Everyone Leads

Everyone Leads Plot Summary

Introduction

The rain pounded against the windows as Maria stared at her laptop screen, the glow illuminating her tired face. Three years of building her dream community center had led to this moment—a major grant had just fallen through, leaving her with a financial hole that seemed impossible to fill. As she contemplated whether to continue or admit defeat, her phone buzzed with a message from her first mentor: "Remember why you started." Those five simple words rekindled something within her—the same spark that had pushed her to leave her comfortable nonprofit job and venture into creating something new for her neighborhood. This journey of daring to create change from the ground up, facing inevitable setbacks, and finding the courage to persevere is at the heart of community leadership. It's not merely about organizational charts and strategic plans, but about the profound personal transformation that occurs when we take responsibility for working with others toward common goals. Through intimate stories of leaders who emerged from unexpected places, recognized assets where others saw only deficits, bridged cultural divides, facilitated collaborative action, embraced continuous learning, and maintained integrity through challenges, we discover that leadership isn't defined by position or credentials but by our willingness to take action alongside others. The pages ahead offer not just inspiration but practical wisdom for anyone seeking to transform their passion into purpose and their vision into reality.

Chapter 1: The Unexpected Leader: Finding Purpose in Unlikely Places

In a small deli in Milwaukee, Peter Hoeffel was making sandwiches, wondering how his philosophy degree would ever be put to use. One day, an energetic young woman walked in asking to hang a poster for something called "Public Allies." This chance encounter changed Peter's life. The program sought young people passionate about making a difference and turning that passion into a career. Peter applied, was accepted, and discovered his calling working with disability rights groups. Over the next decade, he transformed a struggling agency and expanded its services to underserved communities. Paul Schmitz, the author, never saw himself as a future leader either. Growing up in a conservative Catholic middle-class family in Wisconsin, he struggled to measure up to his five older siblings. In school, he was a mischievous class clown at best and a defiant rebel at worst. By sixteen, he was dealing drugs and spiraling out of control. When his sister found and flushed his cocaine stash, he realized he needed help. With the guidance of a compassionate priest, he entered treatment for addiction. In recovery, Paul encountered a diverse community that challenged his prejudices. His sponsor Wayne helped him take inventory of both his shortcomings and strengths—the first time he had ever considered his own assets. Service became a cornerstone of his recovery, speaking to high school students about addiction and volunteering for hotlines. After high school, he found work canvassing for an environmental organization, where he discovered his talent for connecting with people from all backgrounds. A pivotal moment came when Paul attended a conference at Wingspread, where he met Vanessa Kirsch, the charismatic CEO of Public Allies. Inspired by their vision of transforming communities through young leaders, Paul drove home determined to start a Public Allies chapter in Milwaukee. Despite having no experience running a nonprofit, managing people, or writing grants, he accepted responsibility for making it happen. He pulled together a diverse team, secured funding, and in 1994 launched Public Allies Milwaukee with twenty-four diverse young leaders. These stories illuminate a fundamental truth about leadership: it often emerges from unexpected places and through unlikely journeys. The traditional view that leaders are born with special qualities or credentials misses how many effective community leaders discover their potential through adversity, service to others, or simply being willing to step up when they see a need. True leadership isn't about position or status but about taking responsibility and working with others to make a difference. As Paul often tells the Allies, "If someone like me can do this, you can, too." His experience teaches us that our greatest challenges can become sources of wisdom and strength when we channel them toward positive change.

Chapter 2: Seeing the Glass Half Full: Asset-Based Community Development

Steve Ramos grew up in Washington Heights, New York, was kicked out of two high schools, and completed his GED at seventeen. After joining Public Allies, he was placed at Fresh Youth Initiatives, where he discovered a food pantry at Holy Trinity Church was closing. Steve asked if he could take over the operation and recruited local youth to help. These young people, many from low-income households themselves, have since collected and distributed over 550,000 pounds of food through the Helping Hands Food Bank. Steve eventually became CEO of Fresh Youth Initiatives, advancing the belief that youth in the community are part of the solution, not the problem. The organization views young people as "assets to be developed, not problems who need fixing." This perspective has yielded impressive results—80 percent of participants graduate high school on time and go on to college. Steve's work exemplifies the cornerstone of effective community leadership: recognizing and mobilizing community assets. At the heart of this approach is a simple answer to the proverbial question: Is the glass half empty or half full? The asset-based organizer simply answers, "Yes." Communities and people are both half full and half empty. Each person has gifts and talents as well as deficits and shortcomings. Unfortunately, some people are recognized primarily for their fullness, while others are labeled only for their emptiness. This difference creates a significant barrier to building strong relationships and communities. When leaders enter communities believing they are full and the communities are empty—that they can fix problems with their expertise—they become arrogant at best and oppressive at worst. Instead, effective leaders recognize that they are half-full, half-empty people working with half-full, half-empty communities. This perspective creates transformative relationships that lead to sustainable change. The asset-based approach transforms how we see and engage with communities. Rather than focusing on problems to be solved, leaders identify and connect three types of assets: the gifts of individuals (skills, talents, passions), associations (formal and informal networks), and institutions (businesses, schools, agencies). By mapping and mobilizing these existing resources, communities can address challenges from the inside out rather than depending on external solutions. This shift in perspective doesn't deny challenges but reframes them within a context of possibility and agency. When we see communities through the lens of assets rather than deficits, we discover abundant resources for change that have been there all along, waiting to be recognized and connected.

