True Brother Initiative
Lambda Chi Alpha General Fraternity recognizes its role as an
educational institution, partnering with colleges and universities in
providing key elements in the journey of personal, manly development.
The True Brother Initiative is a comprehensive concept of Associate
Member, Brother, and Alumni Development rolled out by Lambda Chi Alpha
General Fraternity in 2007. The Initiative explicitly and publicly
states the seven core values of Lambda Chi Alpha:
- Loyalty
- Duty
- Respect
- Service and Stewardship
- Honor
- Integrity
- Personal Courage
Further, the Initiative prescribes ways that these core values
should be used in every aspect of life within the fraternity, for
individual members as well as for the chapter, from Recruitment,
Associate Member Education, Pre-Initiation week activities and through
the initiation ritual—all functions of the brotherhood referred to as
the Outer Circle.
It is no coincidence that the initials of the seven core values are
an abbreviated version of the word “LeaDeRSHIP.” Once a man has learned
and applied Lambda Chi Alpha’s seven core values as an Associate Member
and/or as an initiated brother, the next step of the journey begins:
learning and fulfilling the four roles of Brotherhood: Faithful
Steward, Servant Leader, Leader of Character, and Lifetime Brother. Not
every brother will fully understand or integrate his understanding of
these four roles—but every Associate Member and Initiated Brother
strives to gain a pure, true understanding of what it means to be a
True Brother.
One aspect of the True Brother Initiative that makes it stand above
all other programs in the fraternity world is that the Initiative does
not stop with the induction ritual. Once inside the Inner Circle,
Lambda Chi Alpha recognizes that the development of the man and the
brother should continue throughout a man’s time as an undergraduate and
his entire life. The True Brother Initiative offers additional tasks
that are designed to engage the initiated brother in further
developmental, applied tasks that may be undertaken to enhance his
personal development as well as his understanding and application of
the four roles of brotherhood. Accomplishing these tasks and gaining
greater understanding of these roles is recognized and celebrated by
additional ritualistic ceremonies that are drawn from the original
research, direction and intent of our early founding fathers.
Throughout the entire Initiative, both Outer Circle and Inner Circle
elements, learning is based on a model of Continuing
Education/Knowledge, Experiential Learning/Skill Building, and Personal
Growth and Reflection, all leading to Adopting the True Brother
Identity.
Lambda Chi Alpha’s Seven Core Values
- Loyalty
Unswerving allegiance to the organization and its laws, ideals and
defining principles prevents us from misplacing out loyalties;
- Duty
Delineates the sum total of all laws, rules, and customs that make up our organizational, civic, and moral obligations;
- Respect
Denotes the regard and recognition of the absolute dignity that
every human possesses, and indicates compassion and sensitivity to the
feelings and needs of others;
- Service and Stewardship
Signifies the proper perspective that the welfare of the Fraternity
and our broader communities come before the individual’s; Stewardship
is the holding of something of value in trust for others;
- Honor
Circumscribes the complex of all values that comprise the public
code of the individual while providing for action and adherence to a
public moral code.
- Integrity
Encompasses the sum total of a person’s private moral code—breaching any of these would damage this person’s integrity;
- Personal Courage
Depicts the premier virtue that enables us to take responsibility and to persevere despite fear, danger, or adversity.
Lambda Chi Alpha’s Four Roles of Brotherhood
Faithful Steward
Lambda
Chi Alpha is a precious gift that is given to each of us and, paying
homage to our past and investing in our future, it is our duty to be
good stewards for its welfare all of our lives.
Servant Leader
Service
is the essence of effective leadership. A Servant Leader is committed
to self-improvement, life-long learning, and personal growth. A Servant
Leader is also committed to the development of others through teaching,
mentoring, role modeling and striving to meet the legitimate needs of
others.
Leader of Character
A Leader of Character leads with conviction
and courage from a base of values. By internalizing the Seven Core
Values, a Leader of Character will always have an compass to orient him
toward the right decision. A Leader of Character also understands that
leadership has nothing to do with title, position, or power, but that
leadership is engrained in earned trust and motivated by the desire to
serve.
Lifetime Brother
The True Brother sees Lambda Chi Alpha to be a
lifelong calling, understands the solemn oaths that we freely took
during our rituals, and seeks ways to continue to serve so that others
will be able to share in the gift of fraternity and Lambda Chi Alpha.
The True Brother journey is designed to support the successful
development of young men, understanding the significant developmental
tasks of this period of life, maximizing the positive influence of
peers and mentors, and moving our brothers towards an increased
capacity for self-reflection and self-awareness, empathy, altruism, and
intimacy.
This program sets up goals of leadership, stewardship, learning and
service, and explicates a range of core values associated with being a
true brother, which when pursued, leads toward a better tomorrow for
Lambda Chi Alpha.