Last, but not least: One of the central and long- term jobs of a community leader is to develop other leaders. Developing leaders is how we build a strong community of individuals that can work together to achieve goals. It is the basis for how a democracy works. What Makes a Good Community Leader?
•... They must possess empathy, the ability to
inspire, strong communication skills and pride in their community. Effective leaders are problem solvers who involve all members of their teams. They get people to work together toward a common goal. •The Ten Top Qualities of Great Community Leaders. • 1.Self awareness. A good community leader should be knowledge of his or her strengthens and weaknesses. This will enable the leader to exploit better his abilities while seeking help from others for his or her weak areas. Leading others with the knowledge of self ease’s a leaders job since it allows for the selection of the best-fit roles and the sharing of responsibilities with others. • •2.Eagerness to learn and adapt. As a community leader, earning respect from members is one of the key enablers of ones roles. To do so, learning to listen from others, appreciating their input and changing courses of action is essential. • 3.Empathy. As a leader its important that you recognize how the community perceives you as their leader. Empathy allows one to imagine different viewpoints from the community members as well as understand their feelings. With this perspective, a leader may be perceived as one who cares and this will increase his or her creditability in the community. •4.Honesty and integrity. A leader must ensure that he is trustworthy to the community and to other leaders. Trust facilitates productive space for discussions and desired social change. Once trust is broken, respect is diminished and productivity is eliminated. • 5.Dedication. As a community leader, who most likely is playing a voluntary role, its important that you recognize your own benefits from the role. Time spent on a community role can only be beneficial if it’s seen to create space for desirable social change both for the leader and the community. This recognition will create energy and dedication to one’s roles given the sometimes difficulty and draining role of community leadership. • 6.Service. Involving oneself in general community services is a yet another great quality of a community leader. As a leader being seen to serve your own members creates respect and legitimatizes one’s role in the community. • 7.Interpersonal skills. A community leader should be able to interact with other members of the community with ease. This calls for good communication and collaboration skills. Being able to negotiate, mediate, listen to others, and articulate arguments and to work with members external to the community is essential. • 8.Forward-thinking. Forward thinking is about being visionary as a leader, one should dream for his community and effectively share the dream. He should be able to think of the future and set sustainable goals by developing his/her own critical thinking skills and involving the younger generations. •9.Intelligence. A competent leader is seen as one who can take care of the tough stuff that may happen to him or the community. Intelligence here is beyond being smart to include high levels of both emotional and social intelligence. • 10.Motivation. Lastly, a great leader inspires as to create the desired social change. He does this in a variety of ways but always remembers to include others in his thought process and courses of action. Theory of leadership
• 1. Great Man Theory
• According to the Great Man Theory (which should perhaps be called the Great Person Theory), leaders are born with just the right traits and abilities for leading – charisma, intellect, confidence, communication skills, and social skills. • The theory suggests that the ability to lead is inherent – that the best leaders are born, not made. It defines leaders as valiant, mythic, and ordained to rise to leadership when the situation arises. The term “Great Man” was adopted at the time because leadership was reserved for males, particularly in military leadership. • 2. Trait Theory • The Trait Theory is very similar to the Great Man Theory. It is founded on the characteristics of different leaders – both the successful and unsuccessful ones. The theory is used to predict effective leadership. Usually, the identified characteristics are compared to those of potential leaders to determine their likelihood of leading effectively. • Scholars researching the trait theory try to identify leadership characteristics from different perspectives. They focus on the physiological attributes such as appearance, weight, and height; demographics such as age, education, and familial background; and intelligence, which encompasses decisiveness, judgment, and knowledge. • • 3. Contingency Theory • The Contingency Theory emphasizes different variables in a specific setting that determine the style of leadership best suited for the said situation. It is founded on the principle that no one leadership style is applicable to all situations. • Renowned leadership researchers Hodgson and White believe that the best form of leadership is one that finds the perfect balance between behaviors, needs, and context. Good leaders not only possess the right qualities but they’re also able to evaluate the needs of their followers and the situation at hand. In summary, the contingency theory suggests that great leadership is a combination of many key variables. • 4. Situational Theory • The Situational Theory is similar to the Contingency Theory as it also proposes that no one leadership style supersedes others. As its name suggests, the theory implies that leadership depends on the situation at hand. Put simply, leaders should always correspond their leadership to the