Shared leadership builds ownership, inclusion and resilience.

When people take on meaningful tasks, it activates agency and collective care.

It turns group members into co-creators of the learning space.

Not all social learning spaces need the same types of leadership groups. It’s not about applying a full or a particular model – but about choosing the roles that make sense for your group.

Ask yourself:

• What kind of support would strengthen our learning?
• Which functions are most needed: inclusion, alliance-building, documentation, connection, value…?
• What roles would people in this group be willing and able to take on?

Select just a few roles – especially in shorter formats. What matters is not how many groups you create, but how meaningful they are in your context.

• Participants choose themselves.
• Organisers/facilitators choose based on what they know about people.
• Random assigning of roles in the moment.
• Representation from different sub-groups in the room (e.g. teams, thematic specialists, sectors) to make sure various voices are heard in each of the leadership groups.

• Works best in a 2–5-day workshop.
• Plan a specific time for the groups to meet every day.
• Give the groups time to prepare their final session.

For short formats (under 2 days):

• Use fewer roles (e.g. just 2–3).
• Assign roles for one session only.
• Do quick check-ins instead of full sessions.

At the end of a workshop or gathering, you may invite leadership groups to briefly report back to the wider group. This is not mandatory, but a useful way to reflect the different dimensions of shared leadership.

Examples:

• Agenda activists lead a session to note and start addressing remaining issues.
• Social reporters present a visual or narrative summary of memorable moments.
• Value detectives highlight emerging value or stories.
• Community keepers design a closing moment for the group.

Plan ahead: if you invite this kind of contribution, set aside approx. 30 minutes per group on the final day.

Reminder: your group doesn’t need to form all leadership groups at once. Think about what is needed – and make the leadership groups’ contributions visible in a way that supports the whole group.