Our young people are indispensable as a force for tomorrow; there are young people who can be depended on and there are young people who set an example that our leaders should be proud of. We must always remember that our young people are vital to our community and they are capable of bearing the standard of our race. Some of our young people have conviction, courage, a true sense of purity and a purpose in life. Our community must begin to value our young people because others have been and continue to take advantage of their physical and metal capacities. The community should be challenging the young to utilize their fullest. The physical and mental qualities of our youth is unmatched, and now as never before, youth is in the spot light. The rumblings of a great youth-quake has started. Can we, the African Caribbean community leaders afford to miss it?
It is essential that our young people have the guidance and training that will enable them to take full advantage of the opportunities available today, as a result of the sacrifices of our ancestors. Realizing our need it is vital, urgent and important that the community make provision that ensures that our young people have access to education, training, employment and self-employment. However, we must also ensure that they have a sound grounding in self-development, cultural identity and a sense of principles that are common to our community. Principles such as; unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, respect and faith in our ancestor.
The first step must be to establish leaders in the community that has the respect of the community and who can be looked on by our youth as role models. Those leaders should not be forced upon the community by those outside of the community with a vested interest in maintaining the present uncertainties. The community must begin the painful and difficult process of making decisions by itself, for itself and about itself.
Early work by Robert Bales (1950) indicated that there were two basic types of leaders; task leaders and socioemotional leaders. According to Benne and Sheats (1948) the task leader contributes idea to the group, seeks and gives information and opinions, coordinates group activity, energizes the group, and evaluates group performance. The socioemotional leader gives praises, mediates conflicts, encourages participation, and provides feedback to the group on group processes. In formal groups, such as community groups or voluntary organizations, these two roles are sometimes performed by different individuals. For example the Chair might assume the task leadership role while the Vice-Chair assumes the socioemotional role.
I support the broader concept of leadership by Reins Likert (1961).
Likert identified four behaviors that characterize effective leaders. Two of these are supportive and setting high performances. In addition Likert found that successful leaders supervised groups, rather than individuals, and they serve as spokesperson for their groups.
In my opinion effective leaders tend to be somewhat higher in achievement needs, power needs, self-confidence, motivation, originality, and stress tolerance. For example Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, to name but a few. These leaders lead groups that were motivated, disciplined, satisfied, cohesive and who communicate effectively. The first step has to be the identification of the essential traits and characteristics that a community leader should have. Imagine your favorite leader. Why do you think that person is an accepted and effective leader? I am sure that like me, you are thinking about the traits or characteristics of the person. I would put forward the following ten points, for consideration and discussion by the community, in its search for leaders. In the selection of such leaders the following traits and characteristics should be taken into consideration.
Conclusion The traits associates with effective community leadership must include high achievement and power needs, self-confidence, motivation, originality and stress tolerance. Successful community leaders need to be high on supportive behavior, on setting high performance goals, on providing group supervision, and on serving as spokesperson for the needs and aspirations of the community.
created by Vera Nwajiaku, for Blacknet UK