What’s behind your community’s historic population shift?

Historic rural population decline is a fact, but it’s not the whole story.

I spent some valuable time this week doing a bit of data discovery about rural communities. In my search I explored an interactive map* showing the percent change in total population from the 2010 to the 2020 Census at both the state and county levels. I first zoomed in to view the South Dakota county-level data – it was a mix of blue (growth) and beige (decline) county blocks spread across the east and west sides of our state. I discovered 33 of 66 counties in South Dakota had positive population growth in the past ten years!

Then I zoomed out to view the population change map of the United States*. I uncovered something interesting — one (and only one) dark brown county in the southernmost tip of Illinois — Alexander County – bordered by the intersection of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. I was curious, so I clicked on the map to see their 36.4% negative growth rate was the largest of any of the 3,138 counties across the United States. Alexander County’s 2020 total population was 5,240 compared to their 2010 total population of 8,238. That drop in population is a significant one-time decline, but the truth is Alexander County had been losing large segments of their population since its peak of 25,496 residents during the 1940s. Over eight decades, they’ve had an enormous 80% loss in their total population.

What happened in Alexander County, Illinois?

Without living in Alexander County, it’s hard to know exactly what’s been happening, yet one author, David Szoke, writes an extraordinary viewpoint in his essay about the region’s drastic decline, titled,
Heartland Deluge: Race, Flooding, and the Two Alexander Counties, Illinois. It is a compelling read. Here’s a segment of the full essay:

“This migration illustrates the flight from rural pressures as agricultural communities struggle to combat the river’s unceasing ebb and flow. The two Alexander Counties – Cairo in the south and the smaller white towns to the north – represent two different responses to the hardships of the modern rural Midwest. Today, flooding remains the most significant shared factor in the decline of the two Alexander Counties. Neither community has had the infrastructure nor the funds to fix their dire situation. Alexander County exemplifies rural America in microscale, illustrating the racial tensions and isolation felt by black communities and the abandonment felt by struggling farmers facing submerged fields, lacking the political capital to sway the legislators who could fix their housing and flooding crises. The rivers straddling the county’s borders, once providing commerce and agricultural abundance, now act as the greatest threat to the livelihoods of those who remain. However, the Ohio and Mississippi are not responsible for the manmade decline of Alexander County; they may be the force which depopulates the humble lowlands for good.“

https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/legacy/vol20/iss1/8/

I hope as you’re reading this essay online in its entirety, you will reflect on what has attributed to the historic population shift of your own rural community, because rural population decline is a fact, but it’s not the whole story.

My takeaway from learning about Alexander County, Illinois, is that our greatest actions as a leader are to 1) show up with some hard facts, 2) guide conversations that develop strong relationships on both sides of an issue, and 3) ultimately work on building trust because as local leaders — whether you are a volunteer, elected, or paid — our actions or lack thereof have long-term consequences.

Any community that chooses to die a long slow death like Alexander County, Illinois, is most often filled with local volunteer leaders, elected officials, and residents who are not open to looking at data, making hard choices, addressing conflict, exploring what’s possible, or working on unity around the core issues of what it means to be a thriving community or region.

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What happened in Marshall County, South Dakota?

In Marshall County, South Dakota, where I live, population decline has been constant since the 1920s when our population peaked at 9,596 people. This is common for many rural counties. Every decade after the 1930s Marshall County has lost between 5% and 15% of our population, except for in 2010 when the Census showed an uptick of 1.7% growth. Now with a population of 4,656, which is approximately a 50% decline in population over time, we are a thriving region.

