This is a part of the User-Driven Programming Series.
A user-driven model is built on the hard work of leaders and is the role of everyone to empower leadership and embrace it. On every level, from staff person to president of the organization, we all benefit from engaged and empowered leaders. Constantly engaging and teaching new people to lead creates sustainable growth.
Leadership is learned.
This important truth is the backbone of creating not only user-driven programming but also a healthy institution. No one is born to lead. Rather a leader learns the skills along the way. Centering the idea that one can learn to lead constantly encourages new people to take on new roles.
It is intimidating to most people to take on a leadership role, no matter how small. Any organization that creates a culture around taking on new roles will grow.
Leadership creates sustainability.
No one can lead forever. There will always be a need for new people to step up and take responsibility. For any organization to grow and prosper, there should be a system to teach people how to lead. As a result, by building a user-driven model, we can create a low-stakes (fail fast) system to empower and teach leaders in a relatively safe environment. This creates sustainability by constantly creating a bench of new leaders.
More important than any single program, is what our organizations can do to create a Jewish future for all of us. As folks learn new skills, they will use them to help our organizations and many others. Even if they do not turn around and join your board, by focusing on empowering leadership, we create a long-term positive result. Even as we pivot back and forth into the details of a single program, we can step back and see the bigger picture of what we’re accomplishing. We helping create a new culture and society of Jewish leaders by laying down the individual bricks of specific programs.
Empower leadership to set a vision.
In almost all cases, there should be a clear vision being set by a primary leader, whether a director, president, or clergy member, or by a leadership team. It is important to understand how that vision should be reflected in the programming, regardless of who is driving it. This means that it is important to make sure that the framework is following the lead of the broader vision for the organization.
Running programs is the beginning, not the end.
Everyone starts somewhere and often it is creating something small at first. Creating programming is a fantastic place to start. At the same time, we hope that developing and running programs is the beginning, not the end. Having a group of people who have led something in your organization and can take on new responsibilities is the goal.
Empower leadership to say no.
It is absolutely essential to respect when leaders are no longer interested in leadership. Empowering leaders also means that we must allow them to step back from responsibility, give them time to recharge, and come back with a new sense of passion. As Jewish institutions, this is an important lesson for us and one we should take seriously.
Empower leadership by saying yes.
As we understand that our model is a platform and not the product, it also means that on some level, the job of the staff is to try and say yes as often as possible. To allow the leadership to explore new ways of doing things and new programs that might not be great. As we said above, it is a learning process. Staff can empower leadership by cutting the red tape when possible so that leaders can develop and run increasingly great programs.
Have a question on how to implement this? Want me to help you set it up? I’m available for consulting and I’d be happy to work something out for you and/or your organization! Reach out!