Rowitz On Leadership

 As a leader, I have become concerned about the growing lack of civility in our country. I am old enough to remember when our country loved its diversity and when we seemed to be concerned about each other even if we disagreed on things. We saw ourselves as one nation. Yet, there were clearly issues such as race and gender which appeared to be contrary to our general civility as a nation. The 21^st century has seen a decline in our concerns for others, in our willingness to listen to each other and come to consensus on contentious issues. We looked to our leaders for guidance and leadership and role models for civility. Now our leaders appear to lack leadership skills, lack civility skills, lack problem-solving and conflict management strategies, lack respect for each other, attack people rather than issues, lack compromise abilities, and forget the people they were elected to protect. Our elected officials are more concerned about getting re-elected and the organizations that fund their campaigns than they are in serving as America’s trustees. We seem to be living in a time of fear generation and a “NO” to anything innovative or oriented to change.

If we are to survive as a Nation, then we must learn how to work together and move forward with a vision of increasing civility. Civility Training must be a first step in moving toward a healthier nation. The Institute for Civility in Government (Rev. Cassandra Dahnke and Rev. Tomas Spath) has defined civility as “…Claiming and caring for one’s identity, needs and beliefs without degrading someone else in the process.” Also see http://www.instituteforcivility.org Change is necessary. I would like to use this blog posting to begin the development of a training course on Leadership and Civility. A modular approach is needed to address this topic comprehensively.

    Module 1-Civility and its components

    Module 2-Civility and Leadership

    Module 3-Silos and Paradigms

    Module 4- Creativity and Innovation

    Module 5- Problem-Solving and Decision-making

    Module 6- Conflict Resolution and Negotiation

    Module 7- Levels of Collaboration

    Module 8-Systems Thinking in Government

    Module 9- Values and Ethics

    Module 10-Civility and Trusteeship