Engage with the identity, values and interests of the leader

For community leaders, learning becomes meaningful when it is strongly related to their concerns, problems, values and desires. It is important to explore the personal and social context of their leadership and the story of how they come to be in their leadership role. The work of many community leaders grows out of a personal concern for justice or commitment to the people of their communities and is therefore closely connected to personal values or principles. Keeping this personal and professional connection to the fore in leadership development is therefore important.

Recognise that Service Users and Service providers may be the same people

Whilst many of the people employed by Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) organisations will have the same level of personal needs as the average citizen, a distinguishing feature of the VCS leadership spectrum is that service providers and service users are often the same people, and unlike the public sector where clear lines are drawn between service users and service providers, this factor needs to be acknowledged and addressed in training for community leaders.

Understand the political, social and historical context of the VCS and its relationship with other sectors.

The VCS has traditionally been a second cousin in the delivery of services and its "voluntary" status has often created an impression (and also a reality) of amateur, low cost, non essential and unprofessional service delivery. The historical, political role of the VCS is also importunate here, particularly in relation to power dynamics with the public and private sector on whom funding for VCS work is usually dependent. The current changing profile of the VCS as a Third Sector needs to be understood in this context both in relation to the identity of VCS leaders and in relation to the interpersonal dynamics between partners across the old sector boundaries who now theoretically compete on a level playing field.

Understand the diversity of the VCS

The VCS is not a homogenous body or sector, it is highly diverse, comprising of large, formal organisations and institutions on the one hand and individual activists and local leaders on the other. The VCS covers communities of interest e.g. disability as well as geographical and ethnic origin communities. It also cuts across formal democratic leadership e.g. elected councillors and non democratic local leadership e.g. residents groups. The specific and yet very diverse needs of this spectrum of community leadership needs must therefore be understood and addressed in any training for VCS leaders.

Identify and support what is distinctive about community leadership

Community leaders often see themselves as distinctive from leaders in other sectors. This is important to their identity but the distinctiveness is often not articulated or consciously developed. Understanding and exploring notions of community leadership in relation to generic notions of leadership is important in the current climate of Third Sector development if the distinctiveness of a Third Sector is to be retained and if assimilation of the VCS into the public and private sectors is to be avoided.

Is there anything distinctive about community leadership, how can this be articulated and consciously developed? What can be borrowed or adapted from other forms of leadership and contemporary thinking about leadership to enhance VCS leadership? These are important questions to foreground in any leadership development work with Community leaders.

Develop the VCS as a sector

The diversity of the VCS often creates fragmentation, competition and a lack of coherence in terms of the collective voice of the sector. Although there has been recent investment in supporting VCS infrastructure there is still considerable isolation and communication difficulties within the sector itself. It would be important to use every training programme as a dual opportunity to enhance the personal skills of individuals whilst at the same time creating communities of practice where peer learning and relationships can be developed within the sector leading to a more coherent, networked entity.

Ensure high quality training

The VCS has often been on the receiving end of low cost, low quality training. This is in part the result of historical under investment in VCS training, assumptions about the "voluntary" nature of the work i.e. "do the best we can with what we've got" rather than planning properly for quality investment and it is also partly due to assumptions about the "second cousin" nature of VCS work and the lower priority often given to supporting its work. The need for ensuring VCS training is of the same quality and aspiration as training for leaders in other sectors is an important principle if the VCS is to play a full and equitable role in our society as a viable Third Sector.

Recognise and support the integrated strategic role of VCS leaders.

Many VCS leaders are required to work not just with their local communities but also with strategic partners in other sectors and organisations. Their role is often a brokering one, but they are also required to contribute to both local strategic agendas and to nationally driven changes to the third sector role in service delivery. There is a need for sector specific support for VCS leaders operating at a strategic level but there is also a need for reflective learning opportunities, development of advanced leadership and communication skills for leaders across the sectors. This includes supporting the capacity of statutory partners and commissioners to work more creatively with the multiplicity of VCS providers which current policy changes will produce. The principle of ensuring that the whole system of strategic, social leadership is included in any VCS training is just as important as ensuring that the role of the VCS is included in any leadership training for Public and Private sector leaders.