Team Management

&
Transition Track
Crafting
Leadership Roles,
Goals, and
Responsibilities
Leadership roles: What
to consider?
Mandates from your parent organization and university (if any)
Type and needs of your organization
• Your leadership structure should support your organization’s mission
and scope of work
• Leadership roles based on organization’s long-term needs, not interests
of specific leaders
• Special roles specific to your organization…
 Watch out for the ever-expanding leadership
team!
• Ask yourself: do we really need this

BUT ...
role to be a permanent role?
Watch out for imbalances
• Are one or two people responsible for
EVERYTHING?
 CLARITY IS KEY!
• Have clearly defined roles
• Set clear division of responsibilities
⚬ For each area of responsibility, the buck stops…where???
• Have a clearly defined scope of authority
• Have a clear decision making processes
• Set up a clear communication practices
 Typical roles in a Student
organization

01 President
02 Vice President
03 Secretary
04 Treasurer
05 What other roles in your
organization?
Why are clear roles and
responsibilities so
important?
For your role in your
organization, can you answer
the following:
• My responsibilities are ________
• I have autonomy to decide/execute ______________
• I need approval from _______ to do/decide _________
• I am supposed to communicate with __________ regarding my
progress and obstacles.
• I actually communicate with _________ regarding my progress
and obstacles on _______________
 SCENARIO
Angela is the president of Students for Responsible Development (SRD) at Awesome
University. SRD’s Secretary, Ted, calls Angela to inform her that his friend in Haiti called to
propose a partnership with Haitians for Social Justice (HSJ) and needed an answer right
away. Since it was a great opportunity and expanding partnerships was part of SRD’s
strategic plan for this year, Ted jumped on it and said yes. Later, he called an SRD E Board
member, Mike, who retroactively approved the partnership, and a Skype call is set for
tomorrow between Mike, Ted, and HSJ to iron out details. Angela is baffled because she
hasn’t been consulted and isn’t part of the meeting. Furthermore, she and SRD’s VP approved
their final partner list three weeks ago, and HSJ—although a great organization—is a little far
afield from SRD’s mission.
What are the leadership
problems in this
scenario? How would
you fix them?
* Set SMART Goals and Objectives for each leadership position.
* Goals should correspond to goals, objectives, and activities in a strategic plan.
* Each leader should ask: what are my roles and responsibilities?
* May correspond to a specific project or area of organizational development that needs attention.
*Ensure clear and transparent communication across the organization.

BUT—watch out for overload!