Unlocking the Secrets of Leading as an Outsider in York County
It is no secret that leading as an outsider in York County can be a challenge. There is an unseen graveyard of outsiders who burst onto the scene and crashed and burned here.
I moved from Raleigh, North Carolina to York County in 2004 as a 27-year-old who was taking his first pastoral role at a local church. Neither my wife nor I were from the area nor had family in the region. We were truly outsiders in every sense of the word.
The word on the street was that it would take about 20 years to be accepted in York County. That means next year I will be accepted as a Yorker! I overheard someone say recently that it was actually 30 years and now I feel like Yorkers are just moving the goal line to mess with me.
Understanding the local landscape
It is no mistake that York County has a unique culture. When our family left Raleigh, it was rated the best City to live in America. Growth was fast-paced, new restaurants, retail, and malls were abundant. Raleigh was gaining a reputation as the Silicon Valley of the East due to the growth of its technology scene. There was a surge of outsiders moving in from New York and California but the city still maintained its warm southern charm. There was a palpable sense of excitement and opportunity that permeated the air.
I was too young and inexperienced when I left Raleigh to realize that the economic growth of that region was unique.
When I moved to York it took me about six months to realize that York was very different than Raleigh. They were each unique communities with their own respective strengths and weaknesses.
That was 20 years ago and since then, I have had numerous conversations with locals and transplants about what makes York so unique.
There are a couple of very subjective observations worth noting that I have learned make York’s local landscape unique.
York’s insiders are more numerous than outsiders.
Those born in York County and raised here also have families who have been here for generations. From what I have observed, this region has not seen rapid growth from people outside of the County.
Breaking into old circles of friends and places of influence can feel challenging. York’s long-timers often talk about where they went to high school. That kind of long history felt strange to me and if I was overly sensitive would be a constant reminder that I was not a part of this key local history.
York is a patchwork of communities. York is not monolithic. There are numerous communities that sit shoulder to shoulder that make up the region. York is considered a metropolitan area, actually known as the York-Hanover MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). York and Hanover, while sharing similarities, are very different communities. York City has its own unique features and so does southern York County with its influx of people from Maryland. We have rural, farming communities, suburban ones, and parts of the County that lean more toward Harrisburg than they do York. To understand York and its people, one has to reckon with the geographic differences and the qualities that differentiate them from each other.
Outsiders often complain that York is not a friendly place.
Outsiders vocalize that locals view them with suspicious side-eye glances.
Some outsiders claim that Yorkers are cold. Years ago, I heard a pretty uncharitable joke about York. It goes like this: They say that the pace of the South is slow but the people are friendly. They also say that the pace of the North is fast but its people are unfriendly. York, situated barely north of the Mason-Dixie line, is a combination of both the South and the North: slow and unfriendly.
To be direct, I now believe this is an uncharitable judgment. Lest someone question my love of York County, you can read about a piece I wrote called Top Things the Anderson Family Loves About York County.
I have not found this uncharitable sentiment, that York is unfriendly, to be the case. I have found, in general, that I might need to take the initiative to show myself friendly first. Perhaps it is that some Yorkers tend to be a bit more private or reserved. Regardless, experience has shown that if I showed myself to be friendly, the kindness was reciprocated. That was a bit of a culture change from the South where people tend to show themselves friendly on first encounter. Many will share that such Southern friendliness can be shallow after that first encounter. The grass is not always greener.
York’s development moves at its own deliberate pace.
Someone might argue that change in York is either slow or resisted. I discovered that growth in York was not fast. I recall seeing empty retail malls and expecting that they would be quickly filled with the latest, hottest retail and restaurants. Those spaces sat empty for long periods, some are still vacant.
I remember watching with excitement the development plans for the Northwest Triangle in York City. Those plans have been altered numerous times and are still coming to fruition.
It became apparent over time that there was a very small, and often vocal, contingency of locals who were cynical and even opposed to new growth in York. They mocked and opposed the new Revs’ stadium and reminded everyone that York would never land a Wegmans. I am now convinced that this small, vocal minority does not adequately represent the majority of Yorkers who desire to see York grow and make progress.
The fast way to the leader’s graveyard
For the last few years, I have been asked by Leadership York to moderate a panel discussion of local leaders who know York well. This discussion takes place in front of a room full of leaders who are new to York County and participating in Leadership York’s Executive Connections program.
