Many of the topics examined on the African American Leadership Forum (AALF) podcast explore the re-definition of leadership through our four leadership personas: Thought Leader, Builder, Influencer, and Ambassador.
Here’s more information about how each is defined:
Thought Leader: A seeker, analyzer, and synthesizer of information who helps to understand and solve problems by developing future focused solutions through innovation and creativity.
Builder: A developer of programs and infrastructure. An individual who utilizes information, prioritizes inputs and desired outcomes to establish ongoing support for community-level activity. Once focused, they dig deep into building the solution without deviation from the initial intent.
Influencer: An activator in community who can organize people to take action around an issue or strategy. An individual who deliberately affects the distribution of political or economic power by exerting the ability to encourage, persuade or direct decisions.
Ambassador: A promoter of community empowerment who speaks directly with members of the community, organizing action. An individual who constantly shares stories and information for awareness and insight acting as a “Hub” for community members.
AALF’s leadership personas are dynamic and include a variety of leadership characteristics and forms. Our personas rely on one another and there isn’t one persona that is more important than the others. Instead, the personas are fluid — working in parallel and overlap of each other, webbing the necessary links and building collectivity in our community. Anyone may exhibit the capabilities of one or more leadership categories, but we all have a natural tendency toward one, and we tend to thrive when we build and deploy our talents in that persona. By understanding the characteristics of the leadership types present in our community we can build better systems and develop and deploy our leaders more effectively.
To learn more about leadership personas and other issues facing the Black community tune into Black Leadership: Re-Defined, which airs on KMOJ Sundays from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. The show can also be found on our website. Stay up to date on all things AALF by becoming a network contributor; it’s easy and FREE to join!