Many people think of leaders as those who are elected officials, serve in official capacities within government institutions, or are heads of large companies and directors of community foundations. But those definitions represent perhaps the smallest segment of community leaders.
The Harwood Group has developed four leadership layers that extend throughout a community. Each kind of leader plays a distinct community role.
Official Leaders
People who hold elected positions, work for government agencies, or are heads of large institutions. Examples include the mayor, state legislators, city council members, nonelected government officials, school board members, chief executives of major businesses, presidents of community foundations.
Civic Leaders
People who hold recognized civic positions within the community. Examples include leaders of religious institutions, heads of civic organizations, the chamber of commerce head, neighborhood association leaders. The Harwood Group has found that civic leaders usually are the people reporters go to when trying to expand their sources.
Connectors
People who move in between organizations and civic conversations. They tend to be people who interact with multiple organizations, institutions and people carrying and spreading ideas, messages, and social norms from place to place. Connectors often have no official capacity.
Catalysts
Leaders whom people look to in their every-day lives for community expertise, historical perspective and wisdom. They often are responsible for encouraging others to get involved in civic life. Catalysts are the respected neighbors, co-workers, and lay church leaders in peoples lives.
 The Wichita Experience
The Harwood Group conducted two conversations, each with a cross-section of residents. One group consisted of Riverside residents, the other of Northeast residents. No known civic leaders or catalysts participated. While Riverside was known throughout Wichita as an active neighborhood, we discovered in the citizen discussion that even some of the most active people did not know their immediate neighbors; their primary engagement in the community occurred through formal civic organizations. People not actively involved with a civic organization were connected to their neighbors in more informal ways. Journalists who assume that active and involved people are the same in this neighborhood might miss a story of great importance to the neighborhood. The implication: don’t assume that civic organizations are the citizen voice. Spend time to tap into different layers of an area to find different voices and perspectives. QUICK REMINDER: To streamline this workbook, the official and civic leader categories have been combined into a single category; connectors and catalysts into another. Still, always keep in mind the subtle but important differences between the four types of leaders when tapping into civic life. |