LMTimebank.org – Vancouver, B.C. Canada

TimeBank Leadership

Every group requires leadership which includes people like you offering time, talent and a terrific attitude. In order for you and your community to experience the best of TimeBanking each community needs their local leaders.

Many hands make light work and big impact. Leading your local TimeBank group is all about helping to plan, coordinate and put on introductory meetings, social events, training sessions and community projects. You can be a key to making TimeBanking a reality and a model for a better way of community life.

Contact us at info@LMTimeBank.org or call 778-232-5388 to get started on helping to grow a TimeBank group in your community.

Here’s an idea of what the leadership plan looks like for a TimeBank. You earn TimeCredits for every hour you contribute!

Become a Time Bank Coordinator
Are You a Community Weaver?

By now, you know that TimeBanks are like members of a family—they come in different shapes and sizes, but at the same time, they share the same genes. Basic TimeBanking is always the same: it’s about creating win-win exchanges using Time Credits where every hour you contribute always equals one Time Credit. All TimeBanks also share the need to coordinate those exchanges. More than anything else, TimeBank Coordinators are community weavers and networkers. They know how to draw people together, recruit new members, and get them started on sharing their talents with your group!
There are six main leadership roles in a TimeBank—and it is usually the Coordinator’s role is to make sure they all work. Here they are:

Role I: Time Bank Ambassador

• Member Recruitment

Role II. Membership Coordinator

• Member Orientation
• ‘Keeping in Touch’
• Making matches

Role III. Events Coordinator

• Focuses on all group activities of the TimeBank

Role IV. Webmaster

• Training New Members in On-Line TimeBanking
• Running the on-line community page

Role V. Administration

• Collecting dues
• Financials/Budgeting
• Fundraising

Role VI. Team Leader

• Makes sure that everyone is happily taking responsibility for their role.

These different leadership roles can be blended together. They may be taken on by two or three people. But as TimeBanks get bigger and more multifaceted, the roles separate out and need to be taken care of separately.

Being a Team Leader
If individuals to take on the different leadership roles and tasks, the load becomes lighter for everyone. We all know that working together calls for trust, acceptance and willingness to take responsibility. The trick is to be very, very clear about each individual role and what is involved, so that people know exactly what they are responsible for, and don’t accidentally step on each other’s toes! Each of the roles is designed to be light and not require much coordination between them.

No matter how many people are on your leadership team, it is a good idea to designate a support person or support team behind each leadership position. A person can be the leader in one role and the designated support person in another role. This way, if someone gets sick, busy or goes out of town, the work will still be covered. When it comes time to rotate the team roles, you will also have an understudy who is already familiar with your responsibilities.

A coordinator is just one person, and the different roles call for many different skills and personality types.

In truth, TimeBanking is all about mutual contribution, so creating a TimeBank where members are fully engaged and invested in its operations and management is vital to its success.

The Heart and Soul of a TimeBank
The Membership Coordinator is the heart and soul of a TimeBank. Membership Coordinators usually perform the team leader role as well. Here are some of the qualities a membership coordinator needs:
Above all, Membership Coordinators are warm, friendly and non-judgmental. You will also need:

• Good listening skills
• An ability to form accurate impressions of people
• The ability to draw people out and help members discover what skills they have that are valuable to your community
• To be very good at following up and making sure that everyone keeps their commitments

Knowing a lot of people in the community isn’t a core part of the membership coordinator role. What counts is that you know how to make people feel comfortable when you meet them. Coordinators are team players who know how to create an atmosphere that welcomes everyone—regardless of their race or background—into your TimeBank community.
More than anything else, though, membership coordinators know how to follow through and make sure that everyone keeps their commitments!

Make Sure You have a Full Team
When you look over the roles you’ll notice that many of them require quite different personalities.

• The TimeBank Ambassador know lots of people and loves to meet new people all the time, but not necessarily in depth.
• The Events Coordinator loves to throw parties.
• The Web Master is the one person in your TimeBank who actually read the manual.
• The Administrator loves to write and cross off lists.

No one is good at everything. Make sure you know your strengths and weaknesses. Strange to tell, but there is someone out there who loves to do the jobs that make you squirm. You’ll greatly increase the chance of success for your TimeBank if you can build a team of people who all love their role—and rotate them so they no one gets burned out.

Contact us to help us change your world for the better.  info@LMTimeBank.org or 778-232-5388