Questions to Ask Community Leaders
Questions for anyone sent to interview a community leader, whether that is a nonprofit director, an organizer, a council member, a faith leader or the chair of a neighborhood association, and whether the reason is a class project, a merit badge, a news story or having just moved in. The list runs in the order a visit usually goes: the person's own story, the place and what it lacks, the organization's work, who decides and who pays, the hard parts, and last what you could do yourself. Half an hour holds eight or ten of these with follow-ups, so choose a couple from each group and mark the three you will not leave without.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Their path
How did you come to be doing this work?
Why ask it
Most answers are a story with a turning point in it: a school about to close, a neighbor who needed a ride, a favor that became a job. Get the year, so you can place whatever else they tell you before or after it.
What does your job actually involve, and what do people wrongly assume you do?
Why ask it
Director, organizer, chair, elder and council member are titles that cover very different jobs, so do not guess from the business card. The assumption they correct shows which requests reach them by mistake, and it keeps the same error out of your write-up.
What is the one thing you have done here that you are proudest of?
Why ask it
Find out what it took and who else deserves the credit, since those names are people you could interview next. Notice the scale of what they pick: a rule changed, a building opened and one teenager who finished school each say something different about how they measure the job.
What does a person need to be good at to lead in a community like this one?
Why ask it
If your assignment asks for the qualities of a leader, this gets them in the leader's own words instead of from a textbook. Listening and patience are the quick answers, so ask for a time when one of them was tested.
Can you walk me through yesterday: who did you talk to, and about what?
Why ask it
One real day with people in it tells you more than a job description. Notice how much of it went to meetings and how much to a single person with a problem, since that split is what the job is made of.
Is this your paid job, a volunteer role, or something in between?
Why ask it
It differs from one role to the next, and plenty of people lead locally around another job. Follow up with how many hours a week it really takes, which explains a lot about what gets done and what waits.
Who was already doing this work when you arrived, and what did they teach you?
Why ask it
Almost nobody starts this kind of work from nothing. The name you get here is a second interview if that person is still around, and a line of history for your report if they are not.
How long have you lived here, and what made you stay?
Why ask it
Someone three generations deep and someone who moved in five years ago both have something to offer, but they see different towns. If you are new yourself, the reasons they stayed double as a list of what is worth finding.
Which part of the work do you look forward to, and which part do you put off?
Why ask it
The part they put off is often paperwork, fundraising calls or one hard conversation. It makes the person human in a profile, and it hints at where a helper would be welcome.
What did you believe about this community when you started that turned out to be wrong?
Why ask it
A leader who can name a belief they dropped has been listening to people. Ask who or what changed their mind, because that story nearly always has a person in it you could quote or go and meet.
The community
How would you describe this community to someone who has never set foot in it?
Why ask it
Write down the exact words, since the first three or four adjectives make a good opening quote. Later, compare them with how the place is described by people who do not live there.
What does this community need most right now that it is not getting?
Why ask it
This is the question most assignments are built around, so expect a ready answer. Then ask how they know: a waiting list, a survey, or what they hear on doorsteps. A need with a count behind it and a need based on a hunch should be reported differently.
When you say "the community," who do you mean, and who tends to get left out of that word?
Why ask it
For one leader it is twelve blocks, for another a congregation or everyone who speaks a certain language. The second half often brings up renters, night-shift workers, teenagers or recent arrivals, and each of those is a person you could go and talk to next.
What is this community good at that outsiders overlook?
Why ask it
A report that lists only problems gets a place wrong. Whatever they name, whether it is neighbors who look after each other's children or a festival run entirely by volunteers, ask where you could see it for yourself.
What has changed here in the last ten years, and who has felt it most?
Why ask it
Ask for one building, block or business that shows the change, then go and look at it. A photo of that spot with their explanation under it does more for a class project than a paragraph of summary.
Which local problem gets plenty of attention, and which one deserves more?
Why ask it
The gap between the two is the gap between the headlines and what walks through their door. For a reporter the second half is a possible story, so ask who else could confirm it.
Who do people here listen to, whether or not they hold a title?
Why ask it
Expect a barber, a coach, a crossing guard or a grandmother who has been on the block for forty years. Unofficial leaders rarely appear on any website, which is why it is worth asking for an introduction.
Where do people here actually run into each other and talk?
Why ask it
A new resident can treat the answer as a list of places to show up, and a reporter as a list of places to listen. If it turns out to be a group chat or a page online and not a laundromat or a school pickup line, ask who lets people in.
What do people in this community disagree about most?
Why ask it
Stay neutral while they answer and ask them to give the other side's strongest argument. How fairly they can state a view they do not hold tells you how they are likely to treat the people who hold it.
Is there a piece of local history that explains why things are the way they are?
Why ask it
Leaders often date the present from one event: the highway that split a neighborhood, the plant that closed, the year two schools were merged. Check the date with the library or the local historical society before it goes into your paper.
What do you hope this community looks like five years from now?
Why ask it
A hope you can picture, such as a grocery store on the corner or the youth center open on weekends, is easier to report than "a stronger community." Ask which piece of that picture is already under way, and you have something to come back and check.
