About KLCC

KLCC History
What sets KLCC Apart from Other Leadership Development Programs?
KLCC View of Leadership Development
The KLCC Theory of Change

KLCC History

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation launched KLCC in 2002 in response to the way factors such as diversity,
technology and the changing economic landscape were posing new opportunities as well as challenges for
local communities.

The Kellogg Foundation has a long history of leadership development. Its most recent fellowship programs in
international leadership and national leadership development have nurtured the careers of hundreds of
individuals around the globe, many of whom lead nonprofit organizations, government agencies and NGOs
around the world today. With the dawn of the new millennium, however, Foundation leaders felt it was time it to
venture into another type of leadership development.

KLCC operates from the premise that while many 21st-century communities are eager to shape new visions for
themselves, they often lack the relationships and collective leadership experience required to realize these
visions. Crossing Boundaries, Changing Communities is a core philosophy of KLCC, urging the inclusion of
non-traditional leaders from diverse backgrounds in the collective decision-making processes of their
communities. This philosophy helps community leaders cultivate the relationships and expertise they need to
improve neighborhoods for all of the residents they serve.

What sets KLCC Apart from Other Leadership Development Programs?

By drawing together individuals who are already engaged in the stewardship of their communities around a
common theme and enhancing their ability to work as a team, KLCC integrates a model for mobilizing
community action with strategies for individual and collective leadership development. The combined effect is
the creation of an "evergreen" cadre of collaborative leaders in each community.

KLCC also:

• Leaves the responsibility of defining what change is needed on the fellows themselves, embracing the
belief that diverse groups of local leaders are in the best position to determine which local problems
need solutions and which solutions are most likely to bring about the best outcomes;
• Combines inner reflective work, such as finding values, courage and hope with concrete methods of
mobilizing change through data analysis, thinking systemically and focusing on action;
• Interweaves learning and action in an upwardly spiraling process - resulting in increased capacity of
the individual and group as time goes along;
• Honors the wisdom of each participating community while also aiming to establish a national learning
community from which those outside of the program can learn more about the practice of collective
leadership;
• Inspires commitment for long-term community stewardship; and
• Helps to connect a wide range of local, regional and national stakeholder groups with national experts
on a variety of leadership and community development issues.

The KLCC View of Leadership for Community Change in the 21st Century
Changing communities in the 21st Century demands leaders who know their own values, who develop their
own and other's leadership capacities, and who share leadership in collective efforts for the greater good.

Successful community change efforts require the crossing of the many boundaries: between individuals and
groups, among organizations, and around issues that exist in and potentially divide the community.

KLCC is based on the premise, therefore, that effective community leaders:

• Are familiar with multiple approaches to creating change and are able to step outside their own
viewpoints to see how others understand the challenges facing them;
• Embrace the community's diversity, and have the capacity to identify and engage all of the
stakeholders;
• Welcome diversity and recognize that it is an asset;
• Cultivate learning relationships with those who think differently;
• Honor and build on the history and culture of the community;
• Imagine and then work together to create a better future; and
• Grow and develop by working on real world problems.

The KLCC Theory of Change

There are predictable stages of community change and there are lessons to be shared about what works in
developing leadership, in building strong groups of leaders in community and in creating community change.

The challenges facing communities require the development of leaders who can make intentional and informed
decisions about various approaches to creating change. Such leaders have the capacity and the will to work
together with other leaders who represent the many different organizations and perspectives in the community.
These leaders are prepared to mobilize the expertise, resources and will of the community in order to support
tangible and sustainable change.

Individuals from any social, ethnic, racial and economic group in the community are capable of stepping into a
leadership role. Regardless of past experiences, individuals seeking to lead in their communities will benefit
from opportunities to develop their capacity to collaborate, build learning relationships; and to work in multi-
cultural and multi-sector settings with a wide variety of stakeholders.

To fully develop leadership capacity for community change, leaders should:

• Continuously develop their personal capacity for leadership including finding their own values,
passions and vision while remaining open to changing their mind;
• Behave in ways and use leadership tools that promote effective individual action and encourage new
ways of working collectively;
• Create shared understanding that reflects the community's different cultural experiences and
perspectives;
• Bring about change in their organizations and associations, other institutions and their community in
ways that are consistent with their expanded understanding of the community;
• Nurture the development of other leaders and welcome them to the community of shared leadership;
and
• Leaders learn by doing - by grounding their experiences in a particular place and by addressing
challenges that are real and important to the community. Over time, this place-based approach to
leadership development has the potential to create a cadre of leaders willing to serve as stewards and
promoters of their community's vision for the future.