About Lfw

The purpose of Leadership Fort Worth is to provide Fort Worth with diverse and enlightened leadership. The program was one of the original pace-setters in the country in 1972 and continues that status as it enters its 37th year.

The program is four-fold:

• The Leadership Class consists of a 10-month training effort for approximately 50 experienced civic volunteer leaders selected to represent all aspects of the community: business/volunteer, profit/non-profit, male/female, Caucasian/Hispanic/African-American, management/labor, etc. The goals of this program are:
  1. to explore the intricacies of Fort Worth issues related to education, health, government, quality of life, economic development, criminal justice, and human services,
  2. to enhance the process of networking across the community in order to bring people together for positive accomplishments,
  3. to further develop leadership skills and capacities, and
  4. to celebrate the habit of volunteer service in the community.
• Fort Worth Leading Edge is a dynamic leadership development program that provides adults in
  their mid-20s to early 30s an opportunity to explore our community from many different perspectives. During the six month class emerging leaders will:
  1. recognize how their leadership style impacts others,
  2. discover how to build successful, strong collaborations
  3. understand how to advocate for causes they are passionate about, and
  4. learn how to be an effective non-profit board member
  5. polish key leadership skills like team dynamics, cross-generational communication and leading change.

  Leading Edge is an ideal leadership development opportunity for

• rising stars in their career field,
• officers and members of young professional organizations, and
• outstanding volunteers for nonprofit organizations.
• LeaderKids is a leadership training program for 8th grade students selected from each of the middle schools in the Fort Worth Independent School District. The mission of LeaderKids is to develop leadership abilities in middle school students through community involvement. The specific goals include:
  1. to communicate positive, lasting values for kids to consider,
  2. to foster volunteerism and to support kids’ involvement in the community, and
  3. to develop leadership potential in kids.
• The LFW Membership program consists at this time of more than 1700 people all of whom have successfully completed the training program. The goals of this phase are:
  1. to provide continuing leadership education,
  2. to assist in connecting participants with volunteer efforts in the community,
  3. to continue networking, and
  4. to serve Fort Worth as community trustees.

LFW is based on the concept of community trusteeship. Basically, this concept says that leaders must function as trustees, committing themselves to making their communities better places to live. Embracing that concept has several practical impacts on how the program operates:

1. The thrust of both the adult and the middle school leadership programs is to involve participants in the community in meaningful ways. To that end, the class participants work on specific community projects throughout their year in the program. Projects offer participants the benefits of: an immediate opportunity to have a positive impact in a needed area; an emphasis that is outward rather than inward; and excellent practical experience in interacting with community leaders, learning to function effectively in a small group, and planning and managing a project.
2. Trusteeship is continued throughout the member program. The goal is to provide continuing leadership and community education in order to serve the community through a myriad of volunteer efforts identified by government, non-profit agencies, chambers of commerce, etc.

The application process for the Leadership Class begins in March of the year before the prospective class begins in September.

The application process for Fort Worth Leading Edge is in the fall before the class begins in January.

Individual applicants as well as company or organizational applicants are encouraged.