Leadership Asheville

Overview

Located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Leadership Asheville is the first community leadership program in western North Carolina. Leadership Asheville is an independent, non-partisan, non-aligned entity which now depends on financial support drawn from the corporate, public and community sectors.

Leadership Asheville . . .

Encourages a vision for a better Asheville area community
Provides opportunities to make this vision a reality through leadership
Embraces the diversity in our communities and encourages everyone, without exception, to contribute to its success
Draws on the valuable lessons of past and present leaders, combining them with the potential of new ideas
Establishes networks to cross boundaries, sectors and philosophies
Believes that people, working together, have the power to create positive change
Holds a firm commitment to a better future through awareness, understanding and action

Developing innovative, effective leadership committed to working together to create positive change in our communities is crucial. To that end, Leadership Asheville focuses its efforts on the following four areas:

We invite interested citizens to participate in different programs and events designed to educate, connect and mobilize them. Leadership Asheville, our signature program, which in addition to leadership education, focuses on some of the key challenges facing the Asheville region such as: economic development, education, race and ethnic relations, housing, and healthcare.
As part of our core program, participants engage in a community service project which continues their development by exploring how to effectively work in groups. For graduates of our programs, we work to facilitate their continued development by finding ways for them to assume leadership roles in the community. We view this aspect of our work as creating leadership learning laboratories for our participants.
In the final analysis, leadership is about results, and we serve to support our graduates in various leadership projects and roles. With the benefit of our support, our hope is that they can focus their time and energy on leading.
We also facilitate the mentoring and coaching processes which are necessary to ensure future generations of leaders. In this way, experienced leaders can continue their service by developing effective leadership for the future.

Leadership Asheville is ultimately about making a difference and our graduates continue to be a significant difference in the greater Asheville area.

History

In response to a need to organize activities around the civil rights movement, the concept of community leadership development originated in the United States in the late Leadership Asheville contributing to community leadership since 1981

Leadership Asheville contributing to community leadership since 1981

1950s. Cities dealing with the growing social unrest of the 1960s also recognized that responsible, collaborative leadership was needed to build healthy communities. Building this capacity meant expanding a community’s leadership base.

This observation was tragically reinforced when a plane carrying many of Atlanta’s young leaders crashed in 1969. In the face of such a great loss, a group of citizens formed Leadership Atlanta to fill the immediate need and to ensure that there would always be a steady supply of community-minded leaders.

Since then, the Community Leadership Association has assisted in developing leadership programs throughout the United States and across Canada, and has promoted the expansion of leadership programs into other countries. There are now about 1,500 leadership programs world wide. North Carolina's community leadership programs stretch across the state, some in existence for almost 30 years.

Recognizing the need to develop community leadership in the Asheville area, UNC Asheville and the Asheville Chamber of Commerce formed a collaboration to develop the Leadership Asheville program in 1982. Following a short period of running the program jointly, Leadership Asheville was moved completely under the umbrella of UNC Asheville.

Leadership Asheville has a long history of contributing to the engagement and development of community members. With more than 900 graduates and a 25 year tradition, Leadership Asheville continues to be dedicated to building productive leadership for today and tomorrow.

Vision, Mission and Values

As Leadership Asheville looks ahead to its next twenty-five years of contributing to building a better Asheville area, we maintain our commitment to our community and seek to always keep graduates and friends engaged. Our mission and vision are our goal, our destination. Our values are the guideposts we believe will help us to one day arrive there. As always we welcome the community in discussion of our future and thus seek your feedback on our statements relating to mission, vision, and values. Please share your thoughts with us at (828) 251-6125, or by email at programs@leadershipasheville.org.

Our Vision

A vibrant, thriving and healthy community possessing widespread citizen leadership that serves the broader interest of the region and translates that interest into collaborative action.

Our Mission

To develop and support effective citizen leaders who work to build a stronger region.

Our Commitment

The primary means by which our mission is accomplished is through the synergy that occurs by bringing together public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders from many disciplines and neighborhoods.

Our Values

CREDIBILITY: Insists upon honesty, trustworthiness and ethical decision making.

INCLUSION: Nurtures and promotes broad and diverse community leadership.

CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES: Respects cultural contexts and facilitates learning and networking across boundaries.

