We must work together

"There's no clear path" for how leaders emerge in a community. That’s what Nathan Harter, Greensburg Learning Center organizational leadership associate professor, told almost three dozen attendees at “Collaboration: Building Community Together,” a Knowledge for Nonprofits Workshop March 12 at the Batesville Memorial Public Library.

“Don't be afraid to push somebody who would be a great leader,” but is reluctant, suggested Phillip Anderson, Indianapolis, Indiana Rural Development Council executive director. Then the new leader must be supported. He observed, “We always talk about leadership, but never about followership. If a leader doesn't have followers, he's a lone ranger and that's very dangerous."

Anderson asked attendees to voice their communities’ most pressing issues. “Economic stability and competitive gaming,” answered David Attaway, Switzerland County’s tourism director. Rene Stivers, Franklin County economic development director, wants to see “attitudes concerning growth in the community” changed.

An issue for the Greensburg area is “increasingly culturally diverse populations,” reported Lynda Smith, Arts Council of Decatur County director. Gail Ginther, Indiana Arts Commission Region 9 Advisory Council member, wants to “improve the level of educational attainment in the community.”

“Infrastructure improvement” is on the wish list of Richard Adrian, Jennings County Community Foundation board member.

Other issues concerning participants were brain drain (when young Hoosier college graduates move out of state to work), quality of life and volunteer development.

He urged, “If you're interested in brain drain, you have to go stick your nose in this thing" instead of waiting for others to come to you. The director said one person would be "the conductor of the symphony,” bringing representatives of schools, universities, the workforce and other groups together.

“How do you know what to stick your nose in? ... How do you do things well if you're involved in so many things?” wondered Shelly Lunsford, Franklin County Community Foundation executive director. Anderson recommended, “Pick your level of involvement. Ask ‘Does this fit our core mission?’” According to Harter, “Frequently, working on one (issue) helps another.”

The message of the workshop was that successful collaboration contributes to a successful community. Collaboration between persons in different sectors is the most connected way to get projects done, the men said. Less linked levels are networking, an alliance, partnership or coalition.

Anderson pointed to a drawing of eight silos, each containing a community sector: infrastructure; cultural assets and amenities; education and training; financial resources; economic development; transportation; agriculture and natural resources; and health and human services. He said some people get “stuck in Siloville ... A silo no more makes a farm than a sector makes a community. We have to figure out how to break out of our sectors” and work together on problems.

One way is to follow a collaborative framework initiated by Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman several years ago, the Rural Indiana Strategy for Excellence, dubbed RISE 2020. It “is designed to help communities help themselves. We're not going to tell you what your community ought to do.”

Anderson said it can take awhile for collaborators to find a solution to a problem. “Journeys bother people. They want to know what the destination is.”

He urged that “intentional crosswalking” be part of the process. Persons who are not alike – youthful entrepreneurs, rural innovators, company presidents and civic leaders – should sit in a circle and brainstorm.

According to the director, “If we're not thinking regionally, we're missing it. Because most of us live that way,” residing in one town, but going to another for work, medical care or culture. He praised the effort of a regional group working to get state designation for the proposed Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway, which travels through Franklin, Ripley, Wayne, Fayette, Union and Dearborn counties. "We have to start taking advantage” of area assets.

Instead of always meeting in the center of a region, locations should float, so "nobody feels it is always about the person in the middle."

One of Harter’s questions resonated: “Are you really a community if you're not interacting?”

Debbie Blank can be contacted at 812-934-4343, Ext. 113; or debbie.blank@ batesvilleheraldtribune.com.

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