Growth In Leadership: Why I Joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council
People assume that overachievers are natural leaders. Unfortunately, this is a false equivalency. A leader makes the right call when the time comes. That doesn’t mean they’re the biggest or the strongest. Instead, a leader guides their team to utilize their respective means to achieve a goal or maximize an end. Leadership is not inherent in a particular social category. You shouldn’t assume that your personal or professional background makes you a good leader. Indeed, as iron sharpens iron, leadership skills need to be honed and crafted.
Recently, I joined the Arkansas Chapter of the New Leaders Council. A fledgling organization in the state, the national organization of NLC was founded in 2005 and is dedicated to training “proximate leaders” to become changemakers in their ecosystems. We recently had our introductory meeting and met our cohort and the leadership team. Before this meeting, I was unsure of my role in the group or how I aligned with the organization’s goals. Now I’m confident that NLC is right where I need to be. I’m excited to be a part of the change brewing in Arkansas.
Organizations dedicated to leadership are necessary to introduce fresh ideas and perspectives to the ruling class. So often, power begets power. Elites pick and choose their successors, leading to a long line of the same ideologies and perspectives calling the shots. NLC turns that pipeline on its head. Their nomination process allows marginalized perspectives to be front and center. As a result, Black women make up almost half of this year’s cohort. The guided frameworks provided by the organization apply to the variety of fields that we represent and will equip us with the language and skills necessary for effective issue advocacy. Arkansas will benefit immensely from this type of program because of the unique mission to gather new leaders in Arkansas who want to help solve Arkansas’ issues. Representing different sectors like healthcare, immigrant advocacy, political organizing, youth advocacy, and more, each of us is formidable in our own right.
Though we are each working towards very different goals, at the root, each of us wants to impact the lives of Arkansans. This brand of leadership, by Arkansas for Arkansas, is desperately needed. Today’s political landscape screams selfish intentions and delusions of grandeur, with people restricting access to history and bodily autonomy. Programs like NLC build the foundation for new networks of support and advocacy across racial, class, and regional lines.
You might not have a formal organization like the New Leaders Council in your area, but you can always grow your community. Do you know other like-minded individuals invested in impacting your town or neighborhood? You don’t need anyone’s permission or mission statement to make things happen. One timeless way to support new leaders is by supporting local candidates for office. Everyone starts somewhere. Give new thought leaders a chance to show you what they can do.
I’m looking forward to the rest of my NLC experience and I’m looking forward to the change that my cohort and others will be able to make now that we have one another to lean on.
