All of the ‘ten skills of organising’ item listed are key attributes of an effective organiser but I’d like to add a few other characteristics which are important:
1 Motivation
Self motivation and an ability to motivate others is very important. Building union organisation or leading collective action is never an easy task and a basic ability to ‘get things done’ is important.
2 Trade union consciousness
Many of the skills listed in the article could apply equally to community organising or activists/workers in many fields of voluntary activity. A trade union consciousness – an awareness of why workers combine to defend and extend their collective class interest and in doing so oppose exploitation is vital. However in itself a narrow trade union consciousness is insufficient and unless this develops into a socialist consciousness it can lead to sectionalism, a competitive mentality between unions and incorporation with employers.
3. Leadership skills
Much has been written on UNISON Active about leadership skills and the reports from the national leadership school highlighted the importance of transformational leadership.
4. Ability to deliver in the long run
The ultimate test of an organiser is an ability to deliver – to build, campaign, mobilise, organise and recruit. As the slogan goes – stop talking, start doing. Union organiser schemes must not be about breeding grounds for careerists but the development of activists and union staff who are in for the long haul, with their first loyalty to the union and a commitment to a working life of struggle and sacrifice for working people.
Clare Williams
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