COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

Joh Leader is a leader in name, a leader in spirit, and a leader in her community. Joh is the heart and soul behind not-for-profit LeaderLife, serving the mission to keep kids alive, out of jail and living their best lives.

Joh and her team adopt a community driven approach to engage some of the hardest to reach kids in Dubbo, especially Indigenous kids. They deliver programs to build skills, confidence and work readiness of young people falling through the cracks. Their modest community centre – Apollo House – is in the heart of the most disadvantaged area of Dubbo. It’s a space where young people and their parents find safety, an empathetic ear, counselling, training, mentorship, hope, and courage. Their community farms and gardens are spaces where kids plant and grow food that feeds the community and nourishes the soul. The LeaderLife team are building systems that enable generational change, overcome systemic bias and break down cross-cultural divides.

I was invited to spend a week with Joh and her team to invest time and energy into themselves and the business. It was an honour to hold space for her team – a team who are constantly giving to and caring for others. Together they shared personal hopes and dreams for LeaderLife, discovered their strengths, and coached each other to grow.

Joh also invited some of their young people to participate in a values workshop. We asked the kids to tell us what it looks like to live the LeaderLife values – Look for the rainbows, I never give up, Fly in formation, and Empathy for all. They came up with some cracking examples:

“Learn to dance in the rain”

“Own your own SH!T”

“The past is not your fault”

“Ask for help”

“Look for the good amongst the SH!T”

“Love yourself and others”

“Live in the moment”.

Never, ever, have I seen a list of behavioural expectations that are so heart-breakingly honest, tender, and brave.

These young people truly know hardship, disappointment and systemic neglect. And yet they are capable of so much love. They let me – a white women they only just met – in on what it means to be a heart-led leader. I was truly humbled by that. Their openness and enthusiasm in that session was a true testament to the bonds of trust and respect shared with the LeaderLife team.

So, what did I learn about community leadership? Gosh……where do I start?

Community leadership is something very special and unique. It shares similarities with self-leadership, team leadership and organisational leadership – such as the need to be self-driven, to act as a role model, to be creative in response to challenges, to set goals and inspire others to take action, to be flexible and responsive to change.

But it also requires a unique mindset to sustain the level of commitment and focus required to deliver endemic, systemic change:

Clear and compelling purpose – People who are drawn to community leadership share a burning passion for making a difference to people’s lives. Their commitment to the cause provides a constant wellspring of motivation. Therefore, the purpose must be crystal clear and immediately recognisable to attract supporters and contributors to the cause. Keeping kids alive, out of jail, and living their best lives is a meaningful, cause that the team and supporters of at LeaderLife are fighting for every day.

Have a plan, AND go with the flow – The LeaderLife team are fluid with their plans because the people they look after have needs and moods that shift from moment to moment. This played out in many ways. For example, session times were flexible because kids needed to be picked up and dropped off from school. We had a ‘loose’ agenda, and directed the conversation based on there the greatest needs and interests of the group were. The LeaderLife group are successful because they are flexible, moving with what’s needed now and balancing that with what’s needed later.

Check in – with yourself and others – Joh and her team started and ended every discussion with circle work. They start the conversation with asking where you rate yourself out of 10, with 1 being worst and 10 being best. No need to explain or qualify why – just the number will do. This is followed by another question that goes a bit deeper – like “one word to describe yourself” or “what you’re grateful for today”. It’s a wonderful way of building instant connection and getting the temperature on where everyone’s at. I asked Joh what she would do if someone rated themselves as a “3” on the 10-point rating scale. If that happens, she said, her next question to the circle might be – “what’s one way you’d like to be helped if you were a 3”. It sends a subtle message that if you’re low, you’re not alone and help is
there if you need it.

Pressure on, pressure off – Joh and the team used this language a lot – they would put pressure on and pressure off in the same conversation. They would ask a challenging question, call out what’s not good enough, and then lighten the mood with a smile and a laugh. They were experts in creating the best of a challenging situation, staying grounded and positive in the work.

Laughter – Tears, sadness and grief is an occupational hazard when working with a disadvantaged community. The only way to counterbalance this is with laugher, positivity and hope. This LeaderLife team are pros at positive vibes. In fact, some of their greatest team strengths were humour, kindness, honesty and gratitude. Over the three days were there, we laughed, a lot. When Joh walks into the room, she lights it up with a big old “HEEEEEYYYYYY” and a huge smile – and this immediately brings people together in joy.

To be a community leader is follow a calling to something bigger and more lasting than ourselves. It is deeply intrinsically rewarding, and incredibly taxing  work. To do this work requires a team who are as passionate as supporting each other as they are about the work itself. I have deep respect for those out there fighting for disadvantaged communities and was honoured to be able to contribute in my very small way to the team at LeaderLife. If you’d like to donate or support Joh and the LeaderLife team – please check out this website.