INFORMAL LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSFORMATION

THESIS

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

MASTER OF ADULT EDUCATION

BY

MEGAN FOSTER

APPROVED BY

ADVISOR: Dr. Jane Dawson

COMMITTEE MEMBER: Dr. Leona English

EXTERNAL EXAMINER: Dr. Jennifer Sumner

INSTITUTION: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto

SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER UNIVERSITY

ANTIGONISH, NOVA SCOTIA

2008

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1

ABSTRACT

As emergent approaches to community development shift the focus from

problems to capacities and from needs to assets, there is a need for outside agents such as

adult educators and development practitioners to re-evaluate how authentic community-

driven development takes place. This study explores the role of informal leaders in

community-level transformation. Through developing case studies of six informal leaders

in three rural communities of Mindanao, Philippines, this study identifies the supports

and challenges faced by informal leaders. The case studies are informed by the results of

semi-structured, appreciative interviews of six informal leaders and six other stakeholders

from the three communities which took place over the course of three weeks in February,

2006. Uncovering determinants of informal leader emergence in this context, this study

also explores the role informal community leaders play in the transformation of their

communities, the role of outside agents in supporting the emergence of such leaders, and

the various connections between the fields of transformative adult education and

community development as they relate to informal leadership.

This study concludes that informal leaders at the community level are in a unique

position to change people's perspectives of themselves and their capacities as individuals

and as communities to affect positive change. In this respect, informal community leaders

are transformative adult educators. The inherent level of trust between them and their

fellow community members enables them to lead, teach, and inspire others to transform.

Informal leaders are successful in this role because they are trusted, they are

communicators, they model positive behaviour, and they recognize the capacities of

themselves and others.

The findings of this study carry implications for outside agents hoping to inspire

some sort of transformation at the community level. Outside agents should seek out, work

with, empower, and learn from local people who are in a position to inspire others as

informal leaders. The perspective and role changes of these individuals seem to be

directly linked to the overall transformation and development of their communities. The

role of the outside agent in supporting transformation becomes one of empowering local

leaders to be agents of transformation themselves. Sustainable community development

comes from engaging the local community as learners and leaders.

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I gratefully acknowledge the guidance of my academic advisors Dr. Jane Dawson

and Dr. Thomas Mark Turay. I also acknowledge the support and mentorship of Dr.

Alison Mathie and Gord Cunningham.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked with esteemed colleagues at

Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. I would like to particularly

acknowledge the collaborative efforts of Dr. Anselmo "Boy" Mercado, Rachel Polestico,

Vic Tagupa, Luther D. Labitad, Amy O. Patriarca, Carmen O. Oblimar, Marcelo R.

Sialongo, Christopher Patriarca, Pernalyn T. Beja, Ricarte G. Bacu, Lindy Lou V. Daclag,

Mericris T. Omahoy, Leileen Zari Abacahin, and Marvin Glenn Fernandez.

I am honoured and humbled by the willingness of study participants to openly

share their stories and experiences. They are an inspirational group of informal leaders

and community development workers who live their commitment to lifelong learning

everyday.

Finally, I extend immense thanks to my family and friends for their love, support,

and patience throughout this process.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3

Chapter Page

1. INTRODUCTION 6 Background 6 The Focus of Inquiry 9 Purpose of the Study 10 Research Methodology 10 Limits of the Study 12 Assumptions 13 Definition of Terms 14 Plan of Presentation 17

2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 18 Transformative Adult Education 19

Individual vs. Collective Transformation 22 The Role of the Educator: Issues of Power and Empowerment 24

Asset-Based and Community-Driven Development 26 Asset-Based Community Development 27 Community-Driven Development 28

Informal Leadership 30 Describing Leadership 30 Formal vs. Informal Leadership 31 Classifications of Informal Leadership 33

Authentic leaders 34 Servant leadership 34 Grassroots leadership 35

Characteristics of Informal Leaders 37 Informal leaders as critical thinkers and risk takers 38 Informal leaders as critical elements of social networks 39 Informal leaders as agents of transformation 40

Appreciative Inquiry and Research 42 Summary of the Literature 45 Theoretical Gaps in the Literature 49

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY 52 Research Methodology and Rationale 52 Research Design 55 Research Participants 58 Analysis 59 Findings 60

Case 1: Informal Leadership in Midkiwan 60

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Chapter Page

Leader 1: Lily 62 Leader 2: Leeto 64

Case 2: Informal Leadership in San Roque 66 Leader 3: Luis 68 Leader 4: Luke 70

Case 3: Informal Leadership in Kitaotao 72 Leader 5: Leonard 74 Leader 6: Lia 75

Formal and Informal Leadership 77 Internal Determinants of Informal Leadership 80 External Determinants of Informal Leadership 81

Supports 81 Overcoming challenges 83

Summary 86

4. DISCUSSION OF THE OUTCOME: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 87 Informal Leaders and Their Role in Transformation 87

Internal Determinants 89 Individual and Societal Transformation 91 Critical Thinkers and Risk Takers 96 Beyond Perspective Transformation 98

Motivating 98 Teaching 99 Mobilizing 101 Linking 101

Power and Empowerment 103 Formal and Informal Leadership 103 Empowerment and the Outside Agent 106

Research Approach 109 Significance to the Field of Adult Education 114 Conclusions 119

REFERENCES 121

APPENDICES 127

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This study explores the role of informal leaders in community-level

transformation, particularly in communities undertaking an asset-based and community-

driven approach to local development. Through developing case studies of informal

leaders in three rural communities of Mindanao, Philippines, this study identifies the

internal and external determinants of informal leadership in this context. For the

purposes of this research, I consider internal determinants to include the personal

characteristics and experiences of individuals who emerge as leaders. I consider external

determinants to include influences such as culture, political climate, economic conditions,

community cohesiveness and trust, and outside agency intervention. Highlighting these

supports and challenges faced by individuals who emerge as informal leaders, this study

also explores the differences between formal and informal leaders (including issues of

power and authority), the extent to which informal leaders can been seen to be agents of

transformation in their communities, the role of outside agents in supporting the

emergence of informal leaders, and the various connections between the fields of

transformative adult education and community development as they relate to informal

leadership.

Background

The Coady International Institute (Coady) has been involved in collaborative

action research partnerships on asset-based approaches to community-driven

development since 2001. The Xavier University College of Agriculture Complex

(XUCAC) in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, Philippines has been one such collaborative

research partner. In 2000-2001, and again from 2004-2006,1 was employed as a member

7

of the Coady staff in the asset-based community development (ABCD) program area. I

visited XUCAC in both 2001 and 2006 to develop and document their efforts in

employing an asset-based approach.

The XUCAC, a college within Xavier University, is involved in social and

economic development extension work in a number of rural farming communities in

Mindanao. Its main areas of work are in sustainable agriculture, appropriate technology,

and participatory development. The South East Asian Rural and Social Leadership

Institute (SEARSOLIN), a division of XUCAC, offers various training courses to

community development practitioners, primarily from South East Asia and the South

Pacific. Throughout its history, SEARSOLIN, and to a certain extent XUCAC as a whole,

has focused on approaches aimed at strengthening civil society and promoting local

participation in community development as a way to mitigate extreme poverty with local,

sustainable solutions. It saw the strengthening of local groups to advocate and act on their

own behalf to be of great importance within the Philippines' decentralized system of

government.

As an agricultural college, XUCAC also promotes sustainable farming techniques,

encouraging people to use local resources in their farming practice. However, the

XUCAC leadership, particularly Dr. Anselmo Mercado, Director of SEARSOLIN,

always felt a certain disconnect between promoting the capacity of local people to

organize and lead their own development using local resources within the predominant

problem-based or deficiency-based approach to development. Such approaches, he felt,

were aimed at highlighting the deficiencies or incapacities in the local situation and

presented an obstacle to developing strong and confident local leadership for

8

development. Mercado refers to the traditional approach as "Deficiency-of-Community-

Based-Approach" (DCBA), describing it as one in which "people and communities are

viewed as having problems, deficiencies, weaknesses and needs, thus projecting a

negative image of being problematic or sick" (2004, p. 1). It is in this context that

Mercado saw the promise of an asset-based approach to community-driven development.

Referring to his reading about asset-based community development for the first

time, Mercado (2004) says, "the concept and the approach struck me as something very

positive, motivating and exciting, and, in that sense uniquely different from the

"traditional" approaches in working with people and community development I have

known for decades" (p. 1). Recognizing that this approach built on the principles of

community organizing and active citizenship while helping communities to identify and

mobilize local assets and the capacities of individuals, he instigated an overall shift in

XUCAC's approach to extension work and the focus of its curriculum.

Introducing and integrating such an approach, as it is a distinct departure from the

established norms and practices in the field of development, was a lengthy and complex

process within the college. The shift began with the acknowledgement by Dr. Mercado in

2001 of the fit between this approach and XUCAC's work; however, with so many

departments, programs, and projects under its eaves, this shift took a number of years and

in some ways, is still an ongoing process as the college grapples with how best to orient

and deliver its programs. Yet, with time, patience, and the passionate belief of

organizational leaders, XUC AC seems to have integrated the core ideas of the asset-

based and community-driven approach to development throughout its work.

9

Throughout the process of integrating this new approach, XUCAC (and Coady, as

a collaborative partner in action research),oper ated on the assumption that informal

leaders play a role in successful community-driven development, and both identified the

need for further research into the common characteristics of such individuals and insights

on ways to support their emergence and leadership at the community level.

The Focus of Inquiry

As paradigms of development shift from needs-based approaches to capacity-

focused approaches, more and more researchers and practitioners, including XUCAC, are

exploring genuinely participative and community-driven models of development (see

Alexander, in press; Diacon & Guimaraes, 2003; Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993; Mathie

& Cunningham, 2003, 2005). Asset-based community development is one such approach

that is gaining interest and clout in the international development community. As the

research and documentation of asset-based approaches to community development grow,

certain issues seem to be of predominant importance. Identifying the communities'

physical, financial, natural, social, and human assets first; establishing and supporting

local associations to initiate and lead the development plan; and using existing internal

assets to leverage outside resources are some of the key areas of interest for researchers.

The role of informal leaders in community-driven development is another such area of

interest—and one that deserves further exploration.

In situations of successful community, organizational, or even global initiatives,

there are certain key people whose dynamism, skills, position, or ideas are critically

important. These people are sometimes in formal positions of power, for example,

government representatives and business leaders. However, in other cases, such people

10

emerge from the ranks of everyday citizens to become agents of transformation or

informal community leaders. Nevertheless, there is a gap in research surrounding how

informal leaders emerge in communities, the role that an informal leader plays in an

asset-based approach to community-driven development, and how an outside

organization or person can support the emergence of such leaders. There is also a gap in

research connecting transformative adult education practice with the roles of internal and

external players in community-driven development.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is to identify internal and external determinants of

informal leadership at the community level, as well as to determine the implications of

these determinants for practitioners in the fields of adult education and community

development who wish to support the emergence of its informal leaders. Examining

specifically six informal leaders who have emerged in three rural communities in

Mindanao, Philippines and who are employing an asset-based approach to community-

driven development, this research also aims to illustrate the relationship between

community-driven development, informal leadership, and adult education.

Research Methodology

The field work for this study took place in February 2006 in three communities of

Mindanao, Philippines and was conducted concurrently with a broader research study of

the role of assets and agency in successful community-driven development lead by the

Coady International Institute and for which I was a co-researcher. A summary of the

broader research study, adapted from the proposal submitted to the St. Francis Xavier

University Research Ethics Board, is included as Appendix A.

11

I used a case study approach to deeply explore the experiences and contextual

backdrop of certain informal leaders in each of these three communities. According to

Bell (2000), a case study approach allows the researcher to identify situational factors and

rich detail that are often overlooked by a traditional research methodology. Data

collection techniques for this study ranged from oral accounts, gathered during interviews;

found documents, including existing project documentation; and written responses that

included my personal notes, reflections and musings. Throughout the field research, I

kept detailed field notes of personal observation about the subjects, communities, and

context. I also included a thorough review of project documentation on the process of

promoting an asset-based approach to development in these three communities.

The interviews were semi-structured, conversational, and took place in two parts.

In the first part, I interviewed six informal leaders—two from each of the three

communities. In the second part, I interviewed six other stakeholders from each

community, including formal leaders, development practitioners, and other community

members. Each of the other stakeholders was required to be able to describe the work,

influence, and/or impact of the informal leaders identified from their community. In

conducting all interviews, I used appreciative interviewing techniques that focused on

learning from past successes (see Cooperrider & Whitney 2005; Michael, 2005; Peterson,

2000). Participants were asked to share stories of past successes and their experiences of

development within their community. During the telling of their stories, participants were

given the opportunity and encouragement to analyze their own situation and their reasons

for success. This approach was intended to support the maintenance of ownership of the

information within the community through allowing an opportunity for reflective learning

12

by participants. All participants were asked questions about themselves, about their

communities, and about their perspectives on leadership and its role in their community.

Six of the 12 interviews were conducted through a translator. While every effort

was made to prepare the translator to translate questions and responses directly without

adding extraneous information, this did not always occur. There were times when a

concept or question proved complicated and the translator had to slightly rephrase it in

order for the participant to be able to respond.

Limits of the Study

This study does not include a comparison of the determinants of informal

leadership across cultures. It examines informal leadership in a relatively homogeneous

context—rural Mindanao, Philippines—and only within communities that have attempted

to undergo an asset-based approach to community-driven development through the

extension work of Xavier University College of Agriculture Complex.

There could have been other informal leaders who were not included in my

sample of participants because they were not recognized by XUCAC staff through their

interactions at the community level. Had I relied more heavily on community members or

local formal leaders to recommend participants, the pool of identified informal leaders

may have been different. Also, because I accompanied members of XUCAC staff in my

visits to these communities, people may have been more likely to highlight XUCAC

supports in their emergence as leaders due to their association of me with XUCAC.

The amount of time available to complete the field component of this research

project was a limitation. The field component of the research took place over 2 weeks in

three communities, concurrently with another research project. I spent approximately 2-3

13

days in each community, during which time all research participants had to be identified,

their acceptance of participation sought, and all interviews conducted. If an interview

question was not asked or if another potential participant was identified, there was little

time to respond. In addition, most participants could spend only a short period of time

being interviewed—usually between 45 and 120 minutes—as they were taking time from

their livelihood activities to participate. Given that I conducted the research on one trip to

the Philippines and because time and money constraints prevented me from returning for

any subsequent research phase, the study is limited to information that could be gathered

during that concentrated time. It is also limited by the fact that I, as a researcher, am not a

native to the culture in which the study took place. Despite this and previous experiences

living and working in the region, my lack of a long-term and established knowledge of

the culture and language is a limitation of the study and analysis presented.

Assumptions

I made several assumptions with regard to my methods and measurements for this

study. For instance, I assumed that three case studies, including interviews of six informal

leaders, would provide enough information to give a reasonable sample of informal

leadership in this context. In designing my research methodology and selecting an

approach, I also assumed that any research approach would have a certain degree of bias

or incompleteness based on the particularities of perspective of the researcher, the

participants, or both. However, I assumed that using a research approach that highlights

what is strong and vibrant about a community may be more likely to support the

community's growth in that direction. Further, I assumed that using an appreciative

approach to interviewing would yield usable results, while encouraging people to

14

appreciate their capacity through telling stories of past successes and maintain a sense of

ownership over the information being shared.

In carrying out the study, I made certain assumptions about the capacities of other

people and institutions to support the project. For example, I assumed that XUCAC could

identify credible informal leaders in the communities in which it worked. I assumed that

leadership was a concept that was understood across cultures and that people would

recognize a certain inherent difference between informal and formal leadership in order

to comment on it. And, at a basic level, I assumed that the questions and answers that

were conveyed through translation were accurately communicated.

I also made certain overall assumptions about the general concepts of leadership,

community development, and transformation. Essentially, the assumption contained

throughout my study is that each of these makes a positive contribution to communities

and, therefore, should be sought out by communities and individuals. By-and-large, each

of these assumptions was confirmed through the consistency in the findings of my

research and will be further discussed in chapter 4.

Definition of Terms

The following definitions are for a range of frequently-used terms contained in

this thesis and are adapted from a variety of sources. Some are explanations of Philippine

words while others are definitions of concepts from the literature discussed in chapter 2.

Certain terms, such as internal determinants of informal leadership and external

determinants of informal leadership, are not found in the literature and so I developed

definitions for them based on the context in which they are used in this study.

15

Agent of transformation. An individual who, through his or her participation in

community life, inspires a desire for change and mobilizes local resources to achieve the

change.

Appreciative inquiry. A formal or informal research approach that promotes

positive change by focusing its inquiry and analysis on the peak experiences of the past.

Through story-telling, visioning, and planning, appreciative inquiry helps participants to

identify the best of "what is" as well as to generate and pursue their own dreams of "what

could be."

Appreciative interviewing. A research technique used in gathering stories and

insights about the positive experiences of the past.

Asset-based community development. An approach to local development which

helps communities assess their unique asset base—including financial, physical, natural,

social, and human assets. Communities are encouraged to use local capacities and

resources as the starting place for planning their development efforts. (See Kretzmann &

McKnight, 1993).

Barangay. The Philippine term for municipality.

Bayanihan. A traditional custom of cooperative work—typically agricultural

labour—within a rural Philippine community.

Community-driven development. The process by which the members of a

community organize themselves and mobilize their resources for appropriate and

sustainable development as determined by them.

Datu. The formal leader of a group of indigenous people in the Philippines. Also

known as a tribal leader.

16

External determinants of leadership. Those environmental factors such as culture,

political climate, economic conditions, community cohesiveness, and outside agency

intervention that contribute to an individual's ability to emerge as a leader.

Formal leader. A person who has influence over others by nature of a formally

recognized position of power, for example, a political leader or an employer.

Informal leader. A person who influences the behaviour of others, even though he

or she does not have a formal position of authority. He or she is generally recognized by

peers to possess some leadership capacity. Informal leaders are sometimes referred to as

"authentic leaders," "servant leaders," "grassroots leaders," "emergent leaders,"

"volunteer leaders," or "community leaders."

Internal determinants of leadership. Those personal characteristics, experiences,

and skills that contribute to an individual's ability to emerge as a leader.

Pur ok. The Philippine term for a village. Several puroks comprise a barangay.

Transformative adult education. The process of supporting an individual or

community in critically analyzing the current situation and the possible future.

Transformative adult education inspires a belief that positive change, based on internally

determined values and goals, is valuable and possible.

XUCAC. The Xavier University College of Agriculture Complex, a department of

Xavier University. XUCAC has various divisions, including the South East Asian Rural

and Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN), the Xavier Science Foundation (XSF),

and the Sustainable Agriculture Center (SAC). Each division does separate outreach in

surrounding communities such as Midkiwan (SEARSOLIN), Tongantongan (SAC), and

Kitaotao (XSF). For the purposes of this study, individual divisions are not distinguished.

17

Plan of Presentation

In the following chapter, I situate key lessons from various bodies of literature

within the context of transformative adult education theory and as they relate to informal

leadership in community-driven development. I also review literature supporting

appreciative approaches to research and data gathering. In chapter 3,1 describe the

methodology employed in my research study and then present the findings. The findings

are organized into three case studies, each describing the context of the community and

highlighting the story of two informal leaders that have emerged through the

communities' development initiatives. In the final chapter, I present the key findings and

lessons learned from this research study, including an analysis of the role of informal

leaders as agents of transformation and implications for adult educators and outside

agents to support transformation and community-driven development. I conclude with a

reflection on the significance of this study to the overall field of adult education.

18

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

In this chapter, I situate key lessons from various bodies of literature within the

context of transformative adult education theory and as they relate to informal leadership

in community-driven development. I begin with a review of foundational and emergent

literature on transformative adult education theory and practice, with a particular focus on

the role of leaders in promoting and enabling transformation from within. In the second

section, I highlight research on community-driven development and concentrate on

literature pertaining to strength-based or asset-based approaches. In the third section, I

explore leadership theory and particularly focus on differentiating between formal and

informal leadership. Though relevant organizational development literature is included, I

sought out sources that referred to leadership at the community level as much as possible.

In the fourth section, I focus on appreciative approaches to qualitative data gathering,

highlighting appreciative inquiry literature. The main body of the review is followed with

a summary of the literature and an outline of significant areas of overlap and mutual

relevance of content between sections. I conclude with a discussion of theoretical gaps in

the literature.

In each section of the review, I highlight significant concepts found in the

literature and relate them to transformative adult education theory. In my review, I draw

links between community-driven development, informal leadership, and transformative

adult education—particularly the role of informal leaders as adult educators and agents of

transformation at the community level—as well as illustrate the need for further research

into the significant relationship between these fields of theory.

