The importance of civic leadership

The importance of civic leadership cannot be underestimated in its importance, need, and overall community benefit. In a town the size of Montgomery, a very low amount of your time is often necessary for such an engagement too.

Civic leaders are people that help shape communities and influence the path that they are headed on. Organizations and cities are struggling to find enough individuals to fill all of those roles.

If you’ve ever thought of being a part of one of the city’s committees or councils, the school board or its committees, or any of the local organizations, I encourage you to reach out and ask them, “Is there a place that I can fit in to help out?” Most often, the answer is going to be yes.

Quality candidates for these types of typically volunteer positions are people who have experience and education to some level. This doesn’t mean that a high school graduate cannot successfully fulfill roles in civic leadership.

Small business owners often make great civic leaders because they are invested in the community, have a good understanding of what is going on in the community, and have a good understanding of how problems or adversities could be solved. If you are a small business owner who thinks they don’t have time, make time.

Over the past year-plus that I have invested myself in this community, I have seen some really great community leaders. They are sometimes complained about for their decision-making, which I attribute mostly to a lack of knowledge and understanding by the person(s) with a complaint.

It is these few people that address the problems and find solutions to keep this a livable city though, most of them with only investing just a few hours of their time every month.

Observing a number of meetings from different areas of civic leadership within this community, I have observed the leaders in this city care about what is done and doing so in keeping in mind reasonable costs for items. Whether or not the item is something the community needs or would utilize, the longevity of items and long-term strategy to build and maintain the community is also taken into consideration.

I believe just being involved in any civic leadership, in any way, yields quite a bit of personal benefit as well — whether that means a better understanding of the challenges faced, making additional friends, or simply networking and finding solutions for yourself or your own business in the process of doing so. Participating in civic leadership only adds to your own personal toolkit, making you a better person and leader.

I think it is important to note that civic leadership doesn’t always mean being on a committee or a part of a board, although it’s direly needed. It could simply mean that you volunteer to help direct a play, be a coach, help to coordinate an event, or offer your services to a community group that they may need but don’t possess.

If you don’t know where to start, keep it simple. Contact someone, somehow where you think you might fit and ask that question, “Is there a place that I can fit in to help out?”