A 'Shaping Leadership'

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of a 'shaping leadership' as the foundation for transforming communities. It seems to me that in any community, you will find inspiring individuals, doing astonishing work. However, they may be working in diverse fields and not be known to each other.

What if they were to come together, share their perspectives and arrive at a unified vision for their community?

What if they saw themselves as a hub for transformation, combining their networks to achieve agreed goals and devise new solutions to seemingly intractable problems?

What if these leaders were to engage in a process to understand what made them effective - beginning with their core values and working towards an understanding of the building blocks to their approach?

Armed with such clarity and an agreed approach to mentoring, what impact will these inspiring leaders have on the Gen-Y and the community they serve?

Of course, it will require courage, conviction and generosity of spirit to make it possible:

• Courage, to stand down as an 'expert' in order to participate in the task of genuine enquiry

• Conviction that success is possible and that individuals and communities can achieve great things

• Generosity of spirit towards everyone involved, providing a cornerstone for capacity building at all levels

So, how will we judge the success of a 'shaping leadership'...?

By their ability to develop a generation of new leaders who, when the "work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves!' "

Lao Tzu, Taoist Philosopher