Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
1. Alpha | What Is Ethocast?
21 Plays7 months ago
We kick things off by talking about the "why" of "Ethocast" and setting the table for how leadership discussions will flow on this podcast dedicated to boosting effective leadership in college fraternity and sorority chapters.
Ethocast is a "For Our Edification" limited series and is supported by Edify Ventures, LLC.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Ethocast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Ethocast, a podcast about sound leadership practices to boost life in college fraternities and sororities. I'm Eddie Francis, presenter of Followership to Leadership and the Black Greek Success Program, presentations designed to help Greeks become more effective leaders.
Eddie's Background and Mission
00:00:20
Speaker
On Ethocast, I'll share lessons learned from my college days, my career journey and leadership research. Ethocast is a four hour edification limited series and presented by Edify Adventures.
00:00:32
Speaker
This is Ethocast leadership to the letter. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome to this first episode of Ethocast episode alpha. If you will, you'll get that. Um, I'm Eddie Francis and I'm your host. I'm the producer of Ethocast. I'm also the host of for our edification and the host of another podcast called I want to work there.
00:00:58
Speaker
But this is Ethocast.
Nurturing Future Leaders
00:01:00
Speaker
It's a limited series podcast that I'm doing and is dedicated to Greek life, college fraternities and sororities. So let's get this out of the way. I know if you're listening to this thing and or if you're watching it and you're saying, Eddie, you got gray hairs and it looks like you have been around for a minute. Why on earth are you worried about what's happening in the college ranks? That's actually a pretty easy answer. Well,
00:01:28
Speaker
There is a research out there right now that says that a lot of folks do not necessarily have faith in leaders.
Promoting Ethical Leadership
00:01:38
Speaker
A lot of folks have lost confidence in leaders. So to me, the smart play is to start looking at the next generation of leaders for this society, for this world.
00:01:50
Speaker
And where do we see a lot of these folks? We do see a lot of these folks in our college fraternities and sororities. I'll get to that in just a second, but ethical leadership is become my thing. It's something that I care very, very deeply about. As a matter of fact, my personal mission now is to promote ethical leadership in everything that I do. I even have a personal model leadership for good.
00:02:17
Speaker
that simple. And so this podcast, the the mission of Ethocast is to develop generations of ethical leaders, leveraging the spirit and values of brotherhood and sisterhood.
Exploring Leadership Topics
00:02:33
Speaker
Yep, that's it. That's it. There are a lot of things that I like to talk about, by the way, when it comes to ethical leadership. I love to talk about personal leadership.
00:02:42
Speaker
I love to talk about the leader follower relationship, something that I studied in my master's program for strategic leadership. Followership is something else that I love to talk about. And we need to talk about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. I talk about that as well. And I also talk about student leadership. And that's because all of these things have played some role in my life somehow in a very prominent, in a very distinct way.
00:03:11
Speaker
And I think that etho cast is also a way for me to get a lot of things off my chest that I just have to get off my chest. Listen, I would run a whole bunch of statistics by you about Greek life and all that other good stuff. But number one, I don't have it in front of me, but number two, number two, I don't necessarily want to cloud all of this with data.
Contributions of Greek Life Members
00:03:32
Speaker
I really want to, I really, really want to focus on the fact that there is so much energy
00:03:40
Speaker
among college fraternity and sorority members. And we can do some really cool productive things with a lot of that energy. Now, let's be clear. There are a lot of folks who are members of fraternities and sororities who are already doing some really cool things. They are already huge, huge servant leaders out there doing it.
00:03:58
Speaker
We do need more, we need more from more people. The views expressed on Ethocast do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts, guests, or any entities with which this podcast's participants are affiliated. Questions, comments, email eddie at eddiefrancis.com.
Impact of Alpha Phi Alpha Initiation
00:04:17
Speaker
You know, I was initiated into my fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha in the spring of 1989, March 10th, 1989. So this year,
00:04:28
Speaker
celebrated 35 years. And when I got to college, you know, graduated from Loyola University, New Orleans. And when I got to Loyola, I remember folks asking me, Eddie, do you want to be in a fraternity?
