To build strong communities, we need people with the skills to work together collectively. This newsletterhighlights the patterns of collective leadership. I hope you will be inspired by the story of collective leadership in action in a small community, and the reflection questions that help us open to the wisdom of our fellow community members. More stories about collective leadership, can be found in THE COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP STORYBOOK.
~ Dale Nienow
~ Dale Nienow
What DC Leaders could Learn from Community Leaders
It is hard to watch our elected leaders go through the governing process in Washington, D.C. The founders of the country intentionally designed inefficiency into the structure of the national government so that power would be shared. But it seems like many of our leaders have forgotten how to work with each other, share ideas, and come to solutions that work for the greater good of our country. While the will to work together appears to be declining at the national level, we see signs that it is increasing on the community level. It may help our national leaders to remember their community roots.
The Center works with many community groups and organizations who want to improve their communities. They know that to make our communities healthier, more just and inclusive for everyone requires us to work together. That is why the Center focuses on collective leadership. This kind of leadership stands in stark contrast to the large individual egos and rigid self-interests so prominent on the national stage. Collective leadership is a way for diverse groups of people to hold purpose, direction and action cooperatively.
Collective leadership calls for us to build deep relationships with each other and to cross the boundaries that keep us from working with others – whether they are boundaries of race, age, culture, class, or ideology. At the community level, people seem to be more willing to sit down with each other, knee-to-knee and eye-to-eye, and build relationships. When these relationships are strengthened, it is more feasible to hold the interests of the whole community while learning about each other’s experiences and perspectives.
By working with people who practice collective leadership, we have identified four patterns that could help our DC friends:
It is hard to watch our elected leaders go through the governing process in Washington, D.C. The founders of the country intentionally designed inefficiency into the structure of the national government so that power would be shared. But it seems like many of our leaders have forgotten how to work with each other, share ideas, and come to solutions that work for the greater good of our country. While the will to work together appears to be declining at the national level, we see signs that it is increasing on the community level. It may help our national leaders to remember their community roots.
The Center works with many community groups and organizations who want to improve their communities. They know that to make our communities healthier, more just and inclusive for everyone requires us to work together. That is why the Center focuses on collective leadership. This kind of leadership stands in stark contrast to the large individual egos and rigid self-interests so prominent on the national stage. Collective leadership is a way for diverse groups of people to hold purpose, direction and action cooperatively.
Collective leadership calls for us to build deep relationships with each other and to cross the boundaries that keep us from working with others – whether they are boundaries of race, age, culture, class, or ideology. At the community level, people seem to be more willing to sit down with each other, knee-to-knee and eye-to-eye, and build relationships. When these relationships are strengthened, it is more feasible to hold the interests of the whole community while learning about each other’s experiences and perspectives.
By working with people who practice collective leadership, we have identified four patterns that could help our DC friends:
- Take the time to for deep relationships with each other.
- Cross boundaries that keep us from working with others who share our purpose.
- Trust community wisdom and tap into it to find the answers it holds.
- Listen to peoples’ stories (real life experiences) and together make a new narrative that works for the whole community.
Building Community Assets with Collective Leadership
In the small town of Waelder, TX, between Austin and Houston, Mark Cantu, a young, Latino high school principal is working to address the issues facing young people in his community. Waelder youth have limited activities and opportunities for work and leave town to find them.
Mark grew up in Edcouch-Elsa, a town where the high school practiced collective leadership as part of a national community leadership initiative, coordinated by the Center on behalf of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Because of his education, Mark knows how collective leadership will help the community create a new narrative for the residents of Waelder.
To begin, he gathered a group of teachers and students who wanted to improve the opportunities. This coalition began to have conversations with the community. But Mark also wanted to build the capacity of the community to work together collectively.
Mark’s team traveled to Seattle to participate in the Community Learning Exchange (CLE), hosted by the Center. There, for three days, they met with other community teams from Seattle, Minneapolis, Honolulu, and a dozen states, to learn about collective leadership and to exchange ideas on community change. As they heard other communities share stories about parent engagement, undoing institutional racism, and making public schools more effective for people of color, they formed plans to shape a project and engage the Waelder community in supporting their youth.
