I recently had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony for the South East ‘Opening Doors’ social inclusion community leadership program in which we have been involved. The participants in the program are enormously inspiring with the commitment they have shown to their own and other communities. These are not leaders who seek the spotlight. They are quiet achievers who demonstrate three significant qualities of community leadership: they are visionary, they are flexible, and they take responsibility.

Visionary

The term ‘vision’ is so often used in leadership today that it can come across as almost meaningless. Not with this group. Each of them understands that a true vision is something much bigger than oneself. It is a very far-sighted view of what might be possible, something that can only be achieved by engaging and enabling those they work with so what they aspire to achieve will live on long after they have moved on themselves.

It is sometimes difficult to step above the many facets of everyday life, take a deep breath and look long into the future. It is easy for a vision to be knocked down by doubts, by a sense that it is too grand to ever be within reach. However, these community leaders demonstrate that by maintaining a clear intent, keeping focused on what is important and truly ‘living’ their vision, it will move that much closer to becoming a reality.

Flexible

Joan Armatrading’s amazing song ‘Willow’ always makes me think of ‘being flexible’. A willow is bent over, tangled, swings with the wind – it is probably not somewhere you would choose to shelter in a storm. Yet when I hear the lyrics  “I’m strong … straight … willing to be a shelter in a storm. Your willow…’ it feels so right. The flexible willow can be ‘both…and’.

Our community leaders demonstrate similar ‘both…and’ flexibility. They are willing to go with the flow while still keeping their own goals in sight; they recognise that there is more than one way to get things done; they acknowledge the contribution of others rather than standing alone in the limelight; they realise that others can have unique ideas as amazing as their own; and they are able to sit with the pain of an uncomfortable situation, appreciating the feelings and emotions associated with it, rather than trying to escape from it.

These leaders, as any group, represent a range of personalities, yet they have all learnt to be willing to see things differently, to adapt and adjust to situations and be flexible in who they are.

Taking Responsibility

I once came across a definition of responsibility as ‘response-ability’: the ability to respond to an opportunity, a situation, problem, task or challenge in a way that moves it forward. I find it a powerful descriptor for a word that is used regularly but often without any real commitment behind it.

Responsibility in this sense doesn’t always mean finding a solution or taking action, but it does mean working hard to stay ‘above the line’ and not default to blame, defensiveness, denial or self-justification. It means responding, thoughtfully and constructively, rather than reacting automatically.

The leaders in this program have all found themselves in situations where they could have gone ‘below the line’ but made the choice not to. They explored excuses that kept them from taking an initiative, looked for alternative paths, admitted their mistakes. They appreciated their impact on others and were mindful of offering support and encouragement. In short, they took responsibility.

 

This group of community leaders were generally not very experienced in leadership and, in many cases, they did not see themselves as leaders at all. Yet through this community leadership program they have truly demonstrated the leadership traits I have described. This is a gift to the communities in which they engage as well as to the broader sector.

Gayle