Social Leadership and Collaborative Engagement for Communities under Stress

Abstract

This article reflects on the experience of the Arab-Australian communities in addressing complex conflicts facing local communities under stress. Key to progress was a community-led collaborative engagement focused on learning and adaptation rather than consultative processes. A key discovery was how grant funding based on competitive models exacerbated conflict as organisations scrambled for resources. An obsession with ‘what’s in it for me and my organisation?’ overwhelmed the potential for community groups to work collaboratively. Instead, shifting the question to ‘how does it build community?’ generated new perspectives and mindsets based on joint learning and partnerships to form the basis of a practical Collaborative Community Model. The article concludes that linking peacebuilding and social leadership approaches helps communities go beyond just solving problems to instead increase their problem-solving capacity.

Keywords:

• collaboration
• social leadership
• adaptive change
• Arab-Australian communities
• peacebuilding

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul Porteous

DR PAUL PORTEOUS is Adjunct Associate Professor, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra. He works globally as a leadership consultant and was formerly a senior diplomat and representative to the United Nations, Visiting Faculty at Harvard Kennedy School and Senior Adviser to the President of Madagascar.