Topic outline

  • Quick start course

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    Intro / Aims

    Stepping into the Internal Coordinator (IC) role can feel a bit daunting. There’s a lot going on in any XR team, and it isn’t always obvious what you’re responsible for or where to start. This Quick Start lesson gives you just enough understanding and a few simple habits so you can begin coordinating without having to learn everything at once.

    Every XR team is built around three Core Roles that share the work of coordination:

    • Internal Coordinator (IC) – helps align the team’s work internally.
    • External Coordinator (EC) – connects the team with other teams and the wider movement.
    • Group Admin (GA) – keeps the team’s information clear, accessible and up to date.

    This lesson focuses on what a new or prospective IC needs in their first days or weeks: simple moves that keep the team aligned, without you trying to do everything yourself.

    By the end of this Quick Start lesson, you should:

    • understand how the three Core Roles (IC, EC, GA) work together in an XR team
    • know the three essential moves that make up most early IC work
    • know the first things to do when you step into the IC role
    • have a simple weekly rhythm you can follow without getting overwhelmed
    • recognise when something is outside the IC remit and who to ask for support
    • know which full lessons to explore next if you want to deepen your skills
    Learning Material

    How XR teams work: the three Core Roles

    XR teams don’t have “leaders” in the usual sense. Instead, they share responsibility between three Core Roles so that no one person has to hold everything, and so power is spread through the group.

    • Internal Coordinator (IC) – helps the team stay aligned with its purpose, keeps an eye on priorities, and supports clarity about who is doing what.
    • External Coordinator (EC) – links the team to other teams and to the broader circle, shares information in and out, and helps with wider alignment.
    • Group Admin (GA) – keeps records, Hub entries, membership lists and key information tidy and accessible, so the rest of the movement can see what the team is doing.

    You don’t need to know all the details yet. For now, it’s enough to understand that you are one of three roles that keep the team functioning: you focus on how the team works together internally.

    The IC role in three essential moves

    Most of what you’ll do early on as an IC can be summed up in three simple actions. You don’t need to have all the answers – you just need to help the team look at the right questions.

    • Clarify priorities – ask “What are our top priorities right now?” so the team isn’t pulled in too many directions.
    • Clarify who holds what – ask “Who is holding this task, role or project?” so work doesn’t drift or get duplicated.
    • Connect to the wider movement – check with your EC how your team’s work fits with the broader circle’s plans.

    These moves help you start coordinating without needing to know everything that has happened before you joined.

    First steps when you become an IC

    When you first step into the IC role, it’s easy to feel you should read every document and attend every meeting before you act. In practice, a few light-touch steps are enough to get you oriented.

    • Understand how Core Roles work together – notice which parts of the team’s functioning sit mainly with the IC, the EC and the GA, so you don’t try to hold everything yourself.
    • Check your team’s information on the Hub – see who is in the team, which roles exist, and whether anything obvious is out of date. Ask your GA (if you have one) to help tidy up.
    • Look at what work is already in motion – skim current tasks and projects, who is holding them, and where a simple clarity question might be useful.

    These small steps give you a “map” of your team, without requiring you to become an expert straight away.

    Five simple habits for new ICs

    You don’t need to be brilliant at everything to be an effective IC. A handful of simple habits will take you a long way, especially when you are just starting out.

    • Ask clarity questions – “Who’s holding this?”, “Is this still a priority?”, “Where should this update live?”
    • Use roles to share work – if something is drifting, suggest a small project role or explicit owner instead of quietly picking it up yourself.
    • Support steady communication rhythms – encourage the team to agree simple norms for updates and response times, so nobody feels they must be “always on”.
    • Notice early signals – repeated confusion, overlapping work or low-level tension often mean something in the structure needs clarifying.
    • Hold healthy boundaries – remember that ICs do not mediate personal conflicts or carry confidential complaints; your EC can help find the right XR process if needed.

    A simple weekly rhythm

    A light, regular rhythm can keep you and the team on track without demanding huge amounts of time. You can adjust this as you go, but here is a basic pattern to start from:

    • Review active tasks and projects – what is moving, and what seems stuck?
    • Check priorities – are you still focused on the most important things?
    • Touch in with your EC – any changes in the broader circle that affect your team?
    • Ask one or two clarity questions – especially where ownership or next steps feel fuzzy.
    • Check Hub information with your GA – are roles and team membership still accurate?

