Community Leadership Training Summary

Community Leadership Training Summary
Session 1
• Discussed overall training sessions goals
- To recognize one’s skills and abilities through meaningful services to the community
- Help participants recognize their leadership potential
- Understanding the importance of collaboration and partnerships in the community
- Increased awareness of how they relate to others
- Develop effective group facilitation skills
- To gain a better understanding of the process of fundraising and proposal writing
• Established Ground Rules
- Respect each other
- Listen to learn & understand
- Build on each others ideas
- Focus on topic, not on individual person
- Participate actively
- Everyone has equal chance to speak
• Community Leadership
- Leadership is defined differently by different people. Each community leader and/or organization,
thinks about, and defines, their community leadership role, in a particular way.
- The wonderful thing is everyone is passionate about their communities and believes that there are
inherent strengths and assets that can built on.
• Reviewed the following:
- What are effective leadership skills?
- Identify the three top skills that best describe your leadership
Self reflection of their skills was quite empowering to individuals
Break – Group members reflected and commented on Leadership Quotes
• Group Exercise
- Broke up into groups of 3 and shared why they felt certain skills were important in leadership
- As a group they picked the top three leadership skills they had in common as a group
- Designated a person shared those findings with the larger group
“THE BEST WAY TO FIND YOURSELF IS TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS”
Mahatma Gandhi
1

Participants began to see that everyone has leadership skills that they use on a daily basis and how
those skills were transferable in many aspects of their lives.
• The Power of Visioning – becoming a better leader
- Broke into groups of three. For 15 minutes participants shared with each other how they made a
vision a reality.
- Participants wrote down common ideas or areas they had as a group.
- A designated person reported to their findings to the larger group common processes.
There was a clearer understanding how visioning helps us to achieve goals that may seem impossible.
• Working in Community - understanding differences
- Group exercise - Days/colors exercise – a fascinating exercise that illustrate how people often have
different views about the same thing, which is central to understanding empathy.
Session 2
• Ice-Breaker Objectives: To demonstrate the advantage of working in groups.
- Duration - 30 minutes, Materials - piece of cloth, notebook, pens. Twenty-five small objects (for
example: pen, paperclip, stone, cup, bulb, flower, soap, tomato, spoon, comb, magnets, earrings,
leaf, carrot, etc.)
- Participants reviewed the objects first individually and wrote down what they seen
- Participants then broke into groups of 3 and repeated the exercise
- Participants then divided into two groups and repeated the exercise
There was a common consensus that when people worked together they saw different things and
achieved more.
• Reviewed Group Rules
• Delta Orientation – 20 min
- Cynthia shared what programs where running and Delta, gave flyers for new projects and shared the
process of volunteering at Delta
• Leadership Video – Drew Dudley – 10 min
Mahatma Gandhi
2

- Looked at different Leadership Styles - A leadership style is a leader's style of providing direction,
implementing plans, and motivating people. There are many different leadership styles that can be
exhibited by leaders in non-profits organizations, political, business or other fields.
• Discussed different Leadership Styles and how at times can overlap
- Charismatic Leadership
- Participative Leadership
- Situational Leadership
- Transactional Leadership
- Transformational Leadership
- The Quiet Leader
- Servant Leadership
• Leadership Self Assessment Test
- Participants filled our Self Assessment test on Leadership.
- Reviewed useful trait in a leader and the importance of self-awareness of one’s skills.
- Reviewed the importance of their role in community and the impact that they have on others.
Participants began to create a profile of their abilities and leadership style
Group members reflected and commented on Leadership and Fear Quotes
• Your greatest fears discussion -30 min
- Discussion around the fear of leadership. Leadership comes responsibility, and many are afraid of
being responsible for an outcome that impacts not only themselves, but also the people they are
guiding.
- Participants took a few minutes to think about what fears they may have and how their fears were
impacting their lives.
- Participants broke into groups of 3 and share their thoughts
This exercise provoked strong discussion around fears, insecurities, and failures in one’s lives. It also
began a wonderful awareness that fear is in all of us and overcoming fears is a process.
• Mission and Vision Statement
- Look at examples of Mission and Vision Statements to get a basic idea of what that could looks like.
- Crafted possible Mission and Vision Statements and asked other’s to perfect it.
- Home work - brainstorm what you want your Mission statement to include.
Mahatma Gandhi
3

Session 3
• Reviewed Group Goals
• Debriefed the last two weeks
- Reviewed the last two sessions, discussed further the meaning of leadership, and reviewed the
different type of leadership styles. Looked at how vision is the first step in helping thoughts become a
reality and we started to connect the dots on how FEAR holds us back.
• Reminded the group of the highlights from Session 2
- We heard how sometimes we don’t realize the importance of your role in family and life until
someone tells us
- We heard two incredible stories about doing the IMPOSSIBLE
- We heard our others find excuses to why they can’t move on
- I heard the excitement of group and the desire from individuals who wanted to move forward in life a
way that made a difference
- And FINALLY – Pural shared that IMPOSSIBLE really means - I (A)M POSSIBLE
• Homework – Facing Our Fears
- Participants were asked try to do one thing (small thing) that they really wanted to do in the past but
FEAR had stopped you and come back and share with the larger group.
Group members reflected and commented on Goal Setting Quotes
• Goal Setting
- Goal setting is important in leadership. The one thing leaders all have in common is the ability to
make you feel like you can take on the world and cross any hurdle along the way. Leaders inspire you
to be someone you really want to be, by guide communities by having a clear plan of action.
• Eight steps to achieving your goals
1. Define your goal - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
2. Set a date you will achieve your goal
3. Determine how you are going to achieve your goal – have a game plan
4. List your milestones – smaller goals within the larger goal
5. Identify a accountable person – help keep you motivated
Mahatma Gandhi
4

6. Create a board of Masterminds – group of experts and individuals with various skills
7. Describe what you life will be like when you reach your goal – visioning
8. Reward Yourself – Celebrate your successes
This exercise brought new insights to group members of the existing skills and expertize of group
members. Networking and sharing resources was so transparent as group members started to connect
how certain people could support them. Participants found a partner that they could share their goals
and report on their process. The goal was at the end of the session all participants would have achieved
their goal or started the process.
• Understanding Group Dynamics
- Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Closing and Celebration are the various group dynamics
that happen when new groups are formed. Groups that are larger 10 people tend to have another
level of complexity not apparent in small groups.
Session 4
• Reviewed Group Goals
• Ice-Breaker – Marshmallow Challenge, Team Building exercise
- Objectives: Teams must build the tallest free-standing structure
- Duration - 18 minutes
- Materials - Eighteen minutes, teams build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of
spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be
on top.
Observation – Some groups worked well together in brainstorming various approaches to building the
structure. In some groups there were too many leaders. Other groups there were silent leaders – non
confrontational but effective. Provided the group with these insights and how that impacted their
leadership styles.
• Reviewed last week homework – Goal Setting
- Who shared their goal with another person
- Who started creating a board of masterminds
- Who started to work on one of their goals?
- Who remember to push pass the FEAR!!
Mahatma Gandhi
5

Several group members had started steps towards their goal and yet several were still stuck with the fear
of failure. The group discussed the small steps was the key to success and looking at the larger picture
can be overwhelming. For the next few weeks will participants will revisit the process of goal setting.
Group members reflected and commented on Goal Setting and Networking Quotes
• Networking and Partnership
- A supportive group or system sharing information and services among individuals and groups having
a common interest.
- Benefits to Networking and Partnerships - Collaborate and pool resources, stronger human resources
staff structures, increased investment in projects/communities, stronger in-kind and financial
supports and network of experts to access as needed.
• 10 Steps for Group facilitation
1. Capture information in people’s own words
2. Encourage participation
3. Be comfortable with silence
4. Give instructions clearly and briefly
5. Facilitators have opinions – but it is not our place to lead
6. See the context for the meeting
7. Create a welcoming space
8. Take care of time and pace
9. Self Care – it’s hard facilitating
10. Facilitating is a practice art – JUST DO IT!!
• Conflict Resolution
- Video – Conflict Resolution – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY5TWVz5ZDU
- Participants in groups discussed:
1. Was your partner’s perspective on conflict different from your perspective?
2. What were some things you learned by considering another’s perspective?
3. Does discussing conflict like this make it “less scary”? If so in what ways?
Session 5
• Debrief last week group facilitation guidelines
Mahatma Gandhi
6

