Superintendent Leadership & Community Engagement - This research paper explores the use of community engagement approaches to enhance the relationship and perceptions between school superintendents and community groups in Wisconsin.

Place: Grounding for Leadership - Recovering the Soul of Place – This paper, written by Michael Jones, explores how leaders can utilize the power of place in their transformational leadership work and offers a path forward for engaging communities in their thinking about place and how it can transform their leadership and their environments.

Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) – An excerpt from Little Book of Practice for Authentic Leadership in Action – this excerpt provides an introduction to a document outlining the key principles and practices of authentic leadership.

Building Community Vitality – This leadership toolkit, developed by Community Foundations of Canada, is designed for those playing a catalytic role in supporting communities tackling broad issues of concern. Access the toolkit here. 

Supporting Pioneering Leaders - “Many individuals and organizations, in increasing numbers, are attempting to intervene to resolve the most pressing problems of this time: health, human rights, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, environmental issues, and democracy. Far too many of these well-intentioned efforts are subverted by the lack of talented leadership. Money for projects disappears because of mismanagement, inexperience, or corruption. Change efforts fail because of inappropriate implementation processes. In developing countries we say there's a leadership vacuum. In developed countries, we ask, "Where have all the leaders gone?" Read the full article by Margaret Wheatley here.

Leading by Example - In this report from the Public Policy Forum, 50 prominent Canadians talk about the federal public service and why leadership matters. Key themes include the importance of effective relationships, the need for high-quality leadership and the impact of leadership on organizational culture and workplace well-being.  Download the paper here.

Reconstructing Who We Are - A core group of leaders has emerged in Winnipeg's growing Aboriginal population over the last 30 years. They are shaping a distinctive approach to community revitalization that firmly roots both personal healing and organizational development in Aboriginal values. Read the article here. [Source: CEDworks!]

Ideas, Relationships, Resources - The Community Leadership Handbook says the three core competencies needed for community leadership-the ability to frame ideas, to build social capital and to mobilize resources-must interact with each other to achieve results. Read more or download the report here. [Source: Council on Foundations]

Founders and Other Gods - The nonprofit sector has a love-hate relationship with founders. This article helps us look at founders and the situations they face more productively. Read the article here. [Source: NPQ e-newsletter]

Act on Facts, Not Faith - Much of what passes for management theory is little more than a collection of traditions, rumors and half-truths. The time has come to adopt an evidence-based approach to management that is based on facts. Read this article here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]

Leaders for Change - Maytree's Leaders for Change (LFC), now in its seventh year, is a community leadership program for emerging social activists in the Greater Toronto Area. Beginning in December 2005, the seven-month curriculum gives participants the opportunity to build leadership skills, to identify and reflect on critical issues facing our society and to apply new knowledge and insights in small groups while working with community partners. The program is enriched by a network of more than 90 alumni. Once again this year, the LFC program is looking for applications from a diverse range of motivated and energetic community leaders with new and innovative ideas and fresh perspectives. More on Leaders for Change can be found here. [Source: Maytree]

Finding Their Voice - Why is it important to have a greater understanding of how Aboriginal Canadians and New Canadians engage in civic life and what their values are? Given current demographic trends, these groups are and will continue to be increasingly important players in the way Canada is growing and changing. Encouraging the next generation of Canadians to take on leadership roles in this country is a challenge for decision-makers who eventually must "pass the torch". However, the special experiences and values of Aboriginal and New Canadians mean that different methods of engagement must be found. Download the paper here. [Source: The CRIC Papers]

Think-tanks changing their minds - A generation of influential Canadian policy-makers are moving on. They're not politicians or bureaucrats, but the heads of think-tanks, the deep thinkers sought out for fresh ideas by government leaders. It is part of a widespread rollover that is leaving Canada's think-tank sector at a crossroads. Even some of the current crop say the field may be strong but it could use something more -- a bit more edge, a little worldliness, or a touch more relevance -- to fill a market of ideas undersupplied by a sterile political debate. Read the article here. [Source: Canadian Social Research Newsletter/The Globe and Mail]

Leadership in the voluntary sector - The McGill-McConnell Program, Master of Management for National Voluntary Sector Leaders recently announced the online publication of more than two dozen major papers written by program graduates. Entitled Voluntary Sector Perspectives from the McGill-McConnell Program, the papers offer contemporary perspectives on leadership challenges in the voluntary sector, often through the reality of each author's organization. They also address a range of theoretical and practical topics such as board-staff relations, youth participation in philanthropy and volunteerism, and the application of complexity science to organizational dynamics. To access the papers, click here. [Source: Charity Village]

Paths of Leadership in Community Change - The five community-based organizations that are helping lead the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Rebuilding Communities Initiative (RCI) offer excellent opportunities to document the success of community-based leadership development. At the invitation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), The Development Training Institute (DTI) reviewed the leadership development processes at the five RCI sites. The study resulted in the creation of a conceptual framework that helps people better understand community based leadership development. Download the study here. [Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation]

Winners of Leadership for a Changing World - "These awards recognize the achievement of remarkable people working to bring positive social change to their communities and beyond," said Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "In celebrating their accomplishments we also seek to illuminate the particular characteristics of effective social justice leadership, which the LCW’s collaborative research with awardees is beginning to identify." A full list of the Leadership for a Changing World award winners can be seen here. [Source: Leadership for Change]

Centre for Community Leadership - This one-stop resource centre aimed at staff and volunteers of the nonprofit sector, includes a wide range of information on everything from administration and HR resources, to board governance, technology, and planning. Visit the website here. [Source: Charity Village]

Leadership programs are popping up in cities across Canada, working to nurture and inspire potential leaders from all sectors. Find out how these programs are helping to strengthen communities and encourage civic participation here.

Empowerment: what it is, What it`s not - Abstract from website: "Discusses empowerment in terms of common misunderstandings. Everybody talks about empowerment these days and many company leaders claim to be practising it, but there are a great number of managers - and employees - who do not really understand what empowerment involves. As a result, many problems have arisen as confusion over decision-making authority and access to information reigns supreme. Lays out in a straightforward manner what empowerment is, common misconceptions around it, and a process for increasing the chances that employees will be successfully empowered." Read more here. [Source: OHPE Bulletin]

Difference Between Management & Leadership - "Management is a function that must be exercised in any business, leadership is a relationship between leader and led that can energize an organization." This article appeared in Research Technology Management, Volume 43, No. 1, January-February, 2000. Learn more here. [Source: OHPE Bulletin]

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