To address our challenges over the years, Marshall County, South Dakota, has made critical investments and implemented various innovative strategies to attract and retain as many residents as possible as economies have shifted. Some of those efforts were:

• Economic Diversification – Developing an industrial park in the 1970s in Britton and attracting Horton Industry was a lasting monumental move as the agriculture industry began shifting away from family farming, more women were entering the workforce, and higher paying jobs with benefits were needed. Now several manufacturing businesses operate in Britton as a hub for hundreds of regional jobs. In the 1990’s our regional economy diversified by adding a large dairy operation.
• Investment in infrastructure – This is more than streets, water towers, and sewer lifts — it’s about starting a rural water system, investing in the hospital multiple times, supporting emergency services, making parks accessible for everyone, focusing on tourism, historic courthouse rehab and expansion, and keeping Main Streets alive.
• Promotion of quality-of-life factors – The redevelopment of Ft. Sisseton Historic State Park, implementing local events, promoting the lakes region, quality libraries & museums, and supporting youth sports are just a few factors in our region.
• Support for entrepreneurship – The catalyst for local entrepreneurship was when we partnered with Dakota Rising in a three-county collaboration. Today the culture of starting your own business is alive and supported by economic development.
• Collaboration among community stakeholders – Having visionary leaders and mentors to keep developing those leaders over the decades is critical to our success in Marshall County. Whether it was the creation of Britton Area Foundation or starting Glacial Lakes Area Development, local leaders have spearheaded change for our communities.
• Initiatives focusing on rural healthcare access – Having our own hospital and ambulance service is vital. We also have a strong County Nurse position who visits schools, brings in the Delta Dental van, and educates our community.
• Evolving education – Changing with the times and collaboration has been a key factor in the success of our two remaining K-12 schools in Marshall County. Whether it’s starting a High School Trap Shooting Team or allowing students to become apprentices/interns at local businesses, we put students first, promote excellence, and let students know they are welcome to thrive in the region after high school.
• Broadband connectivity – Partnering with our local cooperative, Venture Communications, has put us on the forefront of advanced technology.

When faced with the data of declining rural population, instead of viewing our rural places as a relic of an idyllic past, we must recognize the innovative spirit that made our communities vibrant along the way. That innovation remains key to the future of our rural places. The good news is that innovation, diversity of ideas, and new concepts don’t need to be imported to your rural community – they’re already there.

*Map Source: https://mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/arcgis/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=2566121a73de463995ed2b2fd7ff6eb7

Putting unity back in community

Communities are the foundation of our society, and their strength and success lies in the unity of its members. Yet, often at the heart of so many communities is disunity.

As a community coach, I work with rural leaders to build local capacity and engage community members in working on local priorities so their community can thrive. One of the most common topics that comes up as the groups are planning for future outcomes is their desire for unity with other community leaders. They recognize disunity as a polarizing barrier to their success as they strive to engage other individuals, organizations or elected officials in creating a thriving community. One challenge of being a community coach is feeling the need to “fix it” because as an outsider it’s often easier for me to recognize the blindspots around disunity. However, my role is to empower individual leaders to own and create solutions for putting unity back into the community.

So, what is it that brings disunity to a community? Below is a list of some common culprits:

• Lack of trust between leaders and community members
• Resistance to change 
• Leadership immaturity
• No defined purpose or vision
• Inconsistency in meetings
• Unfulfilled promises
• Competition for resources or power
• Unclear communication methods
• Self-centered interests
• Burnout and stress
• Allowing events to railroad relationships

To address disunity as a polarizing barrier to developing a thriving community, it’s essential to name the specific causes at play from the list above and implement strategies to mitigate them. Below is a list of improvements that can be made by individuals, organizations or elected officials to find more unity in their community:

Open Communication – The foundation of any united community is open and honest communication. Offer encouragement and opportunities for community members to express their thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Create platforms for discussion, whether through community meetings, online forums, or social events. Effective communication ensures that everyone’s voice is heard, fostering an inclusive atmosphere where decisions are made collectively.

Purpose and Goals – A united community needs a clear purpose and shared goals. These objectives can be as simple as improving neighborhood safety, organizing cultural events, or addressing local environmental issues. When community members work together towards a common purpose, it strengthens their sense of unity. Ensure that the goals are transparent, achievable, and reflect the diverse needs and aspirations of your community.

Include Everyone – Diversity is a strength, and inclusivity is key to building unity. Celebrate and respect the differences among community members, including cultural, social, and economic diversity. Develop programs that actively involve people from all backgrounds, ensuring that everyone has a place at the table. When people feel valued and heard, unity naturally follows.

