How to be a team leader

'Ambition beats genius 99% of the time.'

Fifteen years experience has taught us that most people have one of two reasons for volunteering. The first is that kindest of human emotions; the desire to give something back and help others. The second, and it's common to people in recovery who have got an handle on their own substance use, is the ambition to work in the field. We have a plan to help with that . . . .

We learned many years ago that not only did our service managers almost permanently have their hands full, and could therefore use a little help, but that many of our volunteers had their own ambitions to run a peer-led service. With that in mind . . . . 

• How do you facilitate check-in and check-out with the volunteer team?
• What's the best way to fairly allocate tasks necessary to the running of the service?
• How do you play to the strengths of your team when it constantly changes?
• How do you manage, and keep track of the petty cash?
• What data needs to be recorded, and how and when is it done?
• How do you learn to spot conflict early and nip it in the bud?
• What's the best way to begin a difficult conversation?
• With lots of activities going on simultaneously, how to you make sure the service stays safe and friendly?
• What's the best way to support an new volunteer?
• In the event of an accident or incident, what do you do?
• What's the best way to encourage a new service user to try one of the activities?

This workshop is designed to encourage volunteers to be ambitious and take on a new role with added responsibilities, in effect working as a deputy to their service manager(s). Sometimes demanding, it gives people the chance to experience what it like to be in charge of a project, and is an excellent grounding for those with the ambition to either train as a recovery worker, or undertake the paid role of Build on Belief service manager.