Learning Communities and Action Communities

More than 1,000 people belong to a community that they probably don't notice.

Here's what they have in common: They are members of Conservative kehillot (sacred communities). They are now synagogue leaders or someone thinks they should be someday. They want to know more about a specific topic, or are curious about what they might learn. They want to do something to change their synagogues or themselves. They want to feel that they're not alone.

From presidents to current leaders to emerging leaders, they share a commitment to learn, do and feel something new that will help them strengthen themselves as leaders and, in turn, their kehillot. They're using United Synagogue's new Sulam Leadership resources, developed in the last two years, and they form two distinct groups - a Learning Community and an Action Community.

Let me tell you about what's happening in each one.

Sulam Learning Community

In the last year, more than 600 people came to conferences and workshops in their shuls and in groups around the continent to learn about mission and vision, leadership succession, "sacred strategies" and goals, governance, and strategies for increased engagement. About 200 people regularly joined in on webinars about volunteer development, starting strategic planning, assessment, and financial sustainability. 55 new and incoming synagogue presidents went on retreat with our Sulam faculty. And more than 300 new leaders were identified, recruited and engaged in Sulam for Emerging Leaders.

We published some of the good things they had to say about Sulam for Current Leaders' resources, and Sulam for Emerging Leaders trainers and participants spoke publicly about what it did for them. But here's what else we know:

• Evaluations from more than 300 "current leader" program participants were overwhelmingly positive. More than 90% said they learned something new and would share what they learned. More than 75% said they'll be able to do something new because of what they learned. 
• An independent evaluation of Sulam for Emerging Leaders by Drs. Steven Cohen and Ezra Kopelowicz showed that our pilot cohort hit the mark in terms of identifying and engaging potential leaders in the 30-45 year old age range. A study of SEL's second year will be published shortly, and will include information about how participants moved from learners to do-ers. 
• Every Sulam session, workshop, retreat or webinar has some kind of activity that requires analysis, strategic thinking or decision-making. Kehilla leaders in our learning community did more than just learn: They created new mission statements or reviewed their current ones, set goals that relate to their missions, mapped the roles of clergy and lay leaders, created volunteer descriptions and profiles, compared their fundraising efforts to their development efforts, and assessed their readiness to change their membership models.

Sulam Action Community

41 congregations took action last year with the help of United Synagogue:

• 31 congregations launched Sulam for Emerging Leaders. This requires a significant training and preparation time commitment from their rabbi and a training partner who facilitate the program, and from the synagogue leaders to identify and recruit people who have the potential to come to the leadership table in the future. 
• 10 congregations are creating and implementing strategic plans through Sulam for Strategic Planners.

The Sulam Leadership Network

Synagogue leaders don't want to go it alone. For 21 years, the presidents who met each other at Sulam for Presidents stayed in touch and supported each other through their presidencies and beyond. Many friendships forged at Sulam continue 20 years later. Sulam for Presidents was United Synagogue's strongest synagogue leadership network. Now the network is expanding.

The hundreds of leaders in our Action Community meet face to face when they begin working with our Sulam team, and continue to interact on regular conference calls. The Sulam for Strategic Planners cohort will meet at our Centennial Celebration in October. Not only will they get the next level of training in strategic planning, but a number of sessions at the conference, particularly those on "The Communal Conversation" and "relational Judaism," will inform their strategies as they move from planning to action. Also at the Centennial, our Sulam for Presidents graduates will reunite in a special "Sulam Suite," and at VIP learning sessions.

Our Learning Community has networking opportunities as well. Our MetNY district regularly brings together synagogue presidents at the beginning of the year. Small congregations conferences in our Central and Northeast districts, and a conference for large congregations last year brought together leaders with similar interests and challenges. Our district, regional and special interest networked gatherings will continue in the coming year.

But here is my dream - that hundreds of our emerging leaders will meet each other, too, and we'll grow our Sulam Leadership Network beyond current leaders. The Centennial Celebration is the perfect venue to begin. Imagine if the leaders of tomorrow could find each other while they experience prayer and learning at its best. Their voices need to be heard at "The Conversation of the Century," and when the conference is over, their energy needs to be supported so that they can create the Conservative kehillot of the 21st Century together.

Contact me if you want to help make that happen.