Asset-Focused Leadership Part 1
ByJohnHammerlink,LeadingDifferently
leadingdifferently.com
“Everysinglepersonhascapabilities,abilitiesandgifts.Livinga
goodlifedependsonwhetherthosecapabilitiescanbeused,
abilitiesexpressedandgiftsgiven.Iftheyare,thepersonwillbe
valued,feelpowerfulandwell-connectedtothepeoplearound
them.Andthecommunityaroundthepersonwillbemore
powerfulbecauseofthecontributionthepersonismaking.”
–JohnP.KretzmannandJohnL.McKnight
Ifyouareinterestedindevelopingmanyoftheotherconceptswe’vebeen
lookingat,suchascollaborativeleadership,supportingmoreeffectivenetworks
ofconcernedpeople,andhelpingthemfindtheirpower;thenAsset-Based
CommunityDevelopment(ABCD)istheorganizingstrategyforyou.Ihave
dedicatedagoodchunkofmylifetohelpingfolksdiscovercommunity-building
assets.IhavedonecountlessABCDworkshops,andhavewrittenaboutiton
occasion.ABCDprinciplescontributemanyusefulideastoare-imaginedconcept
ofleadership;therefore,I’lldedicatemultiplesectionstoit.
Don’tbescaredoffbythewordphrase“communitydevelopment.”Community
canrefertosmallgroupsofpeoplewhoarepassionateaboutthesameissue,
neighborhoods,orcommunitiesofinterest–includingthosemadeupofpeople
notsharingacommunityofplace.Forourpurposes,developmentsimplymeans
tomakebetter.Let’sstartwiththefundamentals.
ABCD,isanapproachdescribedbyJohnMcKnightandJohnKretzmann,inthe
1993book,BuildingCommunitiesfromtheInsideOut.Itisfoundedonthebelief
thatcommunitiesandneighborhoodsthrivewhenbuiltupontheknowledge,
interests,andcapacitiesoftheirresidents,groups,andinstitutions.This
contrastswiththetypical“needs-based”approachwherethestartingpointis
basedonanassessmentofdeficiencies.
ABCDisnotaformula.Rather,itisanapproachtocreatingpositivechangethat
hasmanypaths,butwhichnecessarilyincludesthreeelements.Oneoftheroles
ofleadersinasset-basedendeavorstobeapersistentcompasswhenitcomesto
thesethreefilters.
1. ABCDis,bydefinition,asset-based.Itstartswithwhatalreadyexistsinthe
community.ABCDrequiresthecommunitytoinventorytheskillsand
talentsofindividuals,theassetsofformalandinformalassociations
(includingrelationships)andthoseoflocalinstitutions.
2. ABCDisinternally-focused.Thecommunityframestheissuesand
challenges,anddesignspossibleplansofaction.Thisinternalfocusis
intendedsimplytostresstheprimacyoflocaldefinition,investment,
creativity,hopeandcontrol.
3. ABCDisrelationship-driven.Tobesuccessful,communitiesmustbe
deliberateaboutconstantlybuildingandrebuildingrelationshipsamong
residents,localassociationsandlocalinstitutions.Relationshipscreatethe
underpinningsonwhichtrustisbuilt.Sharingcommonvaluesandgoalsis
onething,butwhenyouaddtrusttothemix,youhavethebeginningsofa
recipeforpower.
Onewayforleaderstoassesstheireffortsastheybeginistoaskthemselves
thesequestions:
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Whodecideswhatwillbedone?–Isthisthevisionofasmallgroupof
individuals,oristhereasharedvisionacrossalargergroupof
stakeholders?
Whoaretheproducersofresults?–Are“interventions”beingdoneto,or
forpeople;orarepeopleaccomplishingthingsontheirownbehalf?
Howwillthegiftsofindividuals&thecommunitybeidentifiedand
mobilized?–Whatapproachestoassetmappingandstrategicplanning
makethemostsense?
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Whosecapacityisbeingbuilt?–Areyousimplyreplacingonerigidtopdownsystemforanother?
MappingAssets
Simplyput,asset-mappingissystematicallyfindingoutwhatskills,talents,
knowledge,relationships,andotherassetscurrentlyexistinthecommunity.This
shouldincludeunearthingthecapacitiesof:
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Individuals–Talktoasmanypeopleaspossible.Don’tforgetmarginalized
people,thosewhosepresenceisnotfrequently(ifever)recognized.
Associations–Thesearesocialassets.Theyarenotalwayseasily
recognized.Theyareidentifiedbythefactthatpeopleareassociatingwith
eachotherwithoutgettingpaid.Thepeopleinassociationsaretogether
becausetheyshareacommonpassionorinterest.Associationscanbe
formal(achurchcongregation),orinformal(agroupoffriendswhomeet
everyTuesdayforcoffeeatthesamecafé).
Institutions–Allpublic,private,andnonprofitorganizationsincluding
schools,government,andbusinesses.
PhysicalAssets–Thisincludesthingslikepublicspace,buildings,and
naturalassets.
Exchange–Financialtransactions,includingthingslikedeliberatelocal
purchasingorboycotting.
Don’tpanic.Youdon’thavetomaptheassetsoftheentirecommunity.Thisisn’t
anexerciseindatabasecreation.Thisisaboutlookingforopportunity.These
opportunitiesrevealthemselvesduringtheprocessoffindingouthownewly
discoveredassetscanbeconnectedandleveragedtoincreaserelationshipsand
movingpeopletoact.
Onceyouknowwhatchangeyourcommunityseekstomakestartmappingwith
folkswhomightalreadybeworkingtocreatethatchange?Nospecialtrainingis
necessary,thoughtherearemanypeoplewhocanhelpyougetstarted.
Yourearlygroupofleaderswillhavetodefineyourcommunity,figureoutwhois
availabletodotheworkontheground,andassessyourinitialresourcestodo
themapping.Youcanuseanynumberofmethods,eitherviasurveys,orbetter
yetthroughonetooneconversations,orappreciativeinquiry.Remember,listsof
informationaregood,butstoriesareevenbetterbecausetheycanrevealhidden
socialandculturalassets.