URBS 230  Class Notes

 

5/19/03

Community is….

Grouping of people sharing common characteristic

People sharing a common locality

Bringing people of different backgrounds together

Cannot be legislated—people coming together

Natural leaders (good or bad)

Not limited by size (either too small or too large)

Neighborhood—people who live next to each other

Mechanism for progress through mutual benefit

Followers—store owners, blue collar workers—who add to the community

 

 

Leadership is….

Organized or unorganized

Method to organize group to pursue clear direction

Role model for others

Being involved in community

High self-esteem, knowledge, good people skills

Communicator, delegator, matches people to tasks

Makes important decisions for group/community

Knows project, resources, organization

Can  be more than one person

Can be based on knowledge or charisma

Has well-defined goals, but can be flexible in solving problems

 

5/21/03

“The Abilene Paradox”:  ERC Video HD 30.23 .A25 2002  (also see HARVEY, JERRY B. 1988.   The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management.  Lexington, MA:  Lexington Books.)

 

Exercise 1:  Think of a previous group decision-making process in which you have participated, one that you recall in some detail. 

  1. Describe the event briefly
  2. Were you one of the first to speak up & voice your opinion?  If so, how did you do it?
  3. What special skill, authority, or perspective did you bring to the table?  Did you share that expertise during the meeting?
  4. Did others express their opinions?  Did your opinion change while you listened to other opinions?
  5. Did you feel the level and amount of discussion was adequate or proportional to the importance of the decision?  If not, how could this have been improved?
  6. Did the group’s decision turn out to be a good one?  Why?
  7. Looking back, what (if anything) would you have done differently?

 

Exercise 2:  Reasons you find for taking the trip (Pick your 3 favorites):

  1. I am new to the group; it’s too soon to speak up.
  2. I don’t care enough about the issue to risk offending anyone.
  3. I want to keep my job; I’m going to keep my mouth shut.
  4. If I speak up, I’ll get saddled with doing it.
  5. I’m no expert; everyone else knows more than me.
  6. I shouldn’t have been in this group to start with.
  7. Let’s decide something—anything!—and move on.
  8. I don’t want to hurt the feelings of the project’s sponsor.
  9. It’s the wrong decision, but I will come out ahead anyway.

10.        Last time I disagreed, I got blamed for delaying things.

11.        It’s up to the boss—that’s why she gets the big bucks.

12.        I wish the rest would be responsible and participate more.

13.        Whatever.

14.        More data would be nice; maybe next time we’ll have it.

15.        I’m good at details, but no one wants to hear about them.

 

 

Exercise 3:  A current decision

·                                Briefly describe a current decision in which you are a participant or that you are in a position to influence.

·                                What would you really like to say about the pros and cons of this issue?  If the decision were solely up to you, what would you do?

·                                What might keep you from speaking up?

·                                Consider the following:

 

Choose to speak up

Choose not to speak up

What is the BEST thing that could happen if you …

 

 

What is the WORST thing that could happen if you …

 

 

Is the BEST or the WORST most likely to happen?

 

 

What is the Risk?

 

 

Can you afford the Risk?

 

 

 

  • What help would you need from others to say what you want to say?
  • How could you support others in making their opinion known to the group as a whole?

 

 

Notes on the Abilene Paradox:

  • Definition:  tendency of groups to make decisions that individual members do not truly support
  • Mismanaged Anxiety:  tendency of group members to hesitate to offer their true opinions, and therefore to agree to a decision they don’t support.  Often due to:
    • Action Anxiety
    • Fear of Separation
    • Negative Fantasy
    • Real Risk
  • Symptoms
    • Confusing fantasy and reality
    • Fixing blame (when conflict isn’t the problem)
    • Collusion
    • Blaming the leader (when all are responsible)
  • Solutions
    • Assess real risks
    • Take action
    • Confront the group

 

5/27/03

6 Theories of Leadership:

  1. Trait (inborn characteristics, preferences, etc.)
  2. Situation (matching leader style to situation’s needs, skill in handling groups)
  3. Organizational (ability to structure & work through organizations; headship; chain of command)
  4. Power (political savvy and empowerment)
  5. Vision (sense of direction—“divining & defining” and communicating)
  6. Ethical (clarity & commitment)

 

5/28/03

The Action Wheel:

  • Elements:
    • Meaning
    • Mission
    • Power
    • Structure
    • Resources
    • Existence
  • Given a problem, our instincts are to try to solve at the next level down, when the solution really is at the next level up.

 

6/3/03  Guttman, Democracy and Disagreement

Moral deliberation requires

  • Reciprocity
  • Publicity
  • Responsibility

“Moral” is not the same as “ethical”—comes from mores (deeply held values of a social group)

Moral disagreement is inevitable—it is grounded in the human condition

 

6/4/03  Frank Schweigert, “Learning to Lead”

Kinds of knowledge required for leadership:

  • Episteme (conceptual knowledge)
  • Techne (practical skill)
  • Phronesis (wisdom, “common sense”)

Note differences between “leader” and

  • Manager
  • Vendor
  • Follower

Leadership learning requires “legitimate peripheral participation” composed of

  • Learning
  • Power
  • Support
  • Accountability
  • Practice

 

6/5/03  Robert Putnam “Bowling Alone”

Civic engagement—different from individual action & “family group”

Civic participation—comes from pre-existing engagement in other public settings

Social capital—every community (no matter how impoverished) has resources

Colonial model—applies as well to urban/rural, poor neighborhood/wealthy neighborhood as it does to international relations.

 

6/10/03  Saul D. Alinsky  Rules for Radicals (1971)  “Tactics”

  1. Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have
  2. Never go outside the experience of your people
  3. Whenever possible, go outside the experience of the enemy
  4. Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules
  5. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon
  6. A good tactic is one that your people enjoy
  7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag
  8. Keep the pressure on by varying your tactics
  9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself
  10. Pressure produces reaction; constant pressure sustains action
  11. If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside
  12. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative
  13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

 

6/11/03  Notes on Building Communities from the Inside Out

Traditional approach is “needs” based (“problem” approach)

Kretzmann & McKnight propose a “capacity building” approach based on “assets”—

  • Individual knowledge, skills, and abilities
  • Associations (informal networks)
  • Institutions (formal organizations, whether public or private—including business corporations)

Key is not only the individual assets, but to network them with others.

 

Plotting the Course:

  1. Potential Partners
    1. Individuals
    2. Associations
    3. Public institutions
    4. Private sector
  2. Strengthening Partnerships
    1. Specify the individuals, associations, institutions
    2. Identify strategies to increase networking
  3. One-to-One Relationships
    1. Develop strategies specific to particular partners, identifying flow (preferably 2-way)
    2. Concrete implementation of partnership strengthening strategies; permits assignment of responsibility and sets objectives for eventual assessment

 

Mobilizing the Community

  • Turn liabilities into assets
  • Strategy

1.      Map assets

2.      Build relationships

3.      Mobilize for sharing (information & economics)

4.      Convene community—vision & plan

5.      Leverage outside resources