PPLB Writers Corner "What Is Your Direction?"

Thoughts About Helping Your Community

INTRODUCTION. No one can really tell you how to develop your community, because each community is different. However, there are some general guidelines that might help. The local people are the first to start with, but you can get valuable help from outside resources. The trick is getting them all working together. The following thoughts may help.

TIME. Community development does not usually happen overnight. It takes time: to build a group that will guide the work, to investigate your possibilities for development, to make a plan, to find the resources, to help get individuals take on specific jobs and assist them get started, and of course to solve the problems that come up. However, talking on some small tasks that bring early successes will motivate people and communities and help develop your team.

OWNERSHIP. A big task is relationship building and getting people committed to the jobs to be done. Sometimes this just means not moving too fast. Include people, who will be needed in future, right from the beginning. This gives them a sense of ownership and they will work for success. If it becomes one person’s, or one group’s, project people will leave it to them to do the work and to make things succeed.

CONTENT AND PROCESS. Two things to deal with are content and process. Content is what you are doing, holding a meeting, starting a business, developing a plan. Process is the way you do it. The way that you do something will effect greatly how what you are doing succeeds. This is especially true in community development where you want the support of many people. This is not difficult. Mostly it means asking, “Is the way I am doing this the best approach and will it get me the result I want.” As you plan an event, you also need to think about how the way you do it will help build your organization and gain public support.

WHO. You must decide how big your group needs to be. Your interest may be for your own community, but you will more likely to succeed if you get together with several other communities in your area. Being part of a prosperous region offers more opportunities for people than one prosperous community. Certainly, it is easier to get government support for several communities than for one. Also, you will want the support of as many individuals as possible, even if they are not part of your organization. This can require running a public involvement process. It should not be a one shot deal, but an ongoing process. 9 to 12 is considered a good size for a team or committee.

PLANNING PROCESS. Planning can be reduced to three simple steps:

1. List the desired outcomes.

2. Design the activity or program likely to produce those outcomes.

3. Decide on the preparations needed to run the program or activity, and who does what.

Always start with a vision of where you want to go and what things will be like if you get there. This planning process can be used for just about anything: holding a meeting, starting a business, setting up an organization, developing a community. Resist the temptation to decide on preparations until you have a fairly good list of outcomes and at least a general plan for your program.

MEETINGS. Effective meetings are a key for success. Train your people to be good at this. You should always have an agenda prepared with input from the various stakeholders. Sometimes, it is important to have a neutral facilitator who is not overly concerned with the content but leads you through a meeting process that helps everyone in the room be more effective and builds you into a stronger and more successful organization. A simple step, like letting people get out their frustrations at the beginning, can often mean much greater success. (Don’t be defensive and try to explain things away. Just acknowledge the frustration and let them know it will be dealt with at the appropriate time and move on with your agenda.) While good meeting skills are important, don’t be afraid to start with whoever is available and willing. Like everything else, you can learn by doing.

LEADERSHIP. “John Adair found that effective leaders pay attention to three areas of need for members of the team: those relating to the task, to the team itself, and to individual members of the team. At any time, the emphasis on each may vary, but all are interdependent and so the leader must watch all three.” http://www.chimaeraconsulting.com/adair.htm

KNOW THYSELF. Look at yourself and your community and see how that will affect what you want to do. Don’t judge, just look. How are you of for local leaders? Do people usually get involved? Is the leader task oriented, or a process person; a people person or a dictator? Is the community united, or divided, and how well does it work with outside groups.? Do people trust and respect each other? What prejudices or biases are held towards other people or other communities? You pretty well have to live with most of this, but the awareness will help you succeed. Know your strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities that are there, and the threats that may affect what you plan. (Kenneth R.Andrews)

A LEARNING COMMUNITY. Remember, this is all a learning opportunity for people and the community. As they grow from this learning there will be greater chance of succeeding. Be willing to fail, because failures are often the stepping stones to big success. (How many failures did it take to discover a light bulb?) Other useful areas for learning could include: conflict resolution, leadership skills, public relations, decision making, team building, fund raising, communications, administration skills, problem solving, etc.

START FROM WHERE YOU ARE. Finally, while the ideas in these notes are useful, don’t wait till you can do everything right to start. Just decide the general direction you want to go, get started and learn along the way. Good Luck!


