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Module #4 – Building Leadership

in the Community
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Starter Definitions
 Leadership … the act of leading; i.e., providing direction and
motivation to others in order to collectively achieve some
mutual objective.
– Leadership is important because community objectives
cannot be accomplished by any one individual.

 Ethics … the adherence to the values and norms of society

overall
– Ethics are important because they represent the
broader values and rules of society with which each
person is expected to comply.

 Leaders have a greater responsibility to demonstrate ethical

behavior because their actions and words have a greater
influence on the actions of others.
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A Typical Scenario?
 “Loganville” appears to be progressive and thriving. It has
made significant improvements in the past decade,
including street/highway infrastructure, educational facilities,
new youth after-school opportunities, a revitalized
downtown retail district, … and so on.
 This progress is primarily due to the same dedicated core
group of community leaders. Because of their long list of
successes,
– The community has become complacent … expecting
the core leadership group to always “come through”.
– The core leadership group has become tired, and is
approaching burn out.
 The core community leadership group looks around for the
next wave of community leaders … and finds no one.
 What do they do now?
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An Overview of this Module

 Leadership
 Community Leadership Development using the R.A.T.E. Model
– Recruiting
– Assessing
– Teaching
– Engaging

 Unique Challenges for Community Leaders

 Ethics
 Conclusions

Note: The companion document goes into more details for each of
these topics, and also has a selected bibliography (books and
publications as well as websites).
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Leadership – A Comprehensive
Definition
 Leadership is … a process through which people (e.g., team
members) are influenced in some way to accomplish goals,
generally group goals.

– People … provide the resources and talent necessary to

achieve the goals.
– Influence … the ability of one person to cause a change
in the behavior of another person.
– Goal … the expected end result of the leadership … the
accomplishment the group hopes to achieve.

 One way to sort through all of the opinions about leadership

is to ask a couple of basic questions.
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Leadership Question 1 – Is Leadership Based on

Traits & Characteristics … or … Behaviors?

(Answer … It’s both.)

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Some Example Leader Traits

 Resilience
 Energy
 Self confidence and esteem
 Decisiveness
 Personal integrity and honesty
 Enthusiasm
 Persistence and tenacity

Note: This is not an exhaustive list!

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Some Example Leader Behaviors

 Communications skills (including listening)

 Technical knowledge (i.e., does the leader know what he or
she is talking about?)
 Interpersonal skills (i.e., the ability to effectively interact with
others)
 Envisioning the future

Note: This is not an exhaustive list, either!

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Stop and Reflect

 What additional leadership traits and behaviors should be
added to the lists on the previous two pages?
 How do you assess yourself for each of these traits and
behaviors on a scale of 1 to 4?
– Where 1 = an area of success for you where others
can learn from you, and
– Where 4 = an area of personal challenge to be further
developed.
 For your areas of personal challenge … what are some
concrete actions you can take to begin your improvement
process? Are there others you can enlist to help you?
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Leadership Question 2 – Is Leadership

Always the same … or … Variable?

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Question 2 – There Are Arguments

Both Ways!
 There is value in changing leadership traits and behaviors to
fit the situation at hand.
– For example, a participative approach may work well for
routine meetings, while a more autocratic decision
process may be required for a crisis situation.

 There is value in keeping some things consistent so that the

leader’s actions are somewhat predictable
– For example, followers may be able to say that “in this
situation, our leader would approach it this way”.
– This allows the group to continue to function in the
absence of the leader.
– Note that consistent doesn’t mean identical. In the first
example, the autocratic decision making can still be
preceded by an abbreviated discussion between leader
and followers.
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Stop and Reflect

 What is your “usual” leadership style?

 What are some examples of leadership situations what

might indicate a need to change from your “usual” style?

 What are some leader traits and behaviors that you

should keep constant, regardless of the situation? What
are the dangers of always behaving “the same way”?
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Other Considerations
 A Servant Leader (or Steward Leader) functions to serve others.
– They tend to be more inclusive, and recognize the stewardship
of resources and responsibilities

 Leadership can be both “transactional” and “transformational”.

