Have you ever read the Southern Living or Readers Digest magazine articles on “the best small towns in the country to live?”
Since I am interested in the role leadership plays in excellent communities, I have visited several of those towns to see why they were seen as “the best.”
The first thing you notice is how engaged the citizens are in the many large and small activities like fundraisers, festivals, musical and cultural events, and efforts to address community needs. You can feel the energy and excitement people feel about their town.
There is evidence of collaboration between government agencies, schools, churches, social service agencies and businesses, rather than everyone just working in their own little area. Sure, these communities have problems like drugs, poverty, abuse and crime. But when you ask about these problems, citizens talk about what local people are doing about the problems rather than throwing up their hands in frustration or ranting about what someone else should do.
Creating an environment like this doesn’t happen by accident. It takes hundreds of people willing to get involved and serve. And, whenever a group of people need to come together to get something done, some leading is required. And those who are willing to lead are essential building blocks of great communities. They are indispensable.
Often when we think of community leadership, we think of the people at the top, the mayors, council members, business owners, church pastors, the school superintendent, the sheriff, etc. But building a vibrant community takes many people, who don’t hold formal leadership roles, who are willing to do some leading at every level.
However, when you scratch the surface, leaders in these towns all describe a similar troublesome trend. They see an increasing reluctance of capable people willing to lead.
In our mountain community, we already know we live in the best place in the world. And like those towns featured in the magazines, we have a rich tradition of people willing to pitch in and help with our community initiatives. We celebrate and are grateful for those among us who are willing to lead. Local leaders, like the late Joe El-Khouri and his family in Andrews, or Bill and Barbara Hughes of Murphy, are precious to our community.
But while we are blessed with so many who are willing to help, we also see the growing reluctance to lead. Look around your church, civic club or organization, don’t you see the same few people who always seem to step up to take on the task of leading?
We see this trend in business organizations as fewer people seem to be interested in assuming managerial or supervisory roles. I see it in my college students who are reluctant to lead even small class projects.
We hear a lot about the need for infrastructure, attracting new business, and updating technology as necessary capacities for our community’s future. But encouraging volunteerism, identifying and developing emerging leaders, and fostering entrepreneurship are equally important for the sustainability of our mountain community.
Leadership is often thought of as some mysterious talent that some of us have and others don’t. It is true that some of us have unique traits or abilities that are useful. But leading is different. Leading is a process, a set of actions an individual takes to help others achieve goals. And we all have the capability to learn to perform those actions.
Over the next few months, we will be exploring the process of leading others. Hopefully, if you join me by reading along, you will become more aware of what leading entails and, despite your reluctance, you might choose to lead when you see a need. And, even if you choose not to lead, by knowing what leading looks like, you can encourage and support good leaders when you see them.
Michael Donovan is a contributing writer for the Cherokee Scout and Adjunct Professor at Young Harris College. His book Leading – Helping Others Achieve Results is available on Amazon. For comments and feedback, contact him at 727-460-8759 or pdsdoc1@aol.com.