	Writers Corner

	Thoughts About Helping Your Community INTRODUCTION. No one can really tell you how to develop your community, because each community is different. However, there are some general guidelines that might help. The local people are the first to start with, but you can get valuable help from outside resources. The trick is getting them all working together. The following thoughts may help. TIME. Community development does not usually happen overnight. It takes time: to build a group that will guide the work, to investigate your possibilities for development, to make a plan, to find the resources, to help get individuals take on specific jobs and assist them get started, and of course to solve the problems that come up. However, talking on some small tasks that bring early successes will motivate people and communities and help develop your team. OWNERSHIP. A big task is relationship building and getting people committed to the jobs to be done. Sometimes this just means not moving too fast. Include people, who will be needed in future, right from the beginning. This gives them a sense of ownership and they will work for success. If it becomes one person’s, or one group’s, project people will leave it to them to do the work and to make things succeed. CONTENT AND PROCESS. Two things to deal with are content and process. Content is what you are doing, holding a meeting, starting a business, developing a plan. Process is the way you do it. The way that you do something will effect greatly how what you are doing succeeds. This is especially true in community development where you want the support of many people. This is not difficult. Mostly it means asking, “Is the way I am doing this the best approach and will it get me the result I want.” As you plan an event, you also need to think about how the way you do it will help build your organization and gain public support. WHO. You must decide how big your group needs to be. Your interest may be for your own community, but you will more likely to succeed if you get together with several other communities in your area. Being part of a prosperous region offers more opportunities for people than one prosperous community. Certainly, it is easier to get government support for several communities than for one. Also, you will want the support of as many individuals as possible, even if they are not part of your organization. This can require running a public involvement process. It should not be a one shot deal, but an ongoing process. 9 to 12 is considered a good size for a team or committee. PLANNING PROCESS. Planning can be reduced to three simple steps: 1. List the desired outcomes. 2. Design the activity or program likely to produce those outcomes. 3. Decide on the preparations needed to run the program or activity, and who does what. Always start with a vision of where you want to go and what things will be like if you get there. This planning process can be used for just about anything: holding a meeting, starting a business, setting up an organization, developing a community. Resist the temptation to decide on preparations until you have a fairly good list of outcomes and at least a general plan for your program. MEETINGS. Effective meetings are a key for success. Train your people to be good at this. You should always have an agenda prepared with input from the various stakeholders. Sometimes, it is important to have a neutral facilitator who is not overly concerned with the content but leads you through a meeting process that helps everyone in the room be more effective and builds you into a stronger and more successful organization. A simple step, like letting people get out their frustrations at the beginning, can often mean much greater success. (Don’t be defensive and try to explain things away. Just acknowledge the frustration and let them know it will be dealt with at the appropriate time and move on with your agenda.) While good meeting skills are important, don’t be afraid to start with whoever is available and willing. Like everything else, you can learn by doing. LEADERSHIP. “John Adair found that effective leaders pay attention to three areas of need for members of the team: those relating to the task, to the team itself, and to individual members of the team. At any time, the emphasis on each may vary, but all are interdependent and so the leader must watch all three.” http://www.chimaeraconsulting.com/adair.htm KNOW THYSELF. Look at yourself and your community and see how that will affect what you want to do. Don’t judge, just look. How are you of for local leaders? Do people usually get involved? Is the leader task oriented, or a process person; a people person or a dictator? Is the community united, or divided, and how well does it work with outside groups.? Do people trust and respect each other? What prejudices or biases are held towards other people or other communities? You pretty well have to live with most of this, but the awareness will help you succeed. Know your strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities that are there, and the threats that may affect what you plan. (Kenneth R.Andrews) A LEARNING COMMUNITY. Remember, this is all a learning opportunity for people and the community. As they grow from this learning there will be greater chance of succeeding. Be willing to fail, because failures are often the stepping stones to big success. (How many failures did it take to discover a light bulb?) Other useful areas for learning could include: conflict resolution, leadership skills, public relations, decision making, team building, fund raising, communications, administration skills, problem solving, etc. START FROM WHERE YOU ARE. Finally, while the ideas in these notes are useful, don’t wait till you can do everything right to start. Just decide the general direction you want to go, get started and learn along the way. Good Luck! T. V. O’Keefe Previous Index Next