Introduction
John Gardner is an American politician who actively promoted the involvement of ordinary citizens in public events. His ideas regarding the involvement of citizens in participation gained great popularity and influenced his career. In addition, he published books in which he developed the concept of the emergence of leadership among citizens. Gardner also developed his thoughts on leadership in his work, as he actively influenced the development of individual plans to start leadership development in schools and continue to take such steps in universities.
John Gardner, as the role of a leader
Before proceeding to the research itself, it is worth considering the concept of “community leader.” In this context, we must understand that such a person primarily works for different population groups or communities (Deshwal, & Ali, 2020). The role of a leader in such an environment manifested in the mobilization of groups—activating people in communities to specific actions. A leader will never work for someone, and his main task is to give people the opportunity to improve their lives or society. That is what John Gardner’s whole life demonstrates.
The beginning of a career
Speaking about the life of John Gardner and his career, it is worth noting that his example is vital for young people. In particular, the value of his investment in the next generation, since most of Gardner’s work was about building quality leadership for future generations (Reynolds, 2017). After the Second World War, John Gardner began actively managing strategic services. This part of Gardner’s biography becomes vital in his later career. From the beginning, he was involved in organizations in which he took an active role (Baptiste, 2018). In particular, during this period, John Gardner’s interest and involvement in leadership began as he began to write books and develop ideas about leadership development in schools.
The main idea of the politician was to create a new “citizen’s lobby” that would actively change society. That is why his ideas were able to be actively implemented because they found like-minded people who also aimed to mobilize the community to action. It is worth saying that as a person, John Gardner himself is an example of a leader, as such and worthy of imitation (Reynolds, 2017). His career and ideas also serve as an essential stage for his leadership qualities. Considering that his main idea was to create a leadership stratum of the population, it is worth saying that he was a conscious leader who knew how to act to get the correct result (Reynolds, 2017). Thus, it is worth asserting that the figure of John Gardner is the type of leader who formed further circles of public figures. His political career is essential in developing society and creating conditions for the birth of new leaders.
In the 1960s, which paid great attention to education development, on the initiative of Gardner, a large number of ideas regarding improving school education. It is worth noting that his ideas were included in the reform of the educational process and were subsequently used (Reynolds, 2017). In particular, Gardner saw that with quality education reform, it is possible to develop a strong society, which will consist of people who have a vision of a helpful society and will actively use their skills in the future.
Secretary of health, education, and welfare (HEW)
An essential part of John Gardner’s career was as secretary of health, education, and welfare (HEW) from 1965 to 1968. Gardner used this short period effectively and usefully to make changes to mobilize the population (Reynolds, 2017). In the first year of his tenure, Gardner continued to work qualitatively with social groups, particularly with the integration of not only white people but also people of color into schools and hospitals. Gardner’s important role in community leadership involved involving people of color in work and education (Gardner, Karam, Alvesson, & Einola, 2021). The main idea is to abolish special schools and allow everyone to study equally and receive equal rights. This part of the work was significant for the society of that time because it allowed people who were usually outside social circles to join humanity and realize themselves in it.
It is also worth paying attention to leadership and its concepts in the context of Gardner’s reforms. Here it is worth understanding that it was important for a politician to allow vulnerable sections of society to get training or work. In particular, people need to see an opportunity that will later motivate them to improve and move on (Burrows & Berney, 2019). That is why John Gardner actively gives work opportunities to different people regardless of gender and skin color. Here it is worth paying attention that the politician did not see all people as equal since any person could change the world order and improve it (Burrows & Berney, 2019). An essential contribution to leadership development by John Gardner was not to divide people based on their gender or ethnicity.
Considering this particular context, it is worth saying that which gave the most significant opportunities due to the reforms for people of color since they had far fewer rights than white people. Thus, it is worth arguing that this idea of leadership has best influenced the system of equity in schools (Reynolds, 2017). In particular, that is vital that Gardner made this possible to get an education in general. Because primary and secondary education was limited to certain circles of people (Gardner et al., 2021). That made an essential contribution to the development and spread of opportunity with the help of educational reforms.
Also, in this context, one can see Gardner as a typical leader who pays attention to the public interest. In particular, the creation of scholarships at Stanford University also plays a role in forming leaders in the various social groups that can receive educational opportunities (Burrows & Berney, 2019). Such a new approach to involving non-poor people in education made it possible to develop such a field. It is vital that such a system has been reviewed and more opportunities have been provided to get an education and build skills for everyone, especially those who work hard for it. From this, it should assume that for Gardner, learning was an essential part of forming leaders because, through learning, people develop themselves and their worldviews. Thus, to create active leaders, training was an important part, revealing all the possibilities people can get. Gardner repeatedly draws attention to developing a person’s personality and societal awareness (Burrows & Berney, 2019). Because when learning and self-learning make an enormous contribution to managing your ambitions.
Following his resignation as Health, Education, and Social Security Secretary, John Gardner is creating a new Common Cause system. That is a civic project that works to this day. The main work was to ensure the right to vote for all people, including its reduction (Reynolds, 2017). An essential part of Common Cause was that Gardner worked to get positive feedback about public involvement. At the beginning of its establishment, this structure was mainly concerned with keeping statistics from various fields and trying to disseminate at the government level all those things that were important to the public. In particular, such things were active in developing ideas about involving people of different social classes in political events.
