What happens when students become more that students? Magic!
I was recently thinking about how to organize my thoughts in regard to how students come to fill such important roles in our Krav Maga organization.
While this might seem like a meaningless exercise, understanding your own organizational dynamic and the various people who play a role in the organization – both staff and student – is vital to managing and embracing the people around you.
So, after looking at the people around me, the roles they play, and the effort each puts into the organization, I landed on the following layers within the organization:
- Outsiders – people who simply have not yet decided to join the organization.
- Students – people who have made the decision to join the organization and are attending classes.
- Community Members – students who have taken an active interest in the organization and the people/students therein (often volunteering and/or providing time, encouragement, resources, etc. to support the growth of the people around them).
- Stewards – Krav community leaders who see their role as more than a member of the community; rather they see themselves as protectors and ambassadors of the school and what it represents.
- Insiders – Someone with in the community, most often a steward, whose is regarded as fiercely loyal and trusted to directly support solutions seeking to resolve or bolster issues related directly to the school.
- Deciders – These people have become invaluable to the school. Their loyalty, devotion, and belief in what the school stands for over substantial time, leads others making decisions for the school to seek their council.
You might classify the way your school works differently, and that’s fine. The point I’d like to make in this article is simple: If you don’t have and cannot develop these types of roles within your school, you’re school simply won’t exist for very much longer. Without people who believe in what you’re doing, without students who help to support norms and cultures, the future is not bright. So, make an effort to engage with the people around you, embrace their willingness to help, and watch your school become a thriving community.