Connect through Collaboration – Create opportunities for collaboration within your community. Encourage community members to form teams and work together on projects, whether it’s a local garden, community signage, or organizing social events. Collaborations not only improve the quality of life but also foster a strong sense of belonging and shared responsibility.

Conflict Resolution – No community is without its conflicts. The key to maintaining unity lies in how these conflicts are managed. Establish an impartial conflict resolution process that allows for disagreements to be addressed constructively. Mediation and open dialogue can help community members find common ground and reach mutually acceptable solutions.

Empower and Engage – Empower community members to take ownership of their shared spaces and challenges. When individuals feel a sense of responsibility for their community, they become more invested in its well-being. Encourage people to take on leadership roles, participate in local governance, and contribute to the betterment of the community.

Inspire Learning – Promote education and awareness about programs or initiatives within your community and from resources outside the community. When community members are well-informed, they are more likely to respect and support each other’s values, leading to a stronger sense of unity.

Celebrate Achievements – Celebrate the milestones of your work and recognize the efforts of individuals and groups who have contributed to the betterment of the community. Regularly holding events and celebrations not only instills a sense of community pride but also reinforces the feeling of unity and camaraderie.

Commitment to Planning – Keeping unity in the community is an ongoing process that requires long-term planning. Establish a vision for the future and work collaboratively to achieve it. Encourage community members to stay engaged and committed to building a strong, unified community for generations to come.

Building unity in a community is a transformative process. By following these essential steps, your community can create a sense of belonging and togetherness that will empower its members to thrive and make a positive impact on society.

Mom – A Women of Excellence

There are two major lessons my Mom ingrained in my character — Lesson 1) finish what you started; and Lesson 2) develop a nature of excellence.

Lesson #1 – Mom always said, “If you start something, you’re going to finish it.” That meant the little things and the big things. For example, when we started 4-H at age 8 we would see it through for 10 years; when we started a sport we finished the season; when we started band in 5th grade we played that instrument at least through high school. Admittedly, as a kid, I occasionally resented the phrase of finishing what we started. However, I always respected my Mom enough to stick with it. Finishing things I started has had a significant impact on the way I participate in my own life from parenting to community leadership. It took me a while to realize my Mom was right, finishing what we start builds our character and conveys a message to the world that we are able, trustworthy, confident, and dependable. 

Lesson #2 – Excellence in every area of life is multifaceted because it starts with our thoughts that lead us to action. From my perspective my Mom had a true nature of excellence – I saw it in everything she did. Whether it was the attention she paid to her daily duties or how she invested in her relationships with friends and family, she modeled a nature of excellence.

Every single morning of her life, except for the past couple of years, my Mom would sit at the kitchen table with a mirror to apply her makeup and fix her hair. I think back now that her daily habit of self-care allowed her to show up as her best self, no matter the circumstances that faced her that day. Her nature was to always present a good attitude and complete all her work as quality work. 

My Mom loved to clean and her level of excellence when she cleaned sometimes seemed extreme to others – she went through a car wax phase and, of course, used vinegar for everything, plus she always had a toothbrush handy to scrub those hard to reach places or an SOS pad to make everything shine brighter than the sun. Her baking was another area where she displayed excellence. She said to me once, “Why choose good enough when you could choose a better way or the best way.” Usually the better or best way was ‘her way’ – it didn’t take me long to realize that. But, what I have learned from her example is that often the best way/her way required some extra sacrifice and hard work on my part, but it’s always worth it in the end.

There are three ingredients to excellence – love, knowledge and discernment. These ingredients speak to our motives and our insight. Love speaks to our motives in the choices we make as we consider how those choices will affect others and not just ourselves. Mom was always thoughtful of how things might affect others and would adjust to make people feel welcome and loved. The other two ingredients of excellence – knowledge and discernment together form the highest form of wisdom which gives us insight on what to do and how to do it. Mom used her wisdom to serve others by doing the things she knew how to do best.

The impact of these two lessons is far-reaching for me and maybe for you, too. May we all live a life of excellence by finishing what we started. Simply put, the Book of Ecclesiastes 9:10a says, “Whatever you do, do it well.”