They left the CLE inspired and clearer about the aspects of collective leadership that will help them move their community to collective action. Their focus is to take an abandoned school gym and turn it into a school community center that offers activities, tutoring, youth jobs, and helps youth navigate through high school and on to college. They have hosted a number of gatherings to engage youth, city officials, the school board, as well as an alumni group from the school of the abandoned gym. The alumni group is African-American, as they attended the abandoned school when public education was still segregated.
Working across boundaries of age, race, and institutions, the people of Waelder are working together to change their future. Mark says, “We are gathering the community to work on this. Collective will is more powerful than the individual.” To learn more about Mark and Waelder, listen to the Center for Ethical Leadership’s weekly podcast.
In the small town of Waelder, TX, between Austin and Houston, Mark Cantu, a young, Latino high school principal is working to address the issues facing young people in his community. Waelder youth have limited activities and opportunities for work and leave town to find them.
Mark grew up in Edcouch-Elsa, a town where the high school practiced collective leadership as part of a national community leadership initiative, coordinated by the Center on behalf of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Because of his education, Mark knows how collective leadership will help the community create a new narrative for the residents of Waelder.
To begin, he gathered a group of teachers and students who wanted to improve the opportunities. This coalition began to have conversations with the community. But Mark also wanted to build the capacity of the community to work together collectively.
Mark’s team traveled to Seattle to participate in the Community Learning Exchange (CLE), hosted by the Center. There, for three days, they met with other community teams from Seattle, Minneapolis, Honolulu, and a dozen states, to learn about collective leadership and to exchange ideas on community change. As they heard other communities share stories about parent engagement, undoing institutional racism, and making public schools more effective for people of color, they formed plans to shape a project and engage the Waelder community in supporting their youth.
They left the CLE inspired and clearer about the aspects of collective leadership that will help them move their community to collective action. Their focus is to take an abandoned school gym and turn it into a school community center that offers activities, tutoring, youth jobs, and helps youth navigate through high school and on to college. They have hosted a number of gatherings to engage youth, city officials, the school board, as well as an alumni group from the school of the abandoned gym. The alumni group is African-American, as they attended the abandoned school when public education was still segregated.
Working across boundaries of age, race, and institutions, the people of Waelder are working together to change their future. Mark says, “We are gathering the community to work on this. Collective will is more powerful than the individual.” To learn more about Mark and Waelder, listen to the Center for Ethical Leadership’s weekly podcast.
Opening up to the wisdom of others
It is empowering for a community to realize that it can solve problems by tapping into its own wisdom. However, that kind of solution is likely to emerge only when communities have taken the time to develop deep relationships that are respectful and reciprocal. It is common for diverse groups within a community to live parallel lives with limited interaction between groups. If you want to create mutual partnerships in which people actively share their wisdom and gifts, it is important to invite people to open up and connect in new ways.
The Center has found that people can prepare by doing their own personal reflection. Here are some questions that help:
When you have thought about what it takes for you personally to open up to working with other people and ideas, it is easier to invite others to do the same.
It is empowering for a community to realize that it can solve problems by tapping into its own wisdom. However, that kind of solution is likely to emerge only when communities have taken the time to develop deep relationships that are respectful and reciprocal. It is common for diverse groups within a community to live parallel lives with limited interaction between groups. If you want to create mutual partnerships in which people actively share their wisdom and gifts, it is important to invite people to open up and connect in new ways.
The Center has found that people can prepare by doing their own personal reflection. Here are some questions that help:
- How open am I to being influenced by others, particularly from backgrounds that are different than mine?
- How willing am I to release whatever power I have in order to create space for partnership with diverse groups, knowing this means sharing power?
- Who are the people or groups who are challenging for me to engage?
- What do I need to let go of in order to open up to the wisdom of others?
When you have thought about what it takes for you personally to open up to working with other people and ideas, it is easier to invite others to do the same.
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