RSS
- An Introduction to Open Source Economic Development
- Changes in our economy hit home
- Moving from a First Curve to a Second Curve economy
- The Urgency of Open Innovation
- New, Networked Approaches to Economic Development
- Building an open civic process: Strategic doing
- The emerging role of the civic leader
- The importance of mapping our networks
- Mapping and aligning Second Curve networks
- Open Source Economic Development: A Glossary
The emerging role of the civic leader
This cycle of strategic doing sets forth the discipline for the types of conversations we need in order to move our communities and regions forward. To guide these conversations, we need a new type of civic leader. Effective civic leaders on the Second Curve are well-versed in the skills of “appreciative leadership.” Instead of focusing on what we don't have, what we can't do, and how widely our problems are shared, the appreciative leader focuses on what we can do, what we can share, and what we can do together.
The appreciative leader understands a fundamental insight about human behavior: people move in the direction of their conversations. If we want to move far regions forward, we need to guide civic conversations toward the exploration of our opportunities. This skill requires an ability to frame questions in a way that guides people toward understanding their individual human potential to contribute to our civic life.
Too often, we frame issues in exactly the opposite way. For example, when we think of collaborations between County A and County B, we often start talking about eliminating people or organizations. Framing the topic in this way drives people away from each other into defensive positions. Instead, framing a collaboration around a potential opportunity creates a much higher probability of success. People are motivated to work together. They spend less time building defensive positions.
We
have all been in communities that have been unable to strike the
dynamic balance between open civic participation and appreciative
leadership direction. When both leadership direction and civic
participation are low, we sense an atmosphere of apathy. Few people
are engaged, and those leaders who have been engaged seem to have given
up.
In a community with strong public participation, but weak
leadership direction. We confront the unsettling feeling of chaos.
This situation happens, for example, in contentious public meetings
when angry citizens become the focal point of attention, and sensible
leaders seem to vanish.
Another situation involves strong leadership direction, but weak public participation. In these communities, we have the impression that decisions about civic life are being made behind closed doors. Cynicism is deeply rooted in these communities.
In building communities and regions that value both civic participation and leadership direction, we need to nurture civic behavior that builds trust. Like our personal life, trust in our civic life emerges from stable patterns of behavior. We need to build civic trust by demonstrating that we can reliably form practical collaborations.
