does your constitution allow for a co-president?
- Who will be the central spokesperson for the club should you need one?