Jessica Grant-Domond is a senior community development analyst and Suzanne Cummings is community development outreach communications manager, both in Regional & Community Outreach at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

You may have heard of “collaborative leadership” as an operational strategy that aims to help management and staff in an organization work together. To the Boston Fed’s Working Places (WP) team and participants in its multiple community development initiatives across New England, the term means much more than that. It matters so much so that it’s become one of the core elements of the WP’s demonstrated model for working with the region’s smaller cities, towns, and rural areas to build local economies that give all residents the opportunity to prosper.

This Invested Interprets illustrates what collaborative leadership looks like in practice. It is a culture that enables key actors in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors—and residents—to join forces effectively toward achieving a shared, long-term vision. This culture of inclusive leadership and shared ownership ensures that all stakeholders have a voice in shaping and growing their communities. They share a deep commitment to engagement across preexisting divides that helps deconstruct silos and reduces duplicative efforts.

In this feature, we hear from two WP community leaders. Emily Lev is the former initiative director for Working Communities of Lamoille County, Vermont, and Alisa Costa is a consultant and former initiative director of Berkshire Bridges in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Here, they share their informed interpretations of collaborative leadership at work and the importance of fostering a culture of inclusiveness and cross-sector cooperation. This type of culture is vital for advancing economic efforts with a focus on the diverse needs and aspirations of a community—so that no one is left behind.

The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston or the Federal Reserve System. Information about organizations, programs, and events is strictly informational and not an endorsement.