Can a Leader’s Decision Making Process be both Intuitive and Data-Driven?

My short answer is a resounding, Yes!

Intuitive decision making is based on gut feelings, past experiences, and personal judgment. It involves using our instincts and emotions to decide, without relying heavily on data and analysis. On the other hand, data-driven decision making involves using objective data and analysis to inform decisions. It involves collecting and analyzing relevant data to identify patterns, trends, and insights, which are then used to make informed decisions.

Let me share a small-town leadership story.

About three years ago, I was in a board meeting with an economic development organization discussing their need to attract workforce for about 90 local job openings. The economic development director shared a couple recent stories about how limited housing stock was a big barrier for attracting more workforce. After a short discussion, one of the board members stated firmly, “I’m a realtor. We do NOT have a housing problem! There are currently twelve homes for sale and multiple apartment vacancies.” At that point, the conversation stopped. Both people were accurate in their reports, yet in hindsight what was missing from the conversation was some quality secondary data available from their local housing study. The Housing Study, completed by a third-party, stated, “The community has a stock of older, lower valued homes, of which 59% need minor or major repairs and another 3% are dilapidated. Our analysis of sales activity indicates that approximately 50% of the homes are valued less than $75,750.  As some lower valued homes come up for sale, they may not be attractive options for potential home buyers because of the amount of repair work that is required.” In addition, the housing study recommended, “approximately 10 to 15 additional rental units will be needed over the next five years to replace lost units. This replacement is appropriate due to the deteriorating condition of older, substandard rental housing that should be removed from the occupied stock.”

In the story above, the economic development director’s intuition was indicating that housing was a strong barrier to workforce attraction. But imagine if that intuition had been backed up with the data from the housing study? That data could have opened the conversation about quality housing being the issue, not the number available units. I am happy to report, three years after this initial conversation the economic development organization is using intuition (knowing their community) and data (their updated housing study) to move toward solutions that will ultimately address the housing quality issue and attract workforce.

Combining the two approaches of intuitive and data-driven decision making can be very powerful. Intuition can provide a valuable starting point, helping decision makers to identify potential options and narrow down choices. Data analysis can then be used to validate and support these options, providing objective evidence to back up intuitive decisions. By uncovering the story told by the data, it can also help us see patterns, understand the meaning behind the data, and become more proactive rather than being reactionary to issues as they pop up.

Ultimately, the best approach will depend on the specific situation and the decision being made. In some cases, intuition may be more important, while in others, data may be the key factor. The most effective decision makers can balance both approaches, using intuition to guide them, and data to validate and support their decisions.

Fill Your Cup

A friend called me a few weeks ago in tears. She serves as a community leader in a progressive small town, yet the local negative narrative had her feeling down and out. Unfortunately, it had been building for a while. She was feeling alone and struggling to find any reason to celebrate her community’s successes this year.

The old adage states, “Fill your cup, because you can’t pour from an empty cup.” The phrase, to fill your cup, means to replenish your stores of mental, emotional, and physical energy which are required to be a great community leader. My friend’s cup was near empty.

Too often, this scenario is the reality for many leaders who carry the heavy day-to-day burden of creating a thriving community. Being a community leader requires energy to vision for the future, make hard decisions, analyze risk, clearly communicate, deal with local naysayers, complete projects, and most importantly, thoughtfully reflect.

In its simplest form, reflection is about wise consideration. But the kind of reflection that is valuable to community leaders is more nuanced than that. The most useful reflection involves making meaning — naming what’s happening, seeing patterns, identifying structures, weighing actions, and analyzing outcomes. This kind of reflection by community leaders becomes crucial to the ongoing development of the community, yet few leaders make time for it. Why? For one, it requires leaders to do several things they typically don’t like to do: slow down, adopt a mindset of not knowing and curiosity, tolerate messiness and inefficiency, and take personal responsibility.

At her lowest, my friend took the time for reflection and meaning-making. She helped her community celebrate the highs of their success by engaging a group of community leaders to “Name the W.O.W.” This group took 30 minutes to brainstorm a list of the key community projects and milestones in the past 12 months. Their list contained 20+ big successes to celebrate and learn from as they think toward 2023.

