Team Leadership

Awareness & Understanding

Leadership isn't about being the loudest person in the room — it's about helping a group move toward a shared goal. Start by watching Simon Sinek's "How Great Leaders Inspire Action" on YouTube (18 minutes, free). Then take the free CliftonStrengths "StrengthsExplorer" assessment at gallup.com or the VIA Character Strengths survey at viacharacter.org. Read about the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. Think of one leader you respect — from your school, your neighborhood, or Salt Lake City's civic world — and write down three specific things they do that make people want to follow them. You're ready for the next step when you can name your top two personal strengths and explain how each one could help you lead a group.

Research & Investigation

Study how real teams work — and fail. Watch the YouTube documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" trailer and read the Wikipedia summary of the 1996 Everest disaster (a classic case study in leadership breakdown under pressure). Then interview one adult who leads a team — a coach, a teacher, a manager, a community organizer anywhere in the Wasatch Front area. Ask them: What's the hardest part of leading people? How do you handle conflict? What do you wish you'd known earlier? Take notes during the interview. You're ready for the next step when you've completed the interview and can summarize three real leadership lessons from someone who leads a team in your community.

Planning & Preparation

Design a small team project you'll run over the next two to three weeks. It should involve at least three other people and produce something tangible — a community cleanup along the Jordan River, a fundraiser, a school event, a neighborhood survey, or a creative project. Write a one-page project plan: goal, roles, timeline, and how you'll make decisions when people disagree. Assign yourself the lead role. Share the plan with your team members and get their input before you start. Revise the plan based on their feedback. You're ready for the next step when you have a written project plan that your team members have reviewed and agreed to.

Taking Action

Run your project. Hold at least two team meetings — use a free tool like Google Meet or Zoom if you can't meet in person. During each meeting, practice these three things: start with a clear agenda, make sure everyone speaks at least once, and end with agreed-upon next steps written down. When conflict or confusion comes up (it will), don't avoid it — name it out loud and work through it with your team. Keep a brief log after each meeting: what went well, what didn't, and what you'll do differently next time. You're ready for the next step when your project is complete and you have meeting notes from at least two team sessions.

Leadership & Expansion

You led a project — now develop the leaders around you. Pick one team member who showed potential and invest in them specifically: share one leadership resource with them (a book, a podcast episode, or a video), give them one specific responsibility on a future project, and debrief with them one-on-one about what they learned. Then write a short "leadership playbook" for your team — one page covering how you made decisions, handled conflict, and kept people motivated. Share it with your SLCTrips mentor and with your team. You're ready for the next step when you've had a one-on-one leadership conversation with a teammate and produced a written playbook your team can actually use.

Impact & Reflection

Reflect on your full arc as a leader over these six weeks. Write two pages answering: What leadership style do you naturally use — and is it working? What was the moment in your project where things got hardest, and how did you handle it? What would your team members say about you as a leader (ask at least one of them)? Then set a leadership goal for the next six months — something specific, like leading a larger project, joining a student government, or taking on a formal role in a community organization. You're ready for the next step when you can honestly name one leadership weakness you worked on and describe what you did to address it.