    You don’t have to do this perfectly. The aim is simply to keep the team’s work visible and aligned, at a pace that feels human.

    Case Studies

    The Internal Coordinator role looks slightly different in every team, but the same basic patterns appear again and again. These short stories show how simple IC habits – asking clarity questions, agreeing rhythms, and keeping within your remit – can make a big difference without you having to do everything yourself.

    Alex – “Who’s holding this?”

    In our campaign team, two people were both giving slightly different updates on the same outreach task. Nobody was annoyed, but you could feel a bit of unease building. Instead of taking the task on myself, I simply asked, “Who’s actually holding this at the moment?” It turned out nobody had ever clearly agreed to own it. We created a short project role, one person volunteered, and everyone relaxed. That one question kept things friendly and stopped us from duplicating work.

    Sam – Resetting the pace of communication

    Our chat channel had become very busy. People were posting at all hours, and a couple of team members told me they were muting notifications just to cope. I raised it gently at our next meeting and suggested we agree a rhythm: daytime for non-urgent updates, evenings and weekends mostly quiet unless something truly couldn’t wait. Everyone seemed relieved. Within a week, messages were more focused, people were easier to reach in the day, and there was less guilt about not replying instantly.

    Rani – Knowing what is and isn’t my job

    Two role-holders in our team started sounding quite sharp with each other in meetings. I checked the practical side first: their roles were clear, the priorities were agreed, and updates were going to the right channels. So I knew this was more personal than structural. I encouraged them to speak directly, and when it still felt stuck, I checked in with our EC to find the right XR process for support. I didn’t try to mediate myself. That kept my workload manageable and meant the emotional work was held where it belonged.

    Your Turn

    Here we present you with three scenarios that ICs might face. How might you respond in each case? After you've thought of an approach or plan, click on our 'Suggested responses' and see how similar they are to yours. There are no right or wrong answers here - just ideas to try.

    Scenario A – Clarifying ownership

    A task appears in your team’s chat and two people seem to assume the other is dealing with it. Nothing has gone wrong yet, but it isn’t clear who is actually responsible.

    Question: What simple question could you ask to help bring clarity, without blaming anyone?

    Suggested response (click to view) A gentle start might be, “Who’s holding this right now?” This keeps the focus on the work, not on people. If it turns out nobody is clearly owning it, you can follow up with something like, “Shall we make this a small project role or agree who’s taking it?” That way the team decides together, and you don’t quietly pick it up yourself.

    Scenario B – Spotting early strain

    Your team has a lot of active threads and ideas. People are enthusiastic, but when you listen, it’s not obvious what the top priorities are. A few tasks seem to be slipping.

    Question: What could you suggest to help the team re-align without making anyone feel criticised?

    Suggested response: You could say, “Could we take five minutes to confirm our top two or three priorities for this month, and pause anything that can wait?” This invites a short, practical conversation rather than a big discussion. People often feel relieved to let go of less important work, and it helps everyone see what really matters now.

    Scenario C – Boundaries under pressure

    A team member messages you privately to say they feel another role-holder is being difficult, and they ask you to “sort it out” without telling anyone they spoke to you.

    Question: What is part of your role here, and what is not?

    Suggested response: You might respond along the lines of, “My role is to help with the practical side of how the team works – like roles, priorities and communication – rather than holding private concerns about people. I can’t take this on confidentially, but I can help you find the right support, for example by linking with our EC or the appropriate XR process.” This way you stay kind and supportive, but you don’t take on emotional work that doesn’t belong to the IC.
    Review - Reflect - Resources

    Take a moment to pause and notice what you’re taking from this Quick Start lesson.

    • Do you feel clearer about how the three Core Roles (IC, EC, GA) share responsibility in an XR team?
    • Can you name the three essential IC moves: clarifying priorities, clarifying who holds what, and connecting with the wider movement?
    • Do you have a sense of the first steps you would take if you became an IC, and a simple weekly rhythm you could try?
    • Where might you be tempted to “pick things up” that really need a clear holder or role instead?
    • Who could you ask for support – EC, GA, or another IC – if something feels bigger than you can hold alone?

    If you’d like to go deeper, you can explore the full Internal Coordinator lessons on:

    If you feel you’ve understood the basics, you can now take the Quick Start quiz to check your understanding and decide which full lesson to explore next.