19

Transformative Adult Education

The pre-eminent thinker and founding North American theorist of the field of

transformative adult education is Mezirow (1978, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2002). Mezirow's

work builds largely from the work of prominent Brazilian popular education theorist,

Freire. Freire (1970) first introduces the concept of "conscientization" (p. 19), or the

capacity of education to promote critical reflection that shapes the transformation of an

individual or society, which is a theme of key influence to Mezirow. Mezirow's work

builds on Freire's in terms of its focus on capacity for adult educators to provide a space

for meaningful critical reflection, discussion, and transformation. However, a notable

divergence, discussed in detail later in this chapter, is Freire's focus on societal and

political change as the ultimate aim of transformative adult education and Mezirow's

more individualistic perspective.

In Mezirow's (1997) view, the goal of transformative adult education is "to help

the individual become a more autonomous thinker by learning to negotiate his or her own

values, meanings, and purpose rather than uncritically acting on those of others" (p. 11).

According to Taylor (1998), "transformative learning attempts to explain how our

expectations, framed within cultural assumptions and presuppositions, directly influence

the meaning we derive from our experiences" (p. 13). The personal understanding of

one's experiences can be called meaning perspectives.

Mezirow (1991) defines meaning perspectives as interpretations of experience

that help us make decisions. He states, they "provide us with criteria forjudging or

evaluating right and wrong, bad and good, beautiful and ugly, true and false, appropriate

and inappropriate" (p. 44). In order for individual or societal transformation to take place,

20

people's meaning perspectives—whether individually held or generally held by a group,

community, or society—must be critically evaluated and changed. The changing of one's

meaning perspectives is known as perspective transformation (Mezirow, 1978).

Perspective transformation is a change in the way we see our reality that comes about

during periods of role-change and continues as we mature. According to Mezirow (1991):

Perspective transformation is the process of becoming critically aware of how and why our assumptions have come to constrain the way we perceive, understand, and feel about our world; changing these structures of habitual expectation to make possible a more inclusive, discriminating, and integrating perspective; and...making choices or otherwise acting upon these new understandings, (p. 167)

Taylor (1998) adds "it is the revision of meaning structures from experiences that is

addressed by the theory of perspective transformation" (p. 13). The three main stages of

perspective transformation are (a) alienation, from old role; (b) reframing, taking a step

back to look; and (c) establishing a new meaning, which often includes a behaviour

change (Mezirow, 1978). These three stages can unfold quickly or over a longer period of

time. Mezirow (2002) states that "transformations in habit of mind can be epochal, a

sudden, dramatic, reorienting of insight, or incremental, involving a progressive series of

transformations in related points of view that culminate in a transformation in habit of

mind" (p. 21). The pace of transformation may depend on the characteristics of the

person or group that is transforming or the situation in the surrounding environment.

There are three common themes in Mezirow's (1995) theory of transformative

learning: centrality of the experience, critical reflection, and rational discourse. First,

centrality of experience refers to the importance of acknowledging the learner's own

experiences in informing his or her perspectives. Acknowledging the learners'

experiences as the foundation for their world views is the starting point for

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transformation. There is a synergy between this view and that of the prevailing

philosophy of community-driven development in that both recognize and draw upon local

capacity and knowledge as the foundation for transformation (Koch, 2005; Kretzmann &

McKnight, 1993; Mathie & Cunningham, 2003, 2005).

Second, critical reflection is the process by which a learner questions "the

integrity of assumptions and beliefs based on prior experience" (Taylor, 1998, p. 16).

Mezirow (1995) adds that "reflection is the.. .process by which we change our minds,

literally and figuratively. It is the process of turning our attention to the justification for

what we know, feel, believe and act upon" (p. 46). Brookfield (1987) clarifies that

thinking critically does not necessarily mean thinking negatively, despite the common

connotation. People are inspired to change their behaviours or beliefs based on significant

experiences, whether positive or negative. Demonstrating particular overlap with

Mezirow's stages of perspective transformation, Brookfield describes the phases of

critical thinking as: trigger event, appraisal, exploration, developing alternative

perspectives, and integration. Brookfield proposes that evidence of critical thinking in

adults is a direct indicator of a healthy democracy and a means by which people can feel

more engaged in the world around them. Such engagement incites feelings of desire and

capacity to change, which may spur individual or collective action.

Third, rational discourse provides an active opportunity for learners to critically

reflect on their experiences and challenge, or in fact transform, their perspectives (Taylor,

1998). As such, rational discourse can be seen as "the essential medium through which

transformation is promoted and developed" (Taylor, 1998, p. 17). In writings on

transformation, Freire refers to this stage as praxis or an ongoing process of moving

22

between action, critical reflection, and dialogue so as to dismantle "oppressive structures

and mechanisms prevalent both in education and society" (Freire & Macedo, 1995, p.

383). Despite the inherent value of rational discourse as a means for learners to sort

through and make decisions about their values and beliefs, Mezirow (1991) warns about

an ironic potential among those seeking to be collectively critically reflective, saying,

"Rational discourse in groups also can be impeded when group members' enthusiasm

causes their perspectives to become impermeable to alternative points of view" (p. 191).

The dynamics of a group and its leadership are thus critical in creating an environment

conducive to a rational ongoing discourse.

Individual vs. Collective Transformation

The degree to which an individual's transformation is linked to community or

societal transformation is debated in the literature. (See Cranton (1994) and Taylor (1998)

for a full discussion of this issue). According to Taylor (1998), "the most controversial

issue concerning transformative learning theory has been its relationship to social action

and power" (p. 28). A major critique is that this emphasis is largely placed on individual

transformation at the expense of examining the context and potential for broader social

transformation (Collard & Law, 1989; Newman, 1993). According to Newman (1993),

"perspective transformation appears to focus on the individual examining his or her own

personal experience... [and accepting] a reintegration into a society where the dominant

ideology may go unquestioned" (p. 229). According to Cranton (1994), transformative

adult learning is not an isolated process—it necessarily exists within a social context and

that specific context must be examined in order to understand how transformation takes

place. Boyd and Myers (1988) agree that the two are integrally linked, saying that the

23

purpose of transformative adult education is to acknowledge "that abiding within [each

learner] is a truth, a knowledge, which is not separate from socio-economic, political and

other cultural influences, but transcends them" (p. 282).

Some insist that individual transformation and the building of agency are

prerequisite to collective transformation. Agency is given various definitions (see

Alexander, in press; Krishna, 2002; Reicher, Haslam & Hopkins, 2005; Stein, 1984),

though essentially it is the demonstration of active participation in group or community

life. According to Brookfield (1987), one must exercise critical thinking to be a

"developed person living in a democratic society" (p. 14). Taylor (1998) goes on to say

that "it is through personal agency that [learners] develop the understanding of how to

change individually and collectively" (p. 50). According to Mezirow (1991), "we must

begin with individual perspective transformation before social transformations can

succeed" (p. 363). Although Cranton agrees that individual transformation is typically a

necessary precursor to social transformation, she acknowledges that the impetus for

transformation can take place in both directions.

While Mezirow adamantly points out that individual perspective transformation

does not necessarily lead to collective action and/or social transformation, this opinion is

in contrast to the radical reformist views of Freire (1970). Freire's perspective on adult

education and transformative learning links individual transformative with social action

and revolution. For Freire, the purpose of adult education is to help oppressed people

realize the reality of their situation so that they can overthrow the oppression through

collective action. Individual critical reflection and individual perspective

24

transformation—what Freire terms conscientization—are only important in their capacity

to change oppressive social, economic, and political conditions.

In their radical theories of societal transformation, both Freire and Gramsci

identify the potential of education for affecting political change (Ledwith, 2001).

Gramsci, an Italian political theorist in the Marxist tradition, is most noted for his theory

of cultural hegemony by which a ruling class maintains dominance through controlling

the ideas of the people (through education, media, etc.) His work informed Freire's

contention that authentic transformation will only take place when the people come

together to overthrow the dominant ideology. In comparing and critically analyzing their

work, Ledwith highlights the common idea that transformation must be driven at the

community level for dominant ideologies to be challenged; communities are central to the

creation of common meaning and thus, are the places from which all collective growth

and transformation must be launched. The writing of Finger (1989) supports this

contention: "adult transformation is...local and communitarian, based on concern,

commitment and experience, rooted in and contributing to the development of local

culture" (p. 18). The role of the community in supporting or enabling transformation has

relevance to the interplay between the fields of transformative adult education and

community development.

The Role of the Educator: Issues of Power and Empowerment

Cranton (1994) describes the role of a transformative educator as increasing

learner empowerment, stimulating critical questioning, and supporting learners. From the

reformist perspective, the adult educator "plays the role of provocateur, one who

challenges, stimulates, and provokes critical thinking" (p. 128). Mezirow (1991) adds that

25

"the central responsibility of the adult educator who wishes to encourage transformative

learning is to foster learners' reflection upon their own beliefs.. .through a critical

examination of the history, context and consequences of their assumptions..." (p. 225).

Brookfield (1987) refers to the adult educator as a helper, whose role is to listen

empathetically, make connections through guided reflection, encourage the identification

of assumptions, encourage scepticism, help people realize that context can be altered, and

provide opportunity for reflection. Brookfield goes on to argue that "community workers,

social activists, union organizers, and political leaders can be positive change agents

triggering critical thinking in people. They can do this by transmitting the sheer

inspirational force of their vision of what might be" (p. 33). The caution is for an adult

educator to inspire a group or individual towards transformation without controlling the

process and diminishing the power of the learner.

Educators are themselves transformative learners who regularly analyze and

revise their perspectives, theories, and practices. According to Mezirow (2002), "the

generally accepted model of adult education involves a transfer of authority from the

educator to the learners; the successful educator works herself [sic] out of her job as

educator and becomes a collaborative learner" (pp. 14-15). This echoes Freire's (1970)

idea of an educator being an equal player in the learning process, and insists that a

dialogue be fostered between educator and learner that is built on "love, humility, and

faith... of which mutual trust between dialoguers is the logical consequence" (pp. 79-80).

This shift in roles requires the educator and learner to adjust prevailing power dynamics.

According to Cranton (1994), a person must be empowered to engage in authentic critical

reflection, thereby becoming ready for transformation.

26

Cranton (1994) also believes that learner empowerment depends on the educator

giving up position power but retaining personal power. It is challenging for educators

and/or outsiders who try to facilitate learning without taking ownership from the learners

and/or community. In view of this, Mezirow (1978) holds that the role of the adult

educator could be to encourage learners to reflect on their reality and create a safe and

conducive learning environment for transformation. As adult educators, development

agents need to be conscious of the inherent power of their position as they attempt to

stimulate individual and social transformation (Koch, 2005). If the goal is community-

driven development in which the community's agenda is the focus, the outsider must

tread carefully and acknowledge the potential power dynamics at play in his or her

interactions in the community.

Asset-Based and Community-Driven Development

There is a shift of focus in emerging community development literature from

needs-based or problem-solving approaches to those that recognize the assets and

capacities that exist within communities and support community-driven leadership of

local development (Diacon & Guimaraes, 2003; Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993; Mathie

& Cunningham, 2003, 2005). According to Kretzmann and McKnight (1993), "the key to

[community] regeneration... is to locate all of the available local assets, to begin

connecting them with one another in ways that multiply their power and effectiveness" (p.

5). Diacon and Guimaraes (2003) add that "a capacity-focused approach is more likely

[than a needs-based approach] to empower the community and mobilise citizens to create

positive and meaningful change from within" (p. 4).

Engaging in asset-based and community-driven development is a transformative

process. According to Ledwith (2001), the community is the "essence of people's lives"

(p. 171) and this is the most appropriate place for transformative learning to take place.

Koch (2005) adds, "transformative learning [is a] foundational goal [of asset-based

community development], in which the development of independent thinking and

subsequent action is fundamental to the democratic development of the society" (p. 104).

Furthermore, Koch notes, "transformative learning opportunities emerge as a critical

element within an ABCD [sic] process, providing individuals and groups with the

opportunity to engage, reflect, and grow toward self-actualization and educational

capacity building" (p. 169). Communities engaging in an asset-based approach to

development must critically reflect on the dominant, needs-based ideology in order for

authentic transformation to take place.

Asset-Based Community Development

As seminal authors on asset-based community development, Kretzmann and

McKnight (1993) advocate for a shift in the general approach to community development

from needs-based and problem-focused to asset-based and capacity-focused. The authors

stress that this approach does not ignore problems, but rather merely highlights that

communities are more likely to be successful if they first focus on their assets and

capacities instead of looking at what they are missing and attempting to have it filled

from outside. Analyzing numerous examples of successful community development from

an asset-based lens, Kretzmann and McKnight demonstrate the power of this approach

both in uncovering local assets that can be used to build communities and in mobilizing

citizens (often organized into community associations) to participate in the development

process. According to the authors, "every single person has capacities, abilities and gifts.

Living a good life depends on whether those capacities can be used, abilities expressed

and gifts given" (p. 13). Mathie and Cunningham (2005) support this view, adding that

"asset-based community development takes as its starting point the existing assets and

strengths of community, particularly the strengths inherent in community-based

associations and other social networks" (p. 177).

Asset-based community development (ABCD) is an overall approach to

development and to seeing the innate capacities of communities. It is not a blueprint for

development with predetermined steps or tools. As Mathie (2006) explains, "while there

are tools and methods for identifying assets and opportunities,.. .ABCD is neither a

prescribed set of practices nor a new way of community organizing" (p. 1). Mathie and

Cunningham (2003) support this statement, noting that "The ABCD approach has at its

core the notion that communities (in particular local associations within those

communities) must drive the development process. The role of outside

agencies... becomes one of group capacity building" (p. 13). Because every community's

assets, residents, and contextual situation are unique, the approach taken to integrate an

asset-based approach to development will necessarily vary between communities and

must be driven by those internal factors—by the community itself.

Community-Driven Development

Community-driven development may be defined as the mobilization of local

resources by local people. As Harris (2002) points out, much successful leadership for

community development and social transformation comes from the community level;

when decisions happen in far-removed arenas, the solutions are like "flying saucers" (p.

29

49), with little relevance to the local reality. Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) agree,

stating that there is "overwhelming evidence.. .that if outside plans and resources

dominate and overwhelm local initiatives and associations, massive social and economic

disasters occur" (p. 374). These comments support the importance of an approach that

focuses on internal capacities and enables local actors to drive the development process.

A criticism of community-driven development is that it may be too inward

looking, requiring the local community to function separately from the state and the

market, while letting service providers dodge their responsibility to provide services

entitled to citizens (McGrath, Moffatt, George, & Lee, 1999). Although, as an

organization, it has a varied reputation for supporting sustainable development, the World

Bank (2004) has written fairly extensively on community-driven development and has

underlined the obligation of local, regional, and national governments to provide an

enabling environment to promote local development. Acquiring (or demanding) the rights,

services, and entitlements of citizenship is not seen to detract from the community-driven

element of participatory and decentralized approaches. Rather, it is seen to enhance the

capacity of local people to drive their own development.

The idea that the capacity of local people to drive their own development depends

on the level of internal capacity or "agency" that is supported in the literature (see

Cunningham, 2005; Krishna, 2002; Mathie & Cunningham, 2003, 2005; Rogers, 2004;

World Bank, 2004). Cunningham (2005) found that strong community-driven

development is characterized by "a high degree of internal agency... [or] the ability of the

community to determine and maintain control over the development agenda. This

requires local leadership that is able to generate a strong motivation to act among

30

community members" (p. 30). The role of such local leadership in shaping authentic

development at the community level forms the basis for this study and is explored in

detail through the analysis in chapter 4.

Informal Leadership

As a community takes ownership of its development process, leaders—often

members of local associations—emerge to help identify, link, and mobilize the

community's assets for development (Diacon & Guimaraes, 2003; Mathie &

Cunningham 2003, 2005). These people can be seen as catalysts for the development

process. Such leaders can "stimulate a sense of pride and possibility. They recognize the

potential within the community... [and] they recognize opportunities available through

making connections and linkages with agencies interested in 'investing' in communities

that can demonstrate that potential" (Mathie & Cunningham, 2005, p. 176). This active

participation in community life and decision-making is described by Merrifield (2002) as

"active citizenship" or "taking part in decisions that affect people's lives" (p. 3).

Describing Leadership

Leadership is a broad term, with many definitions. As such, scholars have

categorized leadership theory in various ways. There are different styles of leadership,

such as autocratic, democratic or participative (De Cremer, 2006; Steers, Porter, & Bigley,

1996), or task-oriented and relations-oriented (Bass, 1990; Kellett, Humphrey, & Sleeth,

2006). Also, there are different characteristics, criteria, and roles that can determine

effective leadership (i.e., transformational leadership) (Avolio & Bass, 1988; Burns, 1978;

Cranton, 1994). As well, there are different types of leaders, such as formal and informal

(Heifetz, 1994; Pescosolido, 2001, 2002; Pielstick, 2000). And finally, within the

31

literature on informal leadership, there are different classifications, such as authentic

leaders (Pielstick, 2003, 2006), grassroots leaders (Harris, 2002; McNeely, Aiyetoro, &

Bowsher, 1999; W K Kellogg Foundation, 1999), emergent leaders (Tapia, Underwood,

& Jabre, 2003), and servant leaders (Greenleaf, 2002; Pielstick, 2006). I focused my

analysis of this body of literature on that which addressed a differentiation between

formal and informal leadership and on sources that referred to leadership at the

community level (though some relevant organizational development literature was

included); a full analysis of the many facets of leadership literature was beyond the scope

of this work.

Reicher et al. (2005) propose that leadership is in a person's actions as opposed to

something innate in his or her character. Heifetz (1994) describes leadership as an

adaptive process for mobilizing or engaging people to solve their problems. It is seen to

be an educative process in which leaders guide followers with questions, reflections, and

perspectives—often without having the answers themselves. According to Heifetz,

"leadership.. .means engaging people to make progress on the adaptive problems they

face. Because making progress on adaptive problems requires learning, the task of

leadership consists of choreographing and directing learning processes in an organization

or community" (p. 187). Certainly this adaptive and responsive process relates to the role

of a transformative adult educator as defined by Freire (1970) and Mezirow (1991).

Formal vs. Informal Leadership

There is some discussion and general consensus in the literature as to the

existence of a dichotomy of leadership positions, namely formal and informal leadership.

Both serve important purposes in the effective functioning of groups, work teams,

32

communities, and societies (Heifetz, 1994; Pescosolido, 2002; Pielstick, 2000, 2003,

2006; Pitcoff, 2004). Although interchanging the terms leadership and authority, Heifetz

discusses formal and informal leadership and defines authority as "conferred power to

perform a service" (1994, p. 57). Specifically,

with formal authority comes the various powers of the office, and with informal authority comes the power to influence attitude and behavior beyond compliance. Formal authority is granted because the officeholder promises to meet a set of explicit expectations..., whereas informal authority comes from promising to meet expectations that are often left implicit. (Heifetz, 1994, p. 101)

Though usually without the inherent advantages of a formal, high-ranking

position (e.g., money, conferred mandate, prestige), individuals with informal authority

have a certain freedom to be creative in leading and can focus or broaden their efforts in

ways unavailable to those working within formal structures (Heifetz, 1994). Pielstick

(2006) supports this theory, noting that "Formal leaders have access to legitimate

authority, coercive power, and extrinsic rewards that informal leaders generally do not.

However, great leaders prefer to use the power and influence of the informal leader:

intrinsic rewards, expertise, and referent power" (p. 1).

An informal leader's ability to influence the emotions of followers is noted in the

literature (Balkundi & Kilduff, 2005; De Cremer, 2006; George, 2000; Pescosolido,

2002). According to Pescosolido (2002), informal leaders find success in their ability to

influence group processes, beliefs, and norms, in contrast to formal leaders, who lead

with official power and authority. De Cremer (2006) agrees that a leader is most

influential when effectively appealing to group members' emotions and explains how

"members' emotions and motivation appear to have important implications for groups

and organizations" (p. 79). Kellett et al. (2006) add that:

33

although people who want to be leaders may try to create [a bond with members], it is not always easy to act in an emotionally intelligent way, and individuals obviously differ in their ability to communicate their feelings, make others feel understood and demonstrate the empathy and concern for others, (p. 149)

Kellett et al. conclude with the recommendation that "leaders must hone their ability to

identify and display emotions (particularly empathy)" (p. 157). Not only does appealing

to an individual or group's emotions engender positive functioning for the task at hand, it

also lays the groundwork for transformation. According to Mezirow (2002),

transformation occurs when people are able to and encouraged to participate in discourse;

furthermore, "effective participation in discourse and transformation requires emotional

maturity—awareness, empathy and control" (p. 11).

