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,
Chairing an Event
or Committee Chair of the transportation sub-group of
the climate committee – anything with a
title
 Officers
Officers
Responsible for the functioning of the
club, including leadership development –
usually elected and serves a yearly term
 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

THAN
ASK
K

INVO INFO
LVE RM
 Ask

Find out what matters to the

person. Why do they care?
THANK ASK Why do they act? Why does
this matter?

INVOLV
INFORM
E
 Inform

Let the person know how

your issue relates to their
THANK ASK thoughts, values and
interests.

INVOLV INFO
E RM
 Involve

Find a way to involve them.

They must leave with
THANK ASK something concrete to do, a
timeframe to do it in and a
person, meeting or
committee to report back to.

INVO INFORM
LVE
 Thank

It’s crucial to let volunteers

THAN ASK
know you genuinely
appreciate them and what
K they’re doing. Thank them
when you ask them and when
they complete their task.

INVOLV
INFORM
E
 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 email, 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?