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Thanks Tom for this article. I own a business, have worked with our local school for years, I am on a local planning commission, and an urban renewal group, as well as in a leadership training class. I have always strived to be like your “Sue” in all of these endeavors and in my family life too. It is not always easy, but over the years I have found that with this as a goal it does seem to become easier with time as I strive to make just make it “my style”.

Tom,

I appreciate your thoughts on side-by-side leadership vs. top-down.  I only wish my son’s track coaches could read your article.  Some of them seem to feel that the best form of leadership is of the military style.  This can lead to heavy criticism in front of others resulting in students just dropping off the team. The most effective coaches are the ones that work with students using the side-by-side model. They offer encouragement, support and are grateful to be a part of the whole process of watching the team grow and improve.  They have a big vision.  It’s not about winning. It’s easy to spot them as they’re the ones that are smiling the most.

I agree. I think the format has a lot of potential, and I think it is important to dive in and start typing. My personal role model is Babbie Peterson, the only person to post her photo and her comments.

Robert Ault

Sue must also genuinely value and respect the other individuals in her group or community, and value the work that they add to a project.  To be a leader you must be able to engage others, and to engage others well, you have to believe in their value. 

Tom, you touch on that in both the Norms and mentoring characteristics, but perhaps it should be a stand alone (in support of a group dynamic) characteristic?

I’m liking this format for conversation.

Meredith

I really enjoyed reading the posts on Tom’s article over a cup of coffee, and it is especially enjoyable in light of the fact that I have been lucky enough to work with many of the people who have weighed in.

I never tire of seeing how groups come together or sometimes don’t during the leadership sessions. Tom outlines some attributes of groups that I think are key and I sure think that treating everyone in the group with respect is the foundation on which every group is built. Without that everything just falls apart. Tom touched on this also, but I think the ability to set aside ego and allow others to share leadership is key and sometimes really difficult, partly due to the passion that people bring to community work. Disaster often looms when one person decides that they know what needs to be done and how it needs to happen. The project may be completed, but sometimes the person driving it looks around and discovers that they are in a group of one.

I’ve met dozens of people like Tom’s mythical Sue. They range in age from about 14 to 86 and often times they are the people who voice their opinions sparingly and quietly go about getting things done. I think community leadership is more of an art than a science, and I feel privileged to have worked with a lot of artists.

Robert Ault

Cool Beans Tom - thanks for sharing

Good insight.  Helps to read articles like this once in a while to remind us to strive to be such leaders, or at the very least, recognize these traits and affiliate ourselves with the groups this type of leader is involved with.  One can expect to have a good and productive experience in such groups. - Kathy Hornstuen

Thanks, Tom, for this explanation. One thing that is worth adding I think, Sue should know the 80/20 rule. I have known leaders who paid so much attention to the 20 that they forgot the 80 and eventually had to quit serving because they felt like they weren’t helping the minority. In other words, I think that sometimes the squeaky wheel needs to be replaced with one that operates well with the rest of the wheels. Sometimes greasing the wheel is a useless waste of energy. If leaders follow the techniques we’ve learned in training they will serve the entire community well not just the complainers. The complainers will feel heard and the leader can move forward without being annoyed by the Skree-skree-skree! of the warped wheel.

I appreciate the side-by-side approach! It makes so much sense in our rural towns where many of the amazing people we work with take on so many responsibilities and wear so many different hats.  One person may decide to follow in one situation/project/organization and then lead in another.  It really brings out how leadership is about taking on responsibility rather than power. Thanks for helping us put language to that structure.

I also appreciate Deanna’s comment that it takes more than just the “Sue’s” to make rural communities vital, it really takes, as Tom mentions, all the diverse voices that Sue involves in the community vision and shared leadership. I also appreciate Deanna’s comment that Sue is a fictitious character, a community megaleader combined out of six superleaders, because it makes me not feel so bad that, like other who have posted, I find myself falling far short of her leadership abilities.
Max Gimbel

Tom et al,

Thanks for sharing your insight and perspective on “What Makes a Community Leader” and articulating some of the characteristics that make a leader successful.  I like the illustration of side-ways leadership, where all are included in the process and end result equally. Your articulation of the key characteristics in the title and detailed text to - Sustain a Positive Attitude; Help Build a Compelling Vision; Set Group Norms; Find Common Ground; and Mentor Others- are helpful at getting a glimpse of “Sue” and what makes a leader. It does seem that “Sue” is a very compassionate person, who is genuinely interested in what other people think and what happens to them. She offers an inclusive approach to leadership in her community rather than excludes community members because she thinks she has the “best” answer. That is very appealing. She seems like someone who can keep her eye on the long term goals of community by empowering its members to participate and letting them take responsibility for themselves, as well as be the “driver” of the vehicle when needed. 

I sometimes use the chain as a metaphor for illustrating communities. The whole chain or community is only as strong as each link or member. A leadership link in the chain will realize that they are but one link in the chain and that each link is dependent on the other to create the strength needed for the chain to be strong enough and hold together when used or tested. A strong chain can do the heavy lifting needed when the opportunity arises or need occurs.

Compassion, patience, humility, honesty and trusting in others also come to my mind as some general descriptions for “Sue”. Admitting mistake and when one is wrong as well as being able to ask for help are some other qualities that pop up as well as leadership qualities. It seems that once we realize that communities are formed by the sum of its parts, then the shared common sense approach can be shared in a more equal mode by all community members.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to see others excel, because if we look at the world as our larger community, we may realize that we all are important and necessary for us to achieve our goals. 

Anyways, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I also appreciate the experience and learning opportunity that the Ford Foundation provides for us in our small remote section of the world and in a community approach that works together as a TEAM. I look forward to continuing in this process and the sharing of insight and realizations together. Thanks again for this.

Petey Brucker

What I see is a fictitious character that would be a perfect leader, but I think in reality you are rarely going to see someone that is a strong leader with a vision and also willing to share the limelight.  I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way, but I think that you need the thinkers and more passive people to tone the motivators down. Just a thought thanks!

Wow Tom, thank you for putting down in words a picture of the wonderful “Sue’s” that we all get the privilege to work with in the rural communities that we serve with The Ford Institute Leadership Program.

We are all on this leadership trajectory somewhere, and I appreciate the chance to pause and think - “where do I stand” when I consider Sue. Like you, I do well so often, until I make a mistake. I guess that is learning, and progress.

I challenge those participants in the classes that I work with - to ponder and respond to the article.

Again thanks Tom, we are all so privileged that you are by our side in this leadership adventure.

Heidi

Tom - great article. I like the side by side analogy - we are all in this together. I am going to find out how to get the CORE Target Area leads access to this article so that I can share it with them. They are all leaders - and quite a few of them FILP grads too!! Thanks for your insight. Kathryn Weber