In relation to leaders' abilities to inspire positive results from groups, in one study,

Pielstick (2000) found informal leaders to be more likely than their formal counterparts to

be collaborative learners with followers, and to motivate others through their actions by

modeling ideal behaviour. As cited in Popular Education News (2005), Freire's work on

libertarian education, or what he terms "problem-posing education" fl| 1), supports this

democratic relationship between teacher and student. Freire proposes a democratization

of learning or a partnership in which both teacher and student—or leader and follower—

are simultaneously teaching and learning. This shift requires creativity and critical

thinking.

Classifications of Informal Leadership

Pielstick (2000) describes the leadership used by informal leaders as authentic

leadership. In a novel model for authentic leadership, Pielstick contends that a group's

shared vision of the future is supported by the four domains of leading: (a)

communicating regularly with followers, (b) building a web of relationships with and

34

among followers, (c) creating a sense of community based on shared values and beliefs,

and (d) guiding achievement of the vision through empowerment and other actions. An

authentic leader works within these domains as a motivating force that does not impose

but may initiate the vision of a group. According to Pielstick, a collective vision is

developed through a reflection and agreement on shared meaning towards a sense of

wholeness. This pursuit of shared meaning relates to Mezirow's (1991) theory of

meaning perspectives or the way one perceives reality based on prior learning. Meaning

perspectives, according to Mezirow, are interpretations of experience; they help us judge

situations for decision making, and they are subject to change. This change or

development of meaning perspectives is critical to adult learning. People must confront

and often negate their assumptions of "truth" for transformative learning to take place.

The authentic leader may play a role in encouraging critical reflection towards the

development of new meaning perspectives for individuals and groups.

Authentic leaders. People may be considered to be authentic leaders when they

consistently model appropriate behaviour for followers, regardless of whether they are

verbally explicit in their instruction. Kouzes and Posner (1988) describe authentic leaders

as those who "consistently demonstrate by their own behavior what they expect of

others" (p. 530). Pescosolido (2001) adds that people can be motivated to act "through

the modeling of successful performance by someone who is similar to the individual" (p.

76) such as an informal or authentic leader.

Servant leadership. Pielstick (2000) explores the concept of "servant leadership"

as it relates to informal leaders, proposing that informal leaders tend to "emphasize

35

service above self (p. 12). Greenleaf (2002), who coined the phrase, describes servant

leadership:

The servant-leader is servant first.... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. He or she is sharply different from the person who is leader first... The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served, (p. 27)

Self-sacrifice, or a person's willingness to act as servant or suffer loss, has been

explored in transformational leadership theory (De Cremer, 2006). In a study involving

university students, De Cremer found correlation between appealing to the emotions of

group members through self-sacrifice and inspiring motivation for group tasks.

Grassroots leadership. According to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's (1999)

report on "grassroots leadership" and sustainable communities, grassroots leaders are

motivated by a desire to serve others, a commitment to social justice, and a strong faith or

religious conviction. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation states that this differs from the more

traditional view of self-interest being the prime motivation to leadership, especially for

formal leaders. McNeely et al. (1999) add to this definition, stating that grassroots leaders

"are respected and emulated not only for their technical skills, but also because they can

articulate a clear vision and reflect a set of core values through their actions" (p. 25).

Tying in the idea that recognizing and mobilizing assets is an important element of

successful leadership in community-driven development, grassroots leaders themselves

identify the "importance of projecting to the community a sense of self-reliance and

resilient problem solving that draws on the community's inherent assets" (McNeely et al.,

p. 25).

36

Grassroots community leaders are sometimes referred to as "emergent leaders," or

those who emerge when formal leadership is absent during a time when leadership is

necessary to meet a goal (Lawler, 1988). Emergent leadership has also been defined as a

dynamic social process during which an individual adopts the role of leader (Moss &

Kent, 1996). As well, emergent leaders have been defined as those members of a group

who exert influence over others, despite the fact that they may not have been granted

formal authority (Schneider & Goktepe, 1983). According to Mahar and Mahar (2006),

grassroots leadership emergence "sometimes occurs formally, whereby an individual is

designated officially by group members, senior leaders, or the system, to be the leader; or

informally, whereby an individual evolves as group leader without being designated

officially" (p. 6). The theory of grassroots leadership reflects the idea that communities

have capable local agents that can emerge to drive the local agenda.

Through their compiled examples from select Middle Eastern countries, Tapia,

Underwood and Jabre (2003) identify both the personal attributes of emerging leaders,

such as trustworthiness (sincerity and authenticity), pro-activeness, intelligence, and the

ability to think critically; and the social factors within their communities that impact their

emergence in leadership roles, such as having leader role models, having strong social

support networks within the community, and having access to education. Tapia et al.

challenge the widely-held definition of leadership as "authority" or "power-over." Instead,

they propose that effective grassroots leadership is "action," used differently depending

on the context of a given situation. According to the authors, leadership is relational;

effective leaders need broad social connections to mobilize for collective action.

37

While most grassroots leaders emerge over time, a significant experience can

hasten or solidify the emergence of an individual to a leadership role. According to

McNeely et al. (1999), "many leaders report a specific, profound moment or event in

their leadership career that caused them to take stock of their leadership work, recommit

themselves more deeply, and move to higher levels of leadership" (p. 10). The idea that a

specific moment or experience—a trigger event—can have a profound change on one's

character or commitment is echoed in the transformative adult education literature

(Brookfield, 1987; Mezirow, 1978, 1991).

Characteristics of Informal Leaders

Many scholars agree that leadership emergence depends on certain traits as well

as the recognition of these traits by followers (De Cremer, 2006; Smith & Foti, 1998;

Taggar, Hackett, & Saha, 1999; Taormina & Selvarajah, 2005; Tapia et al., 2003). Such

traits include cognitive intelligence (Smith & Foti), emotional intelligence and empathy

(Balkundi & Kilduff, 2005; De Cremer; George, 2000; Kellett et al., 2006; Pescosolido,

2002), self-efficacy or the perception that one is capable of performing a task (Smith &

Foti, 1998), extraversion (Taggar et al.), charisma (Pescosolido, 2001), and being

supportive of the leadership emergence of other group members (Reicher et al., 2005;

Taggar etal., 1999).

Differences in culture impact the characteristics valued in informal leaders—or

whether informal leadership is, in fact, valued at all. There is relatively little literature on

the characteristics and role of informal leadership in Southeast Asia, at least the English

sources searched (see section on theoretical gaps in the literature). However, one study,

which focused on leaders in organizational management in Southeast Asia, supports the

38

hypothesis of continued Confucian influence on perceptions of leadership (Taormina &

Selvarajah, 2005). In contradiction to Taggar et al.'s (1999) finding that a person's

conscientiousness did not have a determining relationship in respect to his or her

leadership emergence, Taormina and Selvarajah found being considerate of others and

trusting in others were both identified as critical characteristics of great leaders,

characteristics related to the Confucian value of human-oriented, rather than production-

oriented, approach to leadership. As with much of the literature on leadership, however,

this study was conducted in the formal, organizational field of management and so

application of the findings to community situations and informal leaders must be

cautiously carried out.

There is some resistance to the idea that leadership is wholly determined by a set

of personal characteristics. According to Reicher et al. (2005), there is no reliable

evidence of key traits or characteristics that distinguish leaders from non-leaders. They

propose that one can distinguish actions such as consideration for others and the ability to

organize people to meet common goals; however, the "Great Man [sic]" theory of

leadership—the classification of the social and intellectual characteristics that set leaders

apart from followers—is often disputed (see Mann, 1959; Nadler & Tushman, 1990).

Informal leaders as critical thinkers and risk takers. Critical thinking is an

integral element of adults' formal and informal learning (Brookfield, 1987; Cranton,

1994; Freire, 1970; Ledwith, 2001; Mezirow, 1978, 1991, 2002). Critical thinking is

defined as that which calls "into question the assumptions underlying our customary,

habitual ways of thinking and acting and then being ready to think and act differently on

the basis of this critical questioning" (Brookfield, 1987, p. 1). Critical thinkers, according

39

to Brookfield, are able to challenge steadfast ways, challenge the role they play in a

system, and challenge other people to become actively engaged in critical thinking and

transformative behaviour. Furthermore, Brookfield identifies several key skills necessary

to encourage critical thinking in groups and individuals including flexibility, patience,

confidence, and clear communication.

There is an inherent risk, however, associated with challenging long-held beliefs

and/or the status quo. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation's (1999) report on investment in

grassroots leaders as a strategy for social change and community building noted that

grassroots leaders do not necessarily fit into mainstream definitions of "community

leader"—they may consider themselves to be outsiders in the community. From this

perspective, the leader may have a unique perspective so as to be able to think critically

about issues within the community, and they may use unconventional strategies to

motivate fellow citizens. However, informal or grassroots leaders, as critical thinkers and

mobilizers of people and community action, may also face ridicule or attack—a condition

likely exacerbated if the person is generally seen as an outsider in the community. As

Heifetz (1994) points out, "without authority, a leader stands relatively naked before the

people, often appearing to be not only the identifier of a distressing problem but also the

source of the distress itself (p. 225). Heifetz continues, noting that assuming a leadership

role can be personally risky in that people who put themselves at the centre of problems

or issues in communities "frequently bear scars from their efforts to bring about adaptive

change" (p. 235).

Informal leaders as critical elements of social networks. Leaders, both formal

and informal, must understand the social realities of the people they are leading. In order

40

to be effective, leaders need to be emotionally intelligent: able to accurately understand

the relationships people have with them, understand the relationships that exist between

others within the organization, and recognize the bridging relationships between insiders

and outsiders (Balkundi & Kilduff, 2005).

Krishna's (2002) thesis is that social capital, while important for community

development in its own right, is enhanced by capable agents (i.e. leaders) at the local

level. Krishna found that both significant social capital and internal agency were

necessary to achieve optimal development results. Capable agents were seen not only to

have high levels of bonding social capital (internal relationships with peers), but also to

have high levels of bridging social capital (relationships with outsiders or agencies that

can be leveraged to get ahead). According to Krishna (2002), effective leaders, often seen

as "younger innovators" (p. 11), are emerging in communities to effectively bridge the

gap between the community members and bureaucracy and to mobilize social capital for

diverse economic and political ends.

Informal leaders as agents of transformation. Transformational leadership is a

process whereby leaders and followers motivate and empower each other (Avolio & Bass,

1988; Burns, 1978). Transformational leaders are moral agents and often stimulate their

followers to become transformational leaders themselves (Burns). Informal leaders at the

community level are well-positioned to change people's perspectives of themselves and

their capacities to affect positive change. As catalysts of change at the community level,

these informal leaders can be seen as transformative adult educators (see Burns; Cranton,

1994; Mezirow, 1978, 1991, 2002; Nyerere, 1988). As Nyerere (1988) states, "The first

function of adult education is to inspire both a desire for change, and an understanding

41

that change is possible" (p. 16). Mezirow (1978) adds "there is no higher priority for

adult education than to develop its potentialities for perspective transformation" (p. 109).

According to George (2000), as an effective agent of transformation, an informal

leader must instil "in others knowledge and appreciation of the importance of work

activities and behaviours; and [generate] and [maintain] excitement, enthusiasm,

confidence, and optimism...as well as cooperation and trust" (p. 1039). Though in

general agreement, Pescosolido (2001) suggests that the role of a leader in supporting

transformation changes over the course of the group's life cycle. Especially in the

beginning, the group's sense of efficacy is directly related to the informal leader's sense

of personal efficacy. As time goes on, this correlation diminishes and the leader appears

to have less influence over group efficacy. Also over time, the confidence of members

grows as does their comfort in understanding the environment in which they are working.

They are, thus, progressively less dependent on the informal leader to negotiate complex

variables on their behalf. This suggests a time-dependent theory of informal leadership in

which the informal leader's influence on group behaviour and norms eventually wanes.

This theory of time dependency may also apply to the role of outsiders in

supporting community-driven development. McNeely et al. (1999) present a discussion

on how the role of the outsider changes from leader to steward as community capacity is

built. At the heart of the idea of stewardship as a community development agent is a

"[commitment] to building an independent and capable entity that may not endorse your

organization's activities when it sets and acts on its own goals" (McNeely et al., p. 15).

Acknowledging the capacity of local people to govern and manage their own affairs

42

requires a shift in thinking on the part of the outside agent that may or may not be a

comfortable transition.

Appreciative Inquiry and Research

Pointing to the broader social implications of qualitative research and the

selection of methodology, Cooperrider and Srivastva (1987) call for researchers to

consider the generative capacity of positive approaches to research. Generative capacity

in this sense considers the ability to foster dialogue about that which is taken for granted

and people's capacity for generating fresh alternatives for social action.

Cooperrider and Srivastva (1987) contend that the traditional approach to research

is too entrenched in the problem-solving mentality, thus rendering it unsuited for

generating imaginative, passionate, and creative theory. This lack of theory creates a void

in the growth and transformation of the collective consciousness. They call for

researchers to "re-awaken the imaginative spirit" of research" (Cooperrider & Srivastva,

p. 17). According to the authors, in order to understand the complexity and implications

of social organizations, researchers must appreciate what is and seek to learn from it as

opposed to fixing it. Cooperrider and Srivastva argue that appreciative inquiry is uniquely

suited to generative theory in that it takes as its starting place the recognition and

appreciation of what is through interviews, storytelling, and a collective analysis of

success. The authors recognize that the method(s) selected for any research project are

impacted by the view of what the researcher wants to study; "through our assumptions

and choice of method we largely create the world we later discover" (Cooperrider &

Srivastva, p. 1).

43

Appreciative inquiry is often described in the literature as having four phases—

discovery, dream, design, and destiny (see Cooperrider & Whitney, 2005; Elliott, 1999;

Michael, 2005; Peterson, 2000). These phases are well summarized by Michael (2005):

The 4D Model... starts by appreciating, or 'Discovery'. This first phase of the organisational project is about learning: discovering the best of the moments and memories in the history of an organisation and its people. The second stage, 'Dreaming', builds on these exceptional life moments to envision what the organisation could be in the future. The focus of the [appreciative] process then moves to 'Designing' the organisational future envisioned by the group for itself, and finally, to agreeing on each person's role in achieving that 'Destiny' (p.223).

According to Cooperrider & Whitney (2005), "The core task of the discovery

phase is to discover and disclose positive capacity...[appreciative interviewing] provides

a practical way to ignite this 'spirit of inquiry'" (p. 7). During the discovery phase,

participants are encouraged to use appreciative interviewing techniques to draw out

stories of the positive past experiences of the individual and group (Cooperrider &

Whitney, 2005; Elliott, 1999; Michael, 2005; Peterson, 2000). Appreciative interviews

aim to highlight, learn from, and inspire positive energy for development—they are

typically designed to have open-ended dialogue, state questions in the affirmative, and

enhance the possibilities for story-telling (Peterson, 2000). According to Bushe (1995)

appreciative interviewing is about more than asking positive questions; it is aimed at

discovering, understanding and amplifying positive experiences to build energy for

change. Further to asking positive questions, a well-crafted appreciative interview seeks

to uncover how and why change took place. Appreciative interviews uncover the

contextual situation that has contributed to the realization of a particular story of

success—exploring the particulars of the contributions of individuals, the ways people

worked together, and the environmental factors that played a role (Elliott, 1999). While

appreciative interviewing is generally used as a technique that contributes to larger

appreciative inquiry interventions (involving all four phases), it has also been used as a

stand-alone research methodology (see Michael, 2005).

There is generally little critique of appreciative inquiry in the literature, however

certain scholars have raised questions about its evaluative capacity (Rogers & Fraser,

2003) and its use as a methodology for action research (Grant & Humphries, 2006). In an

article comparing and contrasting appreciative inquiry and critical theories approaches,

Grant and Humphries (2006) question whether "an overt commitment to 'the positive' by

a zealous appreciative inquirer [may silence] potentially emancipatory critique" (p. 415).

Rogers and Fraser (2003) add that there are certain contexts in which seeking "explicitly

for positive features as Appreciative Inquiry does.. .runs the very real risk of papering

over substantive problems and in fact colluding with the powerful people who want the

unexamined [problems] to remain so" (p. 77). They go on to say that, in situations of

"grinding poverty, gender inequality, violence, and disease.. .it seems that Appreciative

Inquiry is likely to be most useful when the purpose.. .is not to identify unknown

problems but to identify strengths.. .and build courage to attend to known problems" (p.

77). While appreciative inquiry may have certain limitations as a research methodology

depending on the focus of the study and the context in which it occurs, appreciative

interviewing techniques are uniquely suited to research that aims to bring to light and

learn from the existing capacity of an organization or community.

An appreciative research methodology, including appreciative interviewing,

appears compatible with an asset-based approach to community development. As

Cooperrider and Whitney (2005) posit in support of an appreciative approach, "human

45

systems grow in the direction of what they persistently ask questions about, and this

propensity is strongest and most sustainable when the means and ends of inquiry are

positively correlated" (p. 9). By highlighting what is strong and vibrant about a

community, it will continue to move in that direction.

Research on emergent or informal leadership has been tackled through

appreciative and participatory approaches (for example, see Beachy, Kemp, O'Loughlin,

Smith, & Soo, 2005; Pescosolido, 2002). According to Beachy et al., who used

appreciative interviewing to learn about emerging and established leaders within the

voluntary sector, appreciating successes generates positive and collaborative feelings

among learners. They note that, "appreciative inquiry served as a framework to discover

shared meaning and values, and to engage with others in the questions about what we

valued most...[and] when they were their best as leaders" (Beachy et al., 2005, p. 11). An

appreciative approach is well suited to research involving participants for whom the

richness of their experience can be explored through story-telling.

Summary of the Literature

In this critical review of the literature, I have examined the theories of

transformative adult education, asset-based and community-driven development, and

informal leadership. I have highlighted areas of convergence and divergence in these

three extensive bodies of theory, and also briefly reviewed literature supporting

appreciative approaches to qualitative data gathering. The review is intended to build on

the work of transformative adult education scholars, such as Mezirow (1978, 1991,1995,

1997, 2002), Cranton (1994), Freire (1970), and Taylor (1998), and to illuminate how

issues common to discussions of transformative adult education can be further

46

understood through an examination of community-driven development and informal

leadership theory.

There are three main areas of overlap in the literature examined in this review.

They are: (a) the interplay between individual and societal transformation; (b) the role of

power (and empowerment) in authentic transformation, and (c) the role of the informal

leader in catalyzing and realizing transformation (supported by an adult educator and/or

in the role of adult educator).

My review of transformative adult education illustrates that there is a strong

debate in the literature as to whether either individual transformation or societal

transformation is a necessary precursor to the other, and which type of transformation is

the ultimate goal of transformative learning (see Cranton, 1994; Taylor, 1998). Mezirow

(1991, 1997) claims that while individual transformation can sometimes inspire broader

societal transformation, it can be just as nobly an end in itself. He is but one theorists who

contends that individual transformation must come before social transformation (see also

Brookfield, 1987; Taylor, 1998). Freire (1970) disagrees on both counts, clearly stating

that the purpose of all transformation is social change for the liberation of the oppressed

and that individuals may be inspired to transform through their participation in collective

learning and action (1970). Community-driven development theorists espouse the

ultimate goal of community-level or societal transformation—as opposed to individual

transformation being a sufficient end in itself. This stance is informed by, among others,

the work of Freire (see also Cunningham, 1989; Freire & Macedo, 1995; Ledwith, 2001).

However, the interplay and importance of individual transformation is noted in

community-driven development and informal leadership literature, especially in terms of

the role of certain key leaders at the community level (often informal leaders) m

catalyzing broader transformation through modeling their own individual transformation

(see Diacon & Guimaraes, 2003; Mathie & Cunningham, 2003, 2005; Kouzes & Posner,

1988; Pescosolido, 2001; and McNeely et al., 1999). In this way, community-driven

development theory and the role of informal leaders support the idea that individual

transformation often precedes social transformation. Essentially, community-driven

development theory seems to draw out the interplay between the individual and group as

cyclical catalysts of transformation in one another. Some transformative adult educators,

such as Cranton (1994) and Boyd and Myers (1988), seem to agree.

The role of power and empowerment crosses the theories of transformation adult

education, community-driven development, and informal leadership. Using the theory of

transformative learning, Mezirow (1995) shows that learners' previous experiences are

the foundation for their world views and, furthermore, the reflection upon, and critical

examination of these experiences, is the starting point for transformation. This

acknowledgement of the centrality of the learners' experience illustrates a synergy

between transformative learning theory and community-driven development.

Community-driven development often begins with an examination and collective

appreciation of local assets, capacity, and knowledge such that development efforts are

driven by local realities and are more sustainable than externally-driven approaches

(Koch, 2005; Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993; Mathie & Cunningham 2003; 2005). Adult

educators seeking to support authentically transformative experiences let the power and

agenda rest with the learners. Authentic community-driven development lets the power

and agenda come from the community and not from an outsider.

