Leading Abundant Communities

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2011


Who is leading who?

I wish... that Leadership Thunder Bay could have invited John McKnight* to speak to us! 

How do we rebuild the capacity and the neighbourhoods in our City?  How do we create the "Infinite Possibilities?

Instead... here is what John McKnight,  said in Nova Scotia:

There is a new worldwide movement developing, made up of people with a different vision for their local communities. They know that movements are not organizations, institutions or systems. Movements have no CEO, central office, or plan. Instead, they happen when thousands of people discover together new possibilities for their lives.
They have a calling. They are called. And together they call upon themselves.

Fortunately, at the heart of our movement are three universal and abundant powers.The three basics of our calling are:

•The giving of gifts: The gifts of the people in our neighborhood are boundless. Our movement calls forth those gifts.


•The power of association: In association, we join our gifts together and they become amplified, magnified, productive and celebrated.


•Hospitality: We welcome strangers because we value their gifts and need to share our own. Our doors are open. There are no strangers here. Just friends we haven’t met.

 Ours is the movement of abundance. There is no limit to our gifts, our associations, and our hospitality.

 We have a calling. We are the people who know what we need. What we need surrounds us. What we need is each other. And when, we act together, we will find Our Way. The citizen’s way. The community way. The democratic way. We are called to nothing less. And it is not so wild a dream.

http://www.abundantcommunity.com/home/getting_started/community_capacities_and_community_neecessities.html “From Clients to Citizens Forum,” Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, July 8, 2009
 






April LLD:  The Charitable Sector
Location: The Learning Cafe

We will be exploring how leaders mobilize community assets...and how to connect one neighbourhood to another through key strategies. 

In preparation, please go to the Abundant Community Blog here:
http://www.abundantcommunity.com/home/getting_started.html

Happy Spring!!

More next week about John McKnight!



Are You Thunder Bay's Magnet?

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

Leaders Are Like Magnets

How does a community get better and better?

It takes visionary Leaders to "connect the dots" of all our community's assets. 

Leaders are the "magnets" that link these often unrelated resources into a strong, cohesive landscape.  They see the potential on the horizon  and create relationships that make things happen. 

Collaboration = potential.

 John McKnight says:

"At its core, a deeply connected community, a community in which every member is valued and challenged to contribute--

is a strong and healthy community."

Dissenters are welcome to voice their objections: witness Marina Park, the auditorium dilemmas, Shelter House NIMBY syndrome...

and the leadership that created a variety of strong "magnets" to move our community forward.

 

McKnight elaborates on community diversity:

"Connection is one thing in theory, but a collection of powerful forces could stand in the way. Many members of any community are moved to its edges by a series of disconnecting labels — too old, too young, too poor, mentally or physically disabled, mentally ill.

Not only do these labels serve to separate those labeled from the center of community life, but systems of service professing to “help” tend instead to further isolate them.

 

Asset-based community development begins with the assumption

that successful community building involves rediscovering and

mobilizing resources already present in any community:

 

o The skills and resources of its individuals,

 

o The power of voluntary associations, achieved through building relationships

 

o The assets present in the array of local institutions, the

physical infrastructure of the community and the local

economy.

 

Another way of saying this is: successful community development is

asset-based, internally-focused, and relationship-driven.

 

Leaders scan the horizon of potential assets to build a new model for the community.  Business owners invest resources, social organizations support one another - instead of competing for dollars and volunteers. 

New leaders are encouraged to step in and learn by doing... here's an invitation for you to consider from the City Clerk (source: Chronicle Journal)

Get Involved...

Let's Build Thunder Bay's Assets

The Office of the CIty Clerk invites applications for:

1. Accessibility Advisory Committee members
2. Board of Management: Heart of the Harbour BIA
3. Graffiti Advisory Committee
4. Court of Revision

The process is easy:

Pick up an application form at City Hall or call 625-2415 to have the form emailed to you.