Chapter 3: Beyond Diversity as an Ideal: Building Inclusive Leadership

Susan Edwards grew up in the suburbs north of Milwaukee. After college, she joined Public Allies and was placed at the Institute for Wisconsin's Future. At her end-of-year presentation, her supervisor asked what her generation of activists needed to learn from Public Allies. Susan's response was profound: "For your generation, diversity is an ideal, something to believe in. At Public Allies, we learned it is an action—it is something you do." Susan explained that Public Allies created an environment where diverse young people were "forced to have the tough and uncomfortable conversations about our differences." They couldn't escape difficult dialogues; they had to work through challenges and find ways to collaborate effectively. After Public Allies, Susan worked with immigrant communities at a labor union. "Instead of expecting them to come to where I was, and instead of projecting my values and beliefs on them, I was able to approach folks where they were, listen to them, acknowledge them, and build relationships with them." This approach is essential in our increasingly diverse society. Research by Robert Putnam found an inverse relationship between diversity and civic engagement—in more diverse communities, people tend to withdraw rather than engage across differences. He calls this the "turtle effect." Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations struggle with diversity at the leadership level, with studies showing 80-90% of executive directors are white. One powerful exercise Public Allies uses is the "Privilege Walk," where participants physically step forward or backward based on their life experiences, visually demonstrating how privilege and disadvantage have shaped their opportunities. The activity often reveals stark differences in starting points among people who may have similar educational backgrounds or current positions. While emotionally challenging, this exercise helps leaders understand how systemic factors have influenced their own journeys and those of others. Building inclusive leadership requires moving beyond diversity as a concept to diversity as a practice. It means creating spaces where differences can be acknowledged and discussed honestly, where power and privilege are examined rather than ignored, and where leadership development includes the skills to bridge cultural divides. The goal isn't merely representation but transformation—creating leadership approaches that draw on diverse perspectives and experiences to address complex community challenges. When we embrace diversity as an action rather than just an ideal, we develop leaders capable of building communities where everyone's assets are recognized and mobilized toward shared goals.

Chapter 4: The Power of Collaboration: Creating Systems for Shared Success

In Cincinnati, Ohio, high school graduation rates increased dramatically from 50 percent to 80 percent over a decade. A key factor in this success was the Strive Partnership, which brought together diverse leaders from education, business, nonprofit, and community sectors. Rather than launching new programs, they focused on coordination and collaboration. As Jeff Edmondson, president of Strive, explains: "We set the table with a mix of leaders that led to many conflicts, but we set a common goal so our conflicts were constructive toward achieving better results for all the children in our schools." This collaborative approach exemplifies another core value of effective community leadership: facilitating collaborative action. Leadership is inherently collaborative—it's about bringing people together to achieve common goals. At Public Allies, participants engage in team service projects where they practice building consensus, managing conflict, and leveraging diverse perspectives. They learn that effective collaboration requires self-awareness and emotional intelligence, as well as intentional processes that acknowledge differences in work styles, leadership styles, and communication styles. One tool Public Allies uses is the "Fishbowl" exercise during selection. Candidates are given a team challenge while staff observe their interactions. This helps identify whether potential leaders are facilitative, collaborative, and inclusive or dominating and arrogant. One candidate once called afterward to complain about not being selected: "I don't get it. The panel really liked me—I could tell. And in the group exercise, I got the group to solve the puzzle." His focus on personal achievement rather than group process revealed he wasn't ready for the kind of leadership Public Allies cultivates. Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, describes what he calls "the responsibility virus"—when leaders take on too much responsibility and others take on too little, creating a vicious cycle. Effective collaborative leaders calibrate responsibility, creating opportunities for others to lead while providing appropriate support. They recognize that leadership is not a zero-sum proposition but can be multiplied when responsibility is shared appropriately. The collaborative approach to leadership challenges the myth of the heroic individual who single-handedly solves problems. Instead, it recognizes that complex community challenges require multiple perspectives, diverse skills, and shared ownership. By creating systems where responsibility is appropriately distributed, where conflicts become constructive rather than destructive, and where success is measured by collective impact rather than individual achievement, collaborative leaders build sustainable solutions that survive beyond any single person's involvement. The goal is not to direct others but to create environments where everyone can contribute their unique assets toward shared success.

