Community Module with Steve Schewel, Mayor of Durham
Think about a ‘leader.’
If it’s not someone we know personally, then we tend to think of celebrity-type leaders, the people in the spotlight such as the CEO of a major company or the coach of a professional sports team.
But the truth is that leadership is happening at all levels, often under the radar. And these people are making big impacts and helping to bring out real change.
Local leaders are the ultimate example of this. That’s why we were pleased to welcome Steve Schewel, the Mayor of Durham, to talk about servant leadership what it means to him to be a local leader in a servant role.
The Mayor joined our Community Module, which is an ongoing lunch and learn content series for alumni of NextGen Center programs.
“I love this city,” he told our group of about 25 alumni. He said his goal is to create a common vision and articulate it. To do that, he has to listen to the people and, in turn, provide the context for how decisions are made.
He spoke about how leadership is a skill that can be learned and can come from any level, be it formal or informal, and especially from the grassroots of a community. “I believe Durham will be the most desirable city to live in 30 years,” he predicted. To achieve that, he has to continue to convince people that what the government is doing today will have a long-term impact, in over a decade from now.
In addition to Mayor Schewel’s inspiring words, the feedback from our community had some equally inspiring insights and takeaways to share:
“I thought the experience with Mayor Schewel was phenomenal. I enjoyed his transparency with his challenges in leadership as well as his accomplishments. He was a great example of the level of leadership we should all aspire to.”
“Mayor Schewel was a fascinating speaker and I really enjoyed hearing about the challenges of being the Mayor along with how he handles the temporary nature of the work. In particular, knowing how he manages his teams given how long he has in a term, how many needs there are, and what he has to prioritize is just a focus and everyone else will keep on working on what they're working on.”
“Biggest takeaway: I worked with the City Planning people about 15 years ago, before Durham become a hot spot. Their goal was to put Durham on top of the best places to live in the country. They have succeeded, and continue to surprise me with their ability to connect to people.
Applications: Giving people a voice--one that is heard--is one of the earliest steps in empowering others.”
“It was inspiring to hear from someone in a position like MAYOR talking about the same leadership discussions/questions we deal with every day. Hearing his thoughts on his responsibility - to create a safe space for difficult conversations, for example - was really inspiring. And his way of describing the difference between a business owner (controlling his initiative/focus) and a public servant (having to care about all the issues), and also his big struggle of prioritization, was both inspiring and confirming.
“My biggest takeaway is that the mayor has more burdens and less power than I had imagined, and that Steve Schewel is succeeding in spite of this by sheer force of will and the call of duty he feels towards his city. And that sense of determination is what actually makes him an effective leader.”
“I really appreciated the opportunity to attend this luncheon. My biggest takeaway was Steve Schewell's point about how the energy and focus it took to achieve the things he was very passionate about meant that there were 10 other very worthy things that he would have to refuse. I think this is a great idea for managing teams of any kind -- you can't do everything yourself, so you will either have to delegate (if it's important enough not to let go of) or find peace in letting go of things you can't focus on.”