Common Cause and John Gardner
Such a project was also intended to finance all budding public activities. That made it possible to develop essential ideas for certain social groups (Reynolds, 2017). In the beginning, Common Cause tried to actively develop such initiatives to allow the development of not only ideas. This kind of initiative gives young people the opportunity to establish themselves and, regardless of their status, acquire the qualities of leaders in certain areas in which they are interested. Such a project made it possible to realize a large number of the population. It is worth saying that the initiative founded by John Gardner gave ordinary citizens what could not always be delivered by political figures who held public positions (Reynolds, 2017). That is why Common Cause was quite successful and has survived in society today because it attracted people regardless of their origins.
It is essential to understand that the influence of Common Cause in society at the time of its foundation was powerful. First, it was based on the fact that that created such a group based on people who were leaders in certain circles and aimed to further improve society through their actions (Reynolds, 2017). Secondly, which should note that most of the activities this group took had an excellent effect on the reformation of individual social structures. Since it was a group of sufficiently proactive people in the communities, it became “the first mass membership-supported national government reform lobby” (Reynolds, 2017, p. 36). The reformation of society and the introduction of changes in society, in general, were the main ideas of the people in Common Cause. Thus, their joint actions and initiative resulted in reforms to include different social and cultural groups.
The most important part of the organization’s Common Cause and John Gardner’s activities was the introduction of amendments to federal law. In particular, an essential contribution to the reformation was the change of individual modifications to the law, which opened up more opportunities for different social groups (Reynolds, 2017). It is essential to understand here that despite universal suffrage, a large part of social and cultural groups in America did not have access to elections. All this was due to the lack of an elementary opportunity to join the vote. Therefore, Common Cause takes an essential step in reformation and creates an electoral commission, which allows expanding the boundaries of the territory for voting, opening the possibility of involving a more significant part of the population (Gardner et al., 2021). Accordingly, such a law allowed previously involved groups to vote and become part of society regarding the right to vote.
After the successful establishment and operation of Common Cause, Gardner changed his activities and took a position in the White House regarding scholarships for enterprising people. This period of the politician’s activity is essential because Gardner’s significant contribution to developing ambitious young people is also evident. The scholarship fund provided opportunities for leadership development among people who wanted it and had ideas for a better reformation of society (Gardner et al., 2021). In particular, people were ready to improve civil society, so education was essential. It is thus highly symbolic that at a certain period, it was John Gardner who chaired this committee (Baptiste, 2018). For Gardner, learning has always been the basis for a person to acquire leadership qualities and become more conscious of society.
Independent Sector
The following important initiative, which also influenced the formation of society and the formation of leadership among people, was the establishment of the Gardner Independent Sector. This organization involved charitable initiatives and was non-commercial (Reynolds, 2017). In particular, Independent Sector was active in granting grants to various promising initiatives that provided multiple solutions for improving the public sector or creating new reforms for greater involvement of people in politics (Baptiste, 2018). The fund also paid great attention to developing reforms in the federal sector. Since Gardner was the chairman, during this period, this organization actively developed promising solutions for the government on the effectiveness of specific reforms.
One of the main ideas of the Independent Sector initiative was to create new leaders among young people. Thus, the organization was actively looking for young people with the prospect of creating a new generation of leaders. Which paid significant attention to different cultural and social groups, and scholarships were issued for their study or the development of their initiative (Baptiste, 2018). In particular, that paid the necessary attention to efforts to combat the racist policies of various organizations. In particular, which made significant contributions in the sector of inclusion of people of color in work and education. Compared to other people, people of color had fewer opportunities for self-realization and were partially excluded from social life (Reynolds, 2017). Thus, the task of the Independent Sector was a kind of investment in these people, who, in the future, should lead society.
The contributions to Community Leadership
John Gardner is the epitome of a leader and shows by example how to transform and implement your ideas throughout your life. It is essential to understand that the figure of Gardner shows young people a leader who cares about society and tries to improve it every time while creating various initiatives. A politician is a vivid personification of all the essential traits that should be present in a leader, and this can be seen in his deeds and actions. It is critical to understand that all his initiatives and organizations, in one way or another, influenced the formation of a new generation of leaders. Here it is also worth understanding that Gardner’s reforms did not make people one hundred percent leaders; he only allowed see something else and realize which direction people should move. It is essential to understand that John Gardner tried to attract different population groups and teach them how to build a quality society properly.
Conclusion
The life of John Gardner demonstrates how to use all the opportunities that life presents appropriately. In particular, all of Gardner’s initiatives allowed people to get an education and the opportunity to create a new society. John Gardner exemplifies how one person can influence thousands and provide opportunities while qualitatively developing the community and creating public initiatives. Gardner’s model suggests that it is worth using all the possibilities in one’s life and transferring them for selfish purposes in creating a better society. By his example and energy, the politician showed that it is possible to live for yourself and implement your ideas and at the same time mobilize the community and reform it.
References
Baptiste, B. (2018). The relationship between the big five personality traits and authentic leadership. Web.
Burrows, V., & Berney, B. (2019). Creating Equal Health Opportunity: How the Medical Civil Rights Movement and the Johnson Administration Desegregated US Hospitals. Journal of American History, 105(4), 885-911.
Deshwal, V., & Ali, A. (2020). A systematic review of various leadership theories. Shanlax International Journal of Commerce, 8(1), 38-43. Web.
Gardner, W. L., Karam, E. P., Alvesson, M., & Einola, K. (2021). Authentic leadership theory: The case for and against. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(6), 1-25.
Reynolds, M. (2017). John Gardner’s Interest Group Design: The Foundation and Evolution of a Lobbying Organization (University of Illinois at Chicago). Web.