[JaneYoung]

Leadership is important in running a FIRST team. How well this is done is reflected in all areas of the team. The build can be affected, the robot can be affected, the team effort can be affected. Organization and management can be affected.

Poor leadership will negatively impact and can split the team.
- gossip/rumor spreading
- poor planning
- indecisiveness
- lack of organization

These are the some types of poor leadership that will hurt the team.

Ways to offset some of this is to establish a good business plan and work on team organization. A handbook providing guidelines, expectations, and team rules is helpful in building the strength of the team from the inside out. If you have a handbook, follow it. If it requires updating, update it.

Team meetings help keep everyone on track and keep lines of communication open. What you can do now before Kick Off is request some time for the team to work on team building aspects. Create and implement a leadership workshop. Define what the leadership roles are with the students and with the adult mentors. By defining those areas and providing some training in those areas it helps the entire team understand leadership and then they are able to help develop it in a positive way.

Oftentimes, one person can inflict damage on a team because these aspects of the team are not fully developed or have not been addressed. And, it is always wise to look at yourself and see what you are contributing to the situation. You want to think about whether it is beneficial or if it has a negative impact and then work with it.