Start here
Get clear
on the job.
Before taking an officer role, find out what the job involves. Read the role description and handover, then ask the outgoing officers how they split the work. President and vice president duties vary by organization. Walk through a recent decision together: who gathered the information, talked to members and approved the next step? Use that example to work out what you still need to learn.
- Setting
- Campus
- Useful when
- Starting out or leading now
- Resource type
- Practical guide
Try it out
Put it
to work.
1 / Understand a new officer role
Try this next
- Collect the role description, current plans and available handover records.
- Ask an outgoing officer to walk through one recent decision and the people involved.
- For your first few weeks, list what you need to do, what you need to ask and who to contact.
Talk it through
- Which duties are documented, and which have only been explained in conversation?
- Where do the president's and vice president's responsibilities overlap?
- What decision would you need help understanding in your first week?
2 / Share responsibilities
For each current task, agree who will do it, who needs a say and who can approve the decision. Name a backup for time-sensitive work and decide how someone should ask for help before the deadline. Talk through what you'd do if an officer were unavailable or an event plan changed. Revisit the plan when workloads shift so one person doesn't end up covering everything.
Try this next
- Choose three current tasks. For each, name who's doing it, who approves it, the deadline and a backup.
- Talk through what you'd do if an officer couldn't finish one of those tasks.
- Review the plan at your next team meeting and move tasks if someone has too much to do.
Talk it through
- Which task do two people think they're handling, or does everyone think someone else is handling?
- What can the person doing the task decide without checking with the team?
- How will someone tell the group they need help before work becomes overdue?
Choose one next step.
Pick one thing you can try. Check any requirements with the people responsible before you act.
Explore campus leadershipPut the guide to work
Start with a practical tool.
- Role Brief
Agree on the purpose of a role, the decisions it covers, who can help and the first action to take.
- Meeting Agenda
Name the meeting outcome, make space for people and give each discussion a clear lead and time.
- Role Handover
Give the next person the role context, approved access routes, open work, key dates and a first conversation.