20 research outputs found
Starting and Maintaining 4-H Clubs
No full textThis revised 16-page guide, intended for 4-H staff and volunteers, provides an overview of the types of clubs, the criteria and forms for chartering a new club, and for maintaining club status annually. It also outlines the fiscal responsibilities of club management and the standards for recognition. Written by J. Jordan, B. Terry, D. Pracht, J. Butterfield, and A. Cletzer, and published by the UF Department of 4-H Youth Development, March 2012
Starting and Maintaining 4-H Clubs
No full textThis revised 16-page guide, intended for 4-H staff and volunteers, provides an overview of the types of clubs, the criteria and forms for chartering a new club, and for maintaining club status annually. It also outlines the fiscal responsibilities of club management and the standards for recognition. Written by J. Jordan, B. Terry, D. Pracht, J. Butterfield, and A. Cletzer, and published by the UF Department of 4-H Youth Development, March 2012
Eco-Leadership in Practice: A Mixed Methods Study of County 4-H Programs
No full textOur understanding of leaders and the role they play in organizations and society is changing. Four broad discourses of leadership have been identified as occurring during the past 100 years: controller, therapist, messiah, and eco-leader. The most recent, eco-leader discourse, is characterized by collective decision-making, collaboration, shared leadership, and grassroots organization. Eco-leadership is believed to be beneficial for organizations operating in a 21st century, knowledge-driven economy. A quintessential example of an ecological organization is the Extension Service's 4-H program, the organization which this study examines. However, in 4-H, as in many organizations, a majority of leadership development efforts focus on the individual, positional leader. Further, the vast majority of the literature devoted to eco-leadership is conceptual in nature; empirical studies linking leadership approaches to organizational outcomes are rare.
This study uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to examine: (a) the nature of the relationship between county 4-H agents' leadership discourse preferences and programmatic success; (b) county 4-H association members' levels of systemic and hierarchical thinking and programmatic success; (c) the way in which county 4-H association members' perceive their leadership within their counties; and (d) the relationship between these volunteers' perceptions of their leadership and other variables associated with programmatic success.
Findings indicate that the therapist discourse was the most preferred discourse among county 4-H agents, but that agents' discourse scores were unrelated to county 4-H program success. Associations' levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking were also not related to county 4-H program success. Additionally, county 4-H association members reported that: (a) agents play a central role in decision making and communication within the association; (b) association members rarely make decisions on programmatic matters; (c) associations are often not structured in accordance with 4-H's policy for associations; and (d) members are not provided opportunities for development in their roles as association members.Ph. D.The one thing we know about leadership is that it changes. Who we recognize as a leader changes over time. What we recognize as leadership also changes over time. In the last 100 years, there have been four eras of leadership, which one researcher dubbed: controller, therapist, messiah, and ecoleader. The latter, eco-leader era, is a 21st century society’s response to the technological and social changes taking place. As the world and its problems become more complex, so too have our ways of addressing them — and that requires a new kind of leader and a new kind of leadership.
But no one knows if this new form of leadership is more effective than any other. There is no scientific evidence, in other words. Rather, most claims are theoretical — it should be better, in theory. This study sought to link the eco-leader era’s approach to actual programmatic success and verify that it is effective. I studied county 4-H programs, which, it is generally believed, subscribe to the eco-leader approach. I surveyed two groups involved in 4-H, categorized the counties as high or low scoring based on their program’s success, and then followed up with small-group discussions in six counties.
What I found is that one group, agents, actually preferred an older era of leadership: therapist. The other group, volunteers, had a variety of views. Regardless of either group’s views, neither seemed to be related to program success. It seems any type of leadership could lead to success or failure. When we met for small-group discussions, however, the three high-scoring counties did tend to describe a more eco-leader style organization, while the low-scoring counties tended to favor older approaches to leadership in which the person in charge makes most of the decisions and the rest carry them out.