48

If the goal is community-driven development in which the community's agenda is

the focus, the outsider must tread carefully and acknowledge the potential power

dynamics at play in his or her interactions in the community. Cranton (1994), Mezirow

(2002), and Freire and Gramsci (as cited in Ledwith, 2001) agree that adult educators

have a responsibility to not only trust in learners' power and capacity to think and act on

their own behalf, they must consciously relinquish their own directive power to let that of

the learners emerge. I explored the issue of power in the section on informal leadership,

especially showing the differences between formal and informal leaders, and in

understanding how informal leaders can catalyze transformation. The informal leader is

an adult educator who inherently shares power as he or she does not have formal position

power upon which to draw (Heifetz, 1994; Pielstick, 2000).

One question remaining is, to what extent does the community need to be ready

for learning and transformation? Also, what is the role of the leader or educator in

supporting this preparedness? Throughout the literature in this review, agency is a

concept discussed in terms of determining an individual or group's readiness for

transformation. The act of demonstrating one's agency can also be called active

citizenship (Merrifield, 2002), and is dependent on one's inclusion in the discourse

(Mezirow, 2002). According to Merrifield, adult educators can encourage critical

thinking and inclusion in the discourse, thus supporting the emergence of local agency

and the potential for transformation. Brookfield's (1987) discussion on critical thinking

as a precursor to meaningful civic engagement relates to the study of the role informal

leaders can play in challenging long-held beliefs to inspire change and development.

49

In the section on informal leadership, I illustrate how informal leaders can be

critical thinkers and risk takers, catalyzing elements of social networks, and agents of

transformation. Based on the literature, informal leaders are not only supported by adult

educators, but they may play the role of adult educator themselves in catalyzing change

through encouraging critical reflection and participation in discourse, promoting a

learner-driven agenda for transformation, and modelling positive transformation

throughout their social networks.

Theoretical Gaps in the Literature

My research serves to address certain theoretical gaps in the literature. One

notable gap is the significant focus in the informal leadership literature on business

leadership seemingly at the expense of community leadership. Certainly there are many

authors who discuss leadership from a community perspective, but they tend to focus on

formal or elected community leaders. The organizational leadership literature, while

having some studies of informal leadership and its interplay with formal leadership, is not

necessarily directly applicable to the study of informal leadership at the community level.

Mathie and Cunningham (2005) explain that community-driven development

typically relies on certain individuals who catalyze change from within communities, and

requires a strong associational base that mobilizes around such leaders to undertake

development initiatives. They explicitly call for further research on the qualities of

community leaders and the nature of leadership as it applies to community-driven

development. Through empirical research, I intend to help bridge the gap between

informal leadership and community development theory.

50

Another theoretical gap in the literature that my study addresses is the typical

"Northern" context of the literature on leadership, transformative adult education and, to

some extent, asset-based and community-driven development. The vast majority of

transformative adult education theory is rather vague in its dealing with variances across

cultures and societies, although there are notable exceptions (Freire, 1970; O' Sullivan,

Morell, & O'Connor, 2002; O'Sullivan & Taylor, 2004). While I acknowledge that these

theorists aim to develop theoretical principles not limited to a certain setting by using

their lens, what they gain in broad appeal, they lose in practical application. For example,

Mezirow's body of work is either without reference to the intricacies and considerations

of transformation across cultures and societies or is supported with examples from the

North. Further and varied empirical evidence is needed to test the relevance of his theory

of transformative learning across cultures. Similarly, leadership literature, in its distinct

organizational focus, also has a significant Northern bias. Most corporations and

organizations studied in leadership theory are based in Northern countries using Northern

business models. Asset-based and community-driven development literature—and its

informing bodies of theory such as social capital, sustainable livelihoods, and

participatory rural appraisal—do explore both Northern and Southern contexts, though

the role of informal leaders in Southern communities could be further developed. This

study contributes to filling this gap by providing empirical research from a Southern

context with relevance to these three topics.

A final gap in the literature that this study addresses is the use and implications of

using appreciative approaches to data gathering. The call of leading appreciative inquiry

theorists such as Cooperrider and Srivastva (1987) towards a positive and "generative"

51

approach to qualitative research resonates with me; this approach seems to logically fit

with asset-based approaches to community-driven development. The research

methodology employed in this study uses appreciative interviewing techniques and thus

provides an example for future researchers endeavouring to use an appreciative approach.

52

CHAPTER 3: DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY

In this study I explore stories of the role of informal leadership in three instances

of communities undertaking a community-driven approach to development. Using an

appreciative approach to the research design and implementation, the internal and

external determinants of informal leadership are explored. The study is designed to

address certain gaps noted in the literature on informal leadership, transformative adult

education, and community-driven development by providing field-based research from a

community and Southern context. The study's Certificate of Ethical Approval granted by

the St. Francis Xavier University Research Ethics Board is included as Appendix B .

Research Methodology and Rationale

The study was qualitative in nature, using interviewing, observation, and a review

of relevant documentation to gather data. The research methodology for this study drew

on both an appreciative inquiry model (see Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987; Cooperrider

& Whitney, 2005) and a multiple case study analysis as the basis for the questioning and

overall approach. Multiple case study analysis, as presented by Stake (2006), can provide

an additional layer of analysis and generalizability of findings to the researcher. This type

of analysis balances the healthy tension between the generalizable (multi-case) and

particular (single case). By exploring the experiences of informal leaders in three distinct

communities, I was able to analyze the role of informal leaders from a broader

perspective than would have been possible based on data from a single site.

1 Since submitting and receiving approval from the Research Ethics Board, I changed the title of my thesis to better reflect the discussion and analysis presented—from "Determinants and Implications of Informal Leadership in Community-driven Development", as is noted on the Certificate of Ethical Approval, to "Informal Leadership in Community-driven Development: Implications for Transformation." There were no changes in my research design or methodology.

53

The study also provides an example of an appreciative approach to research,

adding to the literature supporting the generative capacity of such an approach.

According to Elliot (1999), the overarching goal of an appreciative approach is to

"[transform] a culture from one that sees itself in largely negative terms.. .to one that sees

itself as having within it the capacity to enrich and enhance the quality of life of all its

stakeholders" (p. 12). My research methodology kept with this philosophy of allowing

participants to recognize and celebrate their capacities and past accomplishments in the

analysis of the stories of their emergence as informal leaders.

In conducting the interviews, I used appreciative interviewing techniques, which

focused on learning from past successes. As each community was already entrenched in

its own development process, my intention was not to introduce a broad community

development approach such as appreciative inquiry. Instead, I wanted to construct a

research methodology that complimented the work already underway in these

communities while still allowing for deeper reflection on the critical role that informal

leaders have played in the communities' successes. Given the synergy between asset-

based approaches to development and appreciative inquiry, I chose to design interviews

that adhered to the same general principles used in those conducted in the discovery stage

of a more formal appreciative inquiry.

According to Bushe (1995), an appreciative intervention (whether full scale

appreciative inquiry or more informal appreciative interviewing), seeks to accomplish

three things. First, it seeks to discover the best examples of past success in the

organization or community. Participants were asked to share stories of past successes and

their experiences of development within their community with questions such as: "Can

54

you tell me a story about a time when you felt the community development process in

your community was going very well—when people were working together and

achieving their goals?" and "What is the most significant change that you have witnessed

in your community since you became involved as a leader in the community? Why was it

significant?"

Second, an appreciative intervention seeks to understand what creates the best

examples of past successes—further exploring the context in which success took place. In

my research methodology, I used probing questions to help participants examine the

factors (internal and external) that contributed to their past successes more deeply. Such

probing questions included "What role did you/others/the surrounding environment play

in [a particular experience]?"; "What personal characteristics do you think [informal

leaders/you] possess that helped you emerge as a leader in your community?"; and "Have

there been particular people from outside the community that have supported [informal

leaders/you] in being actively involved [within the community]?". Probing for further

details about the success stories gave participants the opportunity and encouragement to

analyze their own situations and their reasons for success. This was intended to support

the maintenance of ownership of the information within the community through allowing

an opportunity for reflective learning by participants.

Third, an appreciative intervention seeks to amplify the people and processes who

exemplify success in the community. According to Bushe (1995), "Through the process

of the inquiry itself, the elements that contribute to superior performance are reinforced

and amplified" (p. 16). Although I didn't intend to carry out a comprehensive

development process, I did want to contribute to the positive development of the

55

community by discovering, understanding, and amplifying the experiences of informal

leaders. My presence as an interviewer, interested in and appreciative of informal leaders,

was a method of amplification in and of itself.

Interviews lasted between 45 and 120 minutes, depending on the time each

participant could spend in discussion away from other commitments. All participants

were asked about themselves, their communities, and their perspectives on leadership and

its role in their communities (see Appendix C for a full list of interview questions).

Research Design

The field work for this study took place in February 2006 in three communities of

Mindanao, Philippines. The communities were identified collaboratively by members of

XUCAC and Coady staff. The research for this study was conducted concurrently with a

broader research study of the role of assets and agency in successful community-driven

development. Consensus was reached by the research team of the broader study—of

which I was a member—as to what was meant by "successful"; representative

communities were identified accordingly. A case of successful community-driven

development was deemed to be one in which the community had mobilized its own

resources for community development in an ongoing way and with minimal support from

an external agency.

Each community had several documented stories of how its citizens had been able

to come together to improve the economic or social situation. Each community was also

involved in ongoing action research on asset-based approaches to community-driven

development through XUCAC extension work through which XUCAC played a notable

role, at least initially, in helping the community members recognize and organize their

56

internal capacities to drive their own development initiatives. From the pool of leaders in

each of these communities, through consultation with XUCAC, formal community

leaders and other community members, I identified potential research participants and

subsequently recruited them.

Once potential participants were identified, XUCAC extension workers and I

approached individual people. I chose not to present interview participants with a written

consent form to read and sign due to their generally low literacy levels. Instead, I worked

closely with the XUCAC staff and translators to verbally explain the purpose of the study

and their potential role within it.

Data collection techniques for this study ranged from oral accounts, gathered

during interviews; found documents, including existing project documentation; and

written responses, including my personal notes and reflections. Throughout the field

research, I kept detailed field notes of personal observation about the subjects,

communities, and context. I also included a thorough review of project documentation on

the promotion of asset-based and community-driven approaches to development in these

communities.

I took a case study approach to the research design in order to explore in detail the

specific role and experiences of six informal leaders in three distinct communities.

Because many of the participants in my study had low levels of literacy, I deemed

interviews to be the most appropriate method to gather primary data. I designed the

interview phase of the research to take place in two parts. Part 1 comprised of interviews

with six informal leaders while Part 2 comprised of interviews with six other stakeholders

from the three communities. The interview questions were designed to reflect an

57

appreciative approach to data gathering in the interest of both researcher and participant

being able to learn from the communities' past successes.

Although the communities represented in this study were identified because they

were deemed to be successfully engaged in driving their own development by using local

skills, assets and the local agenda to guide their initiatives, the role of XUCAC in the

development stories of each community should be noted. Whether through providing

formal training, assistance in community organizing or acting as a link between the

community and external institutions, the XUCAC extension staff were very engaged in

each community's development as well as in the emergence of their informal leaders. In

addition, the nature of my research methodology in selecting the participants for Part 1

necessitated XUCAC to be able to identify or verify informal leaders in each community,

and so participants tended to be those with whom XUCAC had experienced closer

contact. Given this, there is a certain element of leadership emergence throughout the

case studies that may not be applicable in other non-supported contexts.

I gave the participating XUCAC staff an official letter of invitation and a consent

form, which they each signed. This document outlined their potential role as a translator

in the research process and defined the purpose of the study. Six of the 12 interviews

were conducted through translation. There were a total of three people who translated for

me, each having signed this consent form. I also presented participating XUCAC staff

members with an additional document that explained the rights of interview participants

because they would be working with me in translating this information to interviewees

both before and after the formal interviews. Some of the XUCAC staff were also

interviewed in Part 2, so the distribution of this document served a double purpose. It was

58

made explicitly clear to each person that, under no circumstance, they should exert

pressure on a potential interview candidate to participate against his or her will. Given

that many of the XUCAC staff had pre-existing relationships with certain members of the

selected communities, it was important to stress this point.

My own study on informal leadership was embedded within a broader study of

the role of assets and agency in community-driven development. The research was

carried out simultaneously and I was an active researcher in both. Certain documentation

gathered for the broader study was useful in understanding the context of my research;

additionally, some of my field notes were influenced by the questions being asked for the

other study. Consistent with the method of reporting in the broader study, I have used

pseudonyms for all interview participants in this study, while using real names of

organizations and villages as I found no reasonable ethical concern in doing so.

Research Participants

The research consisted of semi-structured, appreciative interviews conducted in

two parts. In Part 1,1 interviewed six informal leaders (two from each of the three

communities). This group includes four men and two women and reflect a range of ages

from 31 to 44. In Part 2,1 interviewed six other stakeholders from each community,

including formal leaders, development practitioners, and other community members.

Each participant in this group wase required to be able to speak to the work, influence

and/or impact of the informal leaders identified from his or her community. The Part 2

participants include four women and two men and reflect a range of ages from 30 to 50.

Pseudonyms are used throughout the presentation of the findings in order to protect the

anonymity of participants. The names that begin with the letter L indicate that the

59

individual is a participant in Part 1: an informal leader. The names that begin with the

letter O indicate that the individual is a participant in Part 2: one other than an informal

leader.

Certain informal leaders interviewed for this study could be considered to hold

formal leadership positions as well. The line between formal and informal leadership can

often blur depending on the community and the context. This blurriness is explored in

more detail in the case studies.

Analysis

Immediately following each interview, I transcribed my detailed written interview

notes into electronic document files. This was an important step as the stories and

experiences of each interview were still fresh in my mind. Given more time between

interview and transcription, I may not have been able to capture as much of the rich detail

of the interviews. I captured the content of the interviews in the same chronological order

as it was shared in the conversational interview process. This presented a challenge later

when trying to extrapolate the various responses to a certain question across interviews;

however, I felt the importance of capturing the stories, as much as possible, in the spirit

and cadence in which they were told. This also helped to capture all the information that

was shared without worrying about "where it fit." At a later date, I took the notes from

each interview and filtered for the results of each question. Though time-consuming, this

process allowed the authenticity of the participants' stories, as well as long verbatim

quotes, to remain intact.

60

Findings

In each of the three case studies that follow, I provide a contextual backdrop for the

stories of informal leadership by briefly outlining key details in the background of each

community, as well as the significant elements and achievements of their approach to

community development. I then describe, in detail, the stories of two informal leaders

from each community, highlighting specific internal and external determinants of their

leadership emergence. The stories are developed through the personal testimonials of

informal leaders and are supported by other stakeholders who participated in Part 2 of the

interview phase (such as formal community leaders and representatives of external

development agencies). The case studies are followed by a presentation of findings across

all three case studies, specifically looking at the common characteristics and internal

determinants of the six informal leaders, as well as the supporting and challenging factors

that impacted their emergences as informal leaders.

Case 1: Informal Leadership in Midkiwan

Midkiwan is the largest among the puroks of Bayanga barangay. Situated 15 km

from Cagayan de Oro City, the roads are in poor condition and public transportation is

available only on Saturdays so that residents can transport their crops to the market to sell.

Agriculture and livestock-raising are the main livelihoods of the people. There are 74

families in this purok, which has one church, an elementary school, a meeting hall, a

basketball court, and a daycare centre. Some people own land, though many are tenants,

or live far from the land that they own and rent land in order to live in the more populated

centre. XUCAC has been working with this community for almost 10 years in various

capacities and, since 2001, has been piloting an ABCD approach.

61

Faith is very important to the people of Midkiwan. Approximately 80% of the

community members are Catholic and the church is well attended. The initial entry point

for XUC AC to the community was through their contact with a group of 15 active church

members. These 15 individuals were often regarded as leaders within the congregation

for their active participation in church and community life. XUC AC field staff conducted

an appreciative inquiry with this group to find out the community's past successes in

working together. They also used various other participatory tools to discover the assets,

strengths, and capacities in the community. With this information then in the hands of the

community, the church group began to work with XUCAC to develop a community

action plan based on the findings. However, seeing the need for a broader community

association in which all families could be represented, the church group asked XUCAC to

help facilitate the formation of the Midkiwan Community Development Association

(MICODA).

MICODA elected its 10-person leadership group to play a key role in mobilizing

the community, as well as monitoring and evaluating community projects. However, the

process of transferring leadership of development activities from XUCAC to MICODA

took time and dedication from the XUCAC field staff—developing local leaders who felt

comfortable mobilizing local resources was not an overnight process. According to Olivia,

XUCAC's lead field staff working in Midkiwan throughout the ABCD process:

For the first six months I was in the community, I facilitated all the meetings. Then I gave leadership training to anyone that was interested to participate. Many came for the trainings during which they had a chance to practice their skills and do role playing. I started telling them that after the trainings it was they that would have to facilitate all their meetings... [Now that this is happening], my focus is on supporting project implementation.

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Leader 1: Lily. The first of the two informal leaders interviewed in Midkiwan is a

43-year-old woman who I refer to as Lily. She is married and the mother of five children.

She and her husband are organic farmers of banana, corn and coconut. They also raise

livestock. For the past 2 years, she has been the president of MICOD A.

Lily has experience as a leader and teacher within the church. In addition to her

14 years as a catechism teacher and youth group leader, she recounted how she came to

be seen as an informal leader in Midkiwan:

I used to be a member of the community church group, but then I did not see myself as a leader. Other people said that I was. Anytime there was a training, I attended it. I wanted to learn and that's what people saw in me. When facilitators asked questions, no one wanted to speak so it was me that spoke.

According to Olivia, "Lily as a leader is calm, even if she is scolded or insulted.

She is patient and relaxed. She can respond politely to insulting people and then just get

on with it." Olivia continued, saying, "Lily prays so much, I think she has spiritual

guidance and she offers other people spiritual guidance. She has had a challenging home

life but she does not complain. She just keeps moving forward."

Lily has been supported in her leadership emergence by XUCAC. She has taken

part in many capacity-building trainings and workshops offered to MICODA members by

XUCAC, including animal management, leadership, and human relationships. She has

also benefited from one-on-one support, particularly from Olivia, as XUCAC attempted

to transfer leadership and meeting facilitation to the community through MICODA.

However, the active involvement of XUCAC in supporting the emergence of Lily

(and Leeto, the other informal leader interviewed in Midkiwan) had both advantages and

disadvantages for the emerging leaders. According to Omar, an elected leader on the

community council, "Lily and Leeto were given the information to give to everyone else

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from the outside organization.. .which helped them maintain their leadership role."

However, as some other community members noticed the extra attention being paid to

these few people, there were scattered incidents of backlash. In Lily's case, she had

volunteered to lead the local daycare centre as she had the most experience in this area,

but the community would not allow her to take on that role. Olivia acknowledged the role

that XUCAC's attention to Lily likely played in the community's decision:

The people said that Lily already had enough responsibilities and so they wanted [another] person... Maybe some people were jealous of Lily at the beginning because she was getting a lot of attention from us and a lot of responsibilities within the project.

Lily has had to overcome challenges to taking a leadership role in her community.

Most significantly, her position was regularly challenged both verbally and physically, by

another community member who, according to Lily "continuously tried to create disunity

in our group and separate the people." Through dealing with this challenging person,

Lily's confidence in her leadership grew:

Finally there was one time when I realized that if I just kept quiet her trouble would never stop. So it was high time to fight back and show my leadership position. I confronted the person.. .1 told her she was not welcome at the meetings. Now it is easier to work.. .and I am able to lead the group better.

Omar, Ophelia, Olivia, and Lily herself, concur that Lily supports the

community's transformation by always trying to motivate others through setting an

example with her own behaviour. According to Ophelia, the leader of the local farming

cooperative, "when something has to be done, [Lily] just does it and does not have to

wait for someone else to do it. She does things herself and takes initiative. People are

motivated by her behaviour." Lily herself described a time when she motivated people to

come together to build a community meeting space: "During the construction I tried to set

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an example for other people. If I was not there working alongside people and if I tried to

demand their participation or materials, they will not do it." Lily's capacity to motivate

others through her words and action has secured her position as an informal leader in the

eyes of others in the community for many years.

Leader 2: Leeto. The second of the two informal leaders interviewed in

Midkiwan is a 40-year-old man I refer to here as Leeto. Married with four children, Leeto

makes his livelihood from raising animals, farming corn, squash, and cassava, and selling

firewood gathered from his land. He is an active member of MICODA, as well as the

local consumers' cooperative and the church association.

According to Omar, "Leeto is seen as a leader because he is active in every

activity. He is trustworthy and hardworking and dedicated—I can see this in his

participation in every project and every meeting." Ophelia added to this description:

"Leeto seems hard-working and he always asks questions in meetings about projects. He

is not shy to ask questions and to talk to all people. Most of the people here are shy and

timid but he talks to everyone." Leeto described his actions similarly, saying, "I was one

of the only very few men involved in the community development work. I participated in

every project of MICODA—I attend meetings and give my labour and even my carpentry

skills."

Leeto has taken part in capacity building trainings including community animal

health, organizing, and animal management. As Leeto described, his participation in

XUCAC's capacity building trainings had an impact on his emergence as a leader in the

community:

After taking part in the community animal health workshop, I was selected by the facilitators to become a community animal health volunteer... [so] if someone has

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a problem with their animal in the community I am able to help them. If I can't I can refer them to the city vet or sometimes I go to the city vet on their behalf and ask questions so that I can bring them back the answer.

Leeto has also faced challenges in emerging as a leader. According to Olivia,

"Leeto is easily discouraged and some people do not like him... [However], he also

responds well to affirmation so we.. .keep giving him that." Echoing the value of such

support, Leeto acknowledged how he feels XUCAC staff helped him grow as a leader:

"They trusted me and gave me confidence in my abilities when they asked me to be a

trainer and a community animal health volunteer."

Similar to the experience of Lily, Leeto acknowledged the risks associated with

the perception that he or other MICODA members are XUCAC favourites. He said:

The people there at [XUCAC] noticed me and began to assign me tasks and talk to me as a contact in the community. Another man in the community was upset by this and thought it wasn't right that I was getting too much power. He started telling stories about me.

Leeto described how participating in the ABCD process has helped him to see his

own potential and has given him confidence that he can support transformation in others.

He explained:

Before ABCD, I was already a church member and leader but I wasn't sure what tasks or direction to take or what to do. We all just went to church on Sundays and met friends after and that is all. Being involved in ABCD helped me see my potential. I started to see myself as an asset that can be used for mobilizing people. I have gained so much knowledge in sustainable agriculture and everyday I go to my farm and see that I can use more land.

Leeto's passion for his community and the process of asset-based community

development have buoyed him through challenges and helped him maintain an infectious

positive attitude about local capacity in Midkiwan.

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Case 2: Informal Leadership in San Roque

San Roque is one of 13 puroks in Tongantongan barangay. There are 53 families

in this pur ok and, located in the upland, it is one of the poorest and most isolated areas of

Tongantongan. It has few infrastructural resources with the notable exception of a

learning centre which will be discussed. Most residents rely on agriculture for their

livelihood, though the hilly terrain creates challenges for farming. Within the last 2 years,

a road has been established linking San Roque to the rest of the barangay and enabling

farmers to have significantly easier access to markets.

The Director of XUCAC's Sustainable Agriculture Centre described how, despite

their lack of physical and financial resources, the community has other assets that have

allowed them to succeed in various community-driven development initiatives:

Community cooperation and strong cohesion are the most important assets in San Roque. Although they have fewer financial resources from which to draw as compared to their lowland counterparts, they have been able to come together to successfully build a learning centre, host major training events, help one another establish productive farms, and become model farmers. (Tagupa, personal communication, February 6, 2006)

XUCAC's intervention in the community began in 2001 when they facilitated a

process of asset-mapping, visioning, and community development. They started by

working with volunteer purok leaders to develop and conduct asset-mapping surveys of

all community members. Each of the 13 puroks of Tongantongan have an elected purok

leader—an unpaid volunteer who acts as spokesperson for their area and who is given the

opportunity to participate in capacity-building trainings, often around leadership.

2 Tagupa's statement was made in an informal conversation with me during the course of my field research. He is an XUCAC employee, was fully informed of the study, and signed a consent form to participate in the research project. When I recorded that statement, I informed him that it may be used in my report and he consented to its potential inclusion. He was not a formally identified research participant.

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With increased local organization into associations, teams and local representation,

there seems to be an effect of structuring or formalizing the leadership positions of

informal leaders. San Roque is such a case where, in the process of developing a strong

community-driven development model, the differentiation between formal and informal

leadership has become somewhat blurred, particularly from the view of an outsider.

However, it was clear to me from talking with community members and formal leaders

within this community that the local people do not consider the pur ok leaders to be

formal leaders. They are instead seen as neighbours who are nominated to share the

problems and concerns of their village with the formal leadership of the barangay as

necessary. Essentially, if individuals are selected to bepurok leaders, it is an indication

that the people see them as leaders and trust them to represent the important local issues

to those with authority to institute changes. It is important to note, however, that in a

different context—one with a more established and formalized hierarchical leadership

structure—San Roque''s pur ok leaders could be seen to hold formal positions of

leadership.

The involvement of XUCAC has likely influenced the types of informal leaders

that have emerged and the role that they play in leading their community. This finding is

supported by the stories of informal leaders that were uncovered in this study. XUCAC

offers regular trainings on sustainable agriculture practice and, from those who have

participated and implemented the learning on their farms, XUCAC actively recruits a

pool of farmer-trainers. This pool of people, often with little formal education, is

encouraged to share their knowledge and skills with others—thus building confidence

and instilling a sense of capacity in their abilities.

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Most of the people interviewed, whether leaders or others, indicated that the

informal leaders in San Roque teach without being teachers—this is demonstrated in the

stories of both informal leaders below. Differing from a social service model of

community development, these leaders demonstrate how helping themselves can help

others as well. According to Oscar, a community development worker for over 20 years

in the community, informal leaders "allow and encourage other leaders to emerge [by

making] a difference in their own farm and family first." This is both inspiring and

educational for others in the community, demonstrating the capacity of local people,

knowledge, and resources.

Leader 3: Luis. The first of the two informal leaders interviewed from San Roque

is a 35-year-old man who is married with four children. Luis, a pseudonym, is most

notably a well-respected and successful farmer, though he is also seen as a leader through

the role he plays in helping to organize the local church association. In addition, Luis was

recently elected the chairperson of the upland division of the Tongantongan Organic

Farmers Society for Sustainable Agriculture (TOFSSA). His election to this more formal

leadership position seems to have been precipitated by his success as an informal leader.

Luis and his wife were early adopters of sustainable agriculture practices in San

Roque, participating in some of the first trainings offered by XUCAC. According to

Oscar, "[Luis'] farming activity is very successful—he has his own techniques and

financially he is capable. People respect a person that is financially capable and food

secure."

Luis is challenged in balancing his responsibilities to the broader community with

those to his home life, which has impacted his ability to emerge as a leader. He said, "I

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neglect my family and my farm sometimes as a leader because I have to solve problems

in the community. I have tried to adjust this situation.. .but it is a challenge."

Though he does not have formal education, Luis is known as a teacher in the

community. According to Luis, "I teach people things often but I am not a teacher. It is

the informal way I share my skills and knowledge." In such a way, Luis was one of the

first to reinstitute the practice of bayanihan in San Roque. Bayanihan, a traditional

system of organizing agricultural labour among the local people, involves neighbours

meeting to help one another with daily farming activities or special projects and/or

renovations. According to Luis, "before we started changing our farms [to sustainable

agriculture], bayanihan was not functioning here and we were separated." Luis described

how he organized bayanihan:

It takes more labour to farm [without pesticides] and I could not handle all the work alone. I felt the need to organize bayanihan to mobilize my friends and neighbours to help me with establishing rock wall contour farming on my land. When people saw that my trial farm was successful, naturally they wanted to learn about it because they too wanted a successful farm. They asked me to share my knowledge and so I agreed as long as it was through bayanihan. First I invited 16 members to work with me on my land and learn from what I was doing. Then we organized a schedule to work together on their lands.

Because of the heavy influence of XUCAC in the community, the re-emergence

of bayanihan is particularly significant in demonstrating San Roque's community-driven

approach to development. According to Luis,

Although [XUCAC] was playing an important role in the community through giving us knowledge about sustainable agriculture, it was us that decided to use bayanihan. We used our unity and cooperation to organize the labour ourselves. [XUCAC] continues to help us know what activities.. .we need to mobilize our bayanihan to achieve.

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Through his natural skills for both farming and teaching, Luis is able to demonstrate to

other community members on a daily basis that great results are possible through relying

on local assets, including each other.

Leader 4: Luke. The second informal leader interviewed in San Roque is an

indigenous man, just over 40 years old, who is referred to as Luke. He is the purok leader,

helping to bring issues from their small community to the broader barangay. Luke is

noted for his care and compassion. From his own perspective his people skills and

willingness to participate in activities contribute to his success as a leader. He said,

The reason that I am a successful leader is that I am down to earth and I communicate with the people.. .1 talk to people individually and ask people how they are and listen to their problems.. .1 don't try to teach people but I try to set a good example.

Because Luke is a formal leader {datu) of the indigenous people in the area (an

inherited position), he was already seen to be a leader in this small indigenous

community. However, he has emerged as a leader for both the indigenous and non-

indigenous people in San Roque through his involvement as a purok leader. According to

Oscar, "Luke is sharp on knowing social processes. He has slowly transformed into a

strong leader through being the purok leader.. .He can [now] command and make

decisions." Oscar continued, saying, "Although he is a leader within the traditional

indigenous system, he is also respected by the non-indigenous people in the community."

Throughout the course of interviews and informal discussions, no one else in the

community (including Luke himself) mentioned that he is the datu, indicating that his

formal leadership position may have had a minimal impact on his emergence as an

informal leader for the broader, non-indigenous community in San Roque.

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The formal leadership in Tongantongan (especially the barangay captain, Ona)

has allowed for, and supports the emergence of, informal leaders in the role of purok

leader. These leaders are assessed by their more formal counterparts to have a unique

ability to motivate and inspire their peers to action; they are also considered by the people

to be equals and are respected for volunteering their time to work toward the greater good

of the community. Although volunteer purok leaders were already in place, the beginning

of the ABCD process changed the role of the purok leaders. According to Ona,

Now, instead of only asking for outside assistance, [from the barangay council or government agencies], they help organize people to use our local resources. The purok leaders attend quarterly meetings organized by the barangay council so that they can share their ideas, problems and strategies with one another and with the council, thereby building their leadership capacity.

According to Ona, through his position as a. purok leader, Luke plays a larger role

in leading the local people than the barangay council (formal leadership). He always

attends meetings and is close to the people so he knows what issues to share on their

behalf. Luke has made considerable linkages with formal leaders and agencies outside of

San Roque through his dedication to San Roque and his role as purok leader. For example,

it was largely through Luke's initiative that the barangay decided to construct the farm-

to-market road that has made a significant impact to the livelihoods of people in San

Roque. As a motivator, he encouraged people to participate in and benefit from the

project: "Through meetings and talking to people individually, I motivated people to start

growing more produce to sell and to get organized for when the road is built."

One of the most successful community-driven projects undertaken in San Roque,

the construction of a massive local learning centre, also relied on the internal mobilizing

and external advocating skills of Luke. According to Luke,

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It was me that worked with the barangay captain to make a formal resolution to the city to donate corrugated iron for the roof of the addition to the [learning centre] which was successful. I also secured food donations from the barangay to support the community members engaged in bayanihan to build the [learning centre] because they were not spending the time working their land on the days we were working together. This way we would stay together to work and not disperse when it was time to eat. The barangay captain told me where to go, who to talk to, what to write, and what to say. But it was me that did the work.

Case 3: Informal Leadership in Kitaotao

The rural village of Kitaotao is a squatter settlement comprised of 18 families and

40 households on the outskirts of a city. All 18 families are of indigenous descent and

identify strongly with their traditional tribal—lumad—culture. They follow their own

religion and have retained customary practices for initiation, marriage, gender-based

division of labour, and social sanctioning. Like many indigenous groups, lumad people

face oppression, discrimination and negative stereotypes about their ability to contribute

meaningfully to society. To a certain extent, these negative stereotypes have permeated

this lumad community's way of thinking about itself.

Each tribal community has a traditional tribal leader or datu, an inherited position

from father to son or son-in-law. Although lumad communities exist within the formal

Philippine system of government, "the government [recognizes] the inherent right of the

tribe to self governance and [respects] their values to freely pursue their economic, social

and cultural development" (Morden, 1986, p. 1). According to Morden, the datu is known

as "the arbiter, preacher, facilitator, warrior, protector, provider, and mediator of the

community" (p. 1). Under the leadership of the datu and other elders, lumad culture tends

to support and value consensus building within its communities. According to Oria, the

community organizer seconded to the community by XUCAC, in some residents' eyes,

the situation in Kitaotao differs from the norm. Their datu is supported by some, but

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many feel his authoritarian style impedes the community's development. He is seen by

many within the community to be unapproachable and autocratic, alienating the

community members by not including them in any decision-making.

Despite these challenges, there are strong social networks in Kitaotao, including

the emergence of a group of informal leaders who have been committed to participating

in the ABCD process with the XUCAC community organizer, despite the opposition of

the datu. The group's largest and most successful project is a 0.7 hectare communal

garden. According to Oria, the gardening association took social and political risks in

breaking away from the traditional system; they faced harassment from supporters of the

datu that caused the resolve of some members to waver. Through the support and

encouragement of community organizers, however, the gardening group began to realize

their potential to lead their own affairs, especially after taking part in leadership training

to build their confidence.

Of particular interest in this case is the active role of the community organizer,

Oria. Over the course of 3 years, she visited the community each week. During her visits,

she facilitated community-building tools aimed at discovering and mobilizing the local

asset base for local development. She often organized skills workshops for the local

people as they identified the kinds of training they would find useful. In addition, she also

took the time to build relationships with community members. She made a point of

participating in community events and often slept in the community, integrating as much

as possible with local life.

Despite this intensive personal commitment, Oria believes that the success in

Kitaotao reflected her work to gradually make the role of community organizer

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unnecessary. Throughout the process, she emphasized to the core group that they were

empowered and could become self-reliant. The emergence of a highly motivated and

committed core group was essential in Oria's eventual efforts to extricate herself from

their initiatives. They were able to internalize the process of community organizing and

continue to make successful strides even as the community organizer pulled away from a

leadership role.

Leader 5: Leonard. The first of the two informal leaders interviewed in Kitaotao

is a 31-year-old unmarried man who is referred to as Leonard. Leonard inherited a small

piece of land and decided to donate it to the association for the garden. He has

subsequently emerged as a leader of the association. In his role, he monitors members'

progress in the garden, manages the communal funds, and procures project supplies.

According to Oria, Leonard is acknowledged to be a natural arbitrator and

mediator within the communal gardening group and the community in general. As Oria

said, Leonard is "straightforward about his opinions and ideas [and] knows how to stand

up for himself." She went on to describe Leonard's leadership style in contrast to the

style of the formal community leader: "[Leonard puts] into action what he says.... He

will work hard—even alone—for what he believes."

As with informal leaders in both Midkiwan and Tongantongan, Leonard is one

who leads by example, using his youthful energy to motivate and encourage others. He

insisted that, "When I don't initiate activities or ideas, people are lax.. .If you call a group

together you must be the first to work so that you motivate the other people." He is a

strong proponent of consensus and democratic decision-making, though he acknowledges

this to be a challenging process at times. He said,

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One of the challenges of being an informal leader is that everyone is able to have their say and so sometimes my decisions—which would be good—are overthrown for the sake of argument. But people have the right to challenge decisions.. .It is never me dealing with the problem myself.

Several external factors have supported Leonard's emergence as a leader within

his community. He attended several capacity building courses offered through

XUCAC—notably an extensive course in nursery management—which have helped him

in his role leading the local gardening association. He is also employed at the local

barangay office. Because of this connection to the barangay office, people in the

community approach him with conflicts or issues that they feel may need to be

channelled to the barangay level. He becomes an intermediary and sometimes helps

resolve conflicts before formal leaders must become involved. Through his connection to

the barangay office and officials, he has also been able to help give information to the

barangay council about developments in the gardening project that keeps them informed

and engaged.

The most significant challenge faced by Leonard in his emergence as a leader has

been the influence of the formal leadership of the datu. According to Leonard, "before

[ABCD], people in this community were not comfortable. It was as if we were living in a

situation of martial law. Now people see the benefits of working together on this land."

Since he and the others in the gardening group have successfully pulled away from the

purview of the datu, with the notable support and encouragement of XUCAC field staff,

Leonard finds his role as a leader to be easier and more effective.

Leader 6: Lia. The second informal leader interviewed in Kitaotao is a 42-year-

old woman who is referred to as Lia. She is married and the mother of six children. After

participating in leadership training organized by XUCAC for the members of the

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communal gardening association, Lia was nominated from among them to be the

president of the association. Lia is responsible for calling and facilitating meetings,

keeping in contact with the community organizer and mediating any conflicts that arise

within the group and at meetings. She described the process of consensus building that

she leads in the group:

As a group we really try to be united... [and] I help to convince people of the importance of this. I always try to give my ideas and always get ideas from others.. .Decisions must not just be from one person, they have to be from the whole group. [Consensus] is very important to us, especially because our previous leader—who we overthrew—was so autocratic.

She has attended training offered by XUCAC, including a course on food

processing and another on leadership. She is known as someone who always attends

trainings offered. Outspoken and straightforward, she also tries to motivate others

through her actions. She said, "I don't entertain side comments about how hard the work

is.... I do my share... [and] I work hard enough to meet [my] needs. In this way I am an

example for others."

When mentioning some of Lia's personal characteristics that helped her emerge

as an informal leader in Kitaotao, Oria said, "She will always deliver on what she says

and promises. With money, you can trust her to the last centavo. She is honest and has

good values. If she doesn't like something she will tell it to you directly." Oria went on to

say that both Lia and Leonard "think of others before themselves." In sharp contrast to

the leadership approach of the datu, Lia is seen to lead with a sense of respect for the

contributions and ideas of each member. As she herself commented, "Now we realize

that our resources are not just our plants, they are also our skills and talents. We are

dedicated to the group—to motivate, develop and grow with each other."

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Lia credited XUCAC with some of the impetus for her emergence as a leader

through their leadership training and their informing the group of the structure needed to

best function and achieve success. She explained, saying:

We needed to have a name to register as an association which would enable us to be eligible for certain benefits from local government as well as certain lobbying power. We also needed to be registered in such a way as to not incite anger from the old leaders—they were all men so a women's group seemed a logical choice. [An XUCAC staff member] encouraged us to elect a president.

Lia went on to describe how XUCAC, and particularly the intervention of Oria, helped

her and the gardening group break away from the datu who did not support their work.

At first we didn't think that we would be able to separate from the formal leadership but through ABCD and [Oria's] intervention, we realized that we can have ownership over our assets. We became firm in our decision to move away from the formal leadership structure because we knew we had the ability to do it.

Speaking to the significance of Oria's role in developing her confidence and

leadership capacity, as well as the confidence of others in the community, Lia offered this

comment: "Oria taught us how to link with the local government unit and made us realize

that we are capable to coordinate and link to government." As an outside agent, Oria's

role in supporting the emergence of Lia and other informal leaders in Kitaotao is

significant and reflects the unique nature of the leadership emergence in this community.

Having presented the findings about the individual informal leaders in each of the

three communities, I will now present certain generalized findings about informal leaders

in this context that emerged across the case studies.

Formal and Informal Leadership

I asked all 12 participants to consider the differences between formal and informal

leaders from their perspective. I prompted them by asking them to consider the

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advantages and disadvantages of each type of leader. Four main themes emerged from the

responses: salary/financial security, trust, collaboration, and flexibility.

Nearly all participants cited that an important difference between formal and

informal leaders is that the former are paid while the latter are not. Given the rural

Philippines context, this income provides formal leaders with a relative level of security

and has a significant bearing on their ability to lead. It also highlights the struggles that

emergent informal leaders must overcome. Because formal leaders can expect to be paid,

they are perceived to have fewer worries in their work and their personal life. This issue

is summed up succinctly by Ophelia, who said, "It is hard to be an informal leader

because you also have your family and your livelihood to worry about." Leeto agreed that

balancing personal and community responsibilities can be more challenging for an

informal leader: "Formal leaders are effective in following up on community activities

because it is their job and so they have the time to do it. Aside from community activities,

I must also look after my family and my farm." Elaborating further on the impact of

financial security, Leonard stated, "An advantage of being a formal leader is that

they.. .can send their kids to school."

Several participants believed informal leaders had greater understanding of the

local situation, including better relationships with local people, and thus were thought to

be more trustworthy than formal leaders. According to Omar, informal leaders "are

appointed because their values are like the values of the people. People trust and respect

them and that is how they become leaders." From his perspective as an informal leader,

Leeto added, "I know the people here and I can relate to them. I am knowledgeable about

the situation here and people talk to me and trust me so I am able to support them and be

a leader." Ophelia agreed with this sentiment, stating "It is hard to gain the trust of the

people but volunteer leaders in the community have an easier time of this because they

know the people and the people know them very well."

