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KEYNOTE ADDRESS Miss Molly McGhee - Because of the many requests received for Miss McGhee's speech. it is being reprinted in the interests ofail Women's Institute members. ‘ This article is written for present and future presidents of FWIO. lt attempts to show what on important role the president has at every level of the organization and how each president can help it remain strong and flourish. ‘ . How can one describe a president? A presndent IS appointed or elected to manage or represent the pro- ceedings of a group of people. The person who becomes a president must become a successful leader; one who has the knack of getting other people to follow her and to do willingly the things she wants them to do. Nearly everyone can learn to become a successful leader if she takes the time and is willing to practice. It is not always easy to get people to accept office because it does involve extra work. In many organiza» tions. presidents occasionally find themselves in office simply because others were afraid to take on the duties expected of the chief officer. People often say: “I couldn‘t be the president because I’m not a leader." Some people are born leaders, but the majority who become good leaders do so because they worked hard and gave careful thought to the task of leadership One way a president can prepare for the job is to write down the word PRESIDENT vertically on a piece of paper, then assign words related to each of the letters. Think about them. It is surprising how many words can be assigned to each letter. P '7 palace. panel, parliamentary, participation, pi- lots. powerful. presence. prestigious, proce- dures, production. profit. protection, publicity â€"i2mUâ€"Utrn;o When the list is completed. underline the most important word beside each letter. Among the key words for PRESIDENT are: PARTICIPATION RESISTANCE TO CHANGE ENTHUSIASM SOCIAL EFFECTIVENESS IDEAS DELEGATION ENCOURAGEMENT NEEDS TEAM DEVELOPMENT The good president will use PARTICIPATION to improve the efficient operation of her group, because studies have shown that the active participation or involvement of all the members has a great potential for developing the teamwork which is so very necessary to ensure the success of any group. If the leader involves a person physically, mentally and emotionally in a group situation, that person will contribute far more to group goals and share responsibility for them. This is the greatest benefit of participation and the foundation for developing a team approach. 30 ENTHUSIASM and ENCOURAGEMENT are also key words. Enthusiasm is shewn by the person who endorses a cause. A sense of diplomacy, the ability 10 work democratically, and sound common sense, will all help the role of president to become easier. If ENTHU- SIASM is added, this will cause a very sharp rise in the president‘s stock, because enthusiasm can be as with} gious as an infectious disease. If she can become am“, excited about something and infect others, the: par-- ticipation will be obtained and the president is r ii on the way to developing a team. The ENCOURAGEMENT of others is of line importance. People work much better if they i :1“: positive reinforcement or praise. Praise, in the I'm . of saying thank you for help received; for a job wet in}. and the giving of credit where credit is due, will um that the leader can depend on others for help, C81» on when an emergency crops up. ' Recognizing inexperience and nervousness in m and guiding them unobtrusively when necessari 1m art which requires practice by all in charge. As pic gain self confidence they, unfortunately, tend t. m their own discomfort as beginners. Psychologis‘ in: measured the muscular fatigue of subjects in a. menls where some were praised and others CTIllL ll was found that praise produced an increase in in, while criticism had just the opposite effect. I, N and R represent IDEAS, NEEDS AND R1 .11 ANCE TO CHANGE. It is very easy to disco. A fresh approach or a new idea. Everyone has EXPL Lil what she thought to be a good idea rejected. E the has heard the following: “We can't do that; it in the constitution" or “We’ve tried that before ll didn’t work” or “It's too much work". If the pi :m continually vetoes or blocks out, or allows others ‘. to, good ideas. then there is little chance of an orgar on flourishing. The wise president will hold regulai tn- storming sessions of the membership to obta. rid ideas and pass these upward to each higher i at FWIO. Brainstorming can be defined as the unrc: i'ltJd offering of ideas by all members of a group .rcl solutions to problems. Admittedly, it does take t ‘mr new ideas to be aCCepted. In some very successfu lit relations companies, participants at brainstormi .m- sions are fined if they poohâ€"pooh an idea. howevc i’} it appears to be. I The Pennies for Friendship Fund might really . il some WI members had to put in a penny eve: mu they turned down a good idea! Therefore, the pr ‘Hl should welcome new ideas and withhold imz' :lU criticism. Of course, some ideas will be contri- uti- even wild, but they can be moderated or combin- i‘ih other, more practical ones to form a single good i The president must anticipate a negative v H' grape attitude from some members, cope with it i lb and clarify the benefits of any new ideas present “10 ShOUId U'Y [0 make it easy for all of the mom [0 accept a new idea. Above all, if an idea is succes~ ‘llL' should be sure to give credit where credit is due the person or persons who made the original suggem‘ If an organization is to survive, it must attr: members and be prepared to offer the type 0f P‘ 5””! they want. Otherwise. one of three things will hut-'2‘ "' N there are a great many new members, they W? “if” over the organization or they, with some 10“? “I” lit)“