Understanding Local Leadership Bo Beaulieu Purdue Center for Regional Development

The Structure of Community Leadership  Oftentimes, leadership forms a structure much like a pyramid  The level of influence that individuals have is dependent upon their location in the leadership hierarchy  Levels of leadership can be categorized as legitimizers, implementors, doers and general public

Legitimizers  Persons in the community whose approval is necessary to guarantee the success of important undertakings  They get involved in projects having significant policy implications  Their endorsement is important if groups hope to be successful in getting their goals accomplished

Implementers  Are the most active participants in community projects  Involvement usually is limited to areas where they have technical or professional expertise  Role is to implement the plans and decisions arrived at or approved by legitimizers

Doers  Perform many of the project chores (stuffing envelopes, distributing information)  Seldom involved in planning and decision-making aspects of a project  Tend to be task-oriented in their activities

General Public  Includes a sizable number who never become involved in local activities.  Some become active on an occasional basis.  Their views are important, particularly on matters that affect them directly.

The Community Leadership Hierarchy Legitimizers Implementers Doers General Public

Locating the Mix of Local Leaders  Positional  Reputational  Decisional  Social Activity

The Positional Approach  The idea behind the positional approach is that individuals who occupy the top spots in the major organizations of the community are the local leaders  Their key roles in the various organizations give them access to important resources that they can mobilize for any community project

The Reputational Approach  This method begins with the assumption that those individuals who have the reputation for power constitute the community’s leadership structure. Who in this community has the most influence in deciding important matters facing this community? When proposing something new for this community, whose support do you feel is vital?

The Decisional Approach  This approach assumes that active participation in community projects or issues is leadership.  Therefore, individuals who perform roles in community decision-making activities constitutes the community’s leadership structure.

The Social Activity Approach  This method focuses on those individuals who are active and who hold office in local clubs, voluntary, service, and civic organizations in the community.  These individuals tend to be willing to take on time- consuming tasks associated with getting projects off the ground.

A Synthesis LegitimizersPositional & Reputational ImplementersDecisional DoersSocial Activity Leadership Level Approach for Locating Leaders

The Leadership Template