Leadership Is an Art (and Why That Matters for Community Builders)
Do you see yourself as a leader? If you run a Skool community, or a household, you are already leading whether you use that word or not. That’s why Leadership Is an Art by Max De Pree remains one of the most useful leadership books I’ve ever read, even decades later, and especially for online communities. The at of leadership is "liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible." De Pree doesn’t treat leadership as a role or a strategy. He treats it as stewardship... a temporary responsibility for people, culture, and direction. That framing changes everything. Community is not content. It’s a human system. Most people approach communities like products. Making more posts, prompts, or activity isn't leading. The work of a leader is not to generate output. It’s to create the conditions where people want to contribute. That includes: - Psychological safety - Clear expectations - Mutual respect - A sense that presence matters When those conditions exist, participation follows naturally. When they don’t, no amount of “engagement hacks” will fix it. 💫 Covenant beats contract One of De Pree’s strongest ideas is the difference between contracts and covenants. Contracts are transactional. Covenants are relational. Most online communities are built on unspoken contracts: - I post, you respond - I pay, you deliver - I show up, I get value WISE communities work better when they function as covenants: - We care how people experience this space - We protect dignity, diversity, equality, inclusion - We value contribution beyond metrics That means being intentional about how people are treated, especially when they are new, uncertain or quietly lurking. 💫 The leader defines reality This is one of De Pree’s most quoted ideas for a reason. In a community, defining reality looks like: - Being authentic about sharing rather than posting filler De Pree rejects performative leadership. Filler is false reality. Authentic sharing is reality.