Team leader

[av11d]

Our team previously had a Captain and Co-Captain. The Captain was a senior, the co-captain a junior. The Captain would pick the co-captain, and the following year, the co-captain would become the captain.

However, the cycle got completely screwed up when we didn't have any students in the junior class last year. Then, the sophmore who was chosen to be co-captain ended up leaving the team. So basically we were left with no leaders at the beginning of the season.

Obviously, the team was wondering who the captain would be. Some people wanted one of our two teacher advisors to pick. However, they both left the team as well. Then we found out most of our J&J mentors were leaving, so they wouldn't be of much use.

I pushed hard for student elections, and they eventually happened. We had a meeting where people could nominate others for the different positions. A week later, we distributed a ballot, and everyone voted. We also re-structured the team, so that we now have two co-captains.

It's been an interesting process.

(Oh, and I won the first-ever democratic roboraiders election hehe)

[Jessica Boucher]

Back in the day... (oy! that's never a good way to start a post )

Anyway, I was a team leader in a group of three, with one senior and two juniors. After that season ended, the juniors became the senior leaders and we added a junior into the group. It was originally setup so that there was always someone with at least 1 year of experience in the leadership role, there would always be a majority, and there was always someone to mentor the younger leader.

The policy has since changed (and I honestly am so unfamiliar with what's in place now in that area that I probably couldn't do it justice), but I think that it worked well for the need that it was fulfilling.

Even though this thread is a lot like this thread, I still think this is a great subject, since these policies can change frequently due to many extenuating circumstances.

[aaronbr28040]

Our team leader is a senior (only a high school of juniors and seniors) and they are voted in / decided on by the team. It really doesn't have to be voted on as it usually becomes clear who the team leader for the next year will be. It is the person who takes the first step and who goes above and beyond what is required. Our team gets along very well so its not really a problem. The team leader makes sure that all the subgroups are doing their jobs and sends out the emails about the meetings. They also do organizational work and set up meeting times etc. They are a valuable asset and i don't think that our team could do without them. Last year was my first year in FIRST but I learned quickly how valuable a good team leader was as they hold the team together and make sure everything is done. Usually our subgroup leaders are a combined group of seniors and juniors as it gives them experience and also lets them learn about leadership in a FIRST team.
I try to tell everyone to join the team from the high school I attended due to the fact that I joined as a senior and it definitely changed my life.
-Aaron

[Karthik1]

Originally Posted by av11d

Our team previously had a Captain and Co-Captain. The Captain was a senior, the co-captain a junior. The Captain would pick the co-captain, and the following year, the co-captain would become the captain.

However, the cycle got completely screwed up when we didn't have any students in the junior class last year. Then, the sophmore who was chosen to be co-captain ended up leaving the team. So basically we were left with no leaders at the beginning of the season.

Obviously, the team was wondering who the captain would be. Some people wanted one of our two teacher advisors to pick. However, they both left the team as well. Then we found out most of our J&J mentors were leaving, so they wouldn't be of much use.

I pushed hard for student elections, and they eventually happened. We had a meeting where people could nominate others for the different positions. A week later, we distributed a ballot, and everyone voted. We also re-structured the team, so that we now have two co-captains.

It's been an interesting process.

(Oh, and I won the first-ever democratic roboraiders election hehe)

Wow your team looks like its falling apart, so many people leaving , do you guys need any help?

[811SmallFry]

For us, the team leads not only run the meetings, but they are the "go-to" people on the team. It helps to have the lead be involved either in controls or mech, so that they'll be able to properly advise you on robot-related stuff. The lead is also the primary contact. If another team wants to strategize before a match, the team lead is the person they'll want to ask for. Being a team lead is a LOT of work, but it's DEFINATLY worth it!

[Alex Golec]

While we run on no formal authoritive structure, people naturally begin to pick up responsibilities and people who seem interested in working on the team are given responsibilities as a sort of "push" to bring out their leaderships. I am personally against nominating people for specific jobs and areas of the team (mechanical, drive, etc.) Because many people get tired of one specific field and want to move around and try new things. Project coordinators switch around frequently, so it is rare to have one person lead the same group for a long time. I understand the use of captains and such, but responsibilities should be spread out over all the people who want to take part, to prevent any stress burnouts.
_Alex

[av11d]

Originally Posted by Karthik1

Wow your team looks like its falling apart, so many people leaving , do you guys need any help?

Thanks for the offer, but we back on track now.

With the help of dedicated parents, the team was able to survive. We were able to find two new teachers to run the team, and our main sponsor is working to find college co-ops to teach us. I think we're looking toward a great year with some really awesome people. We've basically renovated the entire team.

Andrew Duch

[inwoodraider]

The intial year of the team we decided to vote on a team captain, which in the end backfired. Being a new team, the person who ended up being the captain happened to know the most about robotics independently from FIRST, rather than through experience. He turned out to have little leadership qualities. In the end it turned out that the people who took the most intiative have turned into the leaders. The way that we have run is that we have a senior captain and a junior captain (based on year). The senior captain does everything, from coordinating meetings to making sure funding has come through. The junior captain basically pays close attention to what the senior captain is doing, and works as an "assistant". Therefore in the following year the junior will now know what to do for everything of the team. This is quite a project for a team that has expanded to 80 kids. So far the this system has worked out.