Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up

Posted by on December 11, 2011

Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up.

Over the past two decades, Public Allies has developed over 4,000 leaders in communities, most of whom never saw themselves or were seen by anyone else as potential leaders — the single mom in community college who is now a White House lawyer, the deli worker who now leads a disability rights organization, the former gang member who now builds low income housing. The book defines leadership as an action everyone can take, not a position few can hold; as taking responsibility to work with others for common goals; and the practice of values that bring people together and make a leader credible. The book surveys American democratic and civil rights history, leadership theory, and current trends to support this definition, and then offers a chapter on each of five values and practices important for leader today: recognizing and mobilizing all of a community’s assets, connecting across differences, facilitating collaborative action, continuously learning and improving, and being accountable to those you work with and those you serve. While most leadership books are about how to lead an organization, this book is about how to lead communities. The book is filled with almost 50 inspiring stories and practical examples and exercises that will help any leader be more effective.

As stated above, there is an entire chapter on John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann’s approach to ABCD, references of it in every chapter (how it relates to diversity, team work, community accountability, etc.) and also several excerpts from The Carless Society by John McKnight, Community by Peter Block, and The Abundant Community by McKnight and Block. The book also includes and extended quote from Michelle Obama, the founder of Public Allies Chicago and an early faculty member of the ABCD Institute, about what she learned from ABCD and how she applied it.

You can learn more about the book here: http://www.everyoneleads.org

“We have long admired how Public Allies discovers one of our community’s most untapped assets: young people, especially those not seen as potential leaders. We hope many more will join them in building these assets.” – John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann, The Asset Based Community Development Institute

“Every nonprofit can learn from Public Allies’ example that the leadership we need to solve problems exists within our communities. Everyone Leads is a guide to inclusion, collaboration, and community building that will inspire readers to see leadership and opportunity in places we don’t usually look.” – Sterling Speirin, CEO, The Kellogg Foundation

“If America is going to continue to thrive in the 21st century, we must strengthen our sense of community. In Everyone Leads, Schmitz lays out the challenges for those of us who have a passion to make a difference and, more importantly, the strategies to spark lasting change from the grassroots up. His unique perspective and experience make this a must-read for community activists.” – Geoff Canada, CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone