Introduction

Arizona Cooperative Extension has a long history of providing leadership development and leadership educational programs through 4-H Youth Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. Extension faculty provide a variety of leadership programs positively impacting Arizona community. A national study of Extension leadership that reported “on average, staff spent seven hours per week trying to develop leadership skills among clientele” (Michael, Paxson & Howell, 1990).

Although Extension offers a wide range of leadership development programs across all department areas, there is little coordination and understanding of program efforts directed at leadership programs. Extension does not have a structure from which to develop a unifying approach to leadership development across program areas. There is a need to understand what programs exist and to examine what the needs are in developing viable Extension leadership programs. These needs led to the development of a state-wide committee to examine leadership development in Arizona Cooperative Extension.

Background

In order to determine the needs for state-wide leadership program directions, a committee was organized through the Arizona Cooperative Extension program as a follow-up to the 1999 Annual Conference leadership workgroup. The committee was charged to look at strategic directions for possible Extension-wide coordinated leadership program efforts and program needs. The committee met and initially addressed six questions: 1) What leadership programs are currently offered; 2) Who are the target audiences for leadership programs; 3) What should the state-wide leadership program look like; 4) What are current and potential resources for leadership programs; 5) How can we coordinate leadership programs; and 6) What are next steps. This process lead the committee to develop a plan of action that included a process to gather more information and input from Cooperative Extension faculty both on and off campus. Two stages of faculty input were implemented. Phase I was the Leadership Needs Assessment Survey sent to all Extension faculty via e-mail and regular mail to determine if there was interest and support for pursuing a state-wide leadership programming effort. Phase II was a follow-up telephone survey which was a more comprehensive needs assessment based on specific leadership needs.

Recommendations

• Personal Leadership Development for Faculty
• Community and Volunteer Leadership Development
• Leadership Opportunities for clientele including Commodity Groups
• Coordination & Structure for Leadership Programs
• Youth Leadership
• A Vision for Leadership Programming in the State
• Inventory of Current Programs
• Curriculum Review and Coordination
• Provide Current and Adaptable Material

• Leadership Impacts
• Best Practices
• Needs Assessments
• Youth/Teen Leadership Development

• Positive Community Impacts
• Extending Knowledge to Others
• Improving Personal Leadership Skills
• Enhancing Team Skills
• Extension Programs Viewed as “Premier”
• Strong Volunteer Development
• Application of Skills

• Communication Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Time Management
• Organizational Management
• Teamwork

• Volunteer Training
• Development of Management skills
• Recruitment
• Communication
• Motivation
• Teamwork

• Team Building
• Communication
• Facilitation
• Negotiation
• Goal Setting

• Strategic Planning
• Communication
• Community Involvement
• Public Policy Education
• Resource Development
• Understanding Leadership Styles

Conclusion

Leadership development is an important aspect of Arizona Cooperative Extension programming both internally for Extension personnel and externally for community leaders, volunteers and youth audiences. While Extension provides a wide range of leadership development and educational programs, results from faculty needs assessments show there is a need for state-wide integrated and coordinated efforts that provide centralized and integrated leadership information, training, research, community leadership development, and resources. Based on the findings, the state-wide leadership planning committee recommends a five year plan to address leadership development in Cooperative Extension.

Plan of Action

Summary of Needs Assessment

Phase I Leadership Needs Assessment addressed opinions on current Extension needs, coordination of leadership efforts, research, impacts of leadership programming, targeted audiences, and awareness and involvement of leadership programs. Faculty responding were: 63% agents, 23% specialists, 4% department heads or school directors, 4% other and 6% multiple faculty assignments.

There was equal distribution between strongly agree/agree and strongly disagree/disagree on whether Cooperative Extension is addressing current needs in leadership programs. There was also a very strong indication (98%) that there is a need for coordinated efforts in leadership programs. Seventy-three percent of respondents indicated strong support for research in leadership. A majority (92%) of respondents also indicated leadership is an important component of current programming. Impacts of leadership were fairly evenly distributed between the six impact areas listed. The impacts rated highest were extend knowledge to others and demonstrate positive community impacts (98%) followed by improve personal leadership skills and enhance team skills (98%). Based on responses of very important and extremely important, leadership opportunities should be targeted to youth (89%) followed closely by targeted adults and faculty, volunteers and community leaders (75% -77%). Fifty-two percent faculty rated leadership opportunities for staff as very important/extremely important. Awareness and involvement of leadership programs currently offered in Cooperative Extension showed a dichotomy of awareness of programs listed but little involvement. Programs rated highest in awareness were 4-H Youth Development, Project CENTRL, Family Community Leadership, and WELD (Western Extension Leadership Development).

Phase II: Follow-Up Leadership Telephone Survey

A follow-up telephone survey was conducted on a random sample of Cooperative Extension faculty which looked at specific leadership needs. The questions explored faculty opinions on met & unmet needs in leadership, specific coordination efforts needed, research needs, identified leadership impacts, ranking & identification of target audiences and elements to include in improvement of leadership skills, developing a strong volunteer base, enhancing team skills, and developing community volunteers. The response rate was 35%; 55% Extension agents and 32% specialists while the remaining were other.

Respondents felt Cooperative Extension was currently meeting needs in leadership programs by providing leadership opportunities, youth leadership, community leadership, family and consumer sciences, and volunteer development. Specific programs mentioned were: Project CENTRL, Family Community Leadership, Western Region Leadership, WELD, JOLT, and 4-H. The most frequently mentioned areas of unmet needs: internal leadership development for agents, community leadership development, overall structure, integration, coordination and vision of leadership programs, and volunteer needs. Specific coordination efforts identified in the follow-up survey indicated a strong need for an inventory of current programs and curriculum review and coordination. A desire was also shown for up-to-date flexible materials. Results in the area of research needs showed high interest in results of leadership programs and inventory of best practices.

Impacts of Leadership Development

The relative ranking of the six identified impacts based on frequency rating was:

1. Demonstrate positive community impact
2. Extend knowledge to others
3. Improve personal skills
4. Enhance team skills
5. Extension programs are viewed as premier
6. Develop a strong volunteer base.
7. Application was also mentioned as another impact.

Audience Identification

The relative ranking of the audiences was determined by frequency of importance in first or second place. The results based on internal and external audiences were:

Internal Audiences	1. Extension Faculty 2. Extension Staff
External Audiences	1. Neighborhood and Community Leaders 2. Volunteers 3. Youth 4. Elected Officials

Other audiences identified were various clientele and commodity groups.

Important Elements of Leadership Programs

Elements identified as important in all leadership programs included (ranked in the order of importance):

Improvement of personal leadership skills	1. Communication skills 2. Interpersonal skills 3. Time management 4. Organizational management 5. Teamwork
Developing a strong volunteer base	1. Training as most important 2. Management skills 3. Recruitment 4. Communication 5. Motivation
Enhancing team skills	1. Team building 2. Communication 3. Facilitation 4. Goal setting
Developing community leaders	1. Strategic planning 2. Communication 3. Community involvement 4. Public policy 5. Resources 6. Leadership styles

All four leadership areas had the following common elements: communication skills, team work, and strategic planning. In three of the areas, goal setting was identified as an important element while organizational skills, leadership styles, time management, self-esteem, facilitation, and collaboration were mentioned in two areas.

For complete survey results please contact Juanita Waits at jwaits@cals.arizona.edu

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Last Reviewed and Updated: April 3, 2002
Questions/Comments: jwaits@ag.arizona.edu