Community Leadership Training

Foundations, utilities and non-profit organizations, as well as post-secondary educational institutions are providing programs that help to build local leadership capacity in towns across America. They know that at the heart of community advancement are the people that truly care—and they need the skills to make a difference.

These community-based leadership programs generally focus on such outcomes as understanding and strengthening individual leadership traits and learning about the community’s institutions, businesses, social service and related programs.

If well executed, such leadership training programs empower local citizens to more effectively give of their time and talent for the betterment of their community.

Then what?

Frequently, these leadership programs challenge the participants to design and implement a class project that puts their sharpened skills to use in creating a tangible community improvement.

Then what?

Here is where we come in.

We believe that efforts to empower the local citizenry is some of the most important work that can be done. At the base is what we believe are the Four Stages of Civic Condition. Without people who are willing and able to advance their community, all of the strategic plans in the world will not make a difference.
Building Communities comes in at the end of the leadership curriculum.

After people learn about their personality and their innate leadership ability.
After people learn about their community and its attributes.
After the class project has been started, if applicable.

We believe this is the perfect time for a community to engage in our community leadership curriculum. We help move the process from individual advancement to community advancement through a two-phased leadership development process based upon a strategic planning curriculum. This is a one-of-a-kind training curriculum.

Phase One provides an in-depth study on the strategic position of the community: how to think strategically, how to assess the capacity of the community, how to identify the underlying forces assisting or complicating the community's progress and how to capitalize of the strategies available to diversify the economy and improve the local quality of life.

Phase Two is optional, and depends upon the desire of the participants and the willingness of the community at-large (through its governing body) to commit to a strategic planning process.

The primary ingredient for successful community-based strategic planning and the follow-on plan implementation phase is community commitment and capacity. Because the community has already engaged in a multi-faceted leadership training program, the likelihood that it will advance is very high.

Phase Two is the Building Communities Plan Week led by the class participants—possibly augmented by additional members appointed by the governing body.

The result is the best of all worlds. Not only do class participants gain the leadership skills designed into the existing program, but they form a long-term bond and commitment to the advancement of their community. They help write the next chapter of their community's future and continue to lead for the ensuing three to five years to help implement the plan.