"Student Leader + Leadership Team Paradigm"
...see Psalm 78:72
- Description: One student leads Leadership Team
- Strengths: works great if you have a strong/confident/competent student leader paired with a philosophically aligned campus ministry advisor; freedom to be creative & make quick decisions
- Weaknesses: team is subject to the weakness and bias of the Team Leader (especially their gender biases); Team Leader is vulnerable to personal attack & impulsivity with decisions
***Campus Ministry Advisor provides ongoing direction to Team Leader outside of Leadership Team meetings; easy to advise one student; but, transitions are hard when student leader changes
“Co-Leaders + Leadership Team Paradigm"
...see Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
- Description: One male & female student co-lead Leadership Team
- Strengths: works great if you have strong/confident/competent male-female combo paired with a philosophically aligned campus ministry advisor; mitigates impulsivity; models and facilitates male & female leadership working together
- Weaknesses: Takes more time and energy to co-lead; usually requires additional weekly co-leader meetings, decision making takes longer/requires compromise
***Campus Ministry Advisor provides ongoing direction to Team Co-Leaders outside of Leadership Team meetings; harder to advise 2 students; but, transitions less difficult when one student leaders changes
"Exec Team + Leadership Team Paradigm"
...see Ephesians 4: 11-12
- Description: Four students team-lead Leadership Team with strategic cooperative organizational roles: Team Coordinator, Operations Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, Financial Coordinator
- Strengths: works great if you have strong/confident/competent student leaders in each of these roles resourced by a philosophically aligned campus ministry advisor; facilitates long-range planning & ministry stability; frees up Leadership Team meetings for more prayer, discussion, training, and fun times; much easier to involve less-mature and emerging leaders (ideal leadership team size is 12; comprized of 4 exec members + 8 additional LT members)
- Weaknesses: requires an additional monthly or bi-weekly "exec team" meeting; requires long-range planning at the beginning & end of the semester; decision making more complex/requires consensus; team building & conflict resoultion skills needed
***Campus Ministry Advisor hosts a Spring & Fall "Exec Team Retreat" to provide timely direction & training for the next 6 months; and/or gives ongoing as-needed direction during or outside "Exec Team" meetings (requires good communication and long-range planning; transitions less difficult when student leaders change)
"for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers" -Solomon
Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. -Paul
For street-smart wisdom about student leadership teams check out:
How to Delegate Responsibility
How to Start a Leadership Team
Vision for Transformational Community!
What other paradigms have you seen work? What do you call them? What are their strengths & weaknesses?