00:04:41
Speaker
And the answer was hell no, except I didn't say hell. And I was like, I'm not going to do that. It's silly. The summer that I got to college was a summer that, um, school days came out and school days made this really big statement to wake up. Oh, just a harsh criticism of Greek life, uh, at our college campuses at HBCUs, right?
00:05:06
Speaker
And so I looked at that and I'm like, well, I don't want to do that. That, that, that looks silly. That looks stupid. Why, why would I want to do that? Why? So then his brother, by the name of Emil Bagnaris III came to me and he told me about an interest meeting. I was like, yeah, okay, fine. I checked out the interest meeting and there were a couple of things that, that was said in that meeting that really got me thinking differently.
00:05:34
Speaker
One thing, and it wasn't one thing that was said, but really it was the, it was the, the recitation of history of the fraternity. I had no earthly idea that some of the men who I thought were some of the most influential men in history were members of alpha. So I was immediately impressed by that. But then there was something else that they said.
00:05:59
Speaker
And one of the things that they said was, um, go take a look at other fraternities and you just decide for yourself. That meant a lot to me. But then the other thing that they said was, you know, some fraternities when they talk to you, they don't necessarily talk to you about who they are and what they do. They start talking about other fraternities and that's not what we do. You can't win a race if you're looking at your competition.
00:06:30
Speaker
Bam. And that was something that hit me. And so I tell that story to say that I found something way deeper in Greek life than I ever thought I would find.
Relationships in Greek Life
00:06:40
Speaker
I thought it was silly. I thought it was pointless, but as it turns out, it was far from silly and had lots of points.
00:06:48
Speaker
And so there I was, there I was in the spring of 1989, right after the fall of 88, when I got to college and then I became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and it's been great. Now I know you're probably sitting there and you're thinking to yourself, well, okay, now I bet he's about to tell us about
00:07:05
Speaker
you know, all the career connections he had and all that stuff and all the favors people did for him, you know, because his his frat brothers probably just did him a whole bunch of favors. And I would say partially actually where I made a lot of my career connections was from people in other fraternities and sororities. As a matter of fact, I got in the radio. You want to know how I got in the radio? I got in the radio with a friend of mine who was a member of Zeta Phi Beta or is a member of Zeta Phi Beta.
00:07:34
Speaker
Right? And then there were all of these guys who at different points in my career were pretty, pretty impactful. And guess what? Not alphas. They were members of Kappa Alpha Psi.
00:07:49
Speaker
I can tell you about times that I had an Omega, a member of Omega Psi Phi, where, you know, say something really, really impactful to me. Friendships I've made with men of Phi Beta Sigma, men of Iota Phi Theta, women of Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sigma Gamma Rho. So I had, I had this community that got much broader than I thought it would ever get. Now I will say this, I did make a common mistake
00:08:17
Speaker
that people make when it comes to Greek life.
Identity Beyond Fraternity
00:08:20
Speaker
And that is, I allowed myself at some point while I was in college to rely on Alpha to legitimize who I am. Now, if you're one of the people who is thinking to yourself, oh, yeah, yeah, y'all do that all the time. Well, let me just let me just defend Greek life a little bit on this because it's not just Greek life where you see that happen. You know that, right?
00:08:47
Speaker
I mean, think about the people who you look at and you ask for yourself, man, is church all they got?
00:08:55
Speaker
man is that high school they graduated from is that all they got man they keep telling the same college basketball glory story over and over again and it's 30 years later is that all that person got man does this person sleep at work eat at work does this person ever do anything besides work so it is something very human that a lot of us do right a lot of us when
00:09:20
Speaker
We when we really find a sense of self actualization in in something that we're a part of, we do sink a lot of our identity into that because it gives so much back to us. So I think there's a legitimate reason that that happens, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a healthy thing because, yes, I will tell you, I will tell you that I kind of compromise my college path
00:09:47
Speaker
because I did get a little too much into the fraternity, but that's not the fraternities fault. I tell this story. Uh, whenever I talk to students on campuses all the time and always remind them that alpha has aims, manly deeds, scholarship, love for all mankind.