– Transactional means there is an exchange … the leader
provides something of value to a follower in exchange for work
toward the goal. This “something of value” can be as simple as
a “thank you”.
– Transformational means the leader motivates individuals toward
a higher cause without any expectations on their part of
receiving something of value … even a “thank you”.

 Effective volunteer leaders attempt to use both transactional and

transformational behaviors.
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The Role of Power in Leadership

 Leadership relies on the leader’s influence to motivate people
to achieve the group’s objectives.
– Power is the influence that one person has over another
person.
– Therefore, leadership and power are connected.

 The word “Power” can have some negative connotations.

– However, power itself is neither good nor bad. The
positive or negative connotations come from the context
and manner in which the leader exerts the influence or
power.
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Some Sources of Power

 There are several sources of power. Some of the more
common sources are:
– Reward power … where a follower’s actions are based on
a belief that the leader will provide rewards if the
expectations are met.
– Legitimate power … where a follower’s actions are based
on a belief that the leader has a legitimate right to
influence (for example, the Chair of a Committee).
– Referent power … where a follower’s actions are based
on a desire to be associated or work with the leader.
– Expert power … where a follower’s actions are based on
a belief that the leader has special knowledge.

 Leaders generally use more than one source of power at any

one time.
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Stop and Reflect

 What other sources of power can be added to the list on
the previous page?

 What types of power do you use to influence others?

 Recall a situation where different types of influence were

required for members of the same group. What
happened?

 Is the description of a person as “a powerful leader” good

or bad? Why?
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The R.A.T.E. Model

 Community leadership development has four basic steps:

– Step 1 – Recruit leaders and potential leaders
– Step 2 – Assess those leaders to determine how to best
utilize their skills for both individual and community
successes
– Step 3 – Teach those leaders how to become even
more effective
– Step 4 – Engage those leaders in leadership
assignments.
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Recruiting Leaders
 This involves identifying both established and potential
community leaders – and asking them to step into leadership
roles.
 The places to look include the existing leaders and members
of community committees, task forces, advisory groups,
boards, commissions, etc.
 Some potential leaders may not think of themselves as such.
In this case, their mental image of “leaders” may need to be
expanded.
 Other potential leaders may not have stepped forward simply
because they haven’t been asked.
 Community leadership assignments should focus on both
community and individual success.
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Assessing Leaders
 In community leadership development, leadership assessment
is primarily an individual task.
 The purpose is for the leader to understand his/her strengths
and areas that need improvement.
– Leverage the strengths and identify development activities
to improve the rest.

 The leader also benefits when others provide him/her feedback

regarding their perspectives of the leader’s strengths and
weaknesses.
– This is sometimes called a “360° assessment”.

 The assessment should be based on desired leadership

attributes. The lists on slides 7 and 8 can be used as a starting
point.
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Teaching Leaders
 There are four basic approaches to “teaching” leadership …
where “teaching” is interpreted broadly.
– Experience … probably the best way to learn.
• People will make leadership mistakes. These should
be learning experiences. But, no one should be set up
for failure.
– Self-Study … provides the most schedule flexibility.
• One variation is for several individuals to periodically
meet to discuss and exchange ideas about leadership.
– Formal Study … includes dedicated community training
programs, college classes, and workshops.
– Mentoring … involves one-on-one relationships where a
more experienced leader serves as a sounding board for
the novice leader
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Engaging Leaders
 Get leaders involved in leading. Then provide feedback on
their leadership performance so that they can improve.

 Learning by doing is a common approach in adult training

(as opposed to elementary and secondary education).
– Adults generally respond better to training where they
have an understanding of why the topic is being taught.
– Individuals actually encountering leadership dilemmas
are more attuned to absorbing leadership training.
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Does the R.A.T.E. Model Need

Another “R”?
 In order to make the RATE model an ongoing process,
consider one more verb … Renew.
 Without a deliberate effort to ensure leaders renew
themselves, they will eventually burn out.
– This applies to community leaders as well as leaders in
other settings.

 This renewal process allows individuals to serve the

community for a longer period of time and in a more effective
manner.
 The renewal actions will vary from individual to individual.
 The R.A.T.E. model doesn’t have to be revised to add another
“R”, as long as leader renewal is a consideration in the
community leadership development process.
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What Have Other Communities Done?

