It’s been a big week for the arts in Kansas. Exercising his line item veto power, Governor Sam Brownback eliminated all funding for the Kansas Arts Commission (KAC). The Kansas House of Representatives failed to override the veto this week, and my adopted home is now the only state in the nation without a tax supported arts agency.

In the interest of full disclosure, arts organizations (many of which have received funding from KAC) have put bread on my table for almost two decades. When I’m not working for them, I volunteer at their events or on their boards. I am a true believer in what the arts do for the individual, the community, the state, and the world. I understand that this belief informs my interpretation of the debate that’s been happening in Topeka since January. Now that the situation has moved from a proposed legislation into law, I’ve tried to disengage from all the emotion and finger pointing, and step back for larger view.

During a course in civic leadership at the Kansas Leadership Center last fall, I learned there’s a real difference between leadership and authority. Leadership is an activity that anyone – no matter their position, age, or gender – can engage in to foster meaningful change in their community. In my experience, leaders often emerge organically out of a problematic situations. Authority, on the other hand, is a position of power that’s often conferred on the holder by others. Sometimes people in positions of authority are also leaders. Sometimes they are not.

I see both leadership and authority at work in the recent arts debate. Rather than sitting on the sidelines lamenting the proposed elimination of the KAC, thousands of ordinary Kansans responded to the situation by contacting their legislators to express their support for the agency and it’s survival. They engaged their elected representatives. In some cases, I’m sure participants had differing views about the right course of action and the conversations were difficult. However, they did the work and had the conversations.

For their part, most legislators listened and responded to the concerns that were expressed. This kind of hands-on leadership can be challenging, messy, and must involve a variety of diverse (and sometime divergent) voices to achieve the desired change. If I look at the last five months from this vantage point, I see shining examples of leadership in action.

In the end, the survival of the KAC came down to the individual who had the legal authority to say yes or no to state funding – Governor Brownback. Based on responses in traditional, online, and social media, many are questioning his action. Most Kansans know difference between authority and leadership and they’re deciding for themselves what this looks like.

The Governor and many others feel that the arts are best supported by private donations, a value that competes with those who wanted to see the KAC left intact. My hope is that the Governor – who expresses respect and support for the arts – will lead by bringing all the interested parties to the table to find real solutions for funding the arts in Kansas. Remembering that we all want what’s best for our state is a good place to begin.