As we move toward a new year, how might we stop, reflect, and recharge as community leaders? My challenge for you is to do what my friend did – Name the W.O.W. I’ve provided some brief instructions below.

Name the WOW (Wall of Wonder) Source: ToP (Technology of Participation)

This is a group reflection tool, that enables a group to review their history and progress. Through the process, they identify events that have taken place and place them on a visual timeline or write them on a flip chart. This process enables the group to slow down for a reflection of their journey over a specific period, remember what projects have shaped their journey, reconnect to what brought them to their current position, and recharge through celebration.

Start Here with a Reflection Question – What are the key events and milestones our community or organization accomplished in 2022 that are moving us toward a thriving [insert your town]? (capture your list on a whiteboard or flip chart)

Next, make meaning through group conversation (below are sample questions)

• What catches your attention on the W.O.W. list?
• What was easy? What was hard?
• What do you see as a turning point during this time period?
• Thinking back over what we did, where were key insights for you?
• What happened to us as a group as we completed this work?
• What new issues or questions have emerged for you?
• What is the significance of the work we accomplished this year?
• What bold steps could we take together in the upcoming year?

Lastly, share your W.O.W. with the community. Taking a few minutes to create your Wall of Wonder will have a lasting impact and help you clearly communicate the story of your success to the community.

Rural Resilience

Someone asked me recently, “Why do some rural communities “thrive,” and some don’t?” I have pondered that question many times and have produced many answers. But after much deliberation, I will reduce it to one word…resilience.

Resilience is framed as advancing despite adversity; the ability to respond, recover and thrive. A resilient rural community then may be one that can influence what happens to itself in situations of constant and unexpected social, economic, environmental, or political change.

Resilient communities share certain characteristics:

Collective action and decision-making – People from resilient communities feel engaged; they have a voice in issues that are important to them and are empowered to work together to meet common goals.

Social support – People from resilient communities feel that others are kind, would help each other out in a crisis, and that community members are treated equitably no matter their background.

Preparedness – Resilient communities have strong public policy and planning processes for capital improvements, emergency preparedness, economic development strategies, and community members are regularly informed on essential information about those plans.

Invest in themselves – In resilient communities, resources are committed to supporting the infrastructure, quality of life improvements, and economic development needs while risk mitigation steps are proactively in place to reduce any negative effects to those resources from threats or disasters.

Robust Economic Development – In resilient communities, there is infrastructure for business attraction; existing businesses feel supported by the community, can attract talent, and house their workforce; and entrepreneurs have the help to start up a new business.

Trust Leadership – Residents of resilient communities have confidence in their leaders’ developed abilities to plan strategically and trust they will lead the community through change.

Connected to Partners – In resilient communities, collaborative leadership is evident through regular and direct communication among local community leaders and well-developed partnerships with resource providers from outside the community.

Triumphant Mindset – Resilient communities ‘toot their own horn’ when they are successful in big and small things. Local recognition, community celebrations, storytelling, and marketing create community pride, draw in visitors, and attract newcomers.

At Dakota Resources, one way our community coaches collaborate with rural communities to begin developing stronger resiliency is by asking local leaders to name the “building block” strategies they focus on in their own organizations and to communicate this work to other organizations. We have created a tool called the Community and Economic Development Blueprint where we name eleven building blocks – Community Development Building Blocks – 1) community engagement, 2) leadership development, 3) public policy, 4) workforce development/education, 5) housing solutions, 6) infrastructure, 7) quality of life; Economic Development Building Blocks – 8) existing business development, 9) entrepreneur support, 10) new business attraction; and 11) storytelling & marketing. Each building block is vital to develop a thriving community and no single organization can be responsible for all this work by itself. Yet, each block requires attention. When blocks focused on community development are weak, then economic development success is more challenging, and resilience becomes a further reach.

At a minimum, increasing your community’s level of resilience takes tenacity, naming your building block strategies, developing strong internal and external partnerships, and you must embrace the culture of optimism — believing your community can respond, recover, and thrive both now and into the future.

