Case Study: The Civic Almanac – Shaping Leadership Futures in Charlotte
Client/Project Overview
The Civic Almanac was developed to meet Charlotte's need for tools that help community leaders navigate and explore the complex, evolving challenges facing the city— and the new leadership approaches and skills the future calls for. Designed and facilitated by Point A Studio, the initiative brought together leaders to reflect on traditions, explore innovative approaches, and strategize bold pathways for the community's future. The process was rooted in foresight and participatory engagement, aiming to create a resource that equips Charlotte’s leadership to thrive amidst complexity and change.
Objectives
The Civic Almanac project sought to address the following goals for Charlotte’s leadership community:
Reflect on and preserve essential leadership traditions while identifying areas for innovation.
Build capacity for future-focused problem-solving in an environment of uncertainty.
Generate a practical, adaptable resource to guide leadership through transformational change.
Methodology
The Civic Almanac process employed participatory dialogue and future-thinking practices to produce lasting insights and tools. The project was structured around:
Reflective Dialogues: Facilitated conversations to uncover leadership values, strengths, and areas for evolution.
Futures Thinking Frameworks: Focused explorations on systemic complexities and long-term challenges.
Creative Contributions: Collaborative exercises encouraging participants to envision and articulate bold actions for impactful change.
By grounding the process in futures principles, participants were empowered to think strategically about both immediate challenges and long-term possibilities.
Key Activities/Process
Setting the Stage
Participants were introduced to the process through sessions that framed current challenges faced by the Charlotte leadership community. Themes of complexity, disruption, and regeneration set the foundation for exploration.Foresight and Innovation Workshops
Facilitated exercises encouraged participants to engage in systems mapping and identify leadership traditions that could be preserved or reimagined. Participants also worked collaboratively to define bold, actionable steps for transformation.Development of the Civic Almanac
Contributions from the workshops were collectively refined into the Civic Almanac, a dynamic resource designed to guide leaders toward regenerative and community-centered futures.
Key Insights
The Importance of Tradition and Innovation
Participants recognized that successful leadership requires preserving core values while also being willing to reimagine systems for the future.Futures Thinking Builds Leadership Resiliency
Employing futures practices helped participants strengthen their capacity to lead through uncertainty while fostering trust and collaboration within the leadership community.Action-Oriented Vision is Essential
The reflective and creative exercises resulted in a shared vision of bold, achievable actions necessary to drive systemic change.
Impact/Reflection
The Civic Almanac initiative culminated in the creation of a resource designed to:
Serve as a living document for continual reflection and adaptation by Charlotte's leadership.
Strengthen the community's capacity to collectively address complex societal challenges.
Inspire trust and collaboration among leaders, fostering a unified yet forward-thinking approach to governance.
Participants left the process with expanded perspectives, a renewed sense of purpose, and tools that empower them to co-create just and regenerative futures.
Call to Action
Curious about the power of foresight and participatory methods for leadership transformation? Reach out to Point A Studio to explore how we can help your organization or community co-create tools and strategies to thrive in uncertainty.
Contact us today to shape futures together.