Most of the 27 brothers who arrived at Bar W Lodge on September 26 were still getting to know each other. Nineteen were new members of the Iota Kappa chapter at the University of Utah, and none had attended a chapter retreat before. Two days later, they left Morgan, Utah with a shared definition of leadership, a common framework for practicing it, and a weekend of trust to build on.

That is the purpose of Delta Sigma Phi’s Membership Experience Chapter Retreats, which bring the learning of our flagship programs directly to chapters. Inspired by our flagship program Leadership Institute (LI), the retreat on leadership teaches members the 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership and gives them space to apply each practice to real challenges in their chapter and their lives. The retreats are a growing part of our Pursue Education pillar, and the Delta Sigma Phi Foundation funds the program so members attend at no cost. Nick Rodabaugh, Washington State ‘21, chapter leadership and advising coordinator at HQ, facilitated the retreat.

Members spent Saturday afternoon building a shared definition of leadership and exploring the 5 Practices. That evening, the work turned personal. Each brother identified a leadership challenge from his own chapter, academic, or personal life and brought it to the Hot Seat. His peers could not offer advice. They could only ask coaching questions drawn from the 5 Practices, which pushed him to find his own answer. The Hot Seat was the highest-rated session of the weekend.

When the sessions ended, the conversations moved to a bonfire at the lodge. On Sunday morning, every member wrote down one commitment to act on in the next two weeks. Most chose accountability, and several framed their commitments around the practices they had learned, from Model the Way to Enable Others to Act. The chapter then traveled to the challenge course at the University of Utah for team-building activities that put communication and trust into practice.

For a chapter this young, the timing matters. The men who spent that weekend in Morgan will lead Iota Kappa for the next three years, and they now share a common language for what that leadership looks like.

Chapters interested in hosting a Membership Experience Chapter Retreat should fill out a retreat request form. These retreats continue to strengthen the Pursue Education pillar and bring Delta Sigma Phi’s leadership education to more chapters across the country.