Leadership and Activism: How Can You Contribute to Your Community

Whether through a school, community, or work position, being a strong leader is something that many wish to embody, but often don’t completely understand the complexities of what a successful leader must go through. A strong leader is often made up of many characteristics you must have in order to connect, communicate, and collectively innovate ideas with your community. This daunting task is also associated with the misconception that a good leader is outgoing, extroverted, and gregarious. However, this article will dive deeper into how leadership and activism collaborate to create positive change in a community and debunk the many misbeliefs surrounding what it truly means to be a leader.

Activism and Leadership

John C. Maxwell states in his book Developing the Leader Within You that leadership in its simplest form is the “ability to obtain followers and influence” (Maxwell). However, it’s more complex than that because leadership should not only focus on the number of followers, but more on the impact you are creating. Impact can present itself in many different forms, and the way you choose to impact others is the way that you represent yourself as a leader. Depending on what your strengths are and what skills you are more accomplished in, leadership can vary from person to person. One person might excel in public speaking, so their impact comes from the spoken words, while another person might create a bigger impact through written words. These are different ways that you can influence people depending on who you are as a person and the community you are trying to reach out to.

This generation is known for its outspokenness and involvement in social, political, and global issues. We are often told that we are too young to understand the events that surround us, allowing us to think that our impact will be minimized simply because of our age. However, activism has no age requirements. Embracing leadership in an era of activism has given a voice to the youth. From different movements like March For Our Lives or Climate Change, there’s a space for every person belonging to Gen Z to be a leader. So, what exactly is activism? Activism is “the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change” (Oxford Dictionary). In order for a campaign or movement to work, there needs to be a group of people willing to create that change. One of the biggest misconceptions is that there can only be one leader, however, this is incorrect. Leadership is not black and white but instead an array of colors, where there need to be several leaders working together. Take the United States Government for example. The face of the United States is the president, but they are not the only leaders. Instead, you have a cabinet, legislators, government officials, etcetera, all working together to get the job done. One person alone cannot change the world. It takes a group of motivated individuals to create change; finding your role as a leader in a community is simple when you know where to look.

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What Does Successful Leadership Look Like?

The idea of successful leadership is subjective in nature. Just like education, there are different forms of leadership that would be considered more effective than others, depending on the person or the community. We are often reminded of the many characteristics that a leader must have, but having specific traits is not what makes you a leader. Rather, it’s how you apply those traits to your organization.

The Graziadio Business Review published an article by Dr. Linda A. Livingstone about the Eight Key Attributes of Effective Leaders which demonstrate this truth. These eight attributes (listed below) explain what is needed in a leader rather than the misconceptions that are often heard.

1. “Leaders need character, not charisma;

2. Leaders need integrity, not conformity;

3. Leaders need to serve, not be served;

4. Leaders need to create teams, not silos;

5. Leaders need to communicate a vision, not ambiguity;

6. Leaders need courage, not popularity;

7. Leaders need to develop new leaders, not sycophants;

8. Leaders need a sense of vocation, not just a career.”

Understanding these eight key attributes gives a deeper insight on what leadership actually is, rather than the list of character traits we are all so used to. This is because leaders apply their knowledge to create that impact for needed change.

Lastly, the biggest part of being a leader is understanding that there is always room to grow and learn. Leaders are not born; they are made, and a leader can only influence as long as they are allowing others to teach them new things.

So How Can You Contribute to Your Community?

Knowing your strengths, skills, and weaknesses is a huge part of knowing what kind of leader you want to be. It is also important to remember that being a leader does not mean you have to be the center stage. Instead, be the silent leader who influences in unconventional ways. Through the increase in social media, anonymity is a possibility. Just because you are directly sharing your name and face does not mean you are not being a leader.

In order to be a leader in your community, here are a couple of steps you can take in order to begin involving yourself:

1. Research and Find Your Cause: The first step in anything is always doing your research. What problems need to be fixed in your community? Look it up! Going on websites that allow people to post their problems is a great way to start. Finding your cause is needed in order to lay the foundation for the solution. If your cause already has groups of people working on a solution, reach out to find out more information on how you can help. We all must start somewhere, but the harder you work, the faster you will see yourself in a leadership position.

2. Network: Networking is a huge way to get help. As mentioned before, you cannot create change without others helping and inspiring you. Networking gives you the space to find like-minded individuals that would like to invest in your cause. Whether that be through getting you connected with others, donating money, or donating your own time, networking proves effective.

3. Get Your Name Out There: Once you have your team, have done your research, and are ready to work on a solution, it is important to keep in mind that getting your name out there will allow you to grow; not in followers but in supporters. Having supporters will give you the space to educate on your issue but also learn more through others. With a bigger group, more ideas follow along, and these ideas are vital to creating a solution and making a long-lasting impact.

Works Cited

John C. Maxwell, (1993) Developing the Leader Within You. Nashville Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Livingstone, Linda A. “Eight Key Attributes of Effective Leaders - a Peer-Reviewed Academic Articles: GBR.” Graziadio Business Review | Graziadio School of Business and Management | Pepperdine University, 30 Oct. 2017, https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/eight-key-attributes-of-effective-leaders/.

How Effective Leadership Can Facilitate Change in Organizations through ... https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume15/1-How-Effective-Leadership.pdf.

“Understanding Leadership.” Harvard Business Review, 11 Apr. 2022, https://hbr.org/2004/01/understanding-leadership.