Kansas Leadership Center

What KLC observed through intense listening across Kansas: 

• There is inadequate progress on issues Kansans care about most.
• These issues are deep, daunting and adaptive challenges.
• Our current civic culture - defined by "usual" voices dominating public discourse and "unusual" voices not participating, as well as pervasive "us" against "them" mentality - erodes social capital in our communities.
• This default civic culture is a mismatch with the deep, daunting, adaptive challenges facing our communities, regions and state.

KLC's interpretation of the data:

A profoundly different kind of civic leadership and civic culture is needed throughout our communities. Making progress on civic challenges requires courageous collaboration that must engage "usual" and "unusual" voices. The capacity to exercise leadership must come much more from personal credibility and skill rather than from positions of authority. Furthermore, civic leadership must be focused more on the process of engagement rather than the content of the issue. Finally, this different type of leadership must be pervasive across our state if Kansans are to create truly healthy communities.

KLC's intervention: 

KLC's programs and initiatives develop this kind of civic leadership through powerful experiences that provide conceptual frameworks, skills, tools and ways of being consistent with this more purposeful and collaborative leadership approach.