The work
What is your organization or office trying to get done this year?
Why ask it
If the reply sounds like a mission statement, ask what is different about this year compared with last. One or two goals with a finish line are something you can come back and ask about in twelve months.
Can you tell me about one person or family your work reached, without using their name?
Why ask it
Saying "without using their name" up front gives the leader permission to tell it and protects whoever the story is about. Ask what would likely have happened to that family if the group had not existed.
How do you find out what people want from you before you plan something?
Why ask it
Door knocking, listening sessions, intake forms and advisory groups are all real methods. If the answer is "people tell me," ask who the last person was and what they said.
How do you hear from people who never come to meetings?
Why ask it
Parents without childcare, people on evening shifts and residents who do not speak the language the meeting is held in are easy to miss. A real practice sounds like going to them: phone calls, a table outside the grocery store, a flyer in three languages.
Which other groups do you work alongside, and where is that relationship harder than it should be?
Why ask it
The first half gives you a map of the local institutions: schools, clinics, police, businesses, congregations. Do not fish for gossip on the second half. Ask what would make the partnership easier, which gets a more useful answer anyway.
What do you count or keep track of to tell whether the work is making a difference?
Why ask it
Meals served and seats filled measure effort. Whether the same households need the same help a year later is closer to a result, and it is harder to count. Ask which single number they would show to a skeptic.
What does your group do that most residents have never heard about?
Why ask it
Nearly every organization has a quiet program that never makes the newsletter, such as a tool library, a ride list or a rent fund. It is often the freshest material for a story because nobody else has written it.
If you had twice as many staff or volunteers tomorrow, what would you start first?
Why ask it
Doubling the hands forces them to rank the work that is not getting done. Follow with what stands in the way of a smaller version now, and you will hear the real constraint, which is not always people.
Decisions and money
When something big has to be decided, who has the final say?
Why ask it
A nonprofit director may answer to a board, a council member is one vote among several, and a faith leader may answer to elders or a wider body. Structures vary, so ask them to trace the most recent big decision from first idea to final yes.
Where does the money for this work come from?
Why ask it
Grants, dues, donations, tax dollars and fundraisers each arrive with their own conditions. Ask which source is the largest and what it requires in return, because that requirement shapes the work more than most visitors realize.
What part of this work costs more than people would guess?
Why ask it
Visitors picture supplies. The answer is more likely to be wages, rent, insurance or keeping a van on the road. Write it beside what they said about where the money comes from, because the two together explain why a group that looks busy is still asking for donations.
What have you had to say no to this year because there was not enough money or time?
Why ask it
What an organization turns down shows its priorities more clearly than what it advertises. The follow-up is who heard that no, and whether anyone else in town picked the request up.
Who do you answer to, and how do they check on what you do?
Why ask it
Some leaders answer to several groups at once: voters, a board, funders, a congregation. Find out how often they report and in what form, whether that is a public meeting, a written report or an election.
Are your meetings open to the public, and can anyone read the minutes or the budget?
Why ask it
What must be open to the public depends on where you live and on whether the body is a government office or a private group, so ask how it works for theirs. Then get the date of the next meeting you are allowed to attend, and go.
What decision did you make knowing some people would be unhappy, and what did you say to them?
Why ask it
You are listening for whether the unhappy people got an explanation or only an announcement. If the leader can still name who objected and why, the disagreement was taken seriously.
When two groups want opposite things from you, how do you choose?
Why ask it
Push for an actual case, like a youth program and a seniors' lunch wanting the same room on the same afternoon. Which side won matters less than the method: a vote, a written rule, or whoever showed up in greater numbers.
Hard parts
What is the hardest part of this work that people on the outside never see?
Why ask it
The public side of the job is events and speeches. This asks for the part done alone: the late phone call, the family turned away, the report a funder wants by Friday. Ask how often it comes up, so you can tell one bad week from the normal shape of the job.
Can you tell me about a project that fell flat, and what happened next?
Why ask it
Give them time, since most people need a moment to choose a failure they are willing to share. The detail worth getting is whether they tried again in a different way, and for a school paper this is often the strongest paragraph.
What criticism of you or your organization do you think is fair?
Why ask it
The word "fair" is what makes this answerable without a fight. If nothing comes, ask what critics say, write it down without arguing either way, and move on.
What do you do when the work gets discouraging?
Why ask it
A gentler way to ask whether they have ever wanted to quit, and suitable for any age of interviewer. Some will name a low point and the person who talked them through it, and that person may be worth meeting.
What worries you about the next few years here?
Why ask it
Common worries are a grant ending, a longtime volunteer retiring, or rents pushing families out. Ask what would have to happen for the worry not to come true, which turns a mood into something you can follow up on.
What mistake do you see new leaders and new volunteers make?
Why ask it
Arriving with a plan before listening to anyone comes up a lot. Ask whether they made the same mistake themselves, and treat the answer as advice aimed at you if you are new to the place.
Who will carry this on when you step back?
