The Citizen Leader

Character and Contribution in Service of Your Communities

Welcome to The Citizen Leader. The purpose of this seminar is to explore your character as a citizen and your capacity as a leader. Citizenship, like leadership, challenges us to extend ourselves, and to contribute to the world around us. Citizens contribute by actively participating in efforts that better a community and improve life for all. Leaders contribute by engaging the enthusiasm of the many citizens of a community to participate and serve and act collectively. And so, in this seminar, we will ask you to explore the deep truths about your commitment to be an active citizen and an engaging leader in whatever the scope of your community - at work, at home, in school, at play, in your neighborhoods, and wherever else you spend your days. These truths will serve as a basis for your own enthusiasm to participate, and as the foundation for your capacity to engage the enthusiasm of the many other members of your community to act collectively and make meaningful contributions in the world around you.

This exploration demands introspection; it demands reflection; it demands curiosity; it demands humility; and it demands brutal honesty in response to the questions: "Who am I?" "How do I want to be known in my community?" "What do I fundamentally believe about my work or service in my community?" "What are my personal and public guiding principles?" “Do my words and actions adhere to my principles?” "Do I have the will to participate in or lead an initiative, a cause or a change that would contribute to my community? These questions are powerful tools to help you explore the substance and the strength of your convictions, your credibility, and your courage - in sum, the content of your character.

Each one of us is known to the people around us by what we say and what we do. We express our true character through our speech, our behaviors, our actions and our decisions. It is our hope that by reflecting on these questions, you will explore and discern the authentic content of your character as a human being, as a citizen and as a leader. There is no judgment attached to the answers. What is important is that you be rigorous, seek honesty, and own the truth. Equipped with your own truth, you can know if you are leading a life of personal integrity. Equipped with your own truth, you can commit to change, fine-tune, adjust and shape the ways you express yourself so that your words and your actions are entirely consistent with who you are and how you want to be known as a human being, as a citizen and as a leader.

During our lives, most all of us will face many challenges that will invite us, if not require us, to lead. As a leader, our success is directly proportional to our ability to create, support and nurture relationships, and distribute ownership with others (e.g. our partners, our followers) in ways that engages their enthusiasm and their willingness to want to follow our lead. When we step into the role of a leader, the content of our character will color the quality of the relationships that we create and build with the many other members of our community. When we step into the role of a leader, the ways in which we express our character will enhance or diminish our capacity to engage their willingness and their enthusiasm to want to participate, serve, act and persevere. Let us commit to be of such character that our partners will not only follow our lead, but will surge out ahead of us – and do so because we are striving to make contributions that are meaningful to us all.