Every community has differences in its local economy, geography, natural assets, economic drivers, strengths and weaknesses. One consistent factor necessary for effective economic development is leadership. Leadership is important to creating and communicating a common vision, motivating stakeholders to action, and raising awareness to vital issues and opportunities.
Being informed is one thing, but acting appropriately with the information is another. As a leader, initiating and coping with change in the community is one of the most important roles to be played. Leadership is different from management. Elected officials are in a position of leadership and should take that role very seriously by setting a direction, aligning and motivating people, and creating a culture of openness and acceptance to change and growth.
The first place to start with any change is to make sure there is a clear and compelling case for change. To convince a group of elected officials to approve incentives for a development or the installation of infrastructure, the pros and cons must be clearly laid out, and the pros must outweigh the cons. This may seem obvious to most but when there is no clear and compelling case for change, all the strategy and implementation plans in the world will not successfully bring about positive change. Once the clear and compelling case for change is in place, someone must be willing to be committed to the effort or project and take ownership of it. The benefits to the stakeholders must be obvious and a great implementation plan must be in place.
Many times we have seen projects get this far and die for lack of the basic skills or know-how to implement the plan. A project is not possible without the capacity or structure in place to execute or follow through with the most basic steps. Finally, without the appropriate structure and reinforcement, the project may seem to be successful at the outset, but will not be sustainable over time.
Each of the items mentioned above must be in place for change to be successful. It’s not easy….it takes leadership.
