Feb 27, 2024

Introducing ‘Community Catalysts,’ a weekly podcast on leadership

By Matt Lehrman

Social Prosperity Partners


There are many paths to leadership and many ways to lead, whether you’re in the spotlight or working behind the scenes. And that’s why I am excited, proud and grateful to be hosting “Community Catalysts,” a new weekly podcast for and about community leaders like you.


In the inaugural episode, “Church & State,” I talk with the Reverend Audrey Hartness Reese about balancing her dual callings as a Presbyterian pastor and City Council Member in rural South Carolina.


You can listen to our conversation now on Apple, Spotify and other podcast platforms. New episodes drop every Tuesday, so be sure to subscribe to hear advice and inspiration from future guests such as Rudy Mendoza, Chief of Police in Tolleson, Arizona, and Annette Blackwell, the first African American mayor of Maple Heights, Ohio.

More than a showcase for stories, “Community Catalysts” is intended to be a durable demonstration that concepts like vision, courage, leadership, inclusivity, trust and collaboration are more than intangible values. They represent specific knowledge and skills that deserve to be shared, honed and put into practice

HOW TO BECOME A GUEST ON THE PODCAST

Are you a Community Catalyst? We aim to learn from a diversity of community leaders — elected, appointed, staff, board members, activists, and more.  Are you willing to talk about your aspirations, achievements, and the hurdles you’ve faced along the way?  Please tell us of your interest by taking our GUEST SURVEY.

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Unite & conquer? Why disagreement is natural

By Matt Lehrman • 14 May, 2024
By Matt Lehrman Social Prosperity Partners From campus protests to epic rapper beefs, we all know conflict drives headlines. But it’s pointless to criticize “the mainstream media” for a reality that’s equally true in alternative media and our own social media feeds, not to mention every bestselling novel and blockbuster movie ever. Conflict is the heart of all stories, and that’s why one of the founding principles of Social Prosperity Partners is this simple statement: Conflict isn’t only natural, it’s necessary. When I say conflict is natural, I don’t just mean it casually, as in, “Naturally, not everyone in the family loves musical theater (or football, or Star Trek )”. I’m talking about something more fundamental. Not just science fiction, but science.

What to Do in the Face of Incivility

By Matt Lehrman • 07 May, 2024
By Matt Lehrman Social Prosperity Partners In the months before Election Day, the problem of incivility in public life isn’t going away . So, when you find yourself dealing with inappropriate, disruptive behavior, whether by members of the public or by your colleagues, there are three distinct approaches you can take to manage the situation. 1. MAKE THEM STOP — Same in preschool as on a governing board, there’s nothing like a good timeout when emotions get overheated. Take a breath. Walk out of the room. If necessary, temporarily suspend or adjourn a meeting completely. Clear, fair rules with consistent enforcement are key. Whatever the issue, remember your responsibility to your community or organization and its governance. This isn’t a time to “fight fire with fire,” but to deprive the fire of oxygen. 2. MEDIATE — When there is a necessary decision to be made and a mutual desire for dialogue, it can be useful for disagreeing parties to engage a trained facilitator. They can provide the structure, objectivity, and cool-headedness necessary to find a workable solution, although mediation works best when it’s voluntary, that is, not imposed in some way. Remember our mantra at Social Prosperity Partners: “Where people work together courageously, their potential is unlimited.”  3. MOVE FORWARD — At some point, you may simply need to “agree to disagree,” which means either calling the question or moving on to other important business. However, while it’s never good to let perfection be the enemy of progress, remember that issues left unresolved today likely will fester and erupt again later. So make a plan to address them as soon as possible.

Otis White on tapping into citizens’ expertise

By Matt Lehrman • 30 Apr, 2024
By Matt Lehrman Social Prosperity Partners In the first nine episodes of the “Community Catalysts” podcast , I’ve interviewed 3 mayors, a city council member, 3 nonprofit executives, a police chief, and a police detective turned social media strategist. This week, I want to introduce a voice you’ll hear more from in future episodes. In his 22-year career as principal of Civic Strategies , an Atlanta-based consulting firm, Otis White became one of the country’s top strategic planning experts. When I asked him to describe the job for an 8-year-old, he said, “I tried to make cities better by trying to make some of the institutions in cities work a little better.” For four years, Otis hosted his own podcast, also called “Civic Strategies,” produced in cooperation with the Georgia Municipal Association . Those 39 interviews are no longer available anywhere, but Otis has generously gifted his audio archive to “Community Catalysts,” so I will be sharing some highlights from that series on a monthly basis, along with more of my interview with Otis. This week’s takeaway from an elder statesperson in civic planning facilitation? “We’re all experts, but we don’t recognize each other’s expertise,” he said. “ The citizens are experts in what kind of community they want. And they’re also experts, by the way, in fairness. But the experts we think of as experts — planners, city department leaders — are experts in something else. They’re experts not in the what but the how .” Listen now on Apple , Spotify and other podcast platforms .
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