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Chapter 3
Making lasting changes in your community requires the
commitment and expertise of community leaders. A project that
depends on one or two charismatic leaders will neither reach its
full potential nor be sustainable.
Collaborative leadership is a method, developed by
Turning Point to guide a group of
people to find solutions to complex problems and to encourage
system change. Seven practices of collaborative leadership:
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Assess the environment
-
understand the context for change before you act
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Create clarity - define
shared values and engage people in positive action
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Build trust - create
safe places for developing shared purpose and action
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Share power and influence
- develop synergy of people, organizations, and communities
to accomplish a shared vision.
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Develop people - realize
and promote potential; give up ownership and control;
maximize use of others' talents and resources; use coaching
to create power; and build confidence by setting goals and
receiving performance feedback
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Reflect - understand
your own values, attitudes, and behaviors – how do they
relate to your leadership style and their impact on others.
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Thinking about sustaining
efforts from the beginning of the project
Lessons learned
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Provide community members with
skills and opportunities to be effective leaders
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example
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Identify a coordinator to pull it all together
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example
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Find a balance between an
active, dynamic coordinator and the need to share and
develop new leadership -
example
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Develop a
sustainability plan
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Learn to deal with conflict
effectively -
example
Examples
Snohomish County Health District
partnered with the City of Marysville
(PDF 4.9 MB)
and offers these valuable lessons on successful collaboration - examples
Sample tools and agendas
Collaborative Leadership Training agenda
Session 1 (WORD 29 Kb)
Collaborative Leadership Training agenda
Session 2 (WORD 35 Kb)
Sample agendas from leadership meetings-
Resources
Turning Point – community based collaboration program
Technology of Participation – facilitation skills and
training, The Institute of Cultural Affairs
The Community Toolbox – essential skills for building
healthy communities
Pew
Partnership for Civic Change – strategies for creating
strong communities
Center for the
Advancement of Collaborative Leadership Strategies in Health
– practical tools and training
◄Chapter 2
Chapter 4►
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