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Bonner Leadership Teams
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Contents
Recruiting and Selecting Your Bonner Leadership Team
Recruitment
When recruiting your BLT it is important consider the size and diversity of your program. Make sure that the number of BLT members is a fair percentage of the number of overall students within your program. It is suggested that your BLT makes up 10-20% of your total Bonner Program members.
Diversity is also an important consideration when developing leadership opportunities for your program. Take into account varying skill levels, leadership styles, ethnicities, graduation year, etc. If there are certain skills or voices that you feel are missing from your program’s student leadership, think about individuals that you can begin to reach out to and encourage to take on a role within your leadership team.
Application Process
It is important to start the application process early, the beginning of the Spring semester is a common time.
- Have a Written Application. Having a written application is an easy way to clearly outline the expectations of your BLT and to create a fair opportunity for all to apply. The application form can be as long as you like but keep in mind that you and others will have to reserve the time to read all the applications. Written applications are also an opportunity for students who are less comfortable with interviews to take the time to articulate their thoughts. Please see campus examples below for examples of BLT applications from around the network.
- Conduct Interviews. Interviews are an excellent way to gain further insight into a student’s abilities and interest in the position. Furthermore, it offers applicants the opportunity to ask any questions they may have about the position. It is a best practice to include current BLT members in the crafting of interview questions as well as assisting in conducting the interviews themselves. It is also helpful to establish a rating scale that interviewers can complete after each interview in order to have a uniform assessment process. Please see the campus examples section below for sample interview questions.
Selection Process
The selection process for Bonner Leadership Teams can be broken down into three different options:
Voting can be a great way to ensure that student voice is captured and uplifted. Have the candidates that you have already vetted through a written application and interview deliver a speech to the Bonner program as a whole about why they feel they would be best suited for the position. Widener University takes the time to explain and read the position description prior to speeches being made so that everyone understands the expectations and skills needed for the role. Voting is then conducted either by paper ballots or later that evening with an online poll.
Appointment entails Bonner coordinators and directors along with whoever was also apart of the interview process to vote internally on whom should be given the position.
- Combination of Voting and Appointment:
Some schools practice a combination of voting and appointment. For example, at the Carson Newman University Bonner Program students apply for specific positions on the BLT and take part in an interview. Then the interviewers select two candidates per position to give speeches during a All-Group Bonner meeting. To ensure that the voting does not dissolve into a popularity contest, Carson-Newman coordinators and directors make it clear that they will seriously take into consideration the popular vote but that they have the final say in who is selected.
Training Your Bonner Leadership Team
Orientation
Orientation typically occurs over the summer or at the beginning of the school year. Depending on your structure and size, orientation can last half a day to a full weekend retreat. Many schools assemble an orientation packet containing the agenda for the retreat, resources needed throughout the year, a list of all important meeting times and dates, along with a proposed calendar outlining expectations. Many schools have senior interns assist in the planning and facilitation of the BLT orientation.
Strengths Assignment and Team Building Activities
Conducting a strengths assessment with your BLT is an important activity to do as a supervisor. Resources like StrengthsFinder, Meyers Brigs, and Enneagram are excellent ways of having your BLT members begin thinking about their strengths and challenges and how they can utilize and develop them throughout the year. These self-assessments are useful in one-on-one meetings as well as to reference during orientation as a team building activity.
It is important to conduct team building activities throughout the year so as to create community and understanding among your BLT members. Please see the links below for team building workshops:
Skill Development Trainings
Below you can find examples of trainings that may be useful for the types of positions and student leadership opportunities that exist within Bonner Leadership Teams. Other skills that you may want to prepare your BLT members for would be peer mentoring tactics, and effective communication standards and boundaries.
Setting Communication Standards for your Bonner Leadership Team
It is important to establish a clear chain of communication and procedures within your BLT. For example, who should be informed if a BLT member is unable to attend a regular meeting? Who will be responsible for sending out agendas for and taking notes at the BLT meetings, and then communicating necessary information to the Bonner Program at large?
Furthermore, it is helpful to clearly communicate the roles of your BLT members so that when Bonners have specific or general questions they know who to ask.
It is important to have a clear decision making process so that BLT members and their fellow Bonners understand how their input is being taken into consideration. It is perfectly acceptable to adapt voting processes to each situation, but be transparent throughout. This becomes particularly important when program policies and enforcement are being decided.
Supporting your Bonner Leadership Team
Practice Regular Staff Check-Ins
Practice regular check-ins with each Bonner Leadership Team member. Some schools do this as often as every month, others have one check-in per semester. Whichever fits your program best, be sure to communicate this expectation so that both parties can prepare discussion topics as well as positive and constructive feedback.
Conducting BLT wide check-ins is also a helpful practice to do at least once every semester. Such a practice is helpful in order to garner feedback on BLT processes, potential areas for growth, and bring to light any challenges. Crafting an agenda and reflection questions prior to the meeting will allow for maximum feedback and efficiency.
Leadership Transitions
Bonner Leadership Teams experience leadership transitions every year. It is important to have clear transition processes as well as orientation materials for each BLT member.
Tips for guiding students through this process include:
- Have a transition binder for every BLT member role;
- Utilize your current BLT members in training the new cohort;
- Have incoming BLT members sit in on a BLT meeting;
- Train incoming BLT members over the summer;
- Have an orientation;
- Encourage current and incoming BLT members to meet one-on-one;
- Have incoming BLT members do a leadership self-evaluation;
- Sit down with each incoming BLT member and discuss their expectations and what they consider will be their biggest challenges.
Training Module: Planning a Leadership Transition — This training is designed to guide participants in organizing their transition out of a leadership position in a program. It aims to assist a student leader in determining the important information that should be passed on to the next leader. It also provides suggested methods to convey that information including the guidelines for developing a concrete transition binder that can serve as a reference for incoming leaders.
Feedback Structures
Feedback Structures are vital to a healthy and productive Bonner Leadership Team. Students themselves are an extremely important voice to consider when discussing the expectations and limitations of each role. Their input can help shape the structure of the BLT and the potential deepening of its roles and responsibilities within the program. Such change is often made more effective when it comes from the very individuals that have to carry out the work.
Examples of feedback structures:
- Focus Groups;
- Pre and Post Surveys;
- Anonymous Comment Box;
- One-on-one check-ins.
Other Personal/Professional Development Opportunities
The Bonner Leadership Team is an important leadership and professional development opportunity for its members. Be sure to work with your BLT members to ascertain what skills and experiences they would like to develop during their time on the BLT. Trainings are an excellent tool, as are student conferences.
- Bonner Student Conferences: the dates and locations of these meetings are published on the Bonner website at www.bonner.org
- Bonner Congress (generally in October)
- Summer Leadership Institute (generally in late May or early June)
- National and Regional Conferences: below are just a few examples
BWBRS Tracking and Communication
The Bonner Foundation uses BWBRS to send email updates to program staff and students, including students who serve on your Bonner Leadership Team. See this step-by-step guide for Identifying Bonners in Leadership Roles in BWBRS.
