Those of you who follow the site know that I am a big fan of TJ Sullivan’s work. He co-founded Campuspeak and has delivered his message to over 2 million students the past 20 years. Check out the attached clip to see a sample of one of his keynote presentations.
TJ is also a noted author. His blog The Hungry Student Leader is read by thousands of student leaders every month.
TJ has recently published his book Motivating the Middle. I have read the book and highly recommend it because it answers these questions every fraternity has:
How do you motivate your brothers?
Motivating the Middle explains the dynamic of how your membership is broken into a top, middle and bottom third. Most fraternity leaders (top third) focus their time and effort motivating the bottom third. TJ explains how you will improve your fraternity faster if you focus on the middle third.
Why don’t some brothers care?
Motivating the Middle also discusses how not every member in your fraternity will feel the same way about the organization as the leadership team does. This is a critical point missed by most student leaders.
When those in the top third realize this fact, they will be able to tailor their efforts in a way that will engage the rest of the chapter. This realization is often what separates average chapters from great ones.
What exactly does my fraternity need to do to improve?
The very best part of Motivating the Middle is TJ explains HOW you can use this knowledge to improve your fraternity. He describes how you should establish minimum expectations of your members, and how you can hold them accountable.
He also explains how you can tailor the involvement of the middle third which will lead to a more rewarding experience for them, but also motivate them to become more involved. It is very easy for an author to describe a problem and give vague solutions. TJ goes a step farther and details exactly what your chapter needs to do to improve.
Final thoughts:
Motivating the Middle a very easy read. The book is direct and to the point. I read the book from cover to cover on a flight from Charlotte to Chicago, meaning the excuse of not having enough time to read it does not apply to this book.
I highly recommend you check out Motivating the Middle. Click on the book below to learn more.