00:10:07
Speaker
I kind of forgot about the scholarship part when I was in college, but that wasn't Alfa's fault because I made those decisions. I made these uninformed decisions to skip studying and go to step practice instead. Right. I made a series of those decisions. And so I, you know, if you're listening to this and you're not Greek and you're just sitting there going and you're sitting there with kind of the cynical ear, which I definitely understand. I definitely understand. I always joke with people.
00:10:37
Speaker
that I'm probably one bad decision as far as the fraternity is concerned. I'm probably one really bad decision from just becoming me find me all over again. So yeah, I get it. I get the sense of cynicism, but here's the deal. The deal is that we are all human and I think that's another thing.
00:10:55
Speaker
that Greek life has taught me that is very important to me because I have a bunch of brothers who I have so much respect for, right? While I was goofing off and doing the stuff I wasn't supposed to do, I had a bunch of frat brothers who followed the aims and the mission of the fraternity and they graduated top of the class and they went out and got some ridiculously cool, wonderful jobs.
00:11:18
Speaker
And so those
Community in Greek Life
00:11:20
Speaker
are the types of people I like to defend because they do right by Greek life and they do right by themselves at the same time. They live life in a both and space, but
00:11:34
Speaker
I do believe that the people who are members of fraternities and sororities, regardless of the ethnicity, regardless of the nationality, I think that these folks are tapping into something that gives them a sense of community, a much needed sense of community. Because while I have my friends, there is something defined that I have in Greek life that I can latch on to.
00:12:02
Speaker
You know, I spoke at the Northeastern Greek Leadership Association conference at the beginning of the year, and it was something that I noticed in talking to the students who were members of their respective fraternities and sororities. And what I noticed is that they actually are looking for some sort of guidance. They want leadership.
00:12:26
Speaker
but they want genuine leadership.
Seeking Genuine Leadership
00:12:27
Speaker
They want authentic leadership. They want leadership that's filled with hope and optimism and direction, right?
00:12:35
Speaker
And so this podcast is dedicated to doing that. It provides a space for all members of all Greek letter organizations or fraternal organizations. They don't necessarily have to be Greek letter, but it gives a space for those folks to all get information and insights so that they can do better tomorrow than they are doing today. Not that they are necessarily doing bad today.
00:13:03
Speaker
but it is something to give them a path so that they can do much better tomorrow. That's what I really, really care about. So here's the deal. I want to, I want to peel off for a quick second and talk about leadership and the way I understand leadership.
Leadership as an Interactive Process
00:13:27
Speaker
One misconception that a lot of folks have is that there is one way to look at leadership.
00:13:33
Speaker
And that's because there's research that actually talks about this, that folks a lot of times, their mental mode when it comes to leadership is one, thinking that a leader is someone who simply provides direction. So when they look at leadership and when they think about leaders, they think of someone who stands up and points and says, go that way and do this and do that.
00:13:55
Speaker
But that's not necessarily the thing, right? Times have changed very, very quickly when it comes down to leadership models and styles. So when you think about leadership there, there are several ways to define it because we have our own lived experiences. When we take a look at people who we believe were good leaders or productive leaders,
00:14:22
Speaker
So if I had to throw out a definition of leadership, I would kind of look at it this way. Someone or group engaging in an interactive process with other people in an attempt to satisfy a goal or a mission. I see leadership as a process because you don't do it right the first time. A lot of times there's a lot of trial and error in leadership.
00:14:52
Speaker
But then you do have to pretty much be headed in some direction because a lot of times when people are looking to be led is because they are trying to accomplish something. They do want something, but it's interactive. And we're going to talk about this in a later episode, but it is interactive because the people who are in, let's use the word follower for now, people who are in follower positions, they have leadership skills too.
