Running Campaigns
1. Building Local Leadership
Inspiring Leadership Through Connection
Change begins with people who are willing to act, and leadership begins when those people are brought together with purpose.
This topic teaches how to intentionally unite people around shared values and direction, building the foundation of an organised group capable of acting together.
The Community Organising Handbook provides the Story of Self, Us, and Now Worksheet and the Relational Organising Guide, which help you turn conversation into coordination and coordination into action.
1. Storytelling and Motivation
Change begins with story.
People are motivated by emotion before strategy and by connection before instruction. Storytelling helps align individual motivations with collective purpose, creating a sense of belonging that makes organised action possible.
The Community Organising Handbook provides a Story of Self, Us, and Now Worksheet to help you shape your personal story and connect it to your community’s shared purpose.
Practice:
- Write your own Story of Self using the worksheet.
- Share it with another member and listen to theirs.
- Reflect on what you have in common and how your experiences can inspire others to act together.
Trainer’s Reflection:
When we share our stories, we uncover what binds us. These conversations create trust and alignment, turning personal conviction into collective purpose.
2. Relational Organising
Strong relationships are the basis of organised power.
Leadership grows when people are intentionally connected and coordinated toward shared goals. Relational organising is not only about trust, it is about using connection deliberately to create the structure and commitment that make action possible.
The Community Organising Handbook explains relational organising as “the practice of building trust, one conversation at a time.” It includes the Relational Organising Guide and One-to-One Conversation Template.
Practice:
- Hold one-to-one meetings with people in your community.
- Listen for shared values, motivations, and stories that connect to the Association’s purpose.
- Record follow-up notes using the Conversation Template to track commitments and next steps.
Trainer’s Reflection:
Every deliberate connection strengthens your ability to organise. When people see themselves as part of something purposeful, they begin to act together with confidence and intent.
3. Identifying Emerging Leaders
Not everyone leads in the same way. Some people inspire through communication, others through reliability, and others by solving problems quietly.
The Community Organising Handbook includes a Leadership Identification Checklist to help you recognise potential in others and create opportunities for them to contribute.
Practice:
- Use the checklist to identify members who take initiative, follow through, or show reliability in small tasks.
- Encourage those members to take responsibility for one specific action, such as coordinating volunteers or chairing a short meeting.
- Keep a record of leadership potential using the Leadership Development Log in the Handbook.
Trainer’s Reflection:
Leadership often shows itself quietly. It is not always the person who speaks the most, but the one who gets things done when no one else does.
Using the checklist helps us notice and encourage those strengths early.
4. Forming a Core Team
A strong Association begins with a dependable core team. This is a small group of people who share trust, purpose, and accountability.
The Community Organising Handbook includes templates for Core Team Agreements and Meeting Schedules that help groups establish structure and consistency.
Practice:
- Form a core group of four to eight people who share your purpose and are willing to meet regularly.
- Use the Core Team Agreement Template to outline shared expectations, responsibilities, and communication standards.
- Schedule regular meetings using the Meeting Planner Template from the Handbook and review progress each time you meet.
Trainer’s Reflection:
When we meet weekly as a small group, progress accelerates.
The templates help us stay organised and give each meeting a clear purpose.
Over time, that consistency attracts more people and builds confidence in what we are doing.
Summary
Leadership is built through relationships, shared purpose, and consistency.
By applying the templates and guidance in the Community Organising Handbook, your Association can identify and develop new leaders, form a strong core team, and build trust that turns participation into action.
This topic prepares you for the next stage: Understanding Power and Purpose, where you will learn how to define your Association’s goals and understand how organised people and resources create real influence in civic life.
Next Steps
Once your group is active and organised, use the Heritage Australians Constitution Toolkit to formalise your Association, elect a committee, and connect into the wider movement.