About / Leadership Framework

What we’re
working toward.

Here’s what Next of Us aims to change, along with eight skills you can practice in your group, school or community.

Our goals and objectives

What we aim
to make possible.

Broaden access to leadership and opportunity

Help you find places to get involved and understand the requirements, time and hidden costs. Recognize experience from everyday life, even if you’ve never called yourself a leader. Look at how organizations choose people, too.

Build capability in real situations

Give you chances to make decisions, communicate, work with others and follow through. Use examples, practice and feedback to see what changes in the work you do.

Strengthen representation and influence

Help you listen to the people you represent, build a proposal with evidence and find out who can decide. Encourage organizations to explain how they’ll respond. Even a rejected proposal should get an answer you can understand and share.

Build relationships that support contribution and growth

Help you ask for advice, support other people and work across groups and generations. Build relationships that continue after an event, where people can learn from and count on each other.

Improve organizational health and continuity

Help groups share work fairly, make it easier to participate and handle disagreements. Keep commitments realistic and leave the next team the information they need.

Connect experience to achievement and opportunity

Help you explain what you’ve done and prepare for applications, interviews, speaking opportunities and service. Give shared credit and use evidence. Preparation can help, but it can’t guarantee an admission, job or award.

Improve how institutions support young leaders

Help schools and organizations explain roles, welcome new people, give feedback and make participation count. Use student feedback to fix barriers in the organization, instead of expecting students to solve everything themselves.

Leadership competencies

Skills you can
put to use.

Purpose and judgment

Starting: Explain why a role matters and what you can realistically take on.
Practicing: Think through your commitments and the effects of a decision before acting.
Extending: Adjust your priorities when you learn something new or your available time changes.
Evidence: A decision that explains your reasons, limits and who will be affected.

Institutional and civic understanding

Starting: Find the rule that applies and the person who can make the decision.
Practicing: Follow the steps your request needs to reach a decision.
Extending: Spot a problem in the process and propose a change backed by evidence.
Evidence: A record of who decides what and the steps a request needs to follow.

Representation and listening

Starting: Separate your own opinion from the views of people you represent.
Practicing: Ask for people’s views and report them accurately.
Extending: Help views that have been overlooked shape the decision.
Evidence: A summary of what people said, whose views are missing and what you reported back.

Communication and public trust

Starting: Write a clear, accurate message for the people who will read it.
Practicing: Say what’s uncertain, handle disagreement and correct mistakes.
Extending: Set up ways for groups to share accurate updates consistently.
Evidence: A message, correction or communication plan with notes explaining your choices.

Collaboration and accountability

Starting: Agree to a specific task and finish it.
Practicing: Check expectations, talk about missed work and adjust responsibilities fairly.
Extending: Improve how your team works and help the next person take over.
Evidence: A team agreement and notes on how it worked in practice.

Project and resource stewardship

Starting: Identify the steps, approvals, money and materials a project needs.
Practicing: Carry out a project with the approvals it needs, then review how it went.
Extending: Use what you’ve learned to improve the next project or help another group.
Evidence: A project record showing the planned costs, what happened and feedback.

Learning and opportunity

Starting: Describe an experience accurately.
Practicing: Explain what you did, who else contributed and what you learned.
Extending: Use what you’ve learned to choose your next responsibility and help others.
Evidence: An account of your experience backed by relevant work samples or records.

Inclusion and belonging

Starting: Notice who is missing from the conversation and ask what would help them take part.
Practicing: Adjust meetings, activities and communication for different access needs, identities and experiences.
Extending: Build inclusive habits into how your group welcomes people, shares responsibilities and makes decisions.
Evidence: A change that removed a barrier, with feedback from the people affected.

What we’reworking toward.

What we aimto make possible.