Lets put aside the problem of conflating human behavior with far less thoughtful decapods. Leaders come into existence without being pulled down in the process. Leadership exists; it just looks different than social climbing.
The numbers of leaders on islands are legion. Nothing shows this more clearly than the mandatory “volunteer” positions filled annually to make an island community function. Swans Island has roughly 300 year-round residents. In the community they have around 25 active boards: fire, planning, harbor, select, school, library… at last count, these boards require the efforts of 127 individuals. Lets assume that less than one third of the population is of an age or disposition to volunteer. You have fewer that 100 people filling 127 positions.
On Matinicus at this time of year you have 35 people, maybe less. Six or so couples that stay on the island year-round must fill all of the mandatory town, school, energy and safety requirements. Vinalhaven, the largest population at around 1200 has 68 active boards and Peaks, a community of 600 has roughly 41. These statistics, rough as they may be, show that relatively large numbers of leaders are needed in order for island communities to function well.
Current island leaders are finding it challenging to fill the vast number of leadership positions in their communities. Because of this, a group of island women are working with the Island Institute to think about the scaffolding you would want in place to assist people as they consider moving into the vast number of civic leadership positions needed for islands to function. Rather than thinking about how leaders get pulled down, lets think about how to support them.
This working group has identified some basic challenges. Some people have been in leadership positions for decades. These people are revered, and in some cases feared, but either way they have accumulated a tremendous amount of knowledge. The people who replace them may need to be mentored in the technical knowledge that now consumes elected positions. Most leaders consider getting involved because someone they respect asks them. People need to be asked. Finally, the skill to run a good meeting is not contained in a gene that people are born with, it is learned. The number of badly-run meetings any potential leader has been exposed to becomes a further deterrent to participation.
Mentoring, recruitment and facilitation-these basic skills identified by current island leaders as critical, could provide the scaffolding for future island leaders to climb.
People who have these skills understand how to lead from behind. Leading from behind speaks to the work done out of the public eye and ahead of time that organizes people to work through difficult discussions in public settings. This type of tireless leadership defines those who are successful at present, and it will likely define the success of future island leaders.
Rob Snyder is executive vice-president at the Island Institute.