Why ask it
You may hear a name, a description of younger people being trained, or an honest "I don't know." The last is not a failing to pounce on. It tells you how much of the work rests on one person, which matters to anyone deciding where to help.
How to help
If I had two hours a month to give, where would they do the most good?
Why ask it
Naming a small, real amount of time gets a concrete task instead of "we always need volunteers." Leave with a contact name and a date, and if this is for a project, doing the two hours gives you something to report that nobody else in the class will have.
What can someone my age do that would be of real use?
Why ask it
Written for students and scouts, though it works at seventy too. If the answer is sorting cans, ask what a young person can do that adults cannot, such as reaching other students, translating for a relative, or speaking at a meeting where no one under thirty usually does.
What skills are you short of right now?
Why ask it
If you are a new resident who can keep books, translate, drive or fix a website, this is the fastest way into the life of a place. A student can ask it too and carry the answer home to a parent or teacher who has the skill.
What kind of help ends up making more work for you than it saves?
Why ask it
Leaders rarely get to say this out loud: the one-day group that needs supervising, the bags of donations nobody can use, the advice with no labor attached. Listen closely so you do not become the example.
Is there something you need that money cannot buy?
Why ask it
A meeting room, an introduction, a truck on a Saturday, or twenty people in the seats at a public hearing. These are the requests an ordinary resident can sometimes fill with one phone call.
Which meeting or event should I come to first if I want to understand this place?
Why ask it
Get the date, the address and whether newcomers are expected to speak or just listen. Ask if you may mention that they sent you, since a name at the door changes how you are received.
What would you say to a young person who wants to lead in their own community one day?
Why ask it
A natural last question for a class interview or a badge requirement. Steer them toward a first step small enough to take this month, because "get involved" is not something you can write on a calendar.
Who else should I talk to, and may I tell them you suggested it?
Why ask it
Request one person who sees things differently from them, not only an ally. A leader willing to send you to a critic is showing you something about how they work.
What did I not ask that you wish more people would?
Why ask it
Stop talking after this and let the silence do its work, because the reply is frequently the best quote of the visit. Before you leave, confirm the spelling of their name and title and how they would like to be described.
Interviewing a local leader for a project, a badge or a story
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you ask for the meeting
Read what is already public
Spend twenty minutes on the organization's website, its latest newsletter or the minutes of its last meeting. Anything printed there is a question you can skip, and mentioning one detail you read shows the leader that their half hour will not be wasted.
Say what it is for
When you write or call, give your name, the school, troop or outlet you are with, how long you need and where the answers will end up. Leaders agree more readily to a clear request, and it lets them tell you if someone else in the office is the better person to ask.
Know what you must come away with
A class rubric, a badge requirement or an editor usually wants particular things: a description of the role, a community need, a way to help. Read that wording before you choose your questions, and put the ones that satisfy it near the top in case time runs short.
Ask before you record
Request permission out loud before you start a recording, and take written notes anyway in case the phone fails. The rules on recording a conversation depend on where you are, so asking every time is the safe habit. If you are under eighteen, bring a parent, teacher or troop leader, or meet at the office or the public library.
During the conversation
Start with their story
The questions under Their path are easy to answer and put the leader at ease. Ten minutes there earns you plainer answers when you reach money and setbacks.
Chase the specific word
Whenever a street, a year, a name or a number comes up, ask one more question about it. "Which building?" and "About how many families?" turn a general answer into a detail you can put in a report.
Reading from the page is fine
Nobody expects a seventh grader or a new neighbor to sound like a television reporter. Look up while the person answers, write a few words per answer, and say "could you repeat that?" whenever you need the sentence exactly.
When a whole class or troop is visiting
Hand out the questions beforehand, one to each person, so nothing is asked twice. Whoever is next listens to the answer in progress, and may trade the planned question for a follow-up if the leader has just said something surprising.
Once you are home
Write it up the same day
Notes that made sense in the room go cold overnight. Fill in the half sentences that evening and mark the two or three quotes you are sure you have word for word.
Check the facts you plan to use
Dates, dollar figures and spellings are worth confirming against a document or a second person. For a news story, one leader's account is a starting point, and the piece also needs someone the organization serves and someone who sees it differently.
Send thanks and the finished piece
A short note within a few days is plain courtesy, and it keeps the door open for a follow-up question. Leaders seldom see what becomes of these interviews, so a copy of the report, article or badge write-up is remembered.
Do one thing they suggested
If they named a meeting, a task or a person to call, follow through on at least one. It changes the project from a description of the community into a first step inside it.
Where these interviews go wrong
Arguing instead of asking
The questions about criticism, unpopular decisions and failure can be asked calmly and left to stand. You are there to record the answer, and a leader who feels cross-examined by a visitor will give shorter answers to everything after.
Leaving with opinions only
An interview made entirely of views is hard to write up. Before you stand to go, make sure you have one number, one story about a real person and one name to contact next.
Taking every claim about rules as settled
How boards work, what records are public and who may attend a meeting all differ by place and by type of organization. When a leader explains the rule, note it as their account and ask where it is written down.