Has your community made negativity a habit?

Living in a small town, we are often inclined to see change in our community as a threat to ourselves and our way of life. When we feel threatened by change uncertainty rears its ugly head and our negativity often takes over. We say things like – “What’s wrong with the way we’ve always done it.” or “Why do we need something new, the old one’s just fine?” or “We can’t afford that.” or “That will never work, we’ve tried it before.” And, sometimes we just outright disguise our negativity as facts, experience, or helpful guidance.

Every day as a community coach I work with rural changemakers to develop their thriving small towns. These passionate people explore what’s possible and create local vision. They work diligently to engage more people in the process and listen with curiosity to make ideas stronger. They seek outside resources and partnerships to fund projects. But along the way, these rural changemakers always encounter one common denominator – negativity.

One rural changemaker stated this: “When the negative voices in our community start to make noise it pulls us away from our purpose and each other… pretty soon people start believing what’s the loudest rather than searching for what’s possible.”

So, the overarching question is, how might a community change its negativity habit? James Clear, author of Atomic Habits writes, “The root of behavior change and building better habits is your identity. Each action you perform is driven by the fundamental belief that it is possible. So, if you change your identity (what you believe you are), then it is easier to change your actions.”

If you agree with James Clear that building better habits starts with changing your identity, then the answer to the question above is to create a new community identity. What if you became known as a thriving community of rural changemakers? It can start with one. One rural changemaker – YOU – can master your own mindset and manage the negativity habit that exists around you. Then ask other rural changemakers to join you on this quest for a thriving community.

As you gather your crowd of rural changemakers and engage with others who are stuck in the negativity habit take these conscious actions to constructively engage

1. Show confidence in your skills, abilities, and new identity as a rural changemaker.
2. Listen to others intently and with curiosity to shift from problem mode to solution mode.
3. Say, “I don’t have the answer right now.” Diffuse negativity by tactfully supplying a well-thought-out response later.
4. Redirect conversations by talking about what’s possible.
5. Ask for solutions that could resolve problems from the past.
6. Turn complaints into opportunities by brainstorming ideas.
7. Focus on what is within your control, not things you cannot control.
8. Test innovative ideas by implementing short 30-day action plans.
9. Celebrate your successes to create a community buzz.
10. Become stronger together by recognizing all the good things going on in the community and share those stories publicly.

Cutting out every bit of negativity is unrealistic, but we can learn to live responsively instead of reactively, being positive when others are negative. If we simply ensure our attitude as a rural changemaker aligns with our community’s vision, together we can and will thrive into the next generation.

An embarrassing story about community dialogue

Quite simply, community dialogue is an exchange of ideas and experiences through listening, sharing and questioning. At its best, community dialogue is created in a safe environment where a diverse group of people gathers to talk and understand each other. Community dialogue at its worst looks something like the embarrassing story I am going to share about my own community members and town board.

A few years ago, there was a local issue flaring up in my community. Honestly, I can’t even remember the topic of the issue, but it was important enough that community residents were rallying together to attend the monthly town board meeting so they could have a voice in the decision-making process. I decided to attend. About 15-20 residents filed into the fire hall taking a seat on a folding chair or standing against the wall as the meeting was called to order. The town board and staff sat at a rectangle table at the front of the building. They moved through the approval of their agenda never acknowledging the small crowd to their back. The crowd sat quietly and respectfully for the first 30 minutes, but then some chatter started in the back. After more than an hour, the town board got to the issue at hand. The town board began a discussion among themselves at the table, which was hard to hear because two of them had their backs to the group. Someone sitting toward the back of the room asked, “Could you speak up?”  Again, the town board members never acknowledged the group but continued their discussion with each other about the issue at hand. Suddenly something was said by one of the town board members that was clearly heard but not popular with the group. The man behind me started booing loudly! Others started talking and heckling. One person was saying, “Be quiet! I can’t hear.” One of the town board members then turned to ask the group to quiet down and show respect as they finish their discussion. Someone yelled, “Don’t we get to speak?” There was no response. The town board made their motion, voted, approved their decision, and moved to the next agenda item. In the chaos, people started to realize the town board had moved past their issue, so they noisily filed out of the fire hall into the parking lot. The group was confused about what had just been decided and everyone was astonished that not one person was allowed to have a voice in the conversation. There was absolutely no dialogue allowed!

