Launching a Leadership Team
Resistance
School, Marshall Ganz Modified for the Resistance
School by Kathryn Short
(And by Wyndy Knox Carr for Indivisible
Berkeley, hard copies and Luddites)
Congratulations
on beginning the journey to launch your leadership team! Your diversity of
resources
and
unity of purpose are already in the room - this process is all about helping
you create the structures
to
make them come out and flourish as you engage in action together. Get ready and
get excited -- the
work
you do together in the next hour will set you up to make the sustainable and
deep change our nation needs!
To complete this worksheet
as a team, you will need:
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A copy of this worksheet for each team member (paper or soft copy)
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A whiteboard, flipchart, projected screen or some way to write so everyone can
see
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Post-its, index cards or scratch paper - just something to write on!
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MOST IMPORTANT: The video entitled “RS Coach: Launching a Leadership Team”
Session Three Structuring a Leadership
Team Worksheet page
Agenda: (1 hour total, including video)
1)Welcome
(2 minutes)
2)
Creating Common Values, Shared Interests and Unique Resources (10 minutes)
3)
Our Shared Purpose (25 minutes)
4)
How We Will Work Together: norms (5 minutes)
5)
Roles: match responsibilities and people (5 minutes)
6)
Name and Chant: give ourselves inspiration and motivation (5 minutes)
7)
Conclusion: plus/delta, next steps (3 minutes)
SECTION 1: WELCOME (2 MINS)
Video: Please play
the first portion of the RS Coach Video until you see the screen that
says“Values, Interests and Resources.” Then press pause to complete the table
on the next page.
Goals
● To
explain the purpose of the meeting
● To
provide a roadmap for how the meeting will flow
Please
select one person from your team to be a
timekeeper
and
one person to be a
scribe.
SECTION 2: Identifying Common Values,
Shared Interests and Unique Resources (10 MINS)
Goal
● To
identify common values that made each of us join Indivisible Berkeley
● To
identify interests shared by members of your team.
● To
call out the diverse resources in the room.
Values
● If your team generated common values during Resistance
School Session 1 or 2, list those here.
● ….find
that common thread:
O
Give each person a minute or two to reflect on the values that brought them to
IB.
O
Then, let each person in the group share what they wrote and why.
What
do these values mean to them?
Why
are these values so motivating?
O
Now, what are the common themes you
heard as a team across everyone’s values?
What
are the common values that drive
your team? …write them down on the Action Worksheet. →
Instructions
● Create a table everyone can see with 3 columns:
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Our
Shared Values
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Our
Shared Interests
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Our
Unique Resources
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Interests
● …..a protocol to help you find that common thread:
O
In pairs, spend two minutes each sharing what
brings you to IB:
What do you hope to change in the world?
What
does “a better life” mean for you,
your
family,
your
community,
your
society?
O In
your whole team, report out what you learned about your common vision.
What do you all want to see change? Some examples might include “better schools,” “access to
healthcare” or “a cleaner environment.”
Resources
● Give
each person post-its, index cards, scratch paper or something else to write on.
(or this page)
● Think
of as MANY resources as you can that you bring to the table in each category of
Shared Values and Shared Interests. The timer will set the clock for 1 minute
for each category listed below. Be expansive and creative! Ready, Set, Go!
○ Networks: I have: Schools, faith communities, social clubs...
○ Talents: I have: Playing the guitar, knitting, making spreadsheets,
talking to people...
○ Knowledge: I have: The legal system, the immigrant experience, how to
fundraise...
2 Physical
resources: I have: A kitchen, a car,
office supplies...
○ Anything
else! ● Capture the results of your Unique Resources in the table.
SECTION 3: SHARED PURPOSE (8 MIN)
Goal
●
To come up with a shared purpose for the team
●
To explore differences in the context of commonality
Video: Please play
the RS Coach Video until you see the screen that says “Shared Purpose: Individual
Writing Time.” Then press pause to complete your individual reflection.
