1.
Building Leadership in
the Community

2.
STARTER DEFINITIONS
Leadership … the act of leading; i.e., providing direction
and motivation to others in order to collectively achieve
some mutual objective.
• Leadership is important because community objectives
cannot be accomplished by any one individual.
Ethics … the adherence to the values and norms of society
overall
• Ethics are important because they represent the broader
values and rules of society with which each person is
expected to comply.
Leaders have a greater responsibility to demonstrate
ethical behavior because their actions and words have a
greater influence on the actions of others.

3.
LEADERSHIP – A COMPREHENSIVE
DEFINITION
Leadership is … a process through which people (e.g.,
team members) are influenced in some way to accomplish
goals, generally group goals.
• People … provide the resources and talent necessary to
achieve the goals.
• Influence … the ability of one person to cause a change in
the behavior of another person.
• Goal … the expected end result of the leadership … the
accomplishment the group hopes to achieve.
One way to sort through all of the opinions about
leadership is to ask a couple of basic questions.

4.
LEADERSHIP QUESTION 1 – IS
LEADERSHIP BASED ON
Traits & Characteristics … or … Behaviors?

5.
SOME EXAMPLE LEADER
TRAITS
Resilience
Energy
Self confidence and esteem
Decisiveness
Personal integrity and honesty
Enthusiasm
Persistence and tenacity
Note: This is not an exhaustive list!

6.
SOME EXAMPLE LEADER
BEHAVIORS
Communications skills (including listening)
Technical knowledge (i.e., does the leader know what he or she is
talking about?)
Interpersonal skills (i.e., the ability to effectively interact with
others)
Envisioning the future
Note: This is not an exhaustive list, either!

7.
LEADERSHIP QUESTION 2 – IS
LEADERSHIP
Always the same … or … Variable?

8.
QUESTION 2 – THERE ARE
ARGUMENTS BOTH WAYS!
There is value in changing leadership traits and behaviors
to fit the situation at hand.
• For example, a participative approach may work well for
routine meetings, while a more autocratic decision process
may be required for a crisis situation.
There is value in keeping some things consistent so that
the leader’s actions are somewhat predictable
• For example, followers may be able to say that “in this
situation, our leader would approach it this way”.
• This allows the group to continue to function in the
absence of the leader.
• Note that consistent doesn’t mean identical. In the first
example, the autocratic decision making can still be
preceded by an abbreviated discussion between leader
and followers.

9.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
A Servant Leader (or Steward Leader) functions to serve others.
• They tend to be more inclusive, and recognize the stewardship of
resources and responsibilities
Leadership can be both “transactional” and “transformational”.
• Transactional means there is an exchange … the leader provides
something of value to a follower in exchange for work toward the
goal. This “something of value” can be as simple as a “thank you”.
• Transformational means the leader motivates individuals toward a
higher cause without any expectations on their part of receiving
something of value … even a “thank you”.
Effective volunteer leaders attempt to use both transactional and
transformational behaviors.

10.
THE ROLE OF POWER IN
LEADERSHIP
Leadership relies on the leader’s influence to motivate
people to achieve the group’s objectives.
• Power is the influence that one person has over another
person.
• Therefore, leadership and power are connected.
The word “Power” can have some negative connotations.
• However, power itself is neither good nor bad. The positive
or negative connotations come from the context and manner
in which the leader exerts the influence or power.

11.
SOME SOURCES OF POWER
There are several sources of power. Some of the more
common sources are:
• Reward power … where a follower’s actions are based on a
belief that the leader will provide rewards if the expectations
are met.
• Legitimate power … where a follower’s actions are based on
a belief that the leader has a legitimate right to influence (for
example, the Chair of a Committee).
• Referent power … where a follower’s actions are based on a
desire to be associated or work with the leader.
• Expert power … where a follower’s actions are based on a
belief that the leader has special knowledge.
Leaders generally use more than one source of power at any
one time.

12.
THE R.A.T.E. MODEL
Community leadership development has four basic steps:
• Step 1 – Recruit leaders and potential leaders
• Step 2 – Assess those leaders to determine how to best
utilize their skills for both individual and community
successes
• Step 3 – Teach those leaders how to become even more
effective
• Step 4 – Engage those leaders in leadership assignments.