As I stood outside the fire hall, embarrassed and stunned by the behavior I had just witnessed in that meeting, it was obvious to me that my town leaders were frightened to engage the public and the public wasn’t equipped to engage in healthy community dialogue!

As a community coach, I regularly hear local leaders verbalize their fear that the negative voices will just take over and chaos will ensue if they host a community conversation. I assure you community dialogue doesn’t have to be frightening or end in chaos, instead it can create motivation and a common vision.

When discovering how to fearlessly engage in good dialogue, it’s helpful to recognize what dialogue IS NOT. Dialogue is not debate. In debate, the goal is to be right. You believe your solution is the right solution, and you must find flaws in the other solutions presented. Dialogue is also not about total agreement with others. People can be respectful to one another while not needing to agree with everything they believe and do.

On the other hand, dialogue IS a motivator for people and their communities. Dialogue helps people collectively work toward a common vision, understanding, or solution to an issue. People engaged in dialogue listen to understand perspectives, needs, expectations, or solutions. Dialogue is an opportunity for people to be heard and understood while displaying open-minded attitudes and a willingness to be wrong and accept change.

Creating healthy community dialogue starts with one person…YOU. To get started, the next time you engage in dialogue with an individual or small group, practice listening to understand rather than listening to respond. Allow for two-way collaborative dialogue by asking a series of open-ended questions such as What’s happening? What’s your one biggest challenge? How can I help? What do you want in the end? or What are the possible solutions? Throughout your dialogue practice just remember it’s about three simple behaviors: listening, sharing, and questioning. You can do it!

How might embellishing your community’s success backfire?

Passionate community leaders typically communicate with the best intentions. They are genuinely excited about sharing publicly and celebrating successes in their communities. In fact, one of the main questions I get when I coach community leaders is, “How can I encourage people in my community to get more excited and engaged in the work we need to accomplish in our town?” I start by telling them it’s unlikely anyone in your town will have the exact level of passion as you do about the same things you’re excited about. It’s all about each person finding their own passion and following it.

But to get more people excited and engaged, I’ve noticed a recurring theme among passionate community leaders, especially with social media. We tend to exaggerate. I’m among the guilty. For example, every event in town isn’t the BEST EVER!!! Not every social media post about your community needs three exclamation points!!! From an opposing perspective, it’s also easy in today’s divisive environment to be overly negative with our communication. Not every community is dying and in crisis mode — so stop saying those words when speaking or writing about your own community.

These kinds of statements lack facts and are misleading. If you’re like me, you don’t intend to be insincere. The embellishments simply overflow from the passion flowing inside you about your community. The danger with embellishments, however, is they can backfire. Badly. I’ll give you four ways embellishing your community’s success can backfire.

One. Passion detached from facts moves people backward, not forward. Embellishments are exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally, but people often do. Making statements like, “We PACKED.IT.OUT at the community gathering Thursday night!” confuses reality. If by PACKED.IT.OUT you mean 35 people attended the event at the community hall for a conversation about future priorities, then just say that. Having facts repeated publicly is better than people self-interpreting your message and telling their own story.

Two. Leaders who consistently exaggerate diminish the real celebration of progress in your community. When everything is THE GREATEST!!! then nothing is the greatest.

Three. From a negative perspective, saying over and over, “If we don’t act NOW the community is DOOMED and we will have nothing to offer anyone in the future!” might not be the best strategy. Negative embellishments tend to become a self-fulfilling prophecy in communities and usually have a multi-generational life cycle. Sadly, when an opportunity does arise in the future it becomes more difficult to re-engage people to work toward success.

