Synopses & Reviews
Where is the leadership we need to solve our most pressing community problems? It's all around us. Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up will inspire readers to see new leadership possibilities within themselves and their communities. It also offers a set of practices that will help leaders be more effective at bringing diverse people and groups together to solve problems. While many leadership books today focus on how to lead organizations, this book is about how to lead communities.
Paul Schmitz, CEO of Public Allies, shares unique experiences and lessons his organization has learned from two decades of identifying and developing thousands of diverse young leaders across the country. The book is organized around a new definition of leadership: (1) It is an action everyone can take, not a position few hold; (2) it is about taking personal and social responsibility to work with others on common goals; and (3) it is the practice of values that engage diverse individuals and groups to work together effectively. Not everyone can lead in every context, but everyone does have the capacity to step up, take responsibility, and work with others to make progress on the issues they care about.
With inspiring stories and practical examples, the author shares what it means to lead today. He tells the story about how the Public Allies model emerged (including Michelle Obama's important role) and demonstrates the organization's approach through illustrative stories of its graduates and of his own unusual leadership journey. The author surveys America's democratic and civil rights history, current trends, and leadership theory to demonstrate how collaboration among citizens has always been core to social change. The book also delves into five leadership values essential today: recognizing and mobilizing assets, diversity and inclusion, teamwork and collaboration, continuous learning, and integrity.
Everyone Leads offers a hopeful path for citizens, policymakers, and nonprofit organizations wanting to build and engage the diverse leadership our communities and our democracy badly need.
Synopsis
Based on a proven leadership model, Everybody Leads shows how leadership can be found in uncommon places and reveals how to inspire and cultivate the leadership of those focused on social change. It shows how to take responsibility to work with developing leaders to make a difference and outlines the five key leadership values. Sponsored by Public Allies, the book helps leaders to connect across cultures, facilitate collaborative action, recognize and mobilize all of a community's assets, continuously learn, and be accountable to those they work with and those they serve.
Synopsis
Praise for Everyone Leads
"If America is going to continue to thrive in the twenty-first 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 important, the strategies to spark lasting change from the grassroots up. His unique perspective and experience make this a must-read for community activists."Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone
"This moment in history demands that we stop waiting for othersespecially others living in Washington, D.C.to solve the problems and right the wrongs of our times. Now, more than ever, we must mine the most underutilized resource available to us: We the People. Everyone Leads shows us how."Arianna Huffington, president and executive editor, Huffington Post Media Group
"Social change has always come from the leadership of the many, not the few. Everyone Leads shows us how we can all step up and contribute to social change."Tavis Smiley, author, broadcaster, philanthropist
"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 Speirn, CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
"Schmitz has produced the road map we need for this 'all hands on deck' moment when we need a new spirit of collaborative leadership and action to face the problems of our day. Reading this book, we are not surprised that Michelle Obama learned from Public Allies how to build leaders and build communities."Harris Wofford, former United States Senator, and CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service under President Bill Clinton
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About the Author
Paul Schmitz is the CEO of Public Allies, which advances leadership to strengthen communities, nonprofits, and civic participation across the country. He is recognized as one of America's most influential nonprofit leaders; writes and speaks frequently on social innovation, civic participation, diversity, and community building; and has served on President Obama's transition team and the White House Council on Community Solutions.
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xv
Part One: About Public Allies and the Concept That Everyone Leads 1
1. Coming to the Conviction That Everyone Leads 3
2. My Leadership Journey 35
3. The Tradition and Future of the Concept That Everyone Leads 63
4. The Responsibility of Leadership 91
Part Two: The Five Core Public Allies Leadership Values 121
5. Recognizing and Mobilizing All of a Community’s Assets 123
6. Connecting Across Cultures 155
7. Facilitating Collaborative Action 187
8. Continuously Learning and Improving 213
9. Being Accountable to Ourselves and Others 243
Afterword 269
Notes 271
The Author 289
Public Allies 291
Index 295