Why do we do it? Why do we take on the risky, messy, difficult job of leading – of making a difference in our communities, our work, our neighborhoods? Or, conversely, why is it that when we "step up to the plate", people immediately start taking pot-shots? What makes leadership so risky?

Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky, in their book, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading,* offer insights and suggestions to help leaders examine their situation and develop strategies to overcome the "perils of leading".

They believe that leadership surfaces conflict, challenges long-held beliefs, and requires new ways of doing things. These conflicts cause pain, and when people feel threatened, they take aim at the person pushing for change. So leaders often are hurt, both personally and professionally.

The authors believe, as many do, that stepping into leadership roles is worth the risk when your goals extend beyond material gain or personal advancement. By making the lives of people around you better, leadership provides meaning to life.

Here are some of the strategies they recommend to help leaders "stay alive":

• In the midst of turmoil , practice withdrawing mentally to a point where you can figure out what's going on. In their words, to achieve real change, "you have to maintain a diagnostic mindset on a changing reality".
• In the exercise of leadership, the nature and quality of the connections human beings have with each other is more important than almost any other factor in determining results. How do you work with the people on "your side"? On the "other side". What about the people who haven't decided?
• To lead people, you must build structures of relationships to work ontough issues, establishing norms that make passionate disagreement permissible.
• Shine light on the issues, not the personalities, or on people who disagree.
• Leaders need anchors; practices and relationships that remind them who they are, and where they're going.

*Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, copyright 2002, Ronald A. Heifitz and Marty Linsky, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts.

- Jeri Marxman, Extension Specialist, Public Policy

Extension Builds Strong Families through Multiple Delivery Systems

Parenting is a tough job. Local Extension Councils frequently have identified that parents often need help coping with young children.

University of Illinois Extension has sought to improve the quality of parenting in Illinois by expanding the range of educational methods that have typically been used. One method which has appeal to busy parents is newsletters. These newsletters are age paced, in that they provide the information which the parent is likely to need through a child's initial months of development. Monthly newsletters are available for the first, second and third years of the child's development. Each newsletter contains research-based information and activities to enhance parent-child relationships.

In the past four years, over 25,000 families and child care providers have received the newsletters. Evaluations have shown most of the parents who read the newsletters found the publications more helpful than other sources of child-rearing advice, including relatives, friends, doctors, and other written materials.

86 percent of parents reported that reading the newsletters led them to involve their children in chores; 75 percent said the newsletters led them to talk more with their children; 55 percent set rules and limits for children, and 55 percent reduced the use of physical punishment. 52 percent of first-time parents also reported making more safety changes in their homes due to the newsletter information.

During the fall of 2002, Extension announced a parenting website which uses video clips to let the parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers see how other parents cope with the challenges of raising young children. The Parent to Parent website can be found at: http://2p2.uiuc.edu

- Charlie Clark, Extension Specialist Program Evaluation

"I like hearing about what's happening in my neighbors' communities, but I also appreciate getting a brief overview of topics or services available to my village. We're putting together a proposal to upgrade our water system, and while this may have happened eventually, because I heard something at a meeting of mayors, we could approach the planning council to get things started rather than wait until it was too late."
-- Summit participant

University of Illinois Extension has organized mayoral summits in several locations in Illinois to encourage interaction among municipal officials. These sessions provide opportunities for officials to discuss common problems and alternative solutions. Two programs are showcased here.

The first annual Macon County Mayors Summit was held recently; eight of the eleven municipalities were represented. Participants were actively involved in discussions of leadership and collaboration. As an added bonus, their wives were invited too: the Macon County First Ladies Assembly featured an opportunity to discuss "Life in the Fishbowl".

In Brown and Adams counties the Extension Community & Economic Development (CED) Educator meets quarterly with elected leaders in four western Illinois counties –Adams, Brown, Hancock, and Pike. Titled MVP Forums, participants are the Mayors and Village Presidents of incorporated municipalities.

The agendas are loosely structured, usually beginning with a presentation on a topic of common interest. The second half of the session is devoted to round table discussions of current problems and issues facing their communities.

- Rexlyn Nicole, Macon County CED Educator