00:15:19
Speaker
And there are things that they want and they have opinions and they have insights and they also have expertise about which way a community or an organization can go. So.
00:15:32
Speaker
We're going to dig a little bit more as this podcast goes on into what leadership looks like in various contexts, especially when it comes to certain types of chapters, because I'm telling you right now, the way leadership looks for National Panhellenic Council chapters
00:15:50
Speaker
is a bit different than it looks at times for interfraternity council chapters. It looks a bit different for multicultural Greek council chapters, or maybe it looks different for Latino Greeks or Asian Greeks. It looks different in a lot of different ways, in a lot of different contexts, and in some of those
Focus on Ethical Leadership
00:16:10
Speaker
contexts.
00:16:10
Speaker
We are talking about specific cultures, especially where it concerns black Greeks the divine eye, which I'm a member of Where it concerns Latino Greeks where it concerns Asian Greeks and so again, we're gonna dig more into that as the podcast episodes go but Here is one thing I'm gonna drop on you and you're gonna hate me for this but
00:16:37
Speaker
What we are going to also talk about as the podcast goes is we're going to talk about not necessarily what good leadership looks like. We're going to talk about what ethical leadership looks like. There's a reason for this, by the way. Good leadership can look a lot of different ways because good could simply mean productive. A lot of times when we say good leadership, we're, we're assuming that as benevolent. And then when people say quality leadership, the,
00:17:05
Speaker
The assumption is that is benevolent, but leadership isn't always benevolent, right? Sometimes leadership is quite the opposite depending on who you're talking about. I mean, listen, you could have a person who is leading a crime spree and they are getting millions of dollars. Now their goal was to get thousands of dollars and they wind up getting millions of dollars on his crime spree. Was this person a good leader? I would say probably so because they did meet a goal.
00:17:34
Speaker
Were they productive? Oh yeah, they met a goal. They exceeded the goal. But were they ethical? Not so much, right? Not so much. And so that's why this podcast is called Ethocast because I am focused on ethics and ethical leadership and making sure that what we do in Greek life is the right thing for others.
00:18:00
Speaker
Because that's what brotherhood and sisterhood are supposed to be about, right? That's exactly what it's supposed to be about.
00:18:06
Speaker
So get ready for, um, for a pretty, um, I want to say a thoughtful experience. Hopefully it's going to be a very cool experience as you tune in. This is a weekly podcast.
Upcoming Episodes and Guests
00:18:16
Speaker
So I'm going to be coming in with these different episodes with different guests. As a matter of fact, I can tell you right now for episode beta, we are going to have Mike Ayalon, my man, the CEO of Greek university. Can't wait for you to hear that interview.
00:18:33
Speaker
Mike is just as much a character as he seems like on tick-tock and so I can't wait for that But listen, you know, one thing about Greeks is that we have a knack for getting to the front of the leadership line I don't care what fraternity sorority you're talking about. I don't care if it's white black Asian Latino. I do not care We for whatever reason somehow have a knack for getting to the front of the leadership line We have so much energy. We are walking billboards. We just we just go for it and
00:19:02
Speaker
And what I want to do on this podcast is I want to do something with that energy. I want to steer that energy in a productive direction so that we are training up our ethical leaders of tomorrow. So get ready for insights, get ready for more convo. Hey, if you have any ideas or anything at all, if you already have a comment for me,
00:19:28
Speaker
Then reach out to me, Eddie, at eddiefrances.com, but get ready for more Ethocast leadership to the letter. Thank you.
00:19:39
Speaker
Ethercast is a four hour edification limited series. If you like what you heard, like and follow this podcast for more leadership insights for your fraternity or sorority chapter. To find out how you can bring followership to leadership or the Black Greek success program to your campus or a campus near you, email today, eddy at eddyfrances.com. Until next time, spread brotherly and sisterly love wherever you go.