Leadership Development

The Main Idea

Leadership development, as an approach to community development or intervention, can take place at a number of stages in the life cycle of both community an individual. Whatever the stage of "intervention" it soon becomes clear that the process of leadership development is much larger than any of our actions or interventions:

• In conception. There is a strong genetic factor in all this. The gifts we receive at birth frame out for each of us the "big and little tools in our tool set" as individuals, and our preferences for leadership styles that work for us. At this stage, not much is being done about community development at this level, but with the first cloning of a human being this week, it may not be off.

• In the womb.Prenatal nutrition is a well-documented factor in the development of human beings to full potential. Whatever the leadership capacity of the individual, its full development can be helped or hindered by something as simple as nutritious feeding in the womb, and elimination of harmful environmental components.
• In the Home and community. The educational social and home supports given to children growing up make for both good leaders and good followers. The experience of community can set a person up for a lifetime of quality involvement at an individual and community level.
• In early opportunities to experience leadership tasks and roles within a healthy community.
• In assistance in discovering our gifts and skills early in life. Being "bent out of shape" by the well-meaning intentions of family, or society delay the development of people's gifts and abilities, and often do deep damage to them as individuals.
• In quality leadership training. There is no sense re-inventing the wheel. Much is known about leadership, and when people are given the information it can go a long way towards developing quality leaders with good skills and outlook early in life.
• In good support. Experiences in leadership can be quite rough at times, and leaders need to feel support as much as followers need to learn how to support leaders and provide correctives in ways which are constructive as well as effective.
• In operational context. Institutions can destroy their own leaders. Societies at all levels can turn on their leaders and destroy them in such ways that the best of possible candidates no longer want to put themselves through such terrible experiences for themselves or their families.
• In post service honor. How we deal with public servants and leaders after their term of service has a great deal to do with the development of current and future leaders.

This area of community development intervention offers wide scope for action at all levels from individual through to larger society. Perhaps that is well, because leadership is after all a social function.

Off-Line Resources

• Robinson, Jerry W.Jr. "Ten Basic Principles of Leadership in Community Development Organizations". Journal of the Community Development Society.Vol.25, No.1,1994. (p.44-48) Reprinted in Ferrazzi, Gabe. Course Reader, Rural Community Development, Brandon University, 2001.
  The author of this paper seems to be quite a horizontal type thinker in terms of organizational structure preference, (but not completely). He is very much into the motivation of people. He shares ten tips after 25 years of doing his type of work:
  1. everyone is a leader
  2. it is a learned skill
  3. participation results in fellowship
  4. all lead to some extent
  5. everyone is superior in some respect
  6. this is not permissiveness
  7. team centered is not always best
  8. autocratic is not always bad
  9. interactive selection of leaders
  10. be flexible

  On-Line Resources