Leadership for the
Common Good
Fieldbook
Tools for acting in a
shared-power world
Dick Senese
University of Minnesota
Extension Service
Leadership for the
Common Good

Leading in a democracy not within business
settings

Public leadership in a public arena with an
engaged constituency

Specific tools to help communities engage in
democratic decision-making and action
Leadership for the
Common Good: Our Role

Communities ask Extension to help delineate
their situation in light of the common good often
due to our neutrality and content expertise

Assist with the formation, modification and/or
implementation of some public policy

Recognize the shared power arrangement
needed to address public issues
Leadership for the
Common Good
Resources
 Book - John Bryson and Barbara Crosby
New edition out this year

Fieldbook – Barbara Crosby, John Bryson &
Sharon Anderson
Tools to help Extension help communities – CD ROM
A University of Minnesota partnership between the
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Extension
Why a fieldbook and CD-ROM?


Research shows better impact when
leadership is undertaken within a single
framework – less likely to overlook key
aspect
A set of tools to help turn public policy
research into real community action
Leadership for the
Common Good: Taking Action
Four Inter-related Constructs
 Power
Distribution
 Policy Change Cycle
 Locus of Control
 Leadership Demands
Power Distribution
You can issue an order around here
and if you can figure out what
happens to it after that, you’re a
better person than I am.
Harry S. Truman
In-Charge Organization
1. Boundary of organization contains the
problem
2. Well-understood way to address the
problem
3. Authority is seen as legitimate
4. Adequate resources
5. Goals are clear
Shared-Power World
1. Public problems spill beyond
the boundary of any one
organization
2. A network of actors is
needed to address the
problem
3. Power is referentially based
Shared Power World

Shared capabilities exercised in interaction
between or among actors to further
achievement of their separate and joint aims

Individuals, groups, organizations and/or
institutions – coalition-like

Mixed-motive situation with right of exit
Policy Change Cycle
Policy Change Cycle

The policy change cycle is the general
process by which leaders and followers
tackle public problems in a shared-power,
no-one-in-charge world.

The process is played out as a series of
interconnected activities with shifting
purposes in shifting contexts.

The process is a “structured anarchy”
between and among various stakeholders
Stakeholder

A stakeholder in a policy change effort is
any person, group or organization that is
affected by the causes or consequences of
the issue.

The key to success in policy change efforts
is the inspiration and mobilization of
enough key stakeholders to adopt policy
changes and protect them during
implementation.
Locus of control
Forums, Arenas and Courts

Forums, arenas, and courts are the three
typical settings we rely on to address
messy problems in a shared-power world.

Leaders can have the greatest impact
through the wise design and use of forums,
arenas, and courts.

They are the primary shared-power settings
in which leaders and constituents work
together to build regimes of mutual gain.
The Use of Forums

Forums are where people frame and reframe
public issues. Formal and informal forums
link speakers and audiences to create and
communicate shared meaning through
discussion, debate, dialogue, and
deliberation.
Forums
Examples and Effects

Task forces, discussion groups, brainstorming
sessions, public hearings, formal debates,
newspapers, television, radio, plays,
conferences, professional journals

Create a list of issues, conflicts, policy
preferences, or decisions to be discussed or
not discussed
The Use of Arenas

Arenas are where legislative, executive,
or administrative decisions are made
and implemented.

Leaders help others influence the
making and implementing of decisions in
formal and informal arenas.
Arenas
Examples and Effects

Legislatures, city councils, boards of
directors, cabinets, executive
committees, and cartels

Create actual decisions and
implementing actions as well as nondecisions
The Use of Courts


Courts are where decisions and conduct are
judged or evaluated, usually to manage
residual conflicts or settle residual disputes.
Leaders must be able to invoke the sanctions
of formal and informal courts to enforce and
reinforce ethical principles, laws and norms
Courts
Examples and Effects

The “court of public opinion” (probably
the most powerful court), formal courts or
tribunals, professional licensing bodies,
administrators settling disputes among
subordinates

Determine which decisions and conduct
are permitted or not permitted
Leadership Demands
Public leadership is the inspiration and
mobilization of others to undertake
collective action in pursuit of the
common good.
Barbara Crosby
Key competencies for leaders
Leadership in Context - Understanding the context,
including social, political, and economic “givens”
Personal Leadership - Understanding the people
involved, especially oneself
Team Leadership - Building teams, identify and
understand stakeholders, empower the team, manage
group process issues
Organizational Leadership Nurturing effective and
humane organizations, inter-organizational networks,
and communities
Key competencies for leaders
Visionary Leadership - Creating and communicating
meaning
Political Leadership - Making and implementing
legislative, executive, and administrative policy
decisions
Ethical Leadership - Sanctioning conduct – that is,
enforcing or reinforcing ethical principles, laws, and
norms, and resolving residual conflicts
Putting It All Together - Coordinating leadership tasks in
policy change cycles
“It is a terrible thing
to look over your
shoulder when you
are trying to lead and
find no one there.”
 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Leading for the Common Good
Outcomes and Impacts

Increase BRIDGING social capital

Increase in LEADERSHIP CAPACITY of a
community

Increase likelihood of project success
Measuring
Outcomes and Impacts

Our Community: Assessing our social capital
Measures nine factors of social capital in rural
communities
Field testing instrument in three communities now
(N = 800)

Zones of Leadership
Measures a community’s leadership capacity based
on Bob Terry’s Zones of Leadership
Leadership for the
Common Good
Fieldbook
Tools for acting in a
shared-power world