The Role of Civic Leadership

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Leadership is viewed as the way in which a person is able to guide others in accomplishing a designated task. Davis (2003) points out that leadership is ultimately concerned about making an avenue for the other people to participate in ensuring a certain task is completed in the required way and in the right time. In addition he asserts that good leadership should be effective in that is able to make use of the available resources from within as well as those outside the area of operation so that the set goals are achieved.

Types of leadership

In the contemporary world, we have a number of leadership styles that have been identified based on their distinct characteristics. The first one is the democratic way of leadership. Under this style of leadership the leader gives an opportunity to the people he or she is leading to air their opinions before a conclusion is arrived at. Jeremy (2009) points out that a democratic leadership allows for cooperation in all aspects of decision making and that the leaders decision is not unilateral as he or she has to depend on the input of the other members.

Laissez faire is the second form of leadership. In this type, the leader allows the members to control their own affairs. That is to say, the leader allows the other members to decide on their own policies as well as methods of handling issues. Miller argues that this type of leadership is important because in cases of emergency the other members are able to convene and hold a meeting without necessary waiting for their leader to come and chair such a meeting.

Thirdly is autocratic type of leadership. Davis (2003) notes that in this type of leadership all matters pertaining (2008) to decision making are vested in the leader. According to him this kind of leadership is best illustrated as dictatorial. This is because members are supposed to take the decision of their leader as their stand or else they risk loosing the membership of whatever committee they are in. He adds that this kind of leadership is well known for making hasty decisions because the leader is solely responsible for making such decisions.

The role of democratic style of leadership in allowing the team to provide input before making a decision.

As earlier stated a democratic style of leadership allows for members to air their views before a concrete conclusion can be arrived at. Therefore, in a democratic civic group the leader allows for participative decision making process to take place.

Miller (2008) argues that the leader of such a civic group makes the members feel to own the whole process and therefore they can contribute immensely and thus help the civic group move forward. In addition to that he claims that the democratic civic groups allow the members freedom to share anything that they think is relevant to the group.

He notes that freedom is paramount to any member of the society as it avoids limiting what such people has to offer. There is also the freedom to question the way in which the group is being run. This is essential as it allows the leaders to know what the members like and do not like so that they can change or improve on its operations.

Jeremy (2009) points out that democratic style of leadership allows the team ample time to think and deliberate on the issues at hand. He has noted that, the members are informed on time prior to the meeting on some of the issues that will be discussed.

This therefore gives members adequate time to prepare by noting some of the important issues that should be raised before the group arrive at the conclusion. Therefore, once this has bee done the members will come to the meeting already armed with their proposals which when discussed by other members might prove to be very useful to the group. He says that such an act goes a long way in making members continue having faith in the group leadership team.

Furthermore, he observes that inviting experts to advise members on certain issues gives the team a chance to understand some of the concepts and therefore be in a better position to participate in the decision making. He argues that such a move helps the members raise relevant issues that may help in the manner in which the civic group is organized and run. Thus making the group more transparent in the manner in which it is being operated.

The democratic style of leadership in relation to different perspectives and ideas?

Any person claiming to offer a democratic style of leadership has to respect the decision of every one in the group whether in agreement or in disagreement with the others. In order to make sure that everyone is comfortable with the decision of the group the leader has an option of doing either of the following in order to accommodate everyone.

According to Miller (2008) the leader can form a small committee from amongst members to go and discuss the contentious issues and report back after certain duration of time. He says that the committee is normally comprised of members from both sides to make it more inclusive.

He says that in such committees more deliberations are made and that chances are high that a consensus will be reached. If the members in the committee fail to agree on the contentious issues, the leader has an option of making the members vote so as to break the dreadlock. He points out that if either of the side wins or loses the idea is either adopted or rejected depending on the outcome. This ensures that no one is denied the chance to air his or her views.

Discuss how the various impacts of poverty in a rural area and how civic leadership can coordinate educational and economic opportunities to address these issues.

In many countries of the world rural areas are the worst hit by poverty compared to the urban areas. Jeremy (2009) attributes this to the fact that in rural areas, there are limited opportunities of employment and therefore many people depend on farming as a source of their livelihood. He notes that farming is nowadays becoming a risky business especially for those depending on rain because the climate is fast changing and thus rain can no longer be predicted at the exact time is likely to come.

Poverty in rural areas has caused a significant number people to move to urban areas to search for an employment opportunity. According to Davis (2003) this has further complicated matters in the rural areas because the people moving to the urban areas are the young people who have the ability to farm thus leaving the old and the vulnerable alone in the villages.

In addition he says that poverty in rural areas has caused an increase in insecurity in many parts of the world. He attributes this to the determination by the young people to make the ends meet in a world of limited resources. He says that the civic leadership is close to the people than the main government and therefore it has a very crucial role in helping the rural dwellers improve on their standards of living.

He argues that the civic leadership has an obligation of organizing seminars for such people where they can invite speakers who can teach the people on the modern ways of farming other than depending on the rain fed agriculture, what to plant and not plant, and how to ensure soil fertility through crop rotation. He points out that if farmers adhere to the teachings given by the agricultural experts then they are likely to produce sufficient foods for themselves and have a surplus to sell thus being able to cater for their needs.

Conclusion

Civic leadership in every country plays a very important role because it is the one close to the people compared to the national government. Therefore, maintaining a good and accountable form of leadership will be very beneficial not only to the local people but to the entire nation at large.

The people at the helm of leadership should make sure that peoples needs are adequately met so that they can be productive through out their life. This goes a long way in keeping the nation as a whole a good place to live in.

Reference List

Davis, J. M. (2003). Leadership the Outward Bound Way. Seattle: Mountaineers Books

Jeremy, H. A. (2009). Leadership at the Community Level. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company

Miller, L S. (2008). Partnerships for Problem Solving. New York: Cengage Learning

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