13.
RECRUITING LEADERS
This involves identifying both established and potential
community leaders – and asking them to step into
leadership roles.
The places to look include the existing leaders and
members of community committees, task forces, advisory
groups, boards, commissions, etc.
Some potential leaders may not think of themselves as
such. In this case, their mental image of “leaders” may
need to be expanded.
Other potential leaders may not have stepped forward
simply because they haven’t been asked.
Community leadership assignments should focus on both
community and individual success.

14.
ASSESSING LEADERS
In community leadership development, leadership
assessment is primarily an individual task.
The purpose is for the leader to understand his/her strengths
and areas that need improvement.
• Leverage the strengths and identify development activities to
improve the rest.
The leader also benefits when others provide him/her
feedback regarding their perspectives of the leader’s
strengths and weaknesses.
• This is sometimes called a “360° assessment”.
The assessment should be based on desired leadership
attributes. The lists on slides 7 and 8 can be used as a
starting point.

15.
TEACHING LEADERS
There are four basic approaches to “teaching” leadership …
where “teaching” is interpreted broadly.
• Experience … probably the best way to learn.
• People will make leadership mistakes. These should
be learning experiences. But, no one should be set up
for failure.
• Self-Study … provides the most schedule flexibility.
• One variation is for several individuals to periodically
meet to discuss and exchange ideas about leadership.
• Formal Study … includes dedicated community training
programs, college classes, and workshops.
• Mentoring … involves one-on-one relationships where a more
experienced leader serves as a sounding board for the novice
leader

16.
ENGAGING LEADERS
Get leaders involved in leading. Then provide feedback on
their leadership performance so that they can improve.
Learning by doing is a common approach in adult training
(as opposed to elementary and secondary education).
• Adults generally respond better to training where they have
an understanding of why the topic is being taught.
• Individuals actually encountering leadership dilemmas are
more attuned to absorbing leadership training.

17.
DOES THE R.A.T.E. MODEL
NEED ANOTHER “R”?
In order to make the RATE model an ongoing process,
consider one more verb … Renew.
Without a deliberate effort to ensure leaders renew
themselves, they will eventually burn out.
• This applies to community leaders as well as leaders in other
settings.
This renewal process allows individuals to serve the
community for a longer period of time and in a more effective
manner.
The renewal actions will vary from individual to individual.
The R.A.T.E. model doesn’t have to be revised to add another
“R”, as long as leader renewal is a consideration in the
community leadership development process.

18.
CONCLUSIONS
First, and maybe foremost, anyone can be a leader.
Leadership is not a characteristic determined at birth.
Leadership skills involve both traits and behaviors. These
skills can generally be acquired through practice.
The RATE model is a simple way to remember how to approach
community leadership development
• Recruit, Assess, Teach, Engage leaders and potential leaders.
The ethical behaviors of leaders have a direct impact on the
ethical behaviors of others in the organization.
• Actions speak louder than words.
Effective community leaders also see the development of
additional community volunteers as a part of their overall
responsibility.

19.
STOP AND REFLECT
What are the top five things on your leadership
development list for you to become an effective
community leader?
• What are the immediate next steps to get started on this
list?
• Who else do you need to help you with this personal
leadership development list?

20.
DETERMINING
LEADERSHIP STYLE AND
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE
TEAM

21.
CONTRIBUTING
LEADER
• Focused on providing reliable information to the team.
• Sets high standards for personal and team performance.
• Team members credit this kind of leader with excellent
organizational abilities, including management of budget
and schedules.
• Has tendency to be narrow minded of mental pictures and
firmness.

22.
COLLABORATING
LEADER
• Focused on fulfilling the overall goals and mission of the
team.
• Has the “bahala na “ spirit of flexibility.
• Team members credit this kind of leader with vision and
far-ranging intellect.
• Tends to lose track of details and undervaluing small, but
necessary tasks.

23.
COMMUNICATING
LEADER
• Focused on the process by which team attains its goals.
• Listens well and encourages participation by all team
members.
• Team members credit this kind of leader with good people
skills and conflict resolution abilities.
• Tends to care for people and process for good results.

24.
CHALLENGING
LEADER
• Focused on enhancing team performance through
“gadfly” questions and comments.
• Often disagrees or appears to disagree with the
approaches, processes, and conclusions of the group.
• Team members credit this kind of leader with permitting
risks and independent judgment.
• Tends to become perfectionistic without considering the
weaknesses of others in terms of their capabilities.