WORKSHEET: DEVELOPING SHARED PURPOSE
There
are four parts to this exercise.
As
individuals, you will clarify your own thinking about what the purpose of your
team could be.
(2) As
individuals, you will write a sentence
that you think captures the purpose of your team.
Part I: Individual Work (5 MIN)
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What is the unique purpose
of
your team? What’s its goal?
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Who is
your team organizing?
Who
is your constituency?
What
are the people like and what are their interests? What will engage them?
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How
will your team meet its
goals?
What kinds of activities
could
your team engage in to
fulfill
its purpose organizing
this
community?
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After
brainstorming answers to all three questions by yourself, take a few moments to
write a sentence that you think best describes your team’s goal, its constituency, and its activities.
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Our
team’s shared purpose is to
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Draw
on all three columns.
Example of a shared purpose sentence:“Our
leadership team's shared purpose is to ensure greater health care for all by
organizing doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in Cleveland
through pop-up clinics, rallies at hospitals and visits to the state capitol.”
3
Our team’s shared purpose is to Video: Please play the RS Coach Video until you see
the screen that says “Shared Purpose: Team
Work.” Then press pause to complete your teamwork.
Part 2: Team Work (10 MINS)
(3) As
a team, you will share your sentences, look for the common focus, and discern a
purpose you can all support.
(4) And
finally, as a team, you will consider the second round of sentences (from step
3) and decide on one that best articulates your team’s perspective.
As
each person reads his or her Shared Purpose sentence, ask the scribe to note the key words on the chart below
(on a flipchart, projected screen, google doc, etc) on
- goal (what),
- constituency (who), or
- activity (how).
Note specific words that speak to you,
spark your curiosity, or give you energy.
When
you are done, draw out the words that
are more or less the same as foundational for your shared purpose and identify the points of greatest difference
so as to discuss them explicitly before the next round.
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What is the unique purpose
of
your team?
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Who is
your team organizing?
Who
is your constituency?
What
are the people like and
what
are their interests?
What will engage them?
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How
will your team meet its
goals?
What kinds of activities could
your team engage in to fulfill its purpose organizing this community?
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Video:
Please play the RS Coach Video until you see the screen that says “Shared
Purpose: Individual Work.” Then press pause to complete your individual draft.
Part 3: Individual Work (5 MIN)
In
light of what you learned from the last session, write a new sentence that you think can articulate a shared purpose, using some of the key
words and themes.
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Our
team’s shared purpose is to
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Video: Please play the RS Coach Video until you see the screen
that says “Shared Purpose: Team Work.” Then press pause to complete your
teamwork.
Part 4: Team Work (5 MINS)
Read
all of the sentences from step 3 and choose – or combine – one that can best articulate
the shared sense of your team.
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Our
team’s shared purpose is to
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Congratulations on writing your shared purpose!
Capture
this statement somewhere your team can see and reference often. Many teams put
the shared purpose as a header for agendas, or in a shared drive.
SECTION 4: DEVELOPING TEAM NORMS (5 MIN)
Goals
● To
create a structure that will enable you to govern yourselves effectively,
responsibly and transparently
● To
help create a collaborative group environment
Video: Please play the RS Coach Video and follow the
coach’s instructions for pausing between each section laid out below.
WORKSHEET: DEVELOPING TEAM NORMS
Review
suggested norms below. For each section, clarify, add or subtract as your team
wishes.
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Discussion and Decision-making
(2 MIN): As a team, how will we discuss options and reach decisions to ensure
both vigorous input and debate and agreement on courses of action?
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Decide
how you will decide: voting, consensus, delegation, flip a coin, a
combination?
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Time Management
(1 MIN): How will we manage meetings to respect each other’s time?
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Honoring Commitments (2 MIN): How
will we delegate responsibilities for actions and activities? How will we
follow through on commitments?
