L eadership is an issue I hear about wherever I go these days. The success or failure of a community project often seems to hinge on the presence or absence of good leadership. In the business world it is often the CEO who plots a successful course for his or her company, creating a strong work environment while building capital.
Some communities lament the lack of leadership needed to get projects off the ground.
I have experienced both. In one town there was such a feeling of ill will and mistrust, that there was no presence of enlightened self interest, and no sense of working together. This town, in the mid-1980s, was rapidly evolving from a rural community to a bedroom suburb. But there was no supportive atmosphere for new leadership to grow. Although the town prepared comprehensive plans and approved subdivisions, there was no true sense of future.