Good Work: Developing Community Leaders

From age 8 to 18 my parents dragged me along on weekly community service trips, first in DC and then the barrios of west Denver.  I hated it.  I’m pretty sure the routine was both service for them and training for me.
A decade later as a new VP of a high growth company, my boss required me to adopt a children’s charity.  He equipped me for service by enrolling me in Leadership Denver.  The combination of a service requirement and a learning experience proved to be life altering.
Last night we celebrated the 12^th class of Advancing Leadership, a community leadership development program launched while I was superintendent in Federal Way. There are more than 500 alumni making a difference in our community.
Yesterday I mentored teams at Startup Weekend Edu, a great learning experience sponsored in part by Kauffman Foundation.
The link between the four is that leadership requires specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes.  Whether organizational leadership or community building, these attitudes and aptitudes can be developed, but it takes focused and sustained effort and investment.
If we want communities that are a great place to live learn, work, and play, we need to be intentional about developing the next generation of leaders.
 
For more see:

• Good Work: Trustees For A Slice of America
• Advancing Leadership: 500 Leaders & Counting