Another difference between formal and informal leaders, identified by several

participants, is in the area of collaborative leadership. Informal leaders were generally

characterized as individuals who work in cooperation with local people, supporting local

priorities and often leading by example. According to Luke, "Informal leaders are people

who cooperate together. Informal leaders use unity and understanding and work together

on bayanihanP Conversely, formal leaders were seen by Leeto as those who can

"mandate people to do anything" without the input and support of local people. Lily

differentiated the collaborative efforts of informal and formal leaders in the following

statement: "Informal leaders do not have to force people and people they lead are free to

participate or not, whereas with formal leaders, people do not have free will."

A final difference, identified by a few of the participants, is that informal leaders

have more freedom and flexibility than formal leaders in the actions and decisions that

they take. According to Lily, "Formal leaders must keep track of time and what activities

they have to do for their boss. They must do things in the context of what is expected of

them in their job." Oria went on to distinguish that "informal leaders are not after the

votes. The informal [leaders] have nothing to be afraid of in terms of losing their

position."

Advantages and disadvantages to both types of leadership were cited by all

participants—neither informal leadership nor formal leadership was identified to be ideal

in every situation.

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Internal Determinants of Informal Leadership

I asked the six informal leaders what personal characteristics they thought they

possessed that helped them emerge as leaders in their communities. I also asked the six

participants in Part 2 what they deemed to be the most important personal characteristics

that led to the emergence of these leaders. The three most common characteristics and

their frequencies identified by informal leaders were: having strong communication skills

(5); having training, skills, and credibility of knowledge to share with others (5); and

motivating others through their actions or setting an example (5). Other significant

characteristics identified by informal leaders about themselves were an ability to

negotiate conflicts (4), experience in leading spiritual or church activities (4),

participation in group activities (4), and a confident attitude (3).

The most common characteristics identified by Part 2 participants were that the

informal leaders had strong communication skills (8) and were trustworthy or had a good

reputation (6). Other significant characteristics identified by Part 2 participants included

participation in group activities (5), hardworking (5), encouraging (5), motivating others

through their actions or setting an example (4), and outspoken and confident attitudes (4).

Strong communication skills were mentioned significantly more frequently than

any other characteristic by the two groups combined. Setting an example, participation in

group activities, and having credibility of knowledge were also mentioned frequently in

the overall results. Trustworthiness was identified as an important characteristic by all

Part 2 participants, yet no informal leaders identified it specifically. Similarly,

hardworking and encouraging were mentioned only by participants in Part 2. Many of the

important internal determinants can be summed up in one comment made by Oscar:

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"Informal leaders must be dedicated and servant leaders. They can communicate honestly

and they allow and encourage other leaders to emerge."

External Determinants of Informal Leadership

I asked the six informal leaders to describe what external factors, both positive

and negative, have influenced their emergence as leaders in the community. I probed by

asking about both the supports that have helped them to emerge as informal leaders, such

as training or agencies, and the challenges they have faced and overcome, such as

attitudes of other community members or financial challenges. I asked the 6 participants

in Part 2 to describe challenges that they know the informal leaders to have overcome and

to mention supports to the emergence of informal leadership in communities in question

as a whole, including the ways that they or their affiliated organization supported

informal leadership emergence.

Supports. There are a number of ways identified by the participants regarding

how outsiders supported the emergence of these informal leaders. Outsiders include

XUCAC (particularly its field staff), government officials, and funding agencies. When

asked what external supports each of the six informal leaders felt had been important in

helping them to develop as a leader, the leaders cited training and capacity building,

funding and donations, and positive relationships/encouragement. Five leaders felt that

training was critically important. According to Luke, "[XUCAC] contributed to my

emergence as a leader in the community by giving trainings and seminars, mostly on

sustainable agriculture. Through these trainings.. .1 have learned to overcome my

shyness." Funding, donations and other financial supports were mentioned by four

participants. In keeping with an asset-based approach to community-driven development,

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however, the financial support mentioned was never given to the individual; it was given

to support community projects, thus allowing the informal leaders the opportunity to lead

the community towards a common goal. For example, the barangay captain in Kitaotao

donated materials for a learning centre, while XUCAC donated food to community

groups in San Roque as they restarted bayanihan. Two leaders also noted that the positive

relationships and encouragement they received from outsiders helped them build their

confidence and take on a leadership role. According to Leeto, "[XUCAC] trusted me and

gave me confidence in my abilities when they asked me to be a trainer.. .they had faith in

me and I really appreciated that."

Participants in Part 2 were also asked to comment on the important supports that

helped informal leaders emerge in each community as a whole. Positive relationships of

trust and encouragement were identified by 5 of the 6 participants. According to Oscar,

"When there is an open and honest environment, people are comfortable to try new things

and take on a leadership role." Ona added to this, stating, "I treat the informal leaders like

my family. I give them a hug and encourage them... When people are comfortable with

me, they become more comfortable with other people too." Interestingly, Omar noted that,

while the strong personal relationships between XUCAC and Lily and Leeto may have

supported their leadership emergence, it may be to the exclusion of other potential leaders.

Omar said, "[XUCAC] knew that Lily and Leeto had been leaders in the church group so

they started contacting them and mostly talked about the project with them. They have

the information and so they remain leaders."

Four of the Part 2 participants cited the importance of offering training and

capacity building for emergent leaders, while two identified setting up associations or

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local cooperatives as helping leaders to emerge. Two of the participants in Part 2

mentioned that exposure to new ideas and perspectives was one of the most important

external supports that could be offered to informal leaders in communities. Both Oscar

and Oria discussed how their work involved helping communities to see their local

knowledge, skills and assets as valuable resources. This change in perspective helped

give informal leaders and other community members the confidence to pursue their

development projects. According to Oscar, "We helped them to identify what resources

they have so that they can make their own decisions." Oria added:

We asked [community members and potential leaders] what they know and they were eventually able to list their skills, knowledge and abilities. They were surprised by how many there were and were immediately starting to think about what they can do with the skills.

In each case, the outside agency was more active in providing support at the

beginning of their engagement with the community, lessening their own role and building

the capacity of local leaders over time.

Overcoming challenges. Personal or personality conflicts among community

members was identified as a challenge by three informal leaders: Lily, Leeto, and Luis.

This result was corroborated by three "others": Omar and Olivia (about Lily and Leeto),

as well as Ona (about Luis and Luke). While overcoming shyness or lack of confidence is

considered critical in the emergence of informal community leaders, there is sometimes a

personal backlash against people who become more conspicuous and outgoing or against

those who are seen to benefit in some way. According to Lily, her leadership was

threatened by a community member who "continuously tried to create disunity in our

group and separate the people. She only wanted her own policies to be followed and she

even told people to stop participating in our community development activities." Through

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politeness, prayer, and finally confrontation, Lily was able to quiet this negative force in

the community. Leeto described how jealousy about the attention he received from

XUCAC, while emerging as an informal leader, created a personal conflict:

I attended a training at [XUCAC]... The people there... [began to] talk to me as a contact in the community. Another man in the community was upset by this and thought it wasn't right that I was getting too much power. He started telling stories about me.

Through patience and continued hard work, Leeto was able to show other people that he

was community-minded and, eventually, this person stopped harassing him.

Financial insecurity was identified as a challenge to becoming an informal leader

by 10 of the 12 participants. This finding echoes the financial disparity discussed in the

section comparing formal and informal leaders. Notably, every "other" identified the

leaders in the community with which they were associated to have faced this challenge in

their journey to becoming a leader. And, while 4 of the 6 informal leaders interviewed

identified financial insecurity to be a challenge, many also made statements about how

they overcame this challenge through personal motivation, community solidarity and

outside supports. Given that most informal leaders identified non-financial motive for

taking on a leadership role, they seemed reluctant to dwell on the fact that they face

economic hardship because of their commitment to their communities. Luis described

how a genuine love for the community supersedes financial insecurity: "A volunteer

leader works for love and does not expect financial rewards for the work. Volunteer

leaders have to love the work and love their community."

Opposition from formal leadership was identified as a challenge by one informal

leader, Lia, and two "others" - Olivia (about Lily and Leeto) and Oria (about Leonard

and Lia). Notably, opposition from formal leadership was not mentioned by anyone in

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San Roque. In Kitaotao, the formal tribal leader did not support the emergence of any

community leaders besides himself. According to Oria, a strong division exists between

the datu and the community development group and its leaders. He wanted to "take over

the process." Through organization and commitment from both the informal leaders and

the external community organizer, they overcame this challenge, pulled away from the

formal leader, and created a successful community gardening association. Oria described

one strategy the group employs: "When the group meets now they makes sure that it is

only their supporters that are present—if there is someone known to be a datu supporter

there, they refuse to talk and end the meeting."

In addition to those three challenges, two others warrant mention as they were

identified as the most important or the only challenge and/or were discussed at length by

one participant. First, Oria identified the length of time it takes for authentic leadership to

emerge, as a significant challenge for informal leaders. She stated, "Leadership is not an

overnight process.. .There are no short cuts and that eliminates many people from

emerging as leaders." Second, Luis felt the most significant challenge that he had to

overcome as an informal leader was the difficulty in leading people who are too focused

on their problems and do not feel they have the capacity to change their situation. He

stated:

The biggest challenge I face in being a leader is that it is hard to motivate people when they get easily depressed about their situation and their poverty. I talk to them and try to explain everything to help support them so that we can work together for development.

The common thread that emerged in how informal leaders overcame each of these

challenges is that they were patient, that they continued to work hard and that, without

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losing site of the end goal, they kept moving forward. A determined persistence also

seems to be an important characteristic of the informal leaders in this study.

Summary

Agents of transformation are individuals who, through their active participation in

community life, inspire a desire for change and help mobilize local resources to achieve

the change. The informal leaders in this study can be seen to be agents of transformation

in their capacity to motivate others through words and actions, to teach and share their

skills, to mobilize local resources for community projects, and to link local resources

with outside resources to propel development. While XUCAC's role in each leadership

emergence was significant, and which gives the leadership formation process a particular

complexion not comparable to some other contexts, this does not detract from the

significance of each informal leader in precipitating transformation and development

within their respective communities.

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CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION OF THE OUTCOME: ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION

This research identifies internal and external determinants of informal leadership

at the community level. The results reveal certain implications for formal leaders and

practitioners in the fields of adult education and community development who wish to

support the emergence of such informal leaders. Reflecting on issues of power and

empowerment, this study outlines how outside agents, as transformative adult educators,

can support informal leaders through provoking critical reflection, offering training and

skills building, and giving personal encouragement. It also demonstrates that informal

leaders themselves often play the roles of transformation agent and adult educator at the

community level—catalyzing broad perspective transformation in order to implement a

sustainable, community-driven approach to development. Looking specifically at

informal leaders who have emerged in three rural communities in Mindanao, Philippines

who are employing an asset-based approach to community-driven development, this

research also illustrates a strong relationship among community-driven development,

informal leadership, and adult education. I note in each section how my research supports,

challenges, links, or extends the literature in these three fields. The research methodology,

employing an appreciative approach to data gathering, gives a certain descriptive element

to the findings and is also reflected upon in this analysis.

Informal Leaders and Their Role in Transformation

The individuals who participated in Part 1 of this study can be identified as

informal or "authentic" leaders as defined using Pielstick's (2000) model of authentic

leadership. Authentic leaders are recognized to be in a unique position to initiate a

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group's transformative process by developing a new shared vision of the future.

Pielstick's model outlines four domains of authentic leadership: (a) communicating

regularly, (b) building a web of relationships, (c) creating a community of shared values,

and (d) guiding achievement through empowering others. Each of these domains is

demonstrated in the stories of leadership emergence of the six informal leaders taking

part in this study.

Through formal and informal channels, each leader communicates regularly with

other members of his or her community, thus addressing Pielstick's (2000) first domain.

In fact, the ability to communicate well was identified as the most important internal

determinant of informal leadership in this study. Because these informal leaders are local

residents and people know and trust them, they can communicate easily on a regular basis

with their neighbours, friends, and the broader community.

With respect to the second domain, the informal leaders involved in this study are

also well positioned to build a web of relationships within the community and link the

community to supportive outside agencies. Mobilizing the various assets of the

community for development requires these leaders to be able to build webs of

relationships and skills. Leaders, like Luke, are described by Oscar as being "keen on

knowing social processes" that contributed to his success in mobilizing people to build

the local learning centre. Similarly, Luis describes how he brought people together for

bayanihan, working together in a way they had not in many years. In most cases, the

informal leaders have been instrumental in organizing and participating in various local

associations that bring local people together, for example MICODA, the gardening group,

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and the farmer-trainer pool, thus providing opportunities for relationship-building, both

within the community and with external agencies.

The third domain of authentic leadership (Pielstick, 2000) is that of creating a

community of shared values. The informal leaders in this study all tend to use a similar

approach to building the shared value of appreciating local capacity and assets. In each

case, they lead others by example, demonstrating how it is possible to use local assets for

successful development and sharing their skills and assets with others. By living this

value, they encourage others in the community to also appreciate and use their own assets

for development.

Pielstick's (2000) final domain—guiding achievement through empowering

others—is central to the success of the informal leaders who participated in this study.

Although each individual has his or her own assets to contribute, the ultimate success for

a community's development comes only when many people are empowered to contribute

to the process. Ensuring that others know what their assets are and how they can be used

to develop family, farm, and community (whether through modelling, encouraging, or

teaching) is a critical role of an informal leader in supporting community level

transformation.

Internal Determinants

The results of my study reveal several specific personal characteristics (or internal

determinants) associated with informal leaders who emerged through the community-

driven development process. These characteristics were both identified by participants

and demonstrated in the stories of leadership emergence of Part 1 participants. The

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findings of this study were generally consistent with the literature on informal leadership,

with a few notable exceptions.

Effective and open communication (i.e., knowing to whom, when, and how to

best communicate) was identified by nearly all participants as an important characteristic

of an internal leader. Luke summed this up, saying, "The reason that I am a successful

leader is that I am down to earth and I communicate with the people.. .1 talk to people

individually and ask people how they are and listen to their problems." His comment

supports the literature that identifies emotional intelligence as a critical factor in

successful leadership emergence (for example, see Balkundi & Kilduff, 2005; George

2000). Confidence and credibility of knowledge through training and skill recognition

were both highlighted in the results of this study as common characteristics of successful

informal leaders. This corroborates the findings of scholars such as Smith and Foti (1998),

who explore how self-efficacy—having confidence to perform a task—contributes to

one's ability to lead effectively. The results also build on Taggar et al.'s (1999) findings

on extraversion and Pescosolido's (2001) identification of charisma as characteristics of

internal determinants of leadership emergence.

My study finds that informal leaders are likely to be collaborative learners and to

motivate change in others more often through actions than through words. These findings

are consistent with Tapia et al.'s (2003) study of effective grassroots leadership being

defined as action—leading by doing and mobilizing collective action, while not relying

on positional authority to achieve results. Kouzes and Posner (1988) and Pescosolido

(2001) also found that modelling desired behaviour was a common approach for effective

grassroots leaders.

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The concept that informal leaders may be most effective by leading through

action—often by improving their own situation first, and then using personal success to

demonstrate others' capacity—is a significant finding of this study. This result challenges

the premise that grassroots leaders are motivated primarily by a desire to serve others

through self-sacrifice (W. K. Kellogg Foundation, 1999). Although most of the informal

leaders who participated in this study had a strong sense of community and wanting to

help others, they also had an attitude of wanting to help themselves. The "help myself so

that I can help others" approach seems in line with the idea that an informal leader should

project a sense of self-reliance that draws on the community's own assets (McNeely et al.,

1999). Theories of servant leadership (e.g., Greenleaf, 2002; W. K. Kellogg Foundation,

1999; Pielstick, 2000) that emphasize service-above-self do not seem to hold up in this

context, whether it be because of the level of poverty or the focus on community assets,

or both.

Finally, although participation, hard work, and perseverance are strongly

identified in this study, there was little mention of these as important characteristics of

informal leaders in the literature reviewed. Additionally, characteristics such as the

ability to negotiate conflicts and experience in leading church or spiritual activities were

identified, but not significantly, in the literature. These additional characteristics may

indicate that informal community leaders can be differentiated from other leaders studied

in the literature. Cultural variances may also have played a role in the differences.

Individual and Societal Transformation

Perspective transformation is a change in the way we see ourselves and our reality.

Our culture or surrounding environment can either support or impede our ability to think

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critically about our role, thus enabling or disabling perspective transformation (Mezirow,

1978). There is some debate in the literature about the relationship between individual

perspective transformation and collective or societal transformation. Through examining

the interplay between the individual transformations of the informal leaders and the

broader transformations taking place throughout the community development process,

my research demonstrates that individual and societal transformation are integrally

connected.

Community development can be seen as another term for societal transformation.

It is the changing of attitudes, behaviours, and conditions within a community, regardless

of its population size. Within the transformative adult education literature, some scholars

insist that individual transformation and the building of agency are prerequisite to

collective transformation (see Brookfield, 1987; Taylor, 1998; Mezirow, 1991). My

research supports this theory insomuch as it demonstrates that building the capacity of

certain key individuals is an important step in collective transformation and sustainable

community development. In this context, the perspective transformation—and the

resultant change in behaviour or actions—of informal leaders is shown to inspire a

collective community transformation.

It is important to note that a community development process framed the context

from which each of the informal leaders who participated in this study was chosen. They

were selected because they were seen to have played an important role in the

communities' development process. Given that the context for this study was to explore

the role of informal leaders as agents of change in their communities, the results of the

study support the work of theorists such as Freire (1970), who insists that the ultimate

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goal of transformative adult education is social action and collective transformation that

is launched from the community level. Any community-driven development model

would have a logical connection to this theory and, similarly, would be somewhat

contradictory to Mezirow's assertion (1991) that individual perspective transformation is

a suitable end in itself. In the cases explored in this study, community development was

the goal, so the individual perspective transformation of key informal leaders was a

means to that end but not an end in itself.

In the case of each informal leader in this study, his or her individual perspective

transformation related to recognizing and mobilizing local capacity was linked with the

broader transformation and success of his or her community. In many, this included a

change in the capacity they recognize in themselves: a building of confidence in their

own ability to assume a leadership role. During a shift from a needs-based to an asset-

based approach, transformative learning must take place. In the examples presented,

informal leaders can be seen to have helped enable the transformative learning process as

defined by Mezirow (1995). They acknowledge the learners' own experiences and

situations to understand, from firsthand experience of living in the community what the

general perspective of the community is. They also know what local assets exist. They

are able to encourage critical reflection by other community members on the assets and

capacities that exist in the community by challenging problem-focused visions or other

local conditions that are impeding development. Also, they are able to create

opportunities to keep discourse open, either through local associations, or through general

open communication.

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For San Roque's farmer trainers, including Luis, one person's learning and the

transformation of his farming practice can be shared with great success with others in his

community. Members of the same community tend to have a level of trust that may

facilitate an easier transfer of knowledge between them. People knew Luis, they trusted

him, and could feel comfortable that he understood the local situation more so than an

outsider would. Luis was able to use this trusted position to help people acknowledge the

current situation, discover local assets (such as organic farming techniques and materials)

and encourage people to come together to discuss and try new techniques. By

reinvigorating the bayanihan system, Luis provided an ongoing learning environment as

well as a practical opportunity for people to discover other techniques and perspectives

on farming and local capacity.

The gardening group in Kitaotao made significant strides in changing long-held

beliefs; this was a significant perspective transformation from the traditional deference to

the datu. In Kitaotao, as a lumad community, consensus building is important. Collective

transformation is the goal rather than individual transformation. In this type of cultural

situation, it is perhaps more difficult for an individual to leap ahead of the group in

transformation. Instead, there is more discussion and decision-making around a common

journey. In this case, the role that Lia played in listening and facilitating laid the

groundwork for transformation. Lia leads with a respect for the assets and skills of others,

and acknowledges the centrality of their experiences in informing their perspectives.

Once she realized (through Oria's guidance) that the community members actually could

have ownership over their assets and use them to the advantage of the community, she

became firmly convinced that change was necessary. She then played a key role in

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coordinating the gardening group who operated outside of the datu 's purview. However,

she realized the importance of consensus-building to create change and thus focused her

attention on supporting the group to discuss and act.

Individual perspective transformation may be seen to sometimes impede

community transformation, depending on the individuals involved and on the perceived

balance of power in a given situation. Sometimes, when individuals receive attention

from an outside agent and subsequently are seen to challenge long-held community

beliefs, other community members may lose trust in those individuals. In such cases,

depending on the pervasiveness of the sense of mistrust and/or how power is perceived

and shared, an individual's transformation can slow collective transformation. The stories

of Lily, Leeto, Lia, and Leonard demonstrate the complexity of community change. If

people are seen to be acting on someone else's behalf—especially an outsider—(as is the

case with Lily) this can create difficulty in garnering broad community support. The

insider perspective is one of the reasons why informal leaders can come to be regarded as

such powerful and effective agents of change in communities. Both informal leaders and

outside agents (such as XUCAC) must be sensitive to this perspective, so that the

informal leader is believed to be acting with the community's interests at heart rather than

those of the outside agent.

