This course was designed by my friend Professor Randall Peterson to support the personal development of community leaders in Minnesota USA. It has been run successfully for many different groups of adults and youth leaders. I helped Randall, to modify it slightly to reflect UK experience and my son Tom helped design the layout, but you will need to use it selectively and adapt it to each group of users to relate it to their experience and entry level.
The course comprises 7 learning modules each of which is supported by 18 individual and small group actions and one large group experience, which provide the basis for reflection on aspects of community leadership. Each action and reflection will take about 20 – 30 minutes. See here for a quick introduction and guides for participants, mentors and organizers. You can print copies of the modules to provide a copy for each participant. The modules are as follows:
The picture above shows a group of trainee community leaders from Somalia.
Randall is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School. He directs research on high performance teams, leadership assessment and interpersonal skill development. He developed this programme based on his experience and study of community leadership, while working for the Minnesota Extension Service. I have known Randall for many years and have been in awe of his knowledge and wisdom. I found his framework for the basis of leadership development, following the modules set out here, provides a clear path to understanding this complex subject. In particular I like his focus on the ethical basis of leadership and the point that it is not enough to be right, you also need the courage to act on your convictions.