Leadership Development Working Group/LDP/section 1

Leadership Development Plan

• Preface
• Understanding Leadership Roles & Skills
• Navigating Leadership Situations
• Starting a Leadership Development Initiative
• Glossary & FAQ
• Community Implementation & Translations
• Feedback

The Wikimedia movement comprises many individuals, projects, and groups, all of which are influenced by leadership in one way or another. As a result, awareness of the roles of leaders and the necessary skills for effective leadership is important. This section aims to answer the following questions:

• What is effective leadership in the Wikimedia movement?
• What leadership roles exist?
• What are the skills needed to lead effectively?

In this section, we provide a framework for understanding different types of leadership roles and skills. We then share a guide for assessing one’s own leadership skills.

Defining Leadership in Wikimedia

The Leadership Development Working Group defines leadership in the Wikimedia movement as a collective effort. Through the lens of collective leadership, leaders are not only people and positions but also groups. Effective leadership is “the ability to guide, inspire, build autonomy, encourage and motivate a group of people towards a shared goal or common vision.”

It involves demonstrating leadership qualities and actions such as empathy, trust-building, and abilities to create supportive environments for others to thrive. These leadership skills and qualities are attainable and available to everyone, no matter one’s position or experience level, and they are necessary for all leaders across the movement – whether you are in an affiliate, governance position, admin function, or organizing role.

Leadership Skills

Leadership Skills Diagram.

Leadership skills are a set of soft skills that allow one to encourage, motivate, and develop others. In contrast to hard skills, which are technical, administrative, task-specific or role-specific skills, soft skills are personal attributes and social skills such as empathy, integrity, trust-building, and decision-making. Leadership skills are also distinct from management skills, which focus on overseeing the work of a team or organization. While effective managers need to be leaders, leaders do not need to be managers. In this resource, we argue that there exist core leadership (soft) skills that apply to all Wikimedia leaders, regardless of roles or responsibilities. For example, for an affiliate leader or an organizer to support their communities and initiatives well, they need to display empathy and be accountable to their commitments. What may differ between the roles is their hard skills. A leader of an established affiliate may need to know how to plan and manage multi-year strategies and budgets for their organization, for example, while organizers may need to know how to manage event logistics.

Based on the leadership definition, leadership skills in the Wikimedia movement include internal qualities such as courage, resilience, focus, and accountability; and outward actions such as trust-building, setting shared vision, and guiding collaborative decision making.

To help you visualize this concept, we created a Leadership Skills Diagram (see image) depicting the internal qualities and outward actions. We acknowledge that this is not a comprehensive list of leadership skills. It’s also worth noting that the ability to act with both soft and hard skills is necessary for effective leadership. There are overlaps and different interpretations of hard and soft skills. Our intention in this definition is to establish a common understanding of leadership skills and narrow the focus of this resource to leadership (soft) skills, which are relevant across contexts. This resource can complement others which focus on the hard skills that are needed for different leadership roles.

Leadership Roles

In the Wikimedia movement, leadership appears in different contexts and leaders hold different roles. While there are formalized leadership roles, there are also many informal ones. In the following table, you will find leadership roles categorized by context and function. The information provides an overview of known and common movement roles that require leadership.

It is not meant to be a prescriptive or exhaustive list but rather to raise awareness and conversation. There are certainly leadership roles in the movement that are not widely known, named, or recognized. Lastly, it is worth acknowledging that people or groups do not always easily fit into categories, leadership roles can overlap, and roles may differ based on language or regional communities.

The leadership contexts described below include:

1. Affiliates and Informal Groups
2. On-wiki Extended Rights
3. Governance Committees
4. Organizing
5. Programs and Projects
6. Community Facilitation
7. Mentorship
8. Capacity Building

Affiliates and Informal Groups

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Emerging group founders, directors, coordinators Community members operating newer or smaller groups that require you to wear many hats.

You are actively building your operating team and volunteer community. You may organize initiatives, develop partnerships, participate in advocacy work, contribute to Movement Strategy, seek and manage grant funding, and perform other activities related to promoting free and open knowledge.

• You create a shared vision and inspire people to work toward it
• You are resourceful and creative in the face of challenges
• You are eager to learn
• You help to develop and achieve common goals

Established group directors, managers, or coordinators Community members operating larger and established groups. Through time, effort, and experience, you have formed a functioning team and a community of volunteers. You may spearhead international or regional collaborations, offer grants, host multi-year initiatives, share resources with other groups, cultivate new leaders, and support emerging groups.

You get to focus on strategic activities knowing the basics are covered and that the group's commitments are in good hands.

• You share power and make decisions collaboratively
• You create a supportive environment
• You mentor and develop others
• You communicate an inspiring vision
• You take feedback and learn from mistakes
• You reflect on how to sustain your affiliate’s work beyond and after you

On-wiki Extended Rights

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Extended rights holders (administrators, bureaucrats, stewards, checkusers, etc.) Volunteer editors who perform technical and governance-related tasks to maintain and protect Wikimedia projects.