Access to information through training or mere relationships with outside agents

is important in sowing the seeds of transformation. How that information is shared with

others, by the leader, outside agent, or both, is critical in inspiring broader community-

level transformation. The benefits of channelling certain key informal leaders as agents of

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transformation seem to outweigh the risks. Further issues of power and empowerment are

discussed in detail in the section of this chapter on power and empowerment.

Critical Thinkers and Risk Takers

There is a consensus in the literature that critical thinking is an integral element of

adults' learning and readiness for transformation (Brookfield, 1987; Cranton, 1994;

Freire, 1970; Ledwith, 2001; Mezirow, 1978, 1991, 2002). Given that the model of

community development undertaken as the backdrop to this study is an approach quite

divergent from the norm, the leaders who emerged from each community to drive the

process were all necessarily critical thinkers and, in many ways, risk takers. They were

able to challenge their own assumption that their community consisted only of problems

and needs, while inspiring others to use local assets and to work together. Luis, for

example, was able to think critically about both the benefits of moving to more organic

farming on his land as well as about convincing others of the benefits of reinvigorating

the traditional practice of bayanihan. Leonard and Lia further demonstrated their capacity

for critical thinking by helping their group to break away from the formal community

leader and their traditional system of governance once they realized that his negative

leadership style was stalling the community's development. In these cases, the leaders not

only showed a capacity to think critically and make personal choices that reflected this,

they also demonstrated a capacity to encourage critical thinking and behaviour change in

others.

However, the stories of these informal leaders also highlight many of the risks

associated with both critical thinking and emerging as leaders in their communities. Not

only are there certain psychological risks associated with perspective transformation

since it is personally challenging to see the world in a new way, but for these leaders,

there were many more risks associated with their emergence as informal leaders.

Financial insecurity was a major risk for the informal leaders in these communities.

Participants felt it was difficult enough to eke out a living for themselves in the

challenging conditions in which they live, let alone decide to take risks in farming

practices by using more local assets and relying less on outside inputs. In addition, as

successful informal leaders, many participants found themselves spending a great deal of

time away from focusing on their livelihood in order to support and lead broader

community initiatives. These financial strains sometimes lead to emotional strain on the

family and in their personal life, such as those described by Luis and Leeto.

Many of the leaders also faced social insecurity that came from their personal role

change in showing a more active citizenship and upsetting the balance of local life. The

insecurity arose from challenging long-held beliefs or socio-political structures, bringing

in new ideas, or asking people to reflect critically on their capacities and ability to

support local development. In some cases, these social challenges were so great that, as

with Lily, the leaders even had to face physical risks.

In an environment where people's day-to-day struggles to negotiate such role

change and perspective transformation puts them in physical or emotional danger, the

deeper meaning of what it takes to engage in and promote transformation begins to

emerge. These informal leaders are not only risk takers in terms of being early adopters

of new ideas, they also actively encourage others to adopt new perspectives. It is

infinitely riskier to try to encourage others' perspectives to change. Given the resolve of

each of these leaders to lead the change process, particularly as volunteers and out of a

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general sense of commitment to their community, I was struck by the courage and

perseverance that necessarily accompanied their emergence as informal leaders.

Beyond Perspective Transformation

Transformation is more than changes in perspective—particularly in the context

of transformation for community development. Once people's perspectives are changed,

they must mobilize for action and connect with the resources they need to succeed.

Beyond inspiring people to transform through their words or actions, informal leaders

play an important role in mobilizing them as well.

The role of informal community leaders is different from the typical adult

educator or outside agent in that they are ongoing members of the community in which

they hope to inspire change. Whereas an outsider may consider his or her role as a

transformative educator to be finished with the noted perspective transformation of

learners, the role of the informal leader as agent of transformation does not end with

perspective transformation. Leadership, as Tapia, Underwood, and Jabre (2003) found, is

action. Beyond helping people to change their ideas, leaders also need to be equipped to

motivate, teach, and mobilize local people to action, as well to be willing and able to play

a linking role between members of the community and supportive outside agencies—all

of whom keep the momentum of community development going. The informal leaders

who participated in this research all demonstrated that they engaged in such activities to

support their communities' transformation and development. The following are examples

of ways in which they played motivating, teaching, mobilizing, and linking roles.

Motivating. According to the results of this study, informal leaders motivate

others to want change and to move towards change through their words and actions. As

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was discussed in the section on internal determinants, participants in this study identified

informal leaders as those who have achieved success through strong communication

skills, leadership by example, and active participation in community activities - all

elements of motivation. Whether by developing one's own farm (like Luis), allowing

everyone to have a voice in the discussion (like Lia), or encouraging people to see their

own strengths and capacities (like Leeto), these informal leaders are motivators. This

finding builds on the findings of scholars such as Pielstick (2000), who found informal

leaders to be more likely than their formal counterparts to be collaborative learners with

their followers and to motivate others by modeling ideal behaviour. Kouzes and Posner

(1988) and Pescosolido (2001) also highlight the importance of modelling behaviour as a

characteristic of successful leaders. Informal leaders are in a unique position to model

behaviour in that they are peers in the community and their situations are easily relatable

to others. This puts them in a unique position to inspire transformation. The findings from

this study also build on numerous other findings that communication skills and emotional

intelligence are important determinants of leadership (see Balkundi & Kilduff, 2005; De

Cremer, 2006; George, 2000; Pescosolido, 2002). My study contributes to the leadership

literature by providing insight into similarities between the skill sets required of informal

leaders at the community level and formal leaders or those working within an

organizational context.

Teaching. According to the results of this study, teaching others builds the

capacity of both the teacher and the learner and thus supports the potential for

transformation. Teachers—in this case, informal leaders—build confidence in their skills

and in communicating with others, while learners gain skills and the idea that positive

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change is possible. Of the six informal leaders interviewed for this study, four

participants identified instances when they were in a position to share their skills and/or

teach someone something. Each of these four examples took place when the informal

leader was sharing knowledge about agriculture or spiritual teaching, and all occurred in

an informal learning environment. As Oscar described, by participating as teachers and

learners in a farmer-trainers pool, San Roque community members such as Luis and Luke

build their individual and collective capacity. He described how:

[The farmers] build their confidence as well as sharpening their problem analysis. Some of the farmer-trainers have very little formal education but they now feel comfortable to speak in front of anyone—even the higher-educated people. Knowledge based on experience is valued.

The informal leaders in this study are adult educators, and use the informal

classroom of everyday life. Their successful approach to teaching, without considering

themselves to be teachers, offers fluid opportunities for the various stages of Mezirow's

(1995) theory of transformative learning, specifically, understanding their own context,

critically reflecting on the situation, and engaging in discussion or rational discourse

about alternatives. Further, Cranton (1994) and Koch (2005), among others, discuss the

need for adult educators to be conscious of the positional power that they hold and to

recognize that they potentially need to give up this power over in order to support learner

empowerment. The results of this study show that informal leaders, who tend not to have

such positional power to begin with, can act as educators with fewer complications

around addressing and changing formal power structures. This is not to say that informal

leaders do not need to be conscious of their role in the power dynamics of their

communities as is further discussed in this study—it is merely to say that informal leaders

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are perhaps in a position more inherently conducive to leading change in a non-

threatening manner.

Mobilizing. The local resources that are mobilized for development can include

both physical and human resources. Examples of mobilizing physical resources identified

in this study include building a community meeting space (Lily), constructing water

catchments (Leeto), bayanihan (Luis), preparing for the farm-to-market road (Luke), and

leading a community gardening association (Leonard and Lia). Each of these leaders was

able to motivate people to participate as well as organize them once they were present.

Also each succeeded in mobilizing local people and assets for a successful community-

building project. According to Pielstick (2000), the successful informal leader does not

impose, but may initiate the vision of the group. Through demonstrating model behaviour,

developing a web of relationships, and encouraging others to use their assets for personal

and common good, the informal leaders in this study demonstrate how such initiation

without imposition is possible.

The mobilization of human resources includes not only motivating fellow

community members, as previously discussed, but also allowing opportunities for others

to take on leadership and responsibility. The ability for leaders to encourage leadership

emergence in others is identified in some literature to be characteristic of successful

informal leaders (Reicher et al , 2005; Taggar et al., 1999). This area was not specifically

discussed in this study and there is room for further research and analysis of this issue.

Linking. The degree to which an informal leader plays a linking role between the

people and projects in their community and the agencies and resources outside their

community may contribute to their ability to mobilize community action and change.

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According to the results of this study, linking local resources with outside resources

allowed certain community projects to be more easily organized, local capacity to be built,

and the community to gain a sense of momentum and pride in their recognized

accomplishments. Participants in Part 1 were asked to what extent they felt they had ever

played a linking role between local resources and external resources/agencies. All six felt

they had played such a linking role at some point and most (five participants) felt this role

was in communicating information about their community to local government officials.

As examples in chapter 3 demonstrate, other ways that informal leaders played a linking

role included giving people advice about where to go or to whom to talk with about a

problem (Lily, Leeto, Luis); coordinating community involvement in XUCAC

development programs (Lily, Leeto, Luis); and securing financial or legislative support

from outside organizations (Lily, Leeto, Luke). These informal leaders can certainly be

seen to employ both bonding social capital—internal community relationships—and

bridging social capital—relationships that bridge the gap between their communities and

outside agencies in a position to support their development—as noted in the discussion of

Krishna's (2002) work in chapter 2. Their capacity to support the transformation of their

community seems to be directly connected to their levels of each type of social capital.

However, while Krishna (2002) describes the typical effective leader with access to this

social capital as "younger innovators" (p. 11), the findings of this study do not show there

to be any significant age-related variance in an informal leader's capacity to mobilize

social capital. The role of social capital in an informal leader's capacity as an agent of

transformation is deep and could be explored in greater detail in further research.

Power and Empowerment

Issues of power arise throughout the examples of leadership emergence in this

study. Whether exploring the differences in the power of formal and informal leaders, the

changes in long-held power dynamics that often accompany the emergence of informal

leaders, or the challenge for outside agents in empowering local leadership to confidently

drive their own development, these issues play a central role in the learnings that can be

gleaned from this research.

Formal and Informal Leadership

All the participants in this study agreed that there is a fundamental difference

between formal and informal leadership. This supports the general consensus in the

literature with regard to the existence of this dichotomy (Heifetz, 1994; Pescosolido,

2002; Pielstick, 2000, 2003, 2006). The participants could all identify certain advantages

and disadvantages of each type of leader. This supports the idea that, depending on the

circumstances, both kinds of leaders play an important role in community development.

Many participants in this study referred to the fact that informal leaders were

more likely than formal leaders to have the trust of the people in their community, and

that helped them to be more effective in their role. Because informal leaders have direct

experience with and an understanding of the local situation (including the personalities,

assets, and challenges), they may be in a better position to relate to the emotions of

community members and thus be trusted to influence their beliefs and behaviour. This

result is well supported in the literature and builds on the work of Balkundi and Kilduff

(2005), George, (2000), and Pescosolido (2002) who identify emotional intelligence and

the capacity to influence the emotions of followers as key characteristics of effective

104

leaders. Mezirow (2002) also maintains that people must be encouraged to participate in

order for authentic transformation to take place, and that this requires the change agent to

be emotionally mature and empathetic. Informal leaders, through their emotional

connection to community members and the resultant relationships of trust, are in a prime

position to become agents of transformation.

Formal leaders were seen to have less flexibility than informal leaders because of

their need to be accountable to an outside agency and because they may have a fear of

losing their position if they stray too far from the status quo. This is consistent with

Heifetz's (1994) assertion that formal leaders are more externally accountable, which

influences their decisions and limits their willingness to take risks.

Interestingly, the most significant difference identified in this study is discussed

only briefly in the literature. The fact that nearly all formal leaders receive some kind of

salary was seen to be the most important distinguishing factor between formal and

informal leaders. In the Philippines context, having a dependable salary means financial

security and, according to the participants in this study, means that formal leaders may

have fewer worries. With the significant focus of the literature on Northern and/or

organizational contexts, this discrepancy is not surprising. In these contexts, issues of

financial inequality may be felt, but certainly not as keenly as in the communities

highlighted in this study. People in these communities face levels of financial insecurity

and risk that, in some cases, are truly a matter of life and death. Given these risks, the

emergence of informal leaders in these conditions—a position that often has a personal

financial cost associated with it—is most significant.

105

Based on the stories told in this study, informal leaders are perceived to be more

collaborative than their formal counterparts. The results point to the success of local

informal leaders being in their capacity to motivate others through their participation in

local activities and discourse—as opposed to the often arm's length and authoritarian

approach of formal leadership. These findings complement the work of Pielstick (2000)

who attests that informal leaders are more likely to be collaborative learners and motivate

followers through actions. They also build on Freire's (1970) notion that a democratic

relationship must exist between teacher and student for transformative learning to take

place. The results of this study indicate that such a democratic relationship is likely to

emerge between informal leaders and other community members because they consider

each other to be peers.

In terms of collaboration, however, this study clearly shows that there are

opportunities for and benefits of collaborative relationships between formal and informal

leaders. This is an area not specifically addressed in the literature reviewed for this study.

While certain literature mentions that each type of leadership plays a role in the

development of a community or group (Heifetz, 1994; Peilstick, 2000), rarely is the

capacity for these two types of leaders to work in a complementary and collaborative way

addressed. I documented numerous examples in my study of formal and informal leaders

working collaboratively and supportively to achieve results. Not only did formal leaders

build the capacity and confidence of informal leaders through training, relationship

building, and stewardship (such as the XUCAC extension workers), many also formed

partnerships in which each used his or her own skills and influence to achieve results. For

example, relationships between informal leaders and barangay officials in all three

106

communities yielded successful projects, such as the construction of a farm-to-market

road, meeting centres, and a communal garden.

In general, these examples demonstrate that formal leaders' capacities for

authority and decision-making power, interlaid with informal leaders' capacities to

understand and influence local issues, capacity, and people, can yield successful

community development. If both formal and informal leaders have certain inherent

positional capacities that combine to create the best chance for successful transformation

and development, the specific nature of these capacities and the ways that they can

complement each other should be further explored in subsequent research.

Empowerment and the Outside Agent

As demonstrated in the cases presented in this study, outside agents have a

significant opportunity to influence the emergence of informal leaders and, in turn, build

local capacity to drive sustainable community development. The potential of the outside

agent—particularly a community development worker—to inspire such individual and

community transformation rests in his or her effectiveness as a transformative adult

educator. It is important to reiterate at this point that the results of this study, and

particularly this section, may be somewhat skewed in favour of the positive role of

XUCAC's community development workers due to XUCAC's role in community and

participant selection. However, the results are still reliable and credible as common

themes clearly emerged across case studies which took place with the support of different

departments and extension workers, under different conditions, and at different times.

According to Cranton (1994), the role of a transformative adult educator is to

increase learner empowerment by stimulating critical questioning and supporting learners.

107

The role of outside agents in the emergence of informal leaders in this study—

particularly those outside agents affiliated as field staff of XUC AC—demonstrates that

such empowerment was central to their approach to inspiring community transformation.

In each case, the context of XUCAC intervention was to help local people discover and

use their assets for development, challenging the problems-focused approach to which

they were accustomed. Toward this end, XUCAC community development workers,

including Olivia, Omar, and Oria had to challenge, stimulate, and promote critical

thinking about local capacities through the way they asked questions, the way they built

relationships, and the way they framed discussions and activities (such as appreciative

inquiries or asset-mapping). These examples support the assertion of Cranton and others

(see also Brookfield, 1987; Mezirow 1991) that transformative educators are

provocateurs who encourage critical reflection—in this case, critical reflection on local

capacity. Interestingly, because the focus of the critical reflection in these cases was

directly related to improving people's perceptions of their own capacity, the knowledge

gained from this critical analysis may also have added to the learners' empowerment. The

Kitaotao case, in particular, demonstrated how Oria, the outside agent, was able to help

the community critically evaluate the formal leadership structure in the community and

eventually make a decision to separate from it. As Lia described, "through ABCD and

Oria's intervention, we realized that we can have ownership over our assets. We became

firm in our decision to move away from the formal leadership structure." Oria's intense

commitment to the Kitaotao community establishes her as a transformative adult educator

as described by Freire (1970)—one who builds "love, humility, and faith" (p. 91)

108

between educator and learner in order to create a culture of mutual trust within which

transformation can occur.

Cranton (1994) describes how a transformative adult educator must give up

position power without forgoing personal power. The examples of outside agents in the

role of transformative adult educator in this study indicate that the transferring of such

position power is a time-consuming process and takes commitment on the part of both

educator and learner. Olivia described how she spent the first 6 months working in the

community facilitating meetings, but after holding leadership trainings she was able to

leave the facilitation to them. Oria also described the lengthy process of transferring

complete ownership of the community development process to the core group of

community leaders. In her case, it took nearly 3 years of weekly visits, skills workshops,

and building relationships and trust with the local people.

All of these examples demonstrate how the underlying assumptions of

community-driven development logically fit with transferring the power inherent in

formal leadership from outside the community to local informal leaders. The integration

of an asset-based and community-driven development approach requires broad-based

perspective transformation at the community level. These examples clearly build on the

transformative adult education literature and show how community development agents

could incorporate lessons from transformative adult education theory to better encourage

transformation in communities. Community development workers should take heed of

transformative adult education theory in order to inspire the critical thinking necessary to

shift community members from a problem-focused to a capacity-focused approach. These

cases demonstrate how outside agents have supported broad-based community

transformation through the empowerment of key individuals by transferring the

ownership of the process from themselves to the local community.

It is worth noting that the balance of power in situations of community

development is not only between the formal leader and a few informal leaders. There are

also significant implications when power structures within communities change, a

frequent occurrence when new informal leaders emerge. Outside agents, hoping to inspire

positive development in communities, must be wary of focusing too much attention on

only a few individuals at the expense of empowering the whole community. Too heavy a

focus on the few can mean backlash against them or the local leaders, as some people

may feel less empowered while the power of others is perceived to grow. This lack of

empowerment seems, in some cases, to result in a resistance to participation and/or to

change. For an outside agency, a fine line exists between building an informal leader's

capacity to lead within his or her community and having the perception circulate that the

informal leader is a tool of the outside agency, subsequently undermining the inherent

influence and advantages of informal leadership. For Lily and Leeto, in particular, this

issue emerged and created personal and social challenges for them in their community.

Thus, for informal leaders there is also a fine line between using their knowledge and

skills to inspire others while simultaneously making sure to build others' sense of

capacity and power.

Research Approach

A number of particularities to this research approach contribute to the overall

findings of this study. The focus on informal leadership at the community level and from

a Southern context gives the findings a certain character rarely found in the literature

110

reviewed. Additionally, the appreciative approach influenced the relationship between

researcher and participant, the stories shared, and the picture presented by the data.

I used appreciative interviewing techniques throughout the interviews. Much of

the data collected was acquired through asking participants to share stories of past

successes in their community and to highlight the role of particular informal leaders in

that success. During the telling of their stories, participants were given the opportunity

and encouragement to analyze their own situation and their reasons for success. This was

intended to support the maintaining of ownership of the information by the participants

through allowing an opportunity for reflective learning.

Using appreciative interviews to gather data, I came to understand how the way a

question is framed influences the response and the subsequent reflection by both the

interviewer and the interviewee. I felt particularly conscious of limiting the potential for

my research to be extractive (taking information without trying to support local

ownership of it) because of my position as an extreme outsider (not from the community,

country, or culture). By drawing attention to successes, participants seemed to feel proud

that their accomplishments were being recognized, particularly by someone from outside

their community. It was clear that the participants were comfortable talking about their

successes, likely because of their habituation to the use of this kind of capacity-oriented

questioning throughout their work with XUCAC. In a situation where people had not

been given the opportunity to become accustomed to positive questioning over a long

period of time, the interview experience could have been quite different. However,

through my experiences during these interviews as well as from hearing people laugh and

joke together about all the successes they recounted following the interviews, I feel that

I l l

the following statement by Cooperrider and Whitney (2005) holds true: "Human systems

grow in the direction of what they persistently ask questions about" (p. 9). While I

acknowledge that appreciative interviewing may not present the complete reality of a

situation because of its specific focus on exploring the positive past, I would argue that

there is significant benefit in using an approach that encourages open story-telling by

putting participants at ease and implicitly valuing their experiences, capacities, and

insights. Regardless of the research methodology, the results will always be biased and

"incomplete" in some way; research always contains particularities of perspective—

whether those of the participants, the researcher, or both. However, by using a research

approach that highlights what is strong and vibrant about a community, it is perhaps more

likely to continue to move in that direction.