INTENT: Encourages initiatives that advance community leadership and contribute to the greater good in the Asheville region.

KNOWLEDGE: Believes effective community leadership requires ongoing learning about the region to be effective servant leaders and community stewards.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Expects Fellows to accept personal responsibility for addressing community challenges and opportunities.

RESULTS: Builds upon the shared interest and complementary talents of Fellows to meet individual and collective goals.

Our Constituents

Leadership Asheville embraces the diversity in our communities and encourages everyone, without exception, to contribute to its success.

Region We Serve

The greater Asheville region.

Guiding Community Leadership Principles

Leadership is more than "what you need to know" and "what you need to do,” it is about who you are.
Leadership development begins with discovering your own passion, motivation, strengths and limitations.
The practice of community leadership is ethical in nature and includes a responsibility for the rights and welfare of all members of the community.
Leadership is about people working together, influencing each other to achieve intended results.
One learns in a holistic fashion which integrates mind, emotions, and body.
How we see the world determines the possibilities we identify and the actions we take – if you change the "observer that you are" you create more possibilities for action.
Learning happens in a community where relationships are built both on trust and the respect for differences. Before you can lead you must connect with and generate trust in others.
Everyone can and should exercise effective leadership, not just the person “in charge.”
Community leadership development is an ongoing process and should be grounded in the day-to-day challenges of our community.
For communities to experience sustained leadership, they need to form and deepen relationships within communities and across local and regional boundaries.

LOGO

LEAD, an acronym for Learn, Engage, Achieve, and Develop, embodies the goals of our leadership development efforts.

Learn - is learning about the community, yourselves, and what it means to effectively lead.
Engage - encourages everyone to become more involved in the community.
Achieve - is putting into practice all you have learned and striving to accomplish the goal that will better our community.
Develop - is dedicating time to building the leadership skills of others, age does not matter, the more effective leadership we have, the better our community will be.

LEAD is set on a backdrop of the mountains of western North Carolina's unique and lively geography to represent the exact areas that we target - our home, our community, and our future. The LEAD logo is intended to vividly portray the lofty aspirations we have for the future of all our communities.

Leadership Principles

Our Leadership Principles are our touchstone. They guide us and provide a basis for the programs and services we offer. By referencing our principles, we are able to ensure that our efforts will result in developing leadership designed to build vibrant, thriving communities.

Leadership development begins with discovering your own passion, motivation, strengths and limitations.
The practice of leadership is ethical in nature and includes a responsibility for the rights and welfare of all members of the community.
Leadership is about people working together, influencing each other to achieve intended results.
Leadership is more than "what you need to know" and "what you need to do," it is about who you are.
One learns in a holistic fashion which integrates mind, emotions, and body.
How we see the world determines the possibilities we identify and the actions we take - if you change the "observer that you are" you create more possibilities for action.
Learning happens in a community where relationships are built both on trust and the respect for differences. Before you can lead you must connect with and generate trust in others.
Everyone can and should exercise effective leadership, not just the person "in charge."
Community leadership development is an ongoing process and should be grounded in the day-to-day challenges of our community.
For communities to experience sustained leadership, they need to form and deepen relationships within communities and across local and regional boundaries.

Things to Know

We estimate that approximately 85% of the more than 900 graduates of the Leadership Asheville program still live in the area.
Over 100 community service projects have been completed by participants in the Leadership Asheville program.
The current Mayor of the City of Asheville Terry Bellamy and her immediate predecessor Charles Worley were both in Leadership Asheville 17.
In the early years of the programs, tuition was approximately $500 and the average price of a movie ticket was $3.36.
Between 1986 and 1997, several program years included an overnight retreat.
Seventeen Leadership Asheville graduates have also graduated from Leadership North Carolina.
As of 2006, there are more than 1,500 community leadership programs around the world.
The study of leadership is constantly growing and expanding – as a result, Leadership Asheville is a member of several professional organizations: the International Leadership Association, the Association of Leadership Educators, and the Community Leadership Association.
There have been six Directors of Leadership Asheville since its inception.

Leadership Asheville never has been driven by quantity but rather more by quality experiences with lasting impact; however, here are some rough metrics to consider:

Over 900 graduates
Over 2,000 speakers
18,500 evaluation forms
550 Leadership Asheville events

About Us