Sandy Adler, Class 26
Realtor, Arizona Best Real Estate
The Class 26 Blog: This is a blog series about the experience and impact of Scottsdale Leadership’s core program. The program informs, inspires and empowers leaders to champion and strengthen the interests of the community.
Leadership is defined as the act of leading a group of people or an organization. This sounds so simple, but does not take into effect that there are various levels of leadership. So I am going to suggest that the question is really “Why is GREAT Leadership Important in Our Community?”
Strong leaders have skills that they have developed over time though study and experience. They know how to use communication and organizational skills to elicit ideas, buy-in, and participation from the people they lead.
The best leaders are not “in charge.” They are facilitating a group toward higher and more advanced goals and thought. The best leaders want to lead to reach the goals not to be kings. They lead because they have a vision they hope to accomplish, and they want to find others to help create the reality of that vision or they want to evaluate and enhance the vision thorough the eyes and input of other people. They understand that it takes a village to create change, not just one bull headed person.
Which brings me to why leadership is important in OUR community. We live in a wonderful place with lots of sunshine, intellectual opportunities, culture, and friendly people. During these tough economic times, we have had to make many decisions about how to maximize our dwindling financial resources. We would have a stronger community if more people who live here participated in activities and programs that enriched their lives. As their lives are enriched, the community benefits. Involved community members generate new ideas and lead to even more participants. Strong leadership can provide the basis for tackling the difficult questions that face us as a community, and for cultivating an enfranchised population who participate and care about what happens in the community.
So, as a leader, I want to know: How do you captivate people to join in and participate?
The Scottsdale Leader 