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FranklinCovey Blog | Civic Disengagement
Great Mama Part II—Community, Social, Political Mamas
Maggie is a single 28 year-old woman who works full time for a recreation organization. She grew up in a town that provided numerous leadership opportunities for boys while, for girls, the emphasis was on being “nice” and above all, “pretty.” In her early 20s, she found that while there was nothing wrong with being nice, an authentic life also required some flexing of the courage muscle, and that physical beauty wasn’t enough to guarantee a meaningful life. Around the same time, Maggie read the book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Dr. Robert Putnam. Dr. Putnam’s thesis is that civic disengagement is impoverishing our communities and our lives. We sign fewer petitions, belong to fewer organizations that meet, know our neighbors less-we’re even bowling alone as opposed to league bowling. And civic disengagement leads to personal disengagement, crime, and a whole host of social problems.
Maggie decided that her contribution to future women, her community, and to herself would be through the Girl Scout organization, the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.6 million members worldwide. According to www.girlscouts.org, Girl Scouts are the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. After two years as a troop leader for girls ages 13-15, they wrote her a thank you note that said, “Ms. Maggie, you have taught us to make good decisions and that we can make a difference. We’re going to be healthy eaters who can manage conflict. We promise to be great leaders that recognize the potential in others like you have in us.”
There is a lot to do to revive our communities. Be informed, vote, choose your civic/global contribution, and do it. Executive Mamas live by the Girl Scout Law!
What will your contribution be? Check out video titled Contribution featured in FranklinCovey’s 7 Habits for Managers workshop.
Author: Jennifer Colosimo, Vice President of Sales and Delivery Effectiveness at FranklinCovey