• You demonstrate empathy and awareness of your biases
• You mediate conflict and problems by attempting to find solutions that take everyone’s needs into consideration
• You help people navigate or remove barriers
• You help people feel safe and valued
• You are reliable and people feel comfortable coming to you for guidance
• You are ready to take decisive action against misconduct, to protect the community and our readers, despite criticism your action may attract

Governance Committees

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Committee members (Affiliations Committee, Regional Funds Committees, Board of Trustees, Movement Charter Drafting Committee, etc.) Volunteers who are members of committees tasked with specific governance functions that impact Wikimedia projects, affiliates, funds, and the integrity, health and sustainability of the movement. You wear different hats depending on your committee’s mandate, from providing advisory and strategic guidance to technical implementation.

• You act with integrity, carrying out your role with honesty and consistency
• You are accountable to your individual commitments, as well as co-own the committee's commitments
• You balance communities’ needs with long-term and short-term goals
• You put the movement’s interest above your own
• You advocate for and consider the voices of marginalized and underrepresented groups

Organizing

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Event and conference organizers (for editathons, ESEAP Conference, WikiIndaba, Wikimania, Wikimedia Summit, CEE Meeting, etc.) Community members who are responsible for organizing conferences, events, and meetings. You may be tasked with planning, preparing and hosting the convening, including designing the program, recruiting attendees, managing scholarship funds, supporting facilitation, and evaluating outcomes.

• You communicate clearly and listen actively
• You share the workload and can appropriately delegate tasks and responsibilities
• You identify the needs of communities to design events and conferences that benefit its participants
• You adapt to changing circumstances
• You build and maintain relationships
• You inspire and motivate team members
• You commit to external/partner deadlines and coordinate work to meet them

Campaign organizers (Art+Fem, Wiki Loves Women: SheSaid, WikiGap, WikiForHumanRights, etc.) Community members who organize campaigns that encourage volunteers to contribute content to the Wikimedia projects. Your role may include identifying the campaign’s focus, managing communications, designing campaign events, building partnerships, and obtaining resources.

• You hold yourself accountable to the goals of the campaign
• You create a supportive environment for people to experiment and make mistakes
• You help people feel valued
• You inspire and motivate people to join the cause
• You communicate the impact of the campaign

Programs and Projects

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Project grantees, thematic program coordinators, Wikimedians in Residence Individuals, groups or organizations working on programs and projects that advance the Wikimedia movement mission through structured initiatives, such as those related to: culture and heritage, research, Movement Strategy implementation, and translation or accessibility.

• You are proactive and take initiative
• You follow through on your commitments
• You courageously take risks and are open to new ways of work
• You support the learning and development of those around you
• You help people see the larger vision and impact of their work
• You create a shared feeling of success amongst the people you collaborate with

Community Facilitation

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Thematic facilitators, ambassadors, and liaisons (Art+Feminism Ambassadors, EduWiki Outreach Collaborators, etc.)

Governance facilitators, ambassadors, and liaisons (Movement Strategy facilitators, Movement Charter Ambassadors, etc.)

Tech facilitators, ambassadors, and liaisons (Tech Ambassadors, etc.)

Individuals, groups, or organizations that ensure communities are involved, informed, and supported in carrying out their particular activities. Your role may include helping people find answers to their questions or concerns, building bridges between people or initiatives, facilitating meetings and processes, or contributing to the documentation and dissemination of information.

• You build trusting relationships
• You remove barriers and create an environment where people can do their best work together
• You align people around shared goals
• You mediate between the needs of the community and the organization or group you represent
• You facilitate collaborative decision-making
• You listen actively and make people feel heard
• You relay information clearly and in ways that different audiences can understand
• You amplify community voices and connect them to decision-makers

Mentorship

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) On-wiki or technical mentors (Small wiki toolkit mentors, Wikidata: Wiki Mentor Africa, newcomer mentors such as Wikipedia Teahouse, etc.)

Off-wiki mentors (Let’s Connect Program sharers, Wikipedia & Education User Group mentorship, Kiwix Mentorship Program, etc.)

Experienced community members who support newer or less-experienced ones in their growth and development as Wikimedia contributors. Your role may include sharing your experiences and knowledge with mentees, helping them build or improve on relevant skills, or coaching mentees through challenges.

• You create opportunities for collaborative and continuous learning
• You create a safe and welcoming environment
• You motivate mentees to set and accomplish their goals
• You make people feel respected, valued and listened to
• You promote and celebrate the success of your mentees
• You model the behaviors and qualities that you encourage

Capacity Building

Leadership Role (Examples) Overview Leadership Skills (Examples) Technical or non-technical skills trainers (affiliates and groups conducting training, Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom trainers, etc.) Individuals, groups, or organizations that carry out capacity building, whether that be through in-person workshops, online courses, comprehensive training programs, podcasts, recorded videos, or another format.

• You create safe spaces for learners to try, fail, and bring forth creative ideas
• You seek to understand the needs of your learners to design relevant learning opportunities
• You design with inclusion and accessibility in mind
• You take feedback well and change strategies or methods when needed

Leadership Skills Assessment

Now that you have a better understanding of leadership roles and skills, it’s time to ask yourself: what are your leadership strengths and areas for improvement? The Leadership Skills Assessment (For Self) is a tool designed for you to assess your own leadership skills. The goal of the self-assessment is to bring awareness to your current leadership abilities and opportunities for further learning. As a companion to this assessment, we also created a Leadership Skills Assessment (For Colleagues) that allows colleagues to assess the leadership skills of others who are either already leaders or have aspirations to develop their leadership.