Niche advising

Many student organizations have one advisor -- one person who they turn to (or don't) for advice and assistance. But, why not have several advisors, each helping with a specific function of your organization? I call it "niche advising."

Perhaps you have an accountant or small business owner who can be your financial advisor, helping you with your financial management and conducting an annual audit of your books prior to officer transition. Maybe you have an event planning advisor who helps with all those details surrounding your big occasions: contracts, budgeting, inviting guests and alumni. What about an advisor whose specific role is assisting with your community service or recruitment efforts? What about someone in the media department who can advise you on public relations? If you are a fraternity or sorority leader, maybe you could recruit an alum who specifically helps with ritual or member education.

Look for advisors of different genders, professional experience, age, and talents. Build a whole team. Your organization will benefit tremendously from a variety of perspectives, and how can that be a bad thing? Perhaps you have a "primary advisor" who makes sure that your organization is doing what it needs to do, but then let these niche advisors make a unique contribution.

As someone who has served in a variety of advisor capacities, I will assure you that advising is a lot more fun when you can dig your teeth into something and really see the fruits of your labor. I would much rather work with one organization officer or chairperson closely than advise and entire group that never calls me.

If you have an advisor who is causing you problems, niche advising is a great antidote. Tell your advisor that you would like to find him/her a bit more help, and that you would like to find some niche advisors on specific areas of priority. Diffuse the negative impact of a poor advisor by recruiting others who can help you. By keeping these new advisors focused on specific areas, you can help to avoid a power struggle with your main advisor.

As you identify the areas of growth and improvement for your organization, think about recruiting some advising help to the two or three biggest priorities. If you are really needing to improve your organization's academic performance, for example, approach your study skills center on campus and ask if they have a staff member who can provide some intense advising to your group for the next 6 months.

(And by the way, that picture is of a "wall niche." I had no idea what kind of image to put with this post, so I got a little random.)