So I know I said I was going to get a little bit more personal last week, but I lied. Meaning, I didn't have enough time what with moving into my new apartment and all to come up with something personal that I want to share with all of you. Instead, I"m going to talk to you about something that I try to inspire in the members of my organization: leadership.

Too often (at least in my organization) members just come to meetings and hang out there, letting other people move the organization forward. I don't like that.

It's not bad to be one of the people without a leadership role in an organization. We need people who hang back and don't push themselves forward in the organization. But all of your members should at least be working towards pushing the organization forwards. In order for thatto happen, they need the opportunity - there needs to be space in the organization for everyone to do something.

You start that by being all-inclusive. If you are an LGBTQA student organization, make sure you emphasize each letter. Everything must have some kind of space in your organization, and each space must be equal. Whether it's having a discussion night based on each letter (a Bi night, a Trans night, etc) or doing a workshop on the specific issues facing different members of our alphabet soup community, you need to do something.

Next, provide those opportunities! My organization does it through committees, which I implemented. We have five different committees that our members can choose from, and these committees basically push the organization's agenda. For us, we have:
- Activism Committee (President)
- Major Events Committee (Vice President)
- Fundraising Committee (Treasurer)
- Campus Connections Committee (Secretary)
- Social Events Committee (Community Outreach Coordinator)
Each of these is led by a member of our executive board, who guide the members in what they do. They each put together events and set goals for themselves. The committees are really there to invigorate the members and help them develop their own skills.

All you can do as a leader is provide those opportunities. You can't force them to be part of a committee, and you can't drag them into a specific committee. You just have to let them do what they want, and eventually, they'll start leading.