Most advisers commit to advising a student organization because they want to be involved and help develop and educate the students who are involved with the program.  Sometimes it does get busy or stressful and the demands of being an adviser can sometimes feel overwhelming on top of their other responsibilities.  Overwhelmed advisers could become crabby and cut back on the “extra” things that your organization could do, leaving it curtailed if your adviser becomes overloaded.  As a student leader you can take steps to help your adviser from burning out and staying focused on being involved.

1.  Step Up: Don’t rely on the adviser to do everything for you.  You are a capable student leader and you can accomplish things for yourself.  It’s a student organization right?  The adviser is there to offer guidance and support, not do the work of the organization. The more active you are as a student leader, the more competent you will become and in return gain trust with the adviser to get jobs done on time.

2.  Follow Through on Responsibilities:  One of the biggest things that will keep your adviser from stressing out is to make sure you as a student leader, do what you say you will do.  Sure, everyone slips up once in a while, but the adviser shouldn’t have to go along following you, making sure that everything gets done.  Officers, Executives, and Representatives are all key members in the organization that should follow up with chair people and other members who have taken on tasks to do for the group.  Ask how they are progressing and provide help, support, and resources if they need it.

3.  Put Things Back:  Advisers are prone to having students walk off and leave class with the paint, scissors, tape, stapler, markers, and other supplies left out for the adviser to clean, find, put back, and organize.  Constantly having to search for things, clean items,  and organize them can drive anyone crazy! Make an effort to clean supplies, and put them back when you use them and remind your peers as well.  Take on the job of organizing the back supply closet or paint area, labeling everything so the group knows where everything is at and where it belongs to help keep those items in their place.

4.  Be Sensitive to Schedules:  Before asking if the group can sponsor an activity or host an after school meeting or event, check to see what else might be going on in the adviser’s schedule so as not to overload their calendar or prevent them from their own tasks and duties or leaving school to continue on with their day.

5.  Find the Humor:  When things get stressful, tell everyone a corny joke or do a silly activity to get everyone laughing.  Try to find the humor and fun in all situations and laugh at mistakes instead of getting angry or upset.

6.  Build in Time for Fun:  It’s easy to get burned out on boring meetings and hard work all the time.  Find some fun ways for your member’s and adviser to have some fun together.  Plan a social event with no other goal in mind than just to relax, have fun and boost the energy and mood level!

7.  Express Appreciation:  The quickest way for someone to get burned out is to feel unappreciated. Be sure to let your adviser know that their efforts with the group are noted and appreciated.  Don’t wait until the end of the year to give a token of appreciation- it might be too late by then!  Try some of these ideas throughout the year:

*During the year when the adviser has to stay late because it is a particularly busy week for the group’s activities, line up some parents to bring in casserole dinners the adviser can take home so they don’t have to cook dinner for their family when they get home late after a long day.

*Have all members of the organization write a quick note of appreciation to the adviser for something specific that happened during an event your group sponsored.  Put them all together and give them to the adviser in an envelope. Or, create a poster with everyone jotting down a few words of thanks in different colors of markers.

*Ask parents of members to write an email to the principal (and cc: the adviser) expressing their appreciation for the adviser’s work.

*Nominate the adviser for recognition and awards programs in the adviser’s field.

*Just say Thanks!  Sometimes the simplest thing is all that’s needed to make the adviser feel his or her time is being well spent.

Excerpt from ‘Challenge’ by Herff Jones and Leadership Logistics, 2015, Vol 18 #6