 There are many, many community leadership development
programs.
 A scan of best practices that was published by The Alliance
for Regional Stewardship highlighted a number of key
program design considerations, like how and when to
engage outside personnel.
– Their scan included summaries of 10 regional
leadership development programs.

 There are many non-governmental organizations that focus

on leadership development. Some examples include
– Coro … also cited in The Alliance for Regional
Stewardship publication.
– The Community Leadership Association … affiliated
with the University of Georgia
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Unique Challenges for Community Leaders

 Is there anything unique about leadership in a community
and economic development setting?
– No … and … Yes
 The leadership basics are still involved … people,
influence, and goals.
 However, there are some unique challenges that
community leaders encounter that don’t arise in many other
leadership contexts.
– Volunteers can “vote with their feet”, and may require
more deliberate approaches to motivation.
– The “fishbowl” environment associated with public and
political venues can increase the “second guessing” of
leadership decisions.
– The community itself can have special challenges …
e.g., high poverty, racial tensions, and declining
populations.
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Hypothetical Ethical Situation A

 You’re a newly appointed leader of a community committee
to prepare and host a community picnic to celebrate the
retirement of some street improvement bonds.
– The celebration is being paid for by private donations
(mostly businesses).
– You and a fellow committee member buy the food at
several local grocery stores.
– Afterwards, you discover one of the grocery stores
made an error during the check-out process, and has
significantly undercharged you for the food.
– Unfortunately, you’ve already spent the unexpected
additional funds on a special dessert.
 What do you do? What if you were the only one who knew
about the undercharge?
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Hypothetical Ethical Situation B

 You’re a newly appointed leader of a community committee
to prepare and host a community picnic to celebrate the
retirement of some street improvement bonds.
– The celebration is being paid for by private donations
(mostly businesses).
– A fellow committee member buys the food at several
local grocery stores.
– Afterwards, you discover the total amount of food
significantly exceeds the amount of money available.
– The fellow committee member jokes that an opportunity
arose to “bypass” the cashier, implying some form of
shoplifting/stealing was involved.
 What do you do?
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General Questions for the Leader

 Does it matter that Situation A involved an unintentional
error and Situation B was a result of purposeful behavior?
 What is the dollar threshold amount at which you cannot just
“look the other way”?
 Is that dollar threshold amount impacted by how well you
know the other person involved?
 What is “right” in each of these two situations?
 Would others agree that your proposed actions are “right”?
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Ethics
 Ethics … a system of principles or rules that distinguish
between right and wrong.
 Two perspectives … macro and micro.
– The macro view involves what the community or
organization can do to establish and maintain an ethical
culture.
– The micro view involves whether an individual behaves
in an ethical manner
 One example of the macro view is the “Certified City of
Ethics” Program established by the Georgia Municipal
Association.
 A good example of the micro view is discussed by the
Ethics Resource Center (ERC). In particular, the ERC
found that the behaviors of leaders have a direct impact on
the ethics of others.
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Conclusions
 First, and maybe foremost, anyone can be a leader.
Leadership is not a characteristic determined at birth.
 Leadership skills involve both traits and behaviors. These
skills can generally be acquired through practice.
 The RATE model is a simple way to remember how to
approach community leadership development
– Recruit, Assess, Teach, Engage leaders and potential
leaders.
 The ethical behaviors of leaders have a direct impact on the
ethical behaviors of others in the organization.
– Actions speak louder than words.
 Effective community leaders also see the development of
additional community volunteers as a part of their overall
responsibility.
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What About “Loganville”?

 Not surprisingly, “Loganville” is a composite of many
different communities.
 However, one large community that recognized there was
no “next generation” of community leaders ready to step in
took action to restore the community leader pipeline. The
existing community leaders …
– Identified a broad range of sources for potential new
community leaders, including grassroots leaders and
local entrepreneurs.
– Included both old and new generations in a “big tent”
approach.
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Stop and Reflect

 What are the top five things on your leadership
development list for yourself?
– What are the immediate next steps to get started on
this list?
– Who else do you need to help you with this personal
leadership development list?

 What are the top five things on your leadership

development list for others in your community?
– What are the immediate next steps to get started on
this list?
– Who else do you need to help you with this
community leadership development list?
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