Chapter 5: Learning Through Feedback: Embracing Growth and Vulnerability

When Bizunesh Talbot-Scott applied to Public Allies, she was an eighteen-year-old single mom with a two-year-old son. Through the program, she gained focus and discovered her potential. "I was a smart girl who had no idea of my potential before Public Allies," she says. After completing the program, she enrolled at Marquette University, excelled, and went on to the University of Michigan Law School. She eventually worked at prestigious law firms and now serves in presidential personnel at the White House. Bizunesh's journey illustrates the power of continuous learning and improvement—another core value of effective community leadership. Public Allies creates a learning environment where participants are challenged to grow through feedback, reflection, and practice. One key element is the 360-degree review process, where Allies receive feedback from peers, supervisors, and program managers on how they're practicing the five core values. They discuss this feedback openly in a circle with those who reviewed them, acknowledge it, ask questions, and make commitments to improvement. At the end of the program year, Allies participate in a Presentation of Learning, demonstrating how they've met the program's learning outcomes and how they'll apply these lessons in the future. They prepare portfolios with samples of their work and impact, including "I used to be... Now I am..." statements that document their growth. This process helps Allies take ownership of their learning and development. Public Allies believes that to grow as leaders, people must take responsibility for their own learning. This means seeking feedback, embracing coaching, reflecting on practice, and being willing to make mistakes. The program creates what education theorists call "brave spaces"—environments where participants feel supported enough to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them. As one Ally put it, "Public Allies pushed me to my learning edge, where I was uncomfortable but not unsafe." The commitment to continuous learning transforms how we approach leadership development. Rather than viewing leadership as a fixed set of traits or skills that some people naturally possess, it frames leadership as a practice that can be continuously improved through reflection and feedback. This perspective makes leadership development accessible to anyone willing to engage in the sometimes uncomfortable process of examining their own strengths and weaknesses. By creating cultures where feedback is valued, where vulnerability is seen as strength rather than weakness, and where learning is a lifelong journey rather than a destination, we develop leaders who can adapt to changing circumstances and grow through challenges rather than being diminished by them.

Chapter 6: Accountability Begins Within: Integrity in Community Leadership

Lisa Sullivan was a mentor to many at Public Allies, including the author. She often said, "We are the ones we have been waiting for," a phrase from June Jordan's "Poem for South African Women." This statement is both an invitation and a challenge—we don't have to wait for someone in a position of leadership to solve problems. We can take responsibility ourselves for working with others to make positive change. Lisa's leadership journey began when she attended a screening of a film about civil rights activist Ella Baker, who was committed to grassroots democracy and decentralized leadership. Inspired by Baker's example, Lisa built leadership networks among young people, first in New Haven and then nationally through the Children's Defense Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation. She left behind a legacy of thousands of leaders whom she had cultivated across boundaries of race, class, and age. Lisa believed that leadership carries tremendous responsibility. If you step up, you must be prepared to make sacrifices, face criticism, and persevere despite obstacles. She challenged leaders to look inside themselves first—to clarify their purposes, values, and contributions before trying to change others. She cautioned against organizing based on anger, which places accountability on others rather than ourselves. Instead, she encouraged leaders to examine their own responsibilities first and to cross boundaries in the interest of their constituents. This approach to accountability and integrity forms the final core value of effective community leadership. Leaders must be accountable to themselves—true to their own stories, purposes, values, and ethical standards. They must also be accountable to others—keeping promises, maintaining relationships, and putting the interests of those they serve first. As Peter Block writes, accountability means acknowledging that we have participated in creating, by commission or omission, the conditions we wish to see changed. Integrity in leadership means aligning our actions with our values, even when doing so is difficult or unpopular. It means acknowledging our own contributions to problems rather than simply blaming others. It means making commitments we can keep and keeping the commitments we make. When leaders model this kind of integrity, they build trust that enables collaborative work to flourish. By starting with accountability to ourselves—asking "How have I contributed to creating the current reality?" rather than "Who's to blame?"—we create the foundation for authentic leadership that can inspire others to join us in creating positive change.

Summary

Everyone has the capacity to lead. Throughout these pages, we've seen remarkable stories of individuals who stepped up to make a difference—from Peter Hoeffel, who went from making sandwiches to transforming a mental health organization, to Bizunesh Talbot-Scott, who rose from teenage motherhood to the White House. These stories demonstrate that leadership is not about position or credentials but about taking responsibility and working with others toward common goals. The five core values—recognizing assets, connecting across cultures, facilitating collaborative action, continuous learning, and maintaining integrity—provide a framework for effective community leadership. By seeing the fullness in ourselves and others, embracing diversity as an action rather than just an ideal, sharing responsibility appropriately, committing to growth through feedback, and being accountable to ourselves and our communities, we can build the leadership needed to solve our most pressing problems. The message is clear and powerful: we are the ones we've been waiting for. The future of our communities depends not on heroic individuals but on our collective willingness to recognize that everyone leads.

About Author

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Paul Schmitz

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