The goal of the panel discussion is to help new leaders successfully acclimate to York County. One key point of discussion is listening to the panelists discuss why new leaders who come from outside of York have not been successful.
There is a surefire recipe I have attempted to capture from those conversations that will lead any new leader to York’s graveyard of spurned leaders.
Enter York County and act like a know-it-all.
Refuse to take the time to learn about York’s history and why things are the way they are.
Don’t take the time to discover what is good and positive about the County and how progress was made in the past.
Complain about York County, its conservatism, culture, and slow pace.
Tell everyone about why other cities get it right and why York constantly gets it wrong.
Over-promote yourself, make big promises, and fail to deliver.
Neglect the advice of local leaders who take the time to offer you wisdom and perspective.
Surround yourself exclusively with outsiders, especially other people who are irritated with York. Do not develop friendships or relationships with people who are from York County.
Demand change in the most publicly obnoxious ways possible. More than that, act like a terrorist and demand money from local philanthropists to enact the changes that you believe must happen tomorrow.
Villify and slam local leaders. Call them names. Make accusations against them. Call them racists, bigots, or whatever nasty name is en vogue. Definitely do this on social media.
Follow these simple steps and, as an outsider trying to lead in York County, you will quickly find yourself in that graveyard of spurned leaders.
Pride, arrogance, self-promotion, uncharitable attitudes, and terroristic demands will guarantee that your leadership tenure in York County will be short-lived.
The long habits required to be a successful leader in York County
So, what does it take to lead successfully in York County? It is not really a secret, meaning, I believe it just requires a little common sense and decency.
Let me offer an imaginary seminar for a moment to a group of aspiring leaders who are new to York County. The presentation would look something like this.
Get out and discover York County. Take the time to explore and enjoy the places that locals love to go. Make sure to ask locals what they love about York and go visit those places.
Be grateful and appreciative of what makes York County unique. Resist the urge to complain about what York doesn’t have compared to other communities. Find out what York has that other places do not. Learn to speak gratefully, with appreciation for York.
Ask questions of local people, especially long-time leaders, and listen. Take the time to learn York’s history. Ask about struggles and challenges. Listen to the stories of how York made progress in the past. You will learn volumes about how change happens just by doing that. Show respect to local leaders and allow them to mentor you. I have found local leaders to be very generous with their time and wisdom.
Develop friendships and relationships with people from York County. This practice will not only give you an insider perspective but also empathy. If you only surround yourself with outsiders who complain about York County you will inevitably become negative. Locals have learned how to live in and love this place. Take the time to get to know them and let them influence you.
Get involved and be a collaborative team player. Find out what local initiatives are already underway and lend your time, talent, and treasure. Help other people succeed. Don’t just launch your own initiatives and demand help and resources. Be a servant and help wherever you can. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. If you treat York like an episode of Survivor by building your own tribe and voting people off the island, eventually you might find yourself voted off the island. Learn to work with other people for the common good, not just your own agenda.
Show a lot of charity. Don’t be quick to criticize. Don’t act like Superman or God’s designated savior of this podunk, backward community. Take the time to understand why the change you want to see has not happened. Could it be that others have tried, or have been trying to effect the same change? Be kind and charitable wherever you go.
Be humble. I would be very careful to act like you have all the solutions. Social and community problems are often vastly more complex than we imagine. An inflated ego won’t help. After all, do you really want to help York become a better place, or are you just interested in promoting yourself?
Show up and do what you say you will do. Do this and you will earn trust and show yourself to be a person of integrity. Learn to deliver. Actions speak much more than words. York has had its share of people who burst onto the local scene promising all kinds of goods. A high percentage of those people took from York and failed to deliver. Those failures are kind of seared into the memories of local people. Perhaps that is why Yorkers sometimes act reserved or cautious toward outsiders?
Run a marathon, not a sprint. Change takes time. You will burn yourself out and exasperate others if everything you do is a sprint. I’m not discouraging a spirit of urgency. I am suggesting that if you try to sprint a marathon you will burn yourself out at the beginning of the race. Take the long perspective. What will change look like by working thoughtfully and diligently on a challenge for five years? What about 20 years? I can tell you personally that the seeds I planted 10 years ago are just now beginning to sprout. Learn patience, my friend.
While I can’t guarantee that you will be successful as a leader in York County, I can all but assure you that developing these habits will enable people to trust you. Trust takes time to build but once attained will take you a long way.
Something tells me that if you are diligent in these habits you will have unlocked the secrets of leading as an outsider in York County.