This is important to investigate because leadership is, at its root, the way in which people accomplish things in groups. Understanding how we as humans change those ways to meet the demands of our time and determining if they are effective, and, if so, how can we share those strategies with others, is important work to help people grapple with the challenges of an ever-more-complex world
Eco-Leadership, Complexity Science, and 21st Century Organizations: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis
No full textThroughout the 20th century, the traditional approach to leadership was based on “machine metaphors and machine-like assumptions” (Allen et al, 1999, p. 67; Rost, 1997). Leadership was seen as derived from position, vested in an individual, top-down in nature, and “driven by power for the purpose of control” (Allen et al., 1999, p. 67). The leader and his or her actions were viewed as “more critical than those of any other member of the group” (Wielkiewicz, 2000, p. 335). Those individuals within an organization who were “most competent and loyal” were appointed to leadership positions and assumed responsibility for the organization’s overall success; they provided vision for the organization and direction to followers (Chemers, 1997, p. 11). The focus of leadership studies, then, became to make these individuals better leaders, and, indeed, “much of empirical research on leadership focuses on predicting outcomes that reside at the individual level of analysis” (DeChurch et al., 2010, p. 1069).Accepted versio
Understanding Writing Expectations and Self-Efficacy in the Cooperative Extension Service
No full textCommunication, specifically written communication, is typically identified as a top competency for Extension agents (Benge et al., 2011; Cooper et al., 2001; Harder & Narine, 2019). However, the competencies within written communication have not been explored or clarified within these studies. As such, this study aims to better define what specific writing competencies are necessary to be an effective writer as an Extension agent, determine what specific types of writing exist in Extension, and assess the writing self-efficacy of Extension agents in Alabama (Bandura, 1997). This study consists of two parts: the first part uses a Delphi method, and the second part uses a quantitative survey method. In the Delphi panel, State Extension directors and other Extension leadership identified seven genres of writing in Extension and the necessary competencies within them. These experts considered each form of writing separately and showed that they considered the contextual differences between each and changed their expectations in response (Flower, 1994). In the second part of the study, Extension agents were asked to consider which genres of writing they engage in; participating agents reported that they engage in several forms of writing. Internal communications and social media were among the highest reported genres of writing that agents produce content for. Extension agents in Alabama also assessed themselves and shared their perceived effectiveness in each relevant writing genre and the competencies within that genre. Agents perceive themselves to be very effective in their writing within every genre of writing that was identified. Social media was reported as a form of writing that the majority of agents engage in, and it was also the writing genre that received the lowest average of effectiveness. Alabama Extension agents might benefit from more training that focuses specifically on writing for social media
Journal of Leadership Education
No full textOur understanding of leaders and the role they play in organizations and society is changing, which has important implications for leadership education. At the turn of the century, society began to move from a mechanistic understanding of leadership to a more ecological one. The latter, ecological approach to leadership is characterized by collective decision-making, collaboration, shared leadership, and grassroots organization. While leadership educators have acknowledged this shift, more case examples are needed to illuminate practical implications for leadership. This study of county 4-H associations uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to explore the relationship between three factors: (a) subjects’ levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking; (b) how their associations engage in leadership and organizational learning; and (c) programmatic success. While no direct relationship emerged between programmatic success and subjects’ levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking, mixed methods results revealed several distinctions between high and low scoring programs’ approaches to leadership. These distinctions support an ecological approach to leadership, which in turn impacts modern approaches to leadership education.Published versionTrue (Extension publication?
Surfacing the Iceberg of Leadership: A New Taxonomy of Leadership Concepts and Theories
No full textLeadership scholars have long sought to impose order on the numerous theories in leadership literature. While mid-level theories abound, no taxonomy exists to provide hierarchy and a mechanism for explaining how theories interrelate. This poster offers a new taxonomy for organizing leadership theories and concepts based on the metaphor of an iceberg. It invites leadership scholars to vet their own leadership courses and undergraduate leadership programs to determine the depth to which they explore leadership.Published versionYes, abstract only (Peer reviewed?
Eco-Leadership Among County 4-H Programs: Relationship to Success and Best Practices for Organizations
No full textAt the turn of the century, society began to move from a more mechanistic understanding of leadership to a more ecological one. The ecological approach to leadership is characterized by collective decision-making, collaboration, shared leadership, and grassroots organization. This study used an explanatory, sequential, mixed methods design to explore the nature of the relationship between how 4-H associations engage in leadership and organizational learning and programmatic success.Published versionYes, abstract only (Peer reviewed?
Understanding the Nature of Eco‐Leadership: A Mixed Methods Study of Leadership in Community Organizations
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore and explain eco-leadership in practice, specifically among community groups in Virginia’s New River Valley. This paper describes relationships between community groups’ leadership style and other factors while also highlighting an intricate mixed method design that ultimately led to a deep, rich understanding of these relationships. There were five research objectives: (1) Characterize the community groups’ leadership culture; (2) Assess each group’s cohesiveness; (3) Assess the groups’ community project involvement; (4) Determine if relationships exist between the variables; and (5) Highlight the role of mixed methods in the emergence of findings. The study has implications for carrying forward the concept of eco-leadership in research and practice.Published versio