respective situation by assessing certain variables such as the type of task, nature of followers, and more. • As proposed by US professor Paul Hersey and leadership guru Ken Blanchard, the situational theory blends two key elements: the leadership style and the followers’ maturity levels. Hersey and Blanchard classified maturity into four different degrees: • M1 – Team members do not possess the motivation or tactical skills to complete necessary jobs. • M2 – Team members are willing and ambitious to achieve something, but they lack the necessary ability. • M3 – Team members possess the skills and capacity to accomplish tasks, but they’re not willing to take accountability. • M4 – Team members possess all the right talents and are motivated to complete projects. • According to situational theory, a leader exercises a particular form of leadership based on the maturity level of his or her team. • • 5. Behavioral Theory • In Behavioral Theory, the focus is on the specific behaviors and actions of leaders rather than their traits or characteristics. The theory suggests that effective leadership is the result of many learned skills. • Individuals need three primary skills to lead their followers – technical, human, and conceptual skills. Technical skills refer to a leader’s knowledge of the process or technique; human skills means that one is able to interact with other individuals; while conceptual skills enable the leader to come up with ideas for running the organization or society smoothly Clear direction decide on team goals and desired outcomes first. Use it for clear direction for the team you select. Start at the end point: What is the outcome you want and why? Leave the team flexibility to develop the best way to get there Open and honest communication
• The most important part of communication is
listening. Listening is not just a way to find things out. It’s also a sign of respect. So send the message that your conversation partner is valuable. Listen like you mean it. Demonstrate that you’re listening. Paraphrase, re-state, and react to what you hear. Ask for clarification. Get involved Support risk taking and change
•Good teams support appropriate risk taking
and experimentation for change. They look on first time mistakes as opportunities for learning. Defined roles • The explorer will be more of a big-picture thinker who can help the team see what is possible. The number- cruncher will take charge of measurement and metrics. It’s possible your team will have other roles to fill, but you should have a good handle on those roles before you begin staffing. • Once you have a plan for those basics, begin choosing the strongest team members to carry out the project Mutually accountable •Teams accept responsibility as individuals and as a team. They don’t blame one another for team mistakes and failures. No one should spend any time, useless time, in personal justifications. They should celebrate their successes together and recognize special performances and contributions that each team member makes to the total work of the team. Communicate freely • Communication is the cousin of chemistry. In any team, communication is crucial to building a sense of camaraderie between members. The content of the communication is rather irrelevant, as researchers at MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory have shown. Rather, the manner of communication — how freely and frequently team members communicate — determines the effectiveness of the team. Put simply, the more freely you talk to your fellow team members, the more comfortable you are in sharing insights and ideas. This is just one major reason why modern businesses emphasize communication and spend significant time each year on social communication and collaboration tools. Common goals
• A chief characteristic of any successful team is
that members place the common goal above individual interests. While scaling individual targets is great for personal morale, teams succeed when they understand, appreciate and work with a common purpose Encourage differences in opinions
•Agreeing on a common goal is essential. But
it shouldn’t come at the cost of suppressing alternative ideas and opinions. Having divergent opinions within a team enhances team performance; a diverse team is its competitive advantage. Collaboration
• Closecollaboration is a trait shared by every
successful team, whether it be the Apple leadership team or Lennon-McCartney of the Beatles fame or Jordan-Pippen of the Chicago Bulls fame. The idea is simple enough: the more you collaborate and the more you communicate, the more you create. Team trust • Team members who cannot trust one other or who don’t believe in the process and goals of the team seldom find success. Effective teams focus on solving problems. Trust is an adjunct of effective communication; there can be trust between team members only if they are allowed to air their views freely. This is the reason why organizations often undertake team-building exercises that put team members in positions of trust. • A University that develops individuals through excellence in teaching, dynamic and relevant research, and responsive service supported by evolving technology for global competence. • miss • An enduring commitment to prepare the learner to continuously search for knowledge through a holistic education which treasures heritage and is imbued with the core values of personal integrity and spirituality, family solidarity and community participation • Four • Holistic development of personality & moral character • · Preparation for the vocational, career and profession • · Training for home and family life • · Training for community participation and leadership
Sustaining The Metropolis: LRT and Streetcars For Super Cities, Presented by The Transportation Research Board of The National Academies (Circular E-C177)