Leadership Unleashed: Inspiring Your Club Members to Take Charge

As president of Eastlake High School's lunchtime sustainability club, Youth 4 a Sustainable Future, Diego Sandoval was aware of the many tasks required to fulfill the club's mission. Recognizing the appeal of leadership roles on competitive college applications, Sandoval aimed to cultivate leadership skills among the club members, thereby benefiting the community as a whole.  Diego says his personal goal is to “empower students who otherwise wouldn’t be in leadership positions, and give them the opportunity to exercise leadership.”  He offers the following insights from Eastlake’s experience, demonstrating techniques that helped their club develop leaders, with the hope of empowering you to nurture leaders in your own cafeteria sustainability clubs. 

• Distribute responsibilities widely. Eastlake created many positions for student leaders. For example, student leaders send morning-of reminders to on-shift members, check in with members’ ability to attend an upcoming meeting, catalogue volunteer hours, post on social media, form teams that give presentations about what Y4SF is to underclassman classrooms, and conduct interviews to vet students for leadership. The benefits:
• prevent any year-to-year membership turnover from overly impacting the systems 
• offer leadership development opportunities to more students
• decrease the burden on any one individual

• Recognize when classmates take initiative and nudge them towards leadership. There was a period in Eastlake's history when club membership dwindled due to a lack of follow-up on initiatives proposed by members.
• Get to know them a little more to help them explore their role as a club member and ask how they feel about serving in existing leadership roles. Diego’s team doesn’t wait for traditional change-of-leadership timelines to begin conversations to gauge how environmental enthusiasts at Eastlake feel about leadership within Y4SF. 
• When a club member suggests an aspect of the club they would like to see or create, encourage them to lead that project. This not only empowers the members but also brings fresh ideas and energy to the club.
• Be on the lookout for freshmen. Once in a leadership position, they are more likely to stick with it for all four years, providing stability and continuity to the club. 

• Identify leaders based on the traits they demonstrate that benefit the club. Observe and support the use of your members' strengths and interests. 
• Look for dedication, the desire to lead, and a personal connection to the work. 
• Scope out students who hold leadership positions elsewhere.   
• Leverage the passion and commitment of peers involved in other environmental initiatives. When we are driven by what matters to us, sometimes we just need to point out how those values are reflected in other activities.

• Invest in your own leadership development.
• Join multiple organizations to broaden your leadership role models and mentors. 
• Have the courage to test out what does or doesn’t work for your school community. 
• Reflect on the times when your classmates interacted with you to support your club’s goals. By role-modeling, they help shape campus culture, even if their actions seem small.  Especially when the desired culture is in its infancy, don’t shrug off their effort and move on with your day. They don’t need to be a formal part of the club to compost their food or sort items into the correct containers. Your example of continued thanks and encouragement shows a classmate how to be an ambassador, causing a ripple or even the next trending wave.  
• Reflect on finding opportunities to do education work, such as raising awareness about when and where sorting stations are on campus. The truth is that we want everyone to take the easy steps to protect our environment, not just those who join our clubs. 

• Write it down. By his graduation this June, Sandoval’s team plans to have documented the routines and systems that their club has worked thoughtfully to create this year. Examples include how to be involved at lunch, the structure of weekly shifts, meeting functions & protocols, and a master roster that everyone has access to. This framework, which they have created together, will serve as a guide for upcoming leaders stepping into new roles, some of which may involve behind-the-scenes work or explain how to partner with external organizations’ events. Documenting the club’s infrastructure also draws attention to different perspectives andits evolution over time. It can be fun to look back at how much we have grown.  

Sandoval encapsulates the essence of effective leadership this way: “Students who are captivated by the club’s work really are the best candidates for leadership.”

Each of you also carries within you inspiring stories, innovative ideas, and the invaluable experience to offer practical advice to one another. You are the most effective ambassadors for encouraging more students to take an active role in environmental conservation. Why? Because you are their peers, navigating the same systems, and facing the same challenges. By setting examples or highlighting strategies for overcoming challenges, you elevate other school green teams and contribute to a community of best practices. 

Do you have questions about implementing any of these ideas at your school? We invite you to ask in our Instagram chat. 

Have you tried-and-true methods that have consistently worked for your club? Support your change-making peers by sharing how your team develops leadership through Spotlight Your School here at CafeteriaVictories.com. 

Your voice matters. Your actions make a difference. You are the solution.

Thank you for being who you are. Together, we create a more sustainable future. 

*Want to bring Y4SF to your San Diego South Bay school? Find out more at southbaysustainablecommunities.org