Attach a letter and resume about your interest and expertise.

Submit before February 12, 2010.

I'm encouraging you to see our community through your  eyes, and asking that you put your heart and your hands into connecting our assets.

What is this "community" anyway?

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

"Shared By All"

This is a back to basics approach, folks...

If we're going to understand how "COMMUNITY ASSETS" work,

and how to lead "COLLABORATION" (key leadership skill),

then perhaps we should start by defining the origins of the word "COMMUNITY". 

(You may find this useful for your CAP Community Action Project

planning as well.) 

I'm quoting from two of my favourite community development heros:

Peter Senge and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

The word “community” has old roots, going back to the Indo-European base “mei”, meaning “change” or “exchange”.

Apparently this joined with another root, “Kom”, meaning “with” to produce the word, kommein: shared by all.

We think the ideas of “change or exchange, shared by all” is pretty close to the sense of community.

Community building is a core strategy for sharing among all it’s members the burdens and the benefits of change and exchange.

(Source: Peter Senge)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A person is part of a family or a friendship to the extent he invests energy in goals shared with other people. In the same way, one can belong to a larger interpersonal system by subscribing to the aspirations of a community.

In the ancient Greek, “politics” referred to whatever involved people in the affairs that went beyond personal and family welfare.

The larger the social arena one moves in,

the greater the challenges it presents.

A person can deal with very intricate problems in solitude,

and family and friends can take up a lot of attention.

But trying to optimize the goals of unrelated individuals involves complexities an order of magnitude higher.

So we come to the concept of “flow”.

Flow is useful not only in helping individuals improve the quality of their lives, but also in pointing out how public action should be directed.

Perhaps the most powerful effect flow theory could have in the public sector is in providing a blueprint for how institutions may be reformed so as to make them more conducive to optimal experience.

A community is judged “good” if it offers - (creates flow) - people a chance to enjoy as many aspects of their lives as possible, while allowing them to develop their potential in the pursuit of even greater challenges.”

(Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

So, as leaders,  we bring these two concepts, "Change/exchange/shared by all" and "Creating Flow" to our "community".  Some exceptional leaders incorporate these ideas naturally; others struggle and create a battleground instead of a level playing field.  What does it take to build our community's assets successfully?  Let's continue to explore...

What's The Connection?

What’s this About Using Our Assets?

At its core, a deeply connected community--a community in which every member is valued and challenged to contribute--is a strong and healthy community. On Thursday, we’re going to check out some of our connections, and our city's assets.

Connection is one thing in theory, but a collection of powerful forces could stand in the way. Many members of any community are moved to its edges by a series of disconnecting labels—too old, too young, too poor, mentally or physically disabled, mentally ill. Not only do these labels serve to separate those labeled from the center of community life, but systems of service professing to “help” tend instead to further isolate them.


Asset-based community development begins with the assumption
that successful community building involves rediscovering and
mobilizing resources already present in any community:

o The skills and resources of its individuals,
o The power of voluntary associations, achieved through
building relationships
o The assets present in the array of local institutions, the
physical infrastructure of the community and the local
economy.

Another way of saying this is: successful community development is
asset-based, internally-focused, and relationship-driven.

7 Stories!

Read the overview now and ONE story and save six for after our Community Learning Day. Choose the one that appeals to you.

Download “Hidden Treasures” (92 pages) here (or cut and paste the link into your browser):

http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/images/hiddentreasures.pdf

Source: ABCD Institute at http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/abcd/


While reading, consider your CAP organization, and the stories that might evolve from your involvement.

Which questions have not been asked? What important information in these stories could change the momentum of your project? What lessons are you learning?

On Thursday, I will be referring to the “Asset Based Community Development Model” (John McKnight et al). And, we'll take about the COURAGE it takes to build those connections.

Happy reading,


Maggie

PS Remember that we have to stick together on Thursday from 8:45 am to 5:15 pm!