1.3 Leadership and organising

Leaders are integral to organising processes because they are people who can inspire others to join an organisation and act. But it is important to distinguish between the role of ‘the organiser’ per se and a leader. The organiser is concerned with building an organisation, not necessarily leading it. While of course an organiser plays a kind of leadership role, directing others to act collectively, the organising process itself is about creating space for individuals to acquire and learn leadership skills, and for leaders to emerge from within a target constituency.