• Advocacy
- Discussed different advocacy styles:
1. Independent (Issue-based) Advocacy
2. Self Advocacy
3. Group Advocacy
4. Peer Advocacy
5. Self Advocacy
There was a clear understanding of the benefits of advocacy when wanting change and the
different approaches to Advocacy.
• Group scenario and preparation 90 min – including debrief
There is a group of younger kids hanging outside of an apartment building after school. The number of
kids has doubled over the last 6 months – 25 in total. There are various group activities in the apartment
corridors and playground by these younger kids both positive and negative. There are older youth
hanging out with the younger crowd mostly having a positive influence. There have been numerous
complaints from resident and apartment manager. Parents are absent primarily for work related issues
and some drug use. Children that live in the building who are loitering have been given warnings that
have been addressed to parents. Property manager, parents and older youth want this to change.
• Explained role of Group Facilitator - Angela
• Group Mediator – Ann-Marie
• ALL Group Members were appointed roles in the group scenario
Role of Facilitator
 Ensure everyone is participating
 Be energetic and understand each point
 Watch participants for clue to see how they are listening and responding to what you are saying
• Group Scenario Objectives – Identify community need (after-school program for kids)
Resources available
- Community space
- Emerging youth leaders
- Parents able to contribute financially
Mahatma Gandhi
7

The end result of the group scenario was very encouraging and a confirmation of the success of the learnings in the
previous sessions. Group members clearly embraced their roles and the different dynamics of groups was very
transparent. Conflict resolution was a key part of the discussion, identifying the issues was being challenged by many
different beliefs and values.
(This was probably the highlight of the 5 weeks sessions)
Group members reflected and comment on Advocacy and Group Leadership Quotes
Session 6
• Goals
- Participants shared where they were in their goal setting
- James had written a few more pages for his book and had a draft cover page
- Michelle is exploring different spaces for her afterschool program
- Parul has a job in her career – lab technician – was to continue to further her career
- Ann-Marie – has started to purchase necessary supplies and create a database of lawyers firm
- Bibi – having a meeting with like minded people re – Abuse Men project
- Hadin – will be looking at writing a book she has put on hold
Participants clearly understood that Goal setting is a process and each step takes them closer to the
overall goal. Sharing goals with others help the other group members to keep the momentum going. It
was also encouraging for others who did not move forward with their goal setting to see it is
possibilities.
• Fundraising – five steps for successful fundraising
1. Understanding success in Fundraising is volume business
2. Be OKAY with NO
3. Believe in your cause
4. Ask some people don’t ask everyone
5. Put yourself in the donor’s shoes
Mahatma Gandhi
8

• Grant Writing
1. Establish the need and desire for the project
2. Define the desired outcomes with specific, measurable objectives
3. Describe the methods you will use to achieve these objectives
4. Establish your organization's credibility
5. Determine how you will evaluate the success of the project
6. Create a detailed budget
7. Describe the future of project
There was a keen interest in learning more about grant submission and a strong desire to learn how to
research and apply for funding. There were many questions participants had and several suggested we
have other workshops to learn more about interested topics.
• Final Review of Mission and Vision Statement
• Certificates
• Closing activity - String US ALONG
This activity plays on the double meaning of the word “yarn”. Participants weave the yarn among them and they
tell a story. When you give the signal participants will take the yarn and weave it around a piece of clothing, ring,
etc and then pass it on. As each participant share a story about how they will apply what they learned in the
Community Leadership course as they unweave the Yarn.
Group members reflect and comment on their Successes and Milestones
Mahatma Gandhi
9

Community Leadership Training Summary

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