September 2023 Newsletter: Addressing Fault Lines, Deepening Impact
Too often, people see collecting public knowledge—in our practice, holding “Community Conversations”—as an end to itself. But it’s a tactic. The real power of public knowledge is in what people do with the knowledge they gather. It functions as an ongoing reference point to align actions over time to what matters to people.
Greater Owensboro Community Initiative Kicks Off With Keynote, Roundtables
On September 26-28, Rich was in Owensboro, KY, for a keynote presentation and a series of leader roundtables to kick off the Greater Owensboro Initiative to Catalyze Community-Led Transformation. This initiative is a partnership between The Harwood Institute and the Greater Owensboro Leadership Institute.
The goals of our newest community initiative, following in the footsteps of those in places like Reading, PA, and Alamance County, NC, are twofold. First, to generate community-led transformation by addressing what matters to people in Greater Owensboro. Second, to strengthen Owensboro’s civic culture, which will enable the community to take effective and sustainable action while fostering a greater sense of shared responsibility.
In advance of the September visit, Rich teamed up with Stacy Edds-Ellis, Ph.D., the Executive Director of the Greater Owensboro Leadership Institute, for an op-ed published in Owensboro’s Messenger-Inquirer. They wrote: “We believe the strength of the Greater Owensboro area is most evident when the community comes together with a sense of shared purpose to take action on issues that matter to people. Right now, the community is divided. Too many leaders and residents are talking at each other rather than with each other. And existing and new leaders need to step up and take ownership to drive the community forward.”
The Harwood Institute’s work with communities across the country, including Greater Owensboro, is one part of our strategy to demonstrate that Americans have the public will and ability to address society’s fault lines. These communities, including Reading, PA; Jackson, MS; Alamance County, NC; Clarksville, TN; Lexington, KY; and Union and Logan Counties in Ohio each have unique demographics, histories, and challenges. Individually, they represent the different fault lines plaguing society today. As a whole, they demonstrate our innate capacities to change how we work together and create a new trajectory of hope by applying the Harwood approach.
Deepen Your Impact With the New Basics
Even after 35 years, the Institute continues to innovate new breakthroughs. “The New Basics with Rich Harwood” is a webinar series designed to offer you new content that can unleash your full potential and enable organizations and communities to move forward. Each highly-interactive webinar is a chance to connect with Rich and other members of our thousands-strong national network of public innovators and put our newest tools into practice. If you’re new to our work, this is where deepening your impact starts. If you’ve been using our practices for decades, this is how you keep moving and rejuvenate your passion for why you do what you do.
Watch Parts 1 and 2
Part 1 focused on the Key Mantras: Turn Outward, Get in Motion, Start Small to Go Big, and Create a New Trajectory of Hope. These mantras are our work distilled to its essential essence. Each can be incorporated into your personal and professional life. They are essential to catalyzing and spreading change in your community. Part 2 focused on the North Star tool and how it can help you stay true to where you need to go so that you can accelerate and deepen your efforts over time.
Register for Parts 3 and 4
Next up in the New Basics series is the Turning Outward Scorecard on November 2 at 1pm EST. This scorecard will help you assess where you are in applying the Harwood approach. It’s a chance to pause, reflect, reevaluate, and figure out how best to move forward.
You can also register for the fourth and final webinar in the series: Key Elements to Stay Grounded on January 9, 2024, at 1pm EST. Staying grounded in the mindset and practice of Turning Outward provides a launch pad for effective and sustained change for your own efforts. It also helps you activate others to spread the chain reaction. This final webinar will outline the simple set of actions you can take to ensure you remain Turned Outward.
Addressing Fault Lines in Lexington, KY
Rich was recently in Lexington, KY, to speak at a Grantmakers of the Bluegrass convening and meet with various community leaders as they seek to keep Turning Outward. Not so long ago, Lexington was named one of the 50 best places to live in the United States by U.S. News and World Report. The community continues to grow and Lexington in many ways remains on the move. At the same time, the community is facing a set of critical challenges. One leader shared, “People have lost faith in the civic process.” Part of that stems from communities like Lexington being stuck in planning mode. “We’re not having the hard conversations,” another leader said. “We need to get to a place where we feel good about the outcome, rather than just the conversation.”
Our 2022 report, prepared in partnership with United Way of the Bluegrass, uncovered the need for Lexington to get on a path to shared purpose by finding new ways to work together and building civic culture. In response to the report’s recommendations, the Blue Grass Community Foundation launched a new grant initiative this year called “Accelerating Innovative + Equitable Workforce Pathways.” This initiative seeks to tackle persistent issues around youth career readiness in new ways by implementing solutions that come from within the community.
“Investing in programs and strategies is important, but it’s not sufficient,” Rich told leaders in Lexington. “We need to double down on strengthening civic culture.” Building civic culture means developing the networks where learning and innovation occurs and spreads; growing more leaders who earn and retain public trust; fostering organizations that bring people together across dividing lines; and nurturing norms that allow for productive interaction and an ability to engage in hard conversation. This is how we address fault lines and create a new trajectory of hope.
The good news is that Lexington and its people have the innate ability to get on a more purposeful path forward. As one leader during the visit declared, “We need to be brave and willing to fail. We need more ‘stick-to-itiveness.’” The country needs more examples of communities coming together and doing the hard work of building together. Lexington is well-positioned to be a national exemplar if leaders and residents heed the call to “be brave” and step forward.
Just like our new initiative in Greater Owensboro, our ongoing work in Lexington is part of our national strategy to address the fault lines plaguing America today by working deeply in specific locales. While both communities call Kentucky home, each represents a different fundamental issue facing our nation today. Together, they represent the potential we share as Americans for getting things done and building communities that thrive.
Upcoming Events
The New Basics Part 3: Turning Outward Scorecard | November 2, 2023 | 1pm EST
The Turning Outward Scorecard is designed to help you assess where you are in applying the practice. This webinar will give you a detailed look at the Turning Outward Scorecard and its components and offer examples of how you can incorporate it into your work and life. Register for this free webinar!
The New Basics Part 4: Key Elements to Stay Grounded | January 9, 2024 | 1pm EST
Staying grounded in the mindset and practice of Turning Outward provides the launch pad for effective and sustained change. This webinar will detail the key elements to stay grounded, remind you of why they matter, and offer key tools to use. Register for this free webinar!
The LAtest From Rich
We Are Meant to Go Together
From leaders to citizens, people are hunkering down. They are retreating increasingly isolated, even lonely. Meanwhile, the inequities and disparities and other assorted challenges we face only fester and deepen. We are meant to go together into the world. When we do not go together as communities, we remain divided and fragmented.