Four. Leading with embellishments eventually lowers the community to a game of one-upmanship. If the community down the road has a big event, then the temptation is to one-up ‘em. They invite [insert big name] to headline the summer bash, so you invite [insert bigger name]. This kind of competition diminishes the uniqueness of each community and puts up barriers to working together when a big project arrives in the region.

Passion-driven communication comes with all the best intentions, yet you can only use crisis language or exclamation marks for so long before people stop listening or participating. You may draw a crowd the first time you say, “Be here tonight — it will be our biggest event ever!!!” But as you overuse this tactic, the result will be inevitably less than the previous time. In the long run, generating community excitement and engagement with embellishments will backfire with the effect of declining returns.

Cheers to improved communication methods for 2022 as you engage, empower and excite residents to create a thriving community.

The Role of Public Policy in Rural Community Economic Development

My husband is a mechanic. The tools of his trade are important to his work. He has a large toolbox with many drawers lined in soft black padding. His tools lay clean and organized inside each drawer for easy access when he needs the right tool for a job. Yet, when things get busy tools don’t get wiped clean and they don’t get put back into that organized toolbox. This is when frustration levels rise, every job gets harder, and jobs take longer because he’s looking everywhere for the right tool.

Like a mechanic needs easy access to the right tools, our local community economic development (CED) organizations need easy access to the right tools — like public policy. In most rural communities, the CED organization is the one group responding to the local needs that neither the market economy nor government is fully satisfying. These CED organizations are working mostly alone to create solutions for housing, daycare, business retention and expansion, workforce issues, leadership development, and other quality of life issues. One organization cannot effectively tackle all these local issues. If the role of public policy is not in place to support CED, then local frustration levels rise, every project gets harder to do, and progress takes longer because CED leaders can’t grab the right tool from the toolbox.

I was community coaching in a small town recently with twelve local leaders. This group represented city council members, county commissioners, and the economic development board of directors. We were mapping out their community and economic development model. This model included the components of business attraction, existing business, entrepreneurship, workforce/education, infrastructure, quality of life, leadership development, storytelling/branding, and the role of public policy. As each person was journaling their lists of activities in the nine areas, the mayor asked me for an example under the column labeled, “Role of Public Policy”. To prompt his brainstorming, I asked, “To support community economic development, have you hired a code enforcement officer or implemented the Municipal Gross Receipts Tax?”

As we worked together that evening, the group named two activities under the role of public policy – 1) Implementing Zoning and 2) Code Enforcement. Those are both good supporting public policies. Yet, as I looked over their collective work, it concerned me that a room with many elected officials could only name two public policies to support CED. In that moment the story I told myself was, elected officials don’t know their role in public policy when it comes to supporting CED.

So, what’s missing that could help elected officials connect the dots between the role of public policy and community economic development?

A first step toward connecting those dots may be to define and understand CED in your community. In addition to the nine components of the CED model I listed above, below are a few general goals of any typical CED organization:

Goal 1. Building Greater Community Capacity and Quality of Life

Goal 2. Nurturing Pride, Self-Reliance, and Leadership

Goal 3. Enhancing Skills and Attracting a Quality Workforce

Goal 4. Developing Businesses that are Responsive to Social and Economic Needs

Goal 5. Fostering Balanced, Fair, and Sustainable Economic Development

A next step is to explore public policies other communities are implementing to achieve their goals. Some examples of existing policies include:

1. Investing in workforce attraction/retention incentives
2. Prioritizing financial investments for paid staff of local housing, chamber, and economic development organizations, along with joint agreements on desired impacts
3. Implementing the second penny city sales tax and/or Municipal Gross Receipts Tax (also known as the “bed, board and booze” tax)
4. Implementing discretionary tax formulas to support housing improvements and business development
5. Implementing local Main Street beautification and façade programs
6. Creating an ecosystem of supporting local business to increase local sales tax
7. Investing in quality-of-life and recreational amenities
8. Utilizing Tax Increment Financing
9. Prioritizing Planning & Zoning
10. Owning or supplementing local daycare facilities.

Together, elected officials and economic development leaders can connect the dots between the role of public policy and CED by visioning for the future, naming the local needs, setting some goals, and innovatively developing public policy as a tool to create a thriving rural community.