About
Community Sector Coalition and Voluntary Arts wanted a series of case studies for the leadership training programme they were developing for voluntary arts groups. They were keen to explain how leadership might help these groups, and encourage the people involved to believe that they too could be leaders – or indeed, already were. They approached Anita to write three case studies, edit the training materials, and write marketing materials.
How I helped
Community Sector Coalition also commissioned me to write and edit further case studies for its sector, as part of its ‘Liberating Leadership’ programme.
One of these case studies focussed on The Cotswold Players – a successful amateur theatre company in Stroud, Gloucestershire. It’s an organisation that’s full of ‘leaders’, but they wouldn’t classify themselves as such, more that the group involves a distributed form of leadership.
It extends far beyond one individual or a particular job title – and that’s surely the strength of leadership in the voluntary sector. While one person has taken on the traditional role of Chair and helped the group to achieve its vision, this person has recognised and encouraged the abilities of all its members, by ensuring that people are involved and offered opportunities, and facilitated the generation of ideas and innovation. So everyone is contributing to the leadership of organisation.