The National Society of Leadership and Success

Hello. I got an invitation to join this so-called professional organization and honor society called:

The National Society of Leadership and Success

They say they have chapters at several colleges, plus they want a good chunk of money to join. Is anyone familiar with this group? It sounds like a scam almost to me. Any info is good, so tell me what you know.

 

So, a preliminary search reveals an unconfirmed claim that they are a for-profit organization (red flag) and that they are represented at a large number of colleges. The colleges span a pretty broad spectrum from DeVry to some respectable universities (a lot of state schools included). They also have a fair number of community colleges among their member ranks.

It looks like they have events (motivational speakers) and they sell a lot of swag.

Personally, I think honor societies are pretty useless. Apparently some people actually do "stuff" with them while they are in college. But I think those individuals would be in the minority. While I can see the allure of adding Greek letters to your LinkedIn profile, I can't imagine that it is actually going to help you from a networking standpoint. Well, at least not any more than any other social/professional/trade organization.

I wouldn't feel too special because of the invite as I'm apparently allowed to nominate myself, pay a fee and join in on the fun. No campus chapter? No problem, I can join the "Online Chapter." They also market heavily their paid internship to set these things up on more campuses.

So, it's not a scam, per se. But I think it's one of the countless organizations that don't actually add much value to a student's experience and yet manage to make a tidy profit by pretending that they do.

 

This might be helpful

Don't know anything about them personally, but this might be helpful.

 

A few considerations:

1. Groups like this are most likely not going to help you get a job. Employers aren't impressed by Greek letters on resumes unless the interviewer happens to have the same letters AND feels some sort of connection to them. Honor societies have snazzy names like fraternities and sororities without the networking opportunities of the latter.

2. Upon closer inspection, full induction requires that you attend a number of events. So, to me, that makes it sound a bit like a toastmasters situation. Like toastmasters, this group is touting itself as a leadership development society. Hey, at least they have events for you to attend. Are they worth it? No idea. I'd bet it's a situation where some people go and think it is a life altering experience and others go and say "Man, I'm never getting that time in my life back!"

3. I tried toastmasters once and found it to be weird, cliquey and borderline cult-like. So, I stopped going because it clearly wasn't for me. But that isn't a reflection on the people who do go. They all seem to be having a great time and feel they are deriving some value out of it. This is likely the same sort of thing. The actual benefits are not as quantifiable as joining certain professional associations or earning a professional designation.

4. $85 for a lifetime membership, in the grand scheme of higher education, isn't really that huge of a chunk of money. I don't know if they shake you down for more as you get into it or if the required events cost money (my sense says "probably") but if you can spare $85 and there is a local chapter for you to participate in, it might be worth a go. Personally, I would be interested in checking it out just because I have joined a number of groups that, like toastmasters, are either love it or "I'm completely indifferent" sort of situations (I was, for example, a Freemason for a brief time).

5. Networking opportunities - club membership, in and of itself, seldom falls into the category of a networking opportunity in my opinion. Being a member of SHRM doesn't help you get HR jobs. Being an active member of SHRM, however, can help you get HR jobs because you meet other people in your chosen field throughout your local area. So when I say that membership in this group isn't going to help you get a job, I mean that the words merely appearing on your resume are unlikely to help you. But, if you go and network and meet lots of people, who knows? The thing is that the same can be said for virtually every social situation, to some extent. You can network at a church (or other place of worship), a fraternal group (like the masons), alumni association events, dedicated networking groups, professional associations etc. Heck, Malcom X got his full-time job by utilizing a network he made in prison.

So, yeah, if you do decide to give it a try I hope you'll let us know about the experience. If not, I'm sure you'll find something that works for you.

 

The National Society of Leadership and Success is a complete and total SCAM. You pay $90 to people in an office complex in Hoboken, New Jersey in exchange for a packet during a 3-hour leadership training day where you watch a YouTube video. HORRIBLE. I would encourage your college/university/institution to pull out from participating in NSLS immediately.