Let’s Create Tiny Blue Duck Moments
The college search is on! I’ve been taking little bambino (what am I saying? He’s 6’ 3”) from school to school, so he can figure out what program/campus/place is right for him.
We just toured a small, private college that he LOVES!!! Sure, the student tour guide was great. Yes, the school is beautiful. And uh-huh, students seemed to love it. And all that made him love the school. The icing on the cake that moved him from love to LOVE was a seemingly small interaction with the woman at the student center check-out.
We walked up with our tray of lunch goodies, and she asked to see his student ID. My son said something like, “We are here for a tour. I’m not a student.” And she said, “Oh! Well, you are going to have to work hard! You work hard, yes?” My son nodded in agreement. “I have something for you!” She reached into a well-worn Ziplock bag and pulled out a tiny blue plastic duck. She placed it in his open palm. “When you get accepted, you come back here and give this back to me. Okay?” He nodded (I almost burst into tears.)
On the way home, I could sense the gears turning on his side of the car. Silence and furious searching, then, “Mom! My GPA is the average admitted GPA.” Another stretch of silence, and then “Mom! Remember, one of the considerations is whether I’d make a good roommate?! I’m sure I’d make a good roommate!” A longer stretch of silence… “Where do I put the duck so I don’t lose it?”
I wonder if the admissions officers know this student center staff person is actually working for them?
In the same way, in every membership organization, anyone can influence feelings of belonging. Anyone’s actions can motivate a member to get more involved. Anyone can welcome new members. Member organizations do better when everyone feels their job is membership, not just the membership department or membership committee.
Here are some hypothetical examples:
Let’s say you work in finance and a new member calls with a question about a charge to their credit card. You can answer their question and also welcome them to the organization.
Or let’s say you work in IT. You can be on the lookout for ways to onboard new members on the website, event apps, and email.
Or let’s say you are a volunteer leader at an event, and you see that all the welcomers are busy, and someone is standing uncertainly at the door. You can zip over and warmly welcome them.
No matter your role, take a moment to answer this question: What would make a great tiny blue duck moment that you can share with new members of your organization?
