Hi Sarah,

Don’t worry about this feeling! All new leaders feel this way.

You can make sure your leadership project goes well by having a clear timeline and role definitions for everyone on your team.

Build both these things with your team. They should all feel like (and be) an important part of the ideation and planning process. They’re probably passionate, excited volunteers - doing this will help keep them this way! Once they’re involved, they’ll feel more motivated and passionate. They’ll also understand the importance of each of their tasks as an important part of the larger puzzle because they may have been the one who suggested it needed to be done.

Once you have these clear structures in place, you should also lead by example. Be on time, do your tasks and have a clear idea of what’s planned and needed for each meeting. If your team members have helped to create the timeline and tasks, your job as a lead is to guide and align them to your team’s goal.

If you do this you won’t need to worry about them “listening to you”. You’re not making your own arbitrary demands, you’re helping them to achieve a goal that they want to achieve too!

Through creating a strong structure and involving your team through the whole process, you align your entire team to your goal and inspire group cohesion.