lang: en
Summary
This article by Maxwell J Smith discusses how community organisers can integrate leadership development into fast-paced election campaigns. It contrasts mobilising, which prioritises numerical targets, with organising, which builds agency and long-term infrastructure. The piece offers frameworks for identifying and developing leaders even under the pressure of electoral deadlines.
Background
Electoral field campaigns are short, fast-paced windows of political opportunity that often tempt organisers to prioritise hitting numerical targets over building leadership. This can lead to missed opportunities for developing long-term organising infrastructure and community power [source: commons-library].
What happened
Maxwell J Smith, co-director of the Community Organising Fellowship, wrote this article in 2022 to share frameworks for practising community organising leadership during election mobilisation. [source: commons-library] He distinguishes between mobilising (recruiting volunteers to meet targets) and organising (building agency and active participation). [source: commons-library] Smith draws on Jane McAlevey’s concept that leadership development without identification is like riding a bike without wheels [source: commons-library]. He lists Daniel Goleman’s five characteristics of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills) and adds cultural intelligence and a good sense of humour [source: commons-library]. Smith recommends a reflective role mapping exercise to identify all tasks an organiser does and then share them with potential leaders. [source: commons-library] He introduces the BASK Analysis (Behaviours, Attitudes, Skills, Knowledge) as a tool to plan leadership pathways, and presents a table from Dave Muhly showing how an organiser’s preparation time decreases as a volunteer progresses through leadership steps [source: commons-library]. The article concludes that an organising approach can overcome mobilising bottlenecks and build long-term capacity beyond election day [source: commons-library].
Key people & organizations
- Maxwell J Smith
- Community Organising Fellowship
- Jane McAlevey
- Daniel Goleman
- Holly Hammond
- Dave Muhly
- Sierra Club
Tactics used
The article advocates for distributed organising by sharing tasks and developing leaders, combined with framing and narrative to shift from a mobilising to an organising mindset. Coalition-building is implied through the collaborative frameworks shared among organisers. [source: commons-library]
Outcome
Verdict: unknown.
The outcome is unknown because the article is a prescriptive guide rather than a report on a specific campaign’s result. It offers frameworks for practice but does not document a concrete win or loss. [source: commons-library]
Lessons
- Use role mapping to identify all campaign tasks and share them with potential leaders to build capacity.
- Apply the BASK Analysis (Behaviours, Attitudes, Skills, Knowledge) before asking someone to take on a leadership role.
- Invest time early in leadership development to reduce the organiser’s workload over time and grow the campaign’s impact.
Sources
- commons-library —
[[commons-library]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
commons-library— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Rewritten: 2026-06-25 via
worker_casestudies_v2.py