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How will you "self correct" if
norms are not followed?
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SECTION 5: TEAM ROLES (5 MINS)
Goals
●
To practice matching people and roles based on strengths and limitations
●
To ensure your leadership team is appropriately diverse
Video: Please play the RS Coach Video until you see the
screen that says “Team Roles.” Then press pause to complete your teamwork.
WORKSHEET: DEVELOPING TEAM ROLES
●
Based on your shared purpose, what kinds
of roles will be important for the team?
Use
the “Team Coordinator” role as an example, and brainstorm as many as you can.
Be sure to think about both functional
roles and constituency-based roles (i.e. Team Coordinator, and West Side Lead
Organizer) (1 MIN)
○ NOTE:
Each of these roles is a leadership role, which means that each person accepts
responsibility for offering the team
leadership in this domain. At the same time, the
most critical roles other than
coordinator are those that reach out to engage members
of your constituency in action. For
example, accepting responsibility for engaging
residents
of a particular town or community, members of a particular constituency, etc.
● Within each role,
what are a few key responsibilities?
Remember, we think about responsibilities for outcomes,
not tasks. (1 MIN)
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For each role, what kinds of traits,
skills, talents or resources might make for a good fit? What kind of traits,
skills, talents or resources might make for a bad fit? (1 MIN)
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Based on the discussion about the roles,
go around the circle and ask each person to share their strengths and their
limitations. Then go back and try to match people and roles.
(2 MINS)
Note: When you do this for your projects, team roles should not be seen as permanent.
Also, for the team to be strong, all leaders should have to earn leadership by
carrying out responsibilities relevant to the role they seek.
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Role
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Responsibilities
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You would be good
for this role if you . . .
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Interested Team
members & Related
Skills/Talents
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EXAMPLE:
Team
Coordinator
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Coordinate the work of
the leadership team.
Prepare for meetings,
give support and
coaching to the team.
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EXAMPLE:
West Side Lead Organizer
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Reaching out to organize
constituents on the West
Side of town: identifying,
recruiting, and developing
leadership teams, engaging constituents, coaching action.
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Role
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Responsibilities
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You
would be good
for
this role if you . . .
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Interested
Team
members
& Related
Skills/Talents
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SECTION 6: TEAM NAME AND CHANT (5 MIN)
Goal
●
To celebrate your commitment to your shared purpose.
●
To remind your team of their strength, unity and motivation
Video: Please play the RS Coach Video until you see the
screen that says “Team Name and Chant.” Then press pause to complete your
teamwork.
Instructions
●
Be strict on time! Time pressure spurs creativity, especially if you take the
“yes, and” mentality of building on one another.
●
For a team name, try just all saying words that resonate with you at the same
time and build on what comes out.
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For a chant, try getting a volunteer to just start making a beat to play with!
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It will definitely feel silly, but when you come up with something good it will
give you energy at the end of long meetings and bring you all closer as a team.
SECTION 7: CLOSING (3
MINS)
Goal
● To
end with clarity and shared understanding of how the team will move forward
● To
learn about how best to work with your group
Video: Please play the RS Coach Video until you see the
screen that says “Closing: Pluses and Deltas.” Then press pause to complete
your team evaluation
Instructions
●Review
the decisions made (when you’ll meet), what the roles are, any other big
decisions
●Evaluate
the meeting with plus/deltas - What went well? What do you want to be sure to improve
next time you meet?
●End
with a closing reflection.
Please
play the RS Coach Video until you reach the end, and then read on!
Go
to the Resistance School Session Three Update to share with us your team name,
shared purpose and an audio or video clip of your chant!
Originally
adapted from the works of Marshall Ganz of Harvard University
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/marshall-ganz
Modified
for the Resistance School by Kathryn Short
If
you have any questions about these terms, please contact
marshall_ganz@harvard.edu or Marshall Ganz, Hauser Center, Harvard Kennedy
School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
