RR Corner: from sombre to humour!: Community Leadership – Activism and Influence

Ritesh(R) Chugh and Ripan(R) Sethi

With subcontinent community numbers soaring consistently and more migrants looking for opportunities to give back to the society, we see an increased number of community initiatives. There area plethora of community services organisations already existing and newer ones emerging rapidly in Victoria and elsewhere in Australia. A large number of the organisations are established by individuals trying to pull an idea or a goal single-handedlyand the others are a group of individuals with a common goal. Whilst it is heartening to see the influx of our compatriots in community initiatives, the churn rate appears to be quite high. There can often be a spike during a political season as we see a lot of political aspirants initiate campaigns to win some brownie points through community work when they are most enthused to bring a change to the community with a revolutionary approach. It typically dwindles down once the election season is over. Some manage to last longer until they find a niche in an established organisation with an experience team and better support from the system.

Having seen some organisations come and go, we put our heads together to find the underlying cause – why is there such a high churn rate that it’s almost losing the community’s faith? Do people generally quit once the purpose is achieved and move on to the next thing? Or do they not get enough community attention and then lose motivation? It is likely the latter,and we can probably pin down the cause to some flawed leadership traits. It is often heard  the subcontinent community is full of leaders, which is great however it leads to a bigger question that if everyone is a leader then who is a worker? Someone has to follow the instructions and execute the plan,and if everyone is only focusing on giving the instructions, then the end is often imminent.

Grassroot ideas are driven by social causes and should be sustainable. For any community organisation to be stable, there are four key pillars – a nurturing environment that promotes a sense of belonging, influence within and outside the group, support to meet member needs and the emotional association between members.  To achieve the objectives of a community organisation, community leadership should typically be informal, less hierarchical, involve volunteers and promote change. Most importantly, community leadership or a community leader should represent the interests of the community and seek to improve it.

There is no harm in aspiring to be community leaders or in reality even being an existing one,but the goals have to be clear.  Goals that focus on improvement, change, societal issues, and community benefits at large are crucial.  A community leader does not imply longing for status and power but to achieve these (and more) tangible goals. If there are many community leaders in our community, it is an actual representation of growth which is good. However, amongst this growth, there is also an inherent need for community leaders to work together and cooperate for the greater good of the communities they formally or informally represent. The apparent tall poppy syndrome in some community leaders is not a healthy sign of an egalitarian society and needs to disappear. Above all, formal and informal community leaders are  meant to be working for the community not against it or even against each other. Problem solving and change is usually a collaborative effort.

To witness advancement in community leadership, a general acceptance of societal norms will usher changes where everyone works with each other, not tearing each other down. RR strongly believe that an inherent desire to make a positive impact in the community and working in harmony with others will go a long way…