Forming Your Team

The central idea of community resilience is to bring together diverse sectors into shared leadership and action. Cultivating this collective leadership team means developing genuine relationships. It means understanding the priorities of each member of the team, knowing what they bring to the table, and finding the niche for each in every initiative.

The key to successful collective leadership is to recognize and rally around common goals. This can only truly happen when vulnerable populations are welcomed, represented and included as co-leaders.

It’s important to recognize from the beginning that leadership is never set in stone. Members will come and go over time, and some will engage only at specific stages of your work. And that’s OK — new people bring new ideas and new perspectives that help to make your work more effective. But overall, a certain level of stability is necessary to stay on track. These activities can help you build that stability:

1. Identify community leaders

They’ve earned that reputation by staying involved in community-level activities.

2. Determine availability and level of involvement

Some people excel when involved at the start, others after a plan is established.

3. Be inclusive

More people = more resources and greater impact.

4. Determine goals, identify gaps, set expectations, assign responsibilities

Short- and long-term goals are all important to help you build and sustain momentum. Check in periodically to ensure that goals are being met and that any gaps are being addressed.

5. Set guidelines for dealing with conflict

A diverse group is bound to have disagreements. Establishing the ground rules for resolving disputes can help keep your team together and moving forward.