When Robert Putnam accused America of “Bowling Alone,” the Sierra Club responded by bowling together—or, at least, by wearing bowling T-shirts while they subjected themselves to a research study on what makes civic associations work. With 62 regional chapters and 343 local groups, the Sierra Club is an ideal laboratory. “Are some of these groups more vibrant than others, and if so, why?” asked Kenneth Andrews, associate professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The usual answer would be that it’s the context of the organization that matters—if you know something about where a group is working, you have a good handle on whether or not it’s going to be successful. But Andrews, along with Marshall Ganz of Harvard University, who co-led the 2003 study, also sought to identify what organizations actually do to make a difference. They conducted extensive interviews and surveys of every group and chapter of the Sierra Club, gathering information about each one, the communities in which they are based, and the leaders directing them.
Good leadership at the local level had a more profound effect than any external factor. “How the leaders of civic associations organize themselves to carry out their work makes a big difference for their own experience and learning, for how well they’re able to engage the members of the organization, and for how visible the organization can be in the community,” says Andrews. What makes a civic association effective is not so much the resources and opportunities available to it, but the leader’s ability to make the most of those resources and opportunities.
One of the most important aspects of leadership development is interdependence, or how well leaders work as teams. “Some groups have a culture where the group is a clearinghouse for people to pursue their own interests or objectives, [and] go out and advocate on behalf of whatever their pet issue is,” says Andrews. Those groups miss the point. “Being able to come together and formulate some common plans is really crucial for getting the benefits of an organization” whose collective voice is much louder than that of any individual.
Leadership isn’t easy in a civic association, “where you can’t draw on paid incentives to get people to do things,” says Andrews. Groups of people with no reason to be there (except that they want to) have to come up with collective solutions to a wide range of problems. They have to work together, hold each other accountable, and sustain their commitment. But it pays off.
“The commitment to invest in developing leaders, to identifying them, nurturing, training them within the grassroots structure, was a monumental shift,” says Lisa Renstrom, former president of the Sierra Club. “I’m proud to say we’re still seeing results.”
Kenneth T. Andrews, Marshall Ganz, Matthew Baggetta, et al., “Leadership, Membership, and Voice: Civic Associations that Work,” American Journal of Sociology, 115, 2010.
Read more stories by Jessica Ruvinsky.