Leadership Development 101 Ensuring Your Campaign Outlasts YOU!

Overview  Principles of Organizing  Why think about leadership?  The Leadership Ladder and other tools and tips  Delegation  Questions

Saul Alinsky’s Principles of Organizing  1. Make concrete improvements in people’s lives  2. Give people a sense of their own power  3. Change the balance of power

Why Should We Think About Leadership Development  Avoid burnout  Accomplish more  Delegation = Retention  Today’s campus leaders are tomorrow’s agents of change in business, family, and community  Power in numbers  To give people a sense of their own power

What is Leadership?  Club officers  Committee heads  Sub-committee heads  Dorm captains  Tabling chair  Student Government Rep  Event coordinator

Leadership Ladder Mentors Officers Chairing an Event or Committee Taking on Responsibility Showing Up Recruitment

Recruitment Tabling, class raps, etc. (For more info on this check out the recruitment virtual training on the Challenge site) Recruitment

Showing Up Voluntarily coming to a meeting, party, film screening, panel or any other event Showing Up

Taking on Responsibility Tabling, reserving a room, making a costume, writing an LTE, setting up a meeting, making a flyer, bringing food - anything that guarantees they’re coming back Taking on Responsibility

Chairs Leading the Fall Fest committee, organizing the kick-off party, Earth Day, Chair of the transportation sub-group of the climate committee – anything with a title Chairing an Event or Committee

Officers Responsible for the functioning of the club, including leadership development – usually elected and serves a yearly term Officers

Mentors Mentors Juniors or seniors who have moved all the way up the ladder and now serve to mentor new leaders and advise the group from the back of the room with their feet up on a table

Movin’ on Up – The AIIT Cycle ASK INFORMINVOLVE THANK

Ask ASK INFORMINVOLVE THANK Find out what matters to the person. Why do they care? Why do they act? Why does this matter?

Inform ASK INFORMINVOLVE THANK Let the person know how your issue relates to their thoughts, values and interests.

Involve ASK INFORMINVOLVE THANK Find a way to involve them. They must leave with something concrete to do, a timeframe to do it in and a person, meeting or committee to report back to.

Thank ASK INFORMINVOLVE THANK It’s crucial to let volunteers know you genuinely appreciate them and what they’re doing. Thank them when you ask them and when they complete their task.

Leadership Dev Example: The Interested Freshman  The Situation: You met a freshman in one of your classes who has shown interest in the issue of global warming. She says she’s concerned about the issue, but doesn’t know what she can do about it.

Examples of how it works  Ask her why she’s interested in the issue, where she learned about it  Ask her to come to the next event  Ask her to take the lead on the next project and involve her in the leadership and planning of the group  Ask her to run for office for the next year  Inform her about how global warming affects our generation the most and the power of students to reduce the global warming impact of the university  At the end of the year, inform her about club elections and vacancies for office  At the event, involve her by asking her to help with a specific task for the next event or meeting  Thank her for stepping up  You just elected a sophomore who can now effectively help lead the group!  Thank her for agreeing to do the task  Thank her after the task is completed

Some Principles to Stick To  Plan ahead –Know who's graduating, who's studying abroad, who's on the verge of getting burnt out, and who's got skills and could take on a larger role.  Build personal connections –Phone contact is better than , face-to-face interactions are better than phone contact. –You have to know people well in order to trust that they'll do a good job—too many leaders don't trust others enough to share responsibilities. –Follow-up Quickly: Once you’ve made the connection, follow up quickly and get them involved.  Build your organization and leadership through campaign actions –The best groups don’t just meet, they are out taking action.

Delegation. Delegation.  Why do we delegate?  What happens if we don’t?

Tips for Delegation  Divide: create a list of tasks and responsibilities  Match: figure out which task best suits each member  Ask: does this sound reasonable to them? What do they need to get it done?  Remind: check-in to make sure things are going well  Thank: showing appreciation goes a long way to ensure they’ll help you again

Delegation Example: Kick-Off Event and Party  The Event: Your group plans to have a table in the middle of campus announcing your kick- off with a wrestling wind turbine and smoke stack. You want to follow up with a “Do it in the Dark” party to welcome new activists, get to know each other and educate students on energy conservation issues.

Your To-Do List = Tasks to Delegate  Reserve the table  Make info cards and flyers  Make/order t-shirts  Make signs  Make costumes  Get volunteers to wear costumes  Make a tabling schedule and sign people up  Buy candy and other hand outs  Write a press release and pitch local media outlets  Invite top administrators to the “Main Event”  Invite other student organizations  Find party location  Get acoustic musicians to play  Prepare food and drinks  Set-up space  Dorm Storm, class raps and prior tabling to recruit

Some More Tips  Use the buddy system  Create titles and give them out generously  Focus on underclassmen  Appoint people to identify and support new members at each event or meeting  Have fun with each other!

Questions??  What specific problems are you facing with leadership in your group?  What are some “best practices” you’ve found to be effective in your group?