It is important to note that my appreciative interviews uncovered both positive

and negative factors that contributed to a community's or individual's success. By asking

about the challenges that informal leaders had to overcome to be successful, the arc of the

questioning was still based in the positive—learning about success—but also aimed to

understand the full context of the experience that could serve as a model in future

situations. This may somewhat allay critiques that appreciative interviewing ignores

problems or challenges; although challenges were not the centre of the inquiry, if they

played a role in the successful experience, the intention was to uncover and learn from

that. In reflecting on the interview questions used, it may have been useful to add a

question at the conclusion of each interview that inquired as to whether participants had

learned something new or gained a new insight about informal leadership by participating

in the research process. This may have provided a further indicator of the success of

112

appreciative interviewing as a technique for maintaining community ownership of

generated information and contributing positively to the community's development.

The interview process was not without its challenges—most notably those

associated with working through translation. I learned that it was critically important to

work with translators in advance of interviews to make sure that the content of the

interview questions was understood well. There were a number of instances during

interviews when the questions that I asked had to be reworded slightly in order to

translate into the language and context of the person being interviewed. For example, the

term "informal leader" was sometimes difficult for participants to understand. Through

working with the translators to understand what was meant by the concept, the words

were variously translated as volunteer leader and community leader. Finding the balance

between consistencies in research methodology and ensuring that participants understood

the questions and felt comfortable answering was an issue I addressed throughout the

process.

This study adds to the leadership and transformative adult education literature by

providing an example from a Southern context. The lack of research in these areas in this

context is a noted limitation of the literature. Certain key findings related to the cultural

and community perspective also have emerged. For example, the level of financial

insecurity faced by informal leaders in this study is a notable finding that may have

relevance in many Southern contexts. Recognizing the real risks posed by this financial

insecurity is important when defining the backdrop for the emergence of informal leaders

and, for outside agents, to make decisions about how to best support their emergence.

Another finding is that collaboration and consensus-building were noted as important

113

factors in inspiring community transformation, as well as being important cultural

characteristics in each of the three communities. This demonstrates that this type of

community development approach is complementary in this cultural context, but the

degree to which this finding holds true across other cultures is undetermined.

Although certain cross-contextual similarities can be noted, leadership at the

community level has a distinct texture that is different from leadership within

organizations. There is a different level of accountability, there are different levels of risk,

and there are different situations to which leaders must respond. This study uncovers

some interesting dynamics between formal and informal leaders at the community level;

but, in order to fully understand this dynamic and the advantages and challenges it poses,

more research is needed on the role of informal leaders in communities. Given that many

of the internal and external determinants of informal leadership can be influenced by

culture, it is important to study this issue from a variety of cultural perspectives in order

to better understand the role that culture plays. More research from various perspectives

is needed to draw broader conclusions about the emergence of informal leadership in

communities.

Despite the value in having field-based examples of informal leadership from a

distinctly Southern context, it is important to note that I, being from a culture far-

removed from the one that set the context for this study, faced certain challenges as a

researcher. The most significant issue and challenge I faced with this cross-cultural

research was ensuring that I clearly communicated the ideas and intentions of the

research study and clearly understood the participants' responses. While having a certain

cultural distance from the participants allowed me to have a somewhat fresh and

114

objective perspective on the situation, I acknowledge that some of the results of this study

have likely been swayed by the fact that people respond differently to questions from

outsiders than they would to someone they consider to be a peer. Individuals conducting

cross-cultural research should reflect on these limitations when designing their studies.

I did find, however, that an appreciative approach to data gathering was one

method of mitigating the potential limitations of being an outsider. By openly asking

about stories of local success, I demonstrated a respect for local capacity and knowledge.

This seemed to create an environment in which people felt comfortable and confident

talking to an outsider and hopefully they were able to be forthright in the stories that they

told. While I acknowledge that the stories told by participants about themselves and their

communities may contain certain biases based on their experiences and perspectives as

well as the framing of the interview questions, this is an inherent feature of qualitative

research and it does not negate the findings, particularly those consistent across

interviews. Exploring the potential of an appreciative approach as a means of building

relationships of trust and encouraging the greatest possible degree of openness from

participants is a strategy that others conducting research in a cross-cultural context may

be well served to use.

Significance to the Field of Adult Education

This research is significant because it yields field-based data that illustrates a link

between community-driven development, informal leadership, and transformative adult

education. It shows how informal leaders can be agents of transformation within their

communities and also highlights the capacity of outside agents to be transformative adult

115

educators—particularly as proponents of an asset-based approach to community-driven

development.

This study clearly shows that informal leaders at the community level are in a

unique position to change people's perspectives of themselves and to support their

capacities as individuals and communities to affect positive change. In this respect,

informal community leaders are transformative adult educators. This is particularly

significant because informal leaders do not have the formal authority or positional power

typically associated with being an educator or leader. Although informal leaders must

negotiate certain power dynamics to be successful leaders in their community, the

inherent level of trust between them and their fellow community members enables them

to lead, teach, and inspire others to transform. As seen in this study, informal leaders are

successful in this role because they are trusted, they are communicators, they model

positive behaviour, and they recognize the capacities of themselves and others.

People who consider themselves to be adult educators or who hope to inspire

some sort of transformation, particularly those working at the community level, could use

these findings to inform their approach to their work. If they are someone who would be

considered an outsider to the community in which they work, they would be well-served

to recognize that local informal leaders are assets in inspiring community-level

transformation. For the field of adult education, it is important to recognize the capacity

of informal leaders to be agents of transformation at the community level and to learn

more about how they emerge and why they are successful, and to apply these lessons to

help others become successful transformative adult educators.

116

One key area of significance brought to light through this study is the cross-

relevance of learnings from the fields of adult education and community development.

This research contributes to the field of adult education by adding practical examples and

stories of transformation led by local leaders at the community level. As much of the

transformative adult education literature comes from a theoretical basis, practical

examples like the ones contained in this study help to illustrate the practical dynamics of

transformation, deepening the theoretical concepts of the field. Such practical examples

are more frequently found in community development literature and analyzing them with

a transformative adult education lens could further enhance the field of study.

Similarly, there are lessons for the field of community development from adult

education literature. As approaches to community development emerge that shift the

focus from problems to capacities and from needs to assets, outside agents must reflect

on the most effective ways to support community transformation. In this case,

transformation refers to both the physical improvements in the community (i.e., structures,

processes, living conditions) as well as the transformation of the perspectives of local

people about their capacity to contribute to achieving these improvements. Outside agents

wanting to promote transformation could learn from adult education literature how to

support the various stages of perspective transformation at the community level—

appreciating the local situation and experience, inspiring critical reflection, and engaging

in rational discourse as an on-going co-learner. In this process, they can see themselves as

transformative adult educators.

Outside agents are also well served to seek out, work with, empower, and learn

from local people who are in a position to inspire others as informal leaders. Recognizing

117

the capacity of informal leaders, outside agents should look to the lessons of

transformative adult education for guidance on how best to support the emergence of

these leaders. The perspective and role changes of these individuals can be seen to be

directly linked to the overall transformation and development of their communities. The

role of the outside agent in supporting transformation becomes one of empowering local

leaders to be agents of transformation themselves. Sustainable community development

comes from engaging the local community as learners and leaders.

I found it interesting to note, throughout the interviews conducted for this study,

the potential for the adult educator to mitigate risk by instilling confidence in the informal

leader. Perspective transformation necessarily involves an alienation from previously

held beliefs—a process that can be challenging for the learner and can produce

psychological discomfort (Mezirow, 1978). This psychological discomfort was a risk

faced by the informal leaders in this study as they emerged into their role. However, there

are also additional risks associated with emerging as an informal leader and promoting a

new way of thinking about the community. These risks can include financial risks and

social strain in the wake of changing power dynamics. And, while the outside agent does

not alleviate these risks, he or she can play a role in building the confidence of emergent

informal leaders to be able to face the risks and inspire them to push forward on

improvements in their community's development. Whether promoting critical reflection

by exposing people to new ideas, building local capacity, particularly leadership capacity

through formal and informal training, or encouraging confidence in people through

emotional support and an appreciation for their abilities, an outside agent sets the stage

for transformation by building the confidence of local leaders.

118

As the transformative adult education literature suggests, adult educators must be

cautious in the way they negotiate power dynamics with learners (see Cranton, 1994;

Freire, 1970; Mezirow, 2002). As demonstrated in this study, both informal community

leaders and outside agents would be wise to apply these lessons to their work in

communities. The outside agent, hoping to inspire authentic local development, must

ensure that they do not (and/or are not seen to) drive the agenda of the local development

process. In order for people to have ownership over their situation, they must be

empowered to lead the charge for change for themselves. The informal leader must also

be cautious of power dynamics. The very reason that the informal leader is successful is

because he or she is someone who local people respect and to whom they can relate. If

the community perceives the informal leader to be more powerful than others or working

towards an agenda other than the community's, they may cease to be an effective

informal community leader. Through openly communicating, empowering others by

recognizing and encouraging their capacity, and living the values they hope to inspire in

others, the informal leaders in this study demonstrated how such fluid power dynamics

can be managed.

As agents of change and transformative adult educators, both informal community

leaders and formal leaders (such as external community development agents) play a role.

Outside agents can encourage change through skills training and capacity building.

Through creating opportunities for critical reflection, through encouragement, and

through seeking out key local individuals with the capacity to drive the process and

influence change, they can be supportive agents. Informal leaders from their position of

trust and influence can inspire change through their words, and their capacity to mobilize.

119

And, particularly, through their actions they are inspirational leaders. Formal and

informal leaders, working together to support community-driven development, can

provide an environment conducive to sustainable change.

One significant area of convergence between transformative adult education and

community-driven development is an understanding of authenticity. Authentic

community development is seen to be that of which the local community has ownership,

using the community's people, skills, and resources to succeed. Authentic transformative

adult learning is that which encourages the learner to have ownership of their

perspectives and their capacity to see beyond them. Authenticity is internally driven. It

means that, as adult educators and community development workers, we need to give up

positional power, become co-learners, and allow the learners to pursue their own vision

of development.

Conclusions

The most profound learning that I gained from the insights of informal leaders in

the study was that change (or transformation) is complicated; it is not straightforward and

promoting it can be risky. And even then, despite the risks, muddling through the

complication is worth it for us all to make our way and to live as successfully as possible.

This has significant implications for me as an adult educator in terms of reinvigorating

my belief in the power of change and growth and learning albeit tempered with a respect

for the time, commitment and courage that it takes to change.

Informal leaders are catalysts and exist in communities, not just in organizations.

The key role an external community development agent or agency can play in supporting

the emergence of such leaders—and thus enabling local capacity to drive development—

120

is to locate, support, and inspire local informal leaders to carve a path for transformation

in their communities. Certain lessons can be drawn from this study about the external

supports that can be offered to informal leadership to promote their emergence. The study

also identifies several significant challenges that often present themselves to would-be

informal leaders. An outside agent can work to create supports and mitigate challenges

through collaboration, education and, generally, through an attitude of capacity-building.

My practice as a community development agent will be affected in a more

conscious effort to find and support local leadership in order to precipitate meaningful

and lasting change. As an adult educator, my practice will be affected in the ways I

challenge individuals and groups to look for the capacity in themselves, in their

community, and within systems to build the capacity for transformation based on local

strengths and assets. Local informal leaders are assets within a community, catalysts of

transformation, and an integral part of authentic community-driven development.

121

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APPENDIX A: Research Study Summary

Title: The roles of "agency" and "assets" in explaining community-driven development: A multi-case study

Principal Investigator: Alison Mathie, PhD.

The Research Topic: The research seeks to explain successful cases of "community-driven development" from an asset-based perspective and to determine how an external agency can help to stimulate such a process. As such, it is designed to assess the interplay between endogenous and exogenous agency in promoting a sustainable community-driven process.

The Significance of the Study: The research builds upon work by the principal investigators in the areas of asset-based approaches to community-based development (Mathie and Cunningham, 2003, 2005; Cunningham, 2005). This work ties together various strands in the field of development theory and practice including the body of work associated with the Sustainable Livelihoods framework, pioneered by Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway (1992) and taken up by Department of International Development, U.K., the United Nations Development Program, and Care International among many others. In demonstrating that sustainable livelihoods rely on a basket of assets - human, social, financial, natural, and physical - the framework drew attention away from the singular focus on income poverty that had dominated the field of international development until the 1990s, and continues to do so in some quarters.

Complementing the attention being paid to different kinds of assets in composing a livelihood, Sen (1999) and Bebbington (1999) have argued that assets not only have instrumental value, but that assets also give people the capacity or potential to act, and thus are a source of meaningful engagement with the world. In other words, people's sense of identity and purpose is bound up in the various assets or capacities that they have. In a related sense, assets are also the basis on which people take action; they can empower people to challenge the structures that determine the way in which resources are allocated. Assets cannot be activated without access to them. Social capital is therefore a particularly important asset because it provides access to other assets, and it is access that is the most critical resource of all (Hulme, 2000; Bebbington, 1999; Krishna, 2002).

In this now burgeoning field of social capital research, international perspectives on community development converge with the literature on community mobilization and activism in North America. The work of John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann (1993), for example, echoes many of the voices that critique international development practice. "Asset Based Community Development" has challenged the problem-focus of mainstream social development practice, arguing that it results in communities and their leadership internalizing a negative view of themselves. With this deficit mentality, dependence on external agency is reinforced, paradoxically providing a raison d'etre for community service organisations and non government organizations.

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Kretzmann and McKnight's work draws attention to the assets, skills, and capacities that already exist at the community level, encouraging communities to reflect on historical incidences where they have organized and mobilized to make change, and to focus particularly on the existing associational base where social linkages have leveraged local and external resources for long term sustainable development. Attention therefore focuses on internal agency rather than external agency. Communities that are characterized by high levels of internal agency have been successful in mobilizing local resources and in negotiating with multiple external agencies to access opportunities for sustained economic and social change on their own terms. One of the reasons why the uptake of "appreciative inquiry" (Ashford and Patkar, 2001) in the community development field has been a significant trend in the last decade is that it inspires the kind of confidence required to stimulate internal agency.

This type of community development requires context. On the one hand, the notion of "community" is itself contested (see Brent, 2004). The proposed research takes the view that community initiative does not necessarily have to be inclusive of members of a geographically bound community - in fact, the sense of identity that the word "community" invokes may be restricted to a segment of the geographically or administratively bounded community or go beyond it. Moreover, global realities mean local level development is inextricably linked to the global market place (see Arce, 2003). On the other hand, given the shift in the balance between the roles of The State, the Market, and Civil Society in the current neo-liberal order, it is through channels of local decision-making that many vulnerable groups will find the voice and the political space to gain access to the assets to which they are entitled by virtue of citizenship or community membership (see Brock et.al. 2004; Beck and Naismith, Blair, 2000; Hulme, 2000). The skill with which community groups can negotiate with local elites, local government and private sector agencies is, therefore, as important as their relationship with the NGO sector.

Given this rapidly changing context, the research is designed to provide insight into how, and under what circumstances, communities mobilize their own resources and leverage external resources for sustained community-driven development, and the optimal role for external agencies to support this.

Research Design: The research design is a multi-site case study design (Stake, 2006). From November 2005 to June 2007, 8 case studies will be conducted. Five are "retrospective" case studies to be conducted in South India, and potentially Vietnam, South Africa, Peru, and Canada (yet to be decided), selected after consultation with partner agencies in those respective countries. The remaining three case studies are the culmination of action-learning partnerships between the Coady Institute and NGOs in the Philippines (SEARSOLIN), Ethiopia (Oxfam Canada), and Kenya (CREADIS) where the NGO has attempted to change its practice to an asset-based, community-driven approach and has been documenting the process and its results over the past 3 years as part of an on-going monitoring and evaluation exercise. Fieldwork is scheduled for these case studies in January (Oxfam Canada, Ethiopia), February (SEARSOLIN, Philippines), May (CREADIS, Kenya).

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Research Methods: The multi-case design requires the systematic use of a variety of qualitative research methods to explore the factors contributing to community-driven development, and build credible findings through a triangulation. In the action-learning case studies, documentation for monitoring and evaluation purposes has been on-going and will be collated and analysed before the field work begins for the case study production. This data and data collected during field work will be organized in case records developing thematic profiles for within-case analysis and cross-case comparison.

Phase 1 (action-learning sites only): On-going documentation completed by NGO partners in the action-learning sites, and reviewed, collated and analysed. Review of all other relevant documentation. Phase 2 (or Phase 1 for retrospective studies): Review of available documentation on the study sites and NGO and/or government work in the area Phase 3/2: Refinement of methods and tools with partner agency Phase 4/5: Field work in selected communities

(1) Focus and mixed group interviews with community members using "The Most Significant Change" technique (Dart and Davies, 2003) to elicit the stories and statements that exemplify what different community members consider to be the most significant changes in their communities over the previous 5 year period and why they consider these changes to be significant. Stories will be categorized in order to assess how different kinds of assets have been mobilized and built over the five year period (5 years for retrospectives, 3 years for action-learning cases). Each group selects the 3 most significant changes from the complete list of stories generated. A reference group selected from the community to represent broad based community interests then reviews and selects the most significant stories from the complete set.

(2) Guided observation, carried out through a transect walk, with community members identifying physical and natural assets, and implications for social assets, and changes in these over the 5 year period

(3) Follow up interviews with key players identified in the most significant change stories to elicit detailed perspectives on significant change and development of assets in their communities, with particular attention to development of social linkages. "Appreciative interviewing" strategies will be employed.

(4) Follow up interviews with local government, NGOs, private sector actors to obtain their perspective.

(5) Member-checking with community members and others who have participated in the initial interviews to discuss preliminary findings and their implications.

(6) Video documentation

These methods are consistent with a collaborative model of inquiry. The premise of this is that the participants in the research (including community members and external agencies) gain valuable insights from the research process in terms of learning, reflection, and analysis. The process of inquiry is thus designed to further the community's development interests. Every effort is to ensure as inclusive a process as possible and ensure transparency.

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APPENDIX C: Interview Questions

Part 1: Informal Leaders

General Information • Name, Age, Gender • Describe yourself, your family, your home, your livelihood, your education • Are you a member of a local association? Which one(s)? • Are you affiliated with a local institution? Which one(s)? • In which capacity building trainings (if any) have you participated?

The Community and Community Development Process • Describe your community (history, livelihoods, people) • Can you tell me a story about a time when you felt the community development

process in your community was going very well - when people were working together and achieving their goals?

o What role did you play in that experience? o What role did others play in that experience? o What was it about the environment (political situation, time of year,

outsiders involved, etc.) that made it so successful? • What activities are currently being implemented in the community? How were

these activities selected? How are you involved? What motivated you to be involved? Who else is involved? What do you think motivated them?

• What is the most significant change that you have witnessed in your community since you became involved as a leader in the community? Why was it significant?

Leadership • From your perspective, what are the characteristics of an effective community

leader? • From your perspective, what is the difference between formal leaders and

informal leaders? In your experience, is one type of leader more effective than the other? Why or why not?

• How often are you in a position where you teach someone something? Can you share an example?

• How did you become a leader in your community? (Were you specifically selected to be a leader? How? By whom? When/under what circumstances?)

• What personal characteristics do you think you possess that helped you emerge as a leader in your community?

• What responsibility do you have to the other people living in your community because you are an informal leader? How is this different than the responsibility a formal leader would have?

• Can you tell a story about how you have overcome challenges to taking a leadership role in your community?

• Have there been particular people from outside your community that have supported you in being actively involved as a leader within your community?

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• How do people treat you because of your role as a leader in the community? • How is your role in the community different from that of formal leaders (like

government and NGO field staff)?

Part 2: Other Stakeholders

General Information • Name, Age, Gender • What is your role in the community? Do you live in the community?

The Community and Community Development Process • Can you tell me a story of a time when you thought this community worked well

together on a project or in the community development process? o Who were the individuals that emerged as leaders? o What was it about those individual leaders that made the initiative more

successful? o How did people work together to achieve their goals? o What was it about the environment (physical, political, cultural, etc.) that

made it successful? • What activities are currently being implemented in the community? How were

these activities selected? How is the informal leader (use name) involved? Who else is involved?

• What is the most significant change in your community that you have witnessed over the past three years? What was the role (if any) of informal leaders? Why was it significant?

Leadership • How do you know the informal leader (use name)? • What, in your view, are the individual characteristics of the informal leader (use

name) that helped them to be successful in their role? • What challenges do you know them to have overcome in order to be successful as

an informal leader within the community? • What do you think are the factors that contributed to their ability to succeed as an

informal leader within the community? (political, cultural, personal, etc.). • What role do you think informal leadership plays in this community's

development process? • In your view, what are the general factors that contribute to the emergence of

informal leadership in this community? Do you see any general factors that inhibit the emergence of informal leadership in this community?