Choosing and managing your campaign team

A campaign team is made up of everyone that helps in your efforts to get elected.  Choosing the right people for your team is vital to the success of your campaign.

CHOOSING YOUR CAMPAIGN TEAM:

• The Structure

When setting up your campaign team, you must first come up with a campaign structure.  You want to have a main campaign committee with members that oversee other members of the campaign team.  Your campaign committee should be relatively small because every member of this committee should feel comfortable to speak openly in front of every other member.  The committee should consist of the campaign manager, treasurer, and other individuals that oversee a specific portion of the campaign.  These are going to be your “insiders”.  You want only enough of these insiders to cover the campaign activities that you have decided to do.  Keep in mind that not all campaign activities occur at the same time, so it is often possible to have more than one task assigned to a single committee member.  However, don’t allow somebody to be overcommitted.  You don’t want any part of your campaign efforts to be slacked on.  When choosing this group of insiders, you must be sure that they are people that will be candid with you.  You must be able to receive criticism from them.  You will not make any progress as a candidate if you surround yourself with people that will only flatter you.

The rest of your campaign team that is not a part of this inside committee will consist of one or more people to oversee letters to the editor, canvassing, clerical work, brochures, the media, lawn signs, phone banks, fund-raising, get out the vote, direct mail, online efforts, and volunteer workers.  This can be left up to the discretion of the candidate.  The inside campaign committee will oversee the efforts of those that are a part of this portion of the campaign team as well as any other outside volunteers.

• Selecting the Treasurer

When selecting your campaign treasurer, you must choose somebody that will lend credibility to your campaign.  Remember that the name of your treasurer will appear on every campaign publication.  Be sure that the person is qualified and trustworthy.

• Selecting the Campaign Manager:

The campaign manager is the most important position in a campaign.  This is one position that is more open-ended than any other and requires many more responsibilities and time commitments than any other campaign position.  This is why it is often one of the only, if not the only, paid position on the staff.  The campaign manager will likely interact with voters and volunteers more than any other position on your team.  For this reason, you should choose somebody with great communication skills.  It is also extremely necessary for your campaign manager to be very organized, as they will be overseeing a great deal of the campaign and campaign team.

MANAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN TEAM:

• Meeting Frequency

Once your campaign starts, try to meet with your inside committee at least once a week for about an hour at a time.  Try to meet with the rest of your campaign team almost as frequently as you are meeting with your inside committee.  Obviously, the further into the campaign the committee gets, the more frequently the group will have to meet.  This is why you must make it clear to those who have agreed to help you in your efforts that there is a major time commitment that they must be willing to make.

• Respecting Your Team

You want your campaign team to be loyal and to respect you.  In order for this to happen, you have to be loyal and respect them in return.  This is why it is incredibly important to always keep them informed about anything noteworthy that occurs during the campaign.  Never allow your campaign team to hear about something from the news or outside sources that they should have heard from the candidate.

• Meeting Logistics

Give your committee members campaign packets with sets dates and deadlines as well as an outline for the goals and tasks to be accomplished throughout the campaign.  Also, include job descriptions so that every member knows exactly what is expected of them.

Always, always, always provide agendas at your meetings.  It is so easy for a group of like-minded people to get off track during a meeting because chatting is sometimes more appealing than getting work done.  Having an agenda at every meeting will help to keep the group on track and focused.  Beginning and ending your meetings on time will also help the group to stay focused.  When people know there is a deadline for getting something accomplished, they are much more likely to push chatting aside and do work.

Once your campaign team members have chosen volunteers to help them in their specific efforts, make sure that you keep track of their progress by having them give weekly reports to the rest of the campaign team and inside committee members.

REMEMBER – The function of the campaign team is to serve as a support group for the candidate and a primary source of expertise for the campaign.  The caliber of the campaign team can make or break a candidate’s ability to be elected.  And choosing a high quality campaign team is only half the battle.  You must be able to manage your team, keep them focused, and maintain their respect and loyalty in doing so.