As the 2026-2027 school year starts, organizing your officer team is a great way to ensure your chapter starts on the right track. Here are four simple steps to ensure you can achieve DECA success this year with a successful plan for leadership:

Establish an Annual Strategy 

From your Vice President of Marketing to your Vice President of Finance, each role in a DECA officer team is responsible for vastly different sets of tasks. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that all officers work for the same chapter and, therefore, should be aligned on the same set of goals. Work with your team to organize a calendar or a sheet that details what general projects and objectives you would like to accomplish this year. This could include fundraising initiatives, mini-conferences, or member recruitment. After you set your goals, individual officers can then outline what their responsibilities would be within the greater project. For instance, a Vice President of Marketing may focus on promoting a mini-conference while the President may focus on organizing the location and dates of the event. By establishing an annual strategy, you unify your chapter’s vision and ensure officers coordinate their efforts instead of going off on their own to work on separate tasks. 

Draft Individual Action Plans 

After coordinating a vision for your entire team, work as individual officers to outline your specific responsibilities for achieving chapter-wide goals. Each officer can coordinate 3 to 5 main goals they would like to achieve so they can have clear duties within the greater chapter strategy. If your chapter has individual committees or teams under each officer, individual action plans can also help orient teams to understand what responsibilities they have beyond the general projects the entire chapter may be involved in.

Coordinate with Your Chapter Advisor 

Your advisor is the ultimate anchor for your chapter. An effective officer team should always review plans with the advisor to ensure all projects are school-approved, within the budget, and aligned with the advisor’s vision. Make sure to check in with your advisors throughout the year on the progress of your activities and always check for approval on larger projects that require budget approvals or administrative access. 

Attend California DECA’s Chapter Officer Training Session 

Finally, to take your team’s preparation to the next level, make sure to attend California DECA’s chapter officer training on September 16th from 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM. All chapter officers are invited to this meeting where we will discuss programs of leadership, leadership styles, and ideas for chapter meetings and activities. 

Post by: Katie Ong | California DECA VP of Leadership