Start here
Make your role
work for you.
Before you say yes to a campus role, check where it fits around classes, work, travel and everything else in your week. Ask what the task involves, who can help and whether you can try it for a short time. You could help prepare a meeting, check an event detail or welcome new members with someone experienced. Start with a task you can finish, then decide whether you want to take on more.
- Setting
- Campus
- Useful when
- Starting out or leading now
- Resource type
- Core guide
Try it out
Put it
to work.
1 / Choose a first contribution
Try this next
- List what your week already involves and find a block of time you can reliably give.
- Ask a group about one small task, its deadline and the person supporting it.
- Agree when you'll first check in and when you'll decide whether the role still fits.
Talk it through
- What time can you count on having, even during a busy week?
- What would someone be able to use when your first task is finished?
- Who could show you how the task works before you take responsibility?
2 / Take over or hand over
The next officer shouldn't have to piece the job together from old messages. List upcoming events, decisions still waiting, money questions and people who need a reply. For each one, note where things stand, what happens next and who can explain it. Check that the new team can find the records and get account access through the proper process. Walk through one current task together, then agree who they can ask for help after you leave.
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- List unfinished tasks and promises, useful contacts, deadlines and unanswered questions.
- Go through the shared records with the incoming officer and note any access changes to request through the proper process.
- Agree who will answer questions and when the new team takes over each current task.
Talk it through
- Which unfinished promise would be easiest for the next officer to miss?
- Can the incoming team find the records needed for the next deadline?
- What knowledge still depends on one outgoing person's memory?
3 / Manage a working disagreement
Start by agreeing on the decision you need to make. Describe what happened and how it affects the work, then ask what the other person sees differently. Don't guess their motives. If an advisor disagrees with your plan, ask which concerns are advice and which are requirements you need to follow. Agree on a next step you can work with. Serious harm, threats or discrimination need appropriate support; don't try to settle them in an informal group discussion.
Try this next
- Describe what you disagree about and how it affects the work, without blaming anyone.
- Ask each person to explain their concern without guessing anyone else's motives.
- Record the next step, who will act and what needs an advisor’s input.
Talk it through
- What decision do we need to make, and what can wait?
- Which part is a difference in priorities, and which part depends on a rule or responsibility?
- What would a workable next step look like to each person?
Choose one next step.
Pick one thing you can try. Check any requirements with the people responsible before you act.
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