As I walked to the gym yesterday trying to get rid of this Kenya 15, I passed the art instillation I always see.  There are often people playing in these giant, dangling yellow plastic strings. Yesterday was no different as when I passed it there was a group of young adults playing with them – swinging, twisting, climbing.  But I heard one of them say something that caught my attention.  She posed a question of them, asking if it was possible they could collect them all at one time.  I turned and looked at the strings, the number of them and the spread.  I thought, now that will be a challenge and one fun to attempt.

Well, on my return walk from the gym I came upon the young people and the strings.  They did it!  They collected the strings and had them encircled in their arms.  I was extremely proud of them.  

Someone had a vision.  Someone was inspired to join and give it a try.  I was achieved!  

This same day I went to our community’s MLK Keynote event where T.D.Jakes was the featured speaker.  I look forward to the Austin Area Heritage Council’s annual event because the caliber of speakers they bring is dynamic.  The event was superb as they’ve come to consistently deliver.  I will just say that T.D. left us with the following two questions to gnaw on:

1. Can we have a new day with old language?

2. What will we do differently for the different times we are in?

Hummmm…..   It may be that our rhetoric, our tone and our civility needs to be modified……

Good stuff!

Later that evening I went with some friends to see KRS-One. Whew!  I don’t even think I can capture that experience righteously, but wow!  I know Dre and Sydney’s love for good hip-hop in Brown Sugar.  It crawls under your skin and moves the soul.  

He demonstrated his badness when he free flowed to an old negro spiritual and said this is the kinda change Obama nor your mama can touch.  I hadn’t heard it in a long time but reconnected with it immediately…I, know I’ve been changed.  I, know I’ve Changed.  I, know I’ve been changed.  The angels in heaven done signed my name.  The Teacha took the crowd to school with Knowledge Reigning Supreme.

I pose the question to myself and you, as it was spoken of in the bible, can we put new wine in old wineskins?  and Do you know you’ve been changed?

And the food just ain’t no good? I said the macaroni’s sour, the peas all mushed
And the chicken tastes like wood.

Well the Sugar Hill Gang wasn’t talking about my house or this dish. This version of Mac & Cheese is a hit in my house; not an old family recipe but I love it!

A recent “Oprah” show featured the “best of the best.” This mac and cheese, from Delilah’s restaurant in Philadelphia, was chosen the best macaroni and cheese in the country. My friend and I did an exhaustive internet search, since the recipe was not posted on Oprha’s website. Found it on line at The Philadelphia Daily News website. I’m thinking this has to serve more than 6-8 people, with 2 pounds of macaroni and all that cheese, but I’m posting this as it was written. This looks like a cardiologists nightmare!

SERVES 6 -8 (change servings and units)

Change to: Servings US Metric

Ingredients

I have been tracking the developments of Zimbabwe and the vying for position of its leaders.  Robert Mugabe has declared himself president despite election results indicating otherwise and that Tsvangirai to have won.  Since last spring’s election the country, with some help of the South African Development Community’s appointed mediator – Mbeki, to navigate them through the implementation of a coalition goverment rule.

Well, to say the least, progress is nill.  Leadership is failing in its responsibilities.

Another resprenstation of Mugabe not wanting input or comments from the outside is his request of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and Dr Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela to postpone their pending trip to his country.  They are scheduled to arrrive on Friday to assess the humanitarian situation.  Mugabe expressed his concerns of it appearing to be a “partisan mission”. 

But what and who is this “Global Elders”?  www.theelders.org/

Radical, Dominant and Emerging…

I’ve just come from a lecture given by the Center for Sustainable Development, as part of its Sustainable Development and the Movement for Social Justice lecture series by Andrew Jamison of Aalborg University in Denmark. He uses a distinction of Raymond Williams to come up with these categories for the cognitive praxis in relation to responses to global justice.

Most of the research on leadership emphasizes the same two items – the peripherial aspects and the content of leadership – and almost none has been aimed at understanding the essential nature of what leadership is, the process whereby leaders and followers relate to one another to achieve a purpose.

Leadership is said to be the one of the most observed and least understood phenomena onn earth.

Something else that I find interesting and talked about in various circles is the notion of cross pollination of information.  How do some of the community organization emerge to higher levels of work.  How can the successes be replicated?

Yesterday at the Bob Bullock Museum people from ministries and organizations came together to learn about one another.  Lisa Benford of Lisa’s Hope Chest, one of Austin’s treasure organizations, remarked in an article in the Austin-American Statesman how good it was to have the opportunity to see in one place who some of her potential partners are.  Not in cyberland but face-to-face interactions.

In sociology as in general usage, the élite is a relatively small dominant group within a large society, which enjoys a privileged status envied by individuals of lower social status.

The position of an elite at the top of the social strata almost invariably puts it in a position of leadership and often subjects the holders of elite status to pressure to maintain their position as part of the elite. However, in spite of the pressures, the existence of the elite social stratum is usually unchanged.

Elite advantages are the usual ones of a dominant social class: easier access to capital and political power, more rigorous education largely free of indoctrination, resulting in cultural influence and leadership.

Social, Religious, Educational, Physical, Economic, and Militarily

Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite — a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight; whose views and/or actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern ^[1].

A sysnc portrayal of how elite vs elitism is offered on the Fein Line blog; sample of it follows:

People need to learn the difference between elitist and elite. Elite means “the choice or best of anything”. We should demand that only the elite lead us. We celebrate the elite in almost every walk of life — sports, business, entertainment. But, somehow, we seem to be skeptical of the elite in leading us because we think that they aren’t like us.

