Developing a Comprehensive Leadership Program for Extension County Directors

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the development and components of LEAD95, University of Tennessee (UT) Extension’s comprehensive leadership program for county-level leaders. The program was designed in accordance with results from a Delphi study, which identified critical skills and resources new county directors need to be successful. The program consists of face-to-face workshops, an online resource tool kit, online learning opportunities, a multirater assessment, and mentoring. Expected outcomes include increased competency, increased job satisfaction, and more consistent leadership and direction among county-level leaders in the UT Extension system.

Agents for change: developing transformative and Adaptive Leadership capacities among early-career extension professionals

“…The Cooperative Extension System is tasked with developing local solutions by bringing cutting-edge research-based information to community members who can put that knowledge into practice to help their communities address their challenges (USDA-NIFA, n.d.). Cooperative Extension Professionalshereafter referred to as "Extension Professionals"have a specific programmatic area and are hired for their positions based on their critical competencies in that particular field (Berven, Franck, & Hastings, 2021;Berven, Penn, Cluck, & Hastings, 2021). Due to the structure of the Cooperative Extension system, many Extension Professionals feel that their primary role in their community is to deliver science and research-based education from their Land Grant University to the public and farmers for process improvement based on science (Karbasioun, Mulder, & Biemans, 2007).…”

“…However, this approach positions Extension Professionals as reactive information dispensers rather than proactive community developers. It does not account for the other roles they are expected to fill, particularly in meeting emerging needs in their communities (Berven, Franck et al, 2021;Berven, Penn et al, 2021).…”

“…The challenges that Cooperative Extension faces are similar to other organizations hiring folks who have recently graduated from programs that prepared them within the scope of their particular field but not necessarily to engage in leadership that is vital to the success of working with and for communities (Berven, Franck et al, 2021;Berven, Penn et al, 2021). This has become apparent as Cooperative Extension has continued to evolve with complex programmatic needs that actively affect the communities they serve (Karbasioun et al, 2007).…”

“…This has become apparent as Cooperative Extension has continued to evolve with complex programmatic needs that actively affect the communities they serve (Karbasioun et al, 2007). To provide successful and relevant educational programs, Extension Professionals must also build collaborative partnerships with other agencies and communities to form effective coalitions to meet community needs (Berven, Franck et al, 2021;Berven, Penn et al, 2021). Thus, Extension Professionals must have access to leadership development that addresses complex challenges, community change, and creating more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just programming and communities.…”

“…They are tasked with encouraging individuals to adopt new knowledge and practices to mobilize individuals and communities to make process improvements and facilitate community building and practice improvements (Scott et al, 2018). However, Extension Professionals may fail to meet this description, even within their specific programmatic areas (Scott et al, 2018), mainly because Extension Professionals do not learn the skills and processes that are needed to be change agents through their coursework in their degree programs (Berven, Franck et al, 2021;Berven, Penn et al, 2021. Further, limited resources, such as time and funding, paired with the focus on reporting outcomes for funding and policymakers, has negatively impacted the perceived value of focusing on relationship building and community engagement that create long term impacts for communities (Berven, Franck et al, 2021;Berven, Penn et al, 2021).…”