Hello,
I’m the new sole team captain of Team 2220. I was wondering if anyone had leadership advice?
We have a fairly large team (36 team members and about 8 mentors).
Thanks!
Alex,
Are you having a particular problem or are you looking for general advice as to team organization for a large team?
Without specifics on what you’re looking for, start with the white papers on Thinktank a WPI/FIRST knowledge base project. Info on team building, organization, and more. Good info with no fluff.
Take a deep breath and let it out…
Now find 3 other team members and a mentor that will make up your leadership council.
Talk with them and prepare some type of break down for your team’s responsibilities… prepare a presentation for the team.
Take input from your team on your ideas…
Come back and discuss it again…with your council.
Then do it…request volunteers for leadership positions…
Break the team into discrete units… assign tasks… let them go.
You are going to need to have team meetings at least 1-2 times per week and have each group report out on their progress.
Remember… it is a team… you are just the coordinator now…
Make things happen… find resources… solve problems…
You are in FIRST now… You adapt. You overcome. You improvise.
let the rest of us know how things are going and everyone will help.
oh and have fun
that is all…
R. Steele
Team 1983…Skunkworks Robotics… The Few… the Proud… the Skunks…
I’d suggest asking previous captains, unless that’s a position your team has never had before. They normally have some pretty good advice.
First of all, make sure that the students know that you’re in charge, and that you have authority over them. Enforce it. Even if they’re your friends, don’t let things slide because of it.
You’ll need to be in close contact with your mentors. They’re the ones with the credit cards, and generally the ones on the team that are already familiar with the idea of authority and respect, and how to earn it. Don’t be afraid to ask them for advice, because they will always have some hint or other to help you out. If they refuse to help you (not “I’m sorry, I don’t have ANY experience in this area, and I feel like anything I would say would be more hurtful than helpful,” but “I have advice, but you need to struggle this out on your own”), IMHO they’re not doing their job as mentors.
I stepped into the job as co-captain this year blindly, taking over a team with a recently weakened leadership structure, a handful of veteran students, no school contact, and 30 rookie students. I had no real idea what I was doing at first, but it helps when you’re in the loop with the mentors and know what’s going on. If you’ve got questions, feel free to contact me however you please (my contact info is in my signature).
As a former Team Leader (We have a sports franchise esk hierarchy so my official title was General Manager) one tip that i think really helps is try to gain as much knowledge about FIRST, the current game, and your teams rules. I always kept a personal copy of the rules with me so i could always reference when making decisions. I think the hardest part is gaining a professional level of respect from your peers and being able to separate you the team leader and you their friend. Don’t be afraid to bring down the hammer(but only in moderation, to turn into a dictator) I think the most important leadership skill is confidence in yourself and your team
edit/ addition
oh and do not try to do everything yourself, this will turn into unneeded stress and other problems, be sure to delegate the right amount of duties