Elitist means someone who believes “certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority”. Elitists feel a sense of entitlement, perhaps because of their intelligence. I agree that someone who believes they are so entitled may not make a good leader, but you can’t spot them because they have a large vocabulary or prefer to eat nicer foods.

 

I actually think that none of McCain, Palin, Obama, or Biden are truly elitists. Each of them has faced real challenges in their lives that I am sure they have not forgotten. McCain is certainly the wealthiest, if you want to use that as a proxy for elitist, but I don’t. I’m going to guess that Palin is the least wealthy, while Biden is often cited as the least wealthy US Senator. Each of them have plenty of experiences which keeps them in touch and appreciative of ‘the rest of us’.

My overall point is that people are using intelligence (well educated, large vocabulary, etc.) and wealth as proxies for elitism. Instead, I think you need to look at the policies proposed and their impact on the broad population. Those who care the most about the people at the bottom are least likely to be elitist, in my opinion.

Elite in one field does not mean elite in general. Sports elite doesn’t qualify for entertainment elite, business elite does not qualify for sports elite, entertainment elite does not qualify for business elite, and so on.

In Elite and Leadership Change in Liberal Democracies by John Higley & Jan Pakulski write that

 tiny groups of strategic position-holders with the organized capacity to affect political outcomes regularly and substantially.

leaders act within the norms and structures of elite politics, some of which allow leaders wide latitude while others tightly constrain them.

Beyond looseor tight norms, leaders must contend with elite structures that may be quite concentrated or fragmented.  A fair amount of research shows that in liberal democracies elite structures consist of extended circles and networks of political influence and personal acquaintance that tie together several thousand of the uppermost figures in politics, government administration, business, trade unions, the media, a bevy of interest groups, and so.  Such complex and far-flung elite webworks usually stifle a leader’s single-minded pursuit of his or her political aims.

“And is it not possible for all of us, while we are young, to be in an environment where there is no fear but rather an atmosphere of freedom – freedom, not just to do what we like, but to understand the whole process of living?” J. Krishnamurti  

Our country is basking in the illuminating feelings of electing Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.  Feelings as wide and as vast as the Grand Canyon.  The reasons for these feelings are based on several factual occurances from turn out numbers, to national geo-partisan shifts, to sustaining hope  that new leadership style is sufficient for problems of the time and racial perceptions placed front and center on Pennsylvania Avenue.

 As I am beginning to write my paper on leadership, I can not help but constantly draw myself to thinking of situations or conditions in which leadership is developed or responds.  I am drawn to looking historically at how leadership styles have changed, the conditions requiring different styles and how culture plays a role in that development.

Jeffrey Luke’s Catalytic Leadership

The complex challenges facing today’s public leaders i.e., economic development homelessness, teen pregnancy, and many others have no quick-fix solutions. Interconnected in nature, with an impact on virtually every segment of society, these issues require that leaders in federal, state, and local agencies reach out beyond their boundaries to engage a much broader group of stakeholders to create sustainable strategies to address them.

Catalytic Leadership presents a new kind of leadership that is more successful with these complex, interconnected problems. Effective public leaders act as catalysts who convene multiple stakeholder groups, facilitate and mediate agreements around tough issues, think systemically and strategically about sustainable actions. They are passionate about reaching a particular outcome yet remain flexible and inclusive on specific strategies to reach the desired results.
In contrast to traditional leadership, which is based on hierarchical authority, taking charge and “seizing the reins,” the catalytic leader is an elected official, appointed public manager, civic leader, or community volunteer who brings together diverse individuals from multiple agencies to address interconnected public problems and work together toward solutions.

Handling societal problems in this interconnected world requires unusual and dynamic partnerships between government agencies, nonprofit service providers, business enterprises, neighborhood groups, and educational institutions. This groundbreaking guide shows public leaders how to pull together business, civic and nonprofit leaders to address critical issues and create innovative strategies for change.

The book is divided into three parts.  In Part I Luke sets the context for his work by providing an explanation of the interconnected nature of community problems and he explores the different approaches to leadership. 

Luke focuses on four catalytic roles in Part II of his book and sets of tasks leaders must play, which include raising awareness, organizing stakeholders, creating multiple strategies, and sustaining action and implementation.

Luke skillfully highlights a set of analytic, interpersonal and process skills that are essential to the catalytic leader.  In Part III of Catalytic Leadership, Luke goes on to explore competencies that public and community leaders require to fulfill their catalytic roles.

Leadership for the Common Good by Barbara Crosby & John Bryson

 In a shared-power world, public problems spill beyond the borders of a single organization or community.  A network of organizations is needed to make headway against the problem; no single organization is “in charge”.  The following is an illustration of shared-power.  An excellent worksheet by husban & wife team Crosby & Bryson on this can be read at this link.

Both of these works emphasize the importance of citizens from all walks, and around the world coming together to tackle the toughest public challenges.

I’m identifying some similarities in leadership as it related to response to some critical community issues.  As I go through my analysis of the five men – Kamau, Michael, Steve, Kyev and Larry – and look for similarities and differences in approaches I am beginning to get clear about how some characteristics are essential for transformative and effective leadership.

rte_comparative-analysis-of-leadership2

I have to catch myself from falling in the pitfall that I tend to find myself in, thinking that it is the completions of, the eradication of, the whole lifting of completely being the only measure of success.  I will be looking more deeply for traces of the impact of their initiating work and calling attention of issues.

I had the distinct opportunity and honor to participate on a team that facilitated and managed a city-wide conversation on racial equity with New Detroit over this past weekend. This project reconnected me with topics and work that always fuels and calls me to look closer at things discussed in the course. This was the first time working with the DWC Group

Cycle Model