Lexington, KY - The current need for leadership in our community and country has not been this great since the Great Depression. We have a faltering economy, a potential global climate meltdown, a world-size equestrian event to pull off, as well as workforce trends that are heading south.
We can all read books and hit a seminar here or there, but where can you turn to for assistance creating leaders for tomorrow? Enter the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Center for Leadership Development (CFLD).
Dr. Tricia Dyk, director of the Center, highlights their fundamentals: "We focus on three areas - instruction, outreach, and research. Our goal is to enhance leadership development in the college, community, and commonwealth of Kentucky. Our clients include students, non-profit, and for-profit organizations."
The Center for Leadership Development is currently engaged in several activities: Turner Leadership Academy (TLA), Let's Lead web site, workshops, custom consulting and the University of Kentucky's Equine Initiative Social Sciences Work Group.
Turner Leadership Academy
The Turner Leadership Academy is an undergraduate leadership certificate program named after Dr. Larry W. Turner, a visionary leader from the College of Agriculture who had a heart for leadership development and lost his life in the tragic flight 5191 crash of 2006. A memorial fund created in Dr. Turner's honor supports the program.
The Academy gives College of Agriculture sophomores and juniors a jumpstart in leadership skills. The Turner Leadership Academy enrolled the first group of 17 student participants in the fall of 2008. Students design their own leadership development plan based on their individual leadership needs and interests. Each participant is assigned a mentor from the College of Agriculture who in turn supports them in fulfilling the requirements of their leadership development plan. These plans include service learning experiences, attending workshops and conferences, as well as creating a portfolio of work that illustrates their leadership progress. At the end of their two-year stint, the students will receive a certificate indicating completion of the program.
This program is truly a win-win for the students and their future employers. Programs of this type are rare and vital to grow leaders shaping our future.
Let's Lead Web site
The Let's Lead Web site, hosted by the Center for Leadership Development, is a portal into 15 organizations that focus on and offer leadership development training opportunities. A one-stop shop, the portal uses a mountain climbing expedition analogy to lead you through options, beginning with the type of community service role you are interested in, such as youth leadership, schools, community, economic development, and the environment. You can also view opportunities available to you based upon the skills you wish to acquire.
Partners in the Let's Lead portal include: LexLinc, Commerce Lexington, Partners for Youth, United Way of the Bluegrass, Center for Leadership Development, Girl Scouts of the USA, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, Fayette County Cooperative Extension Office and 4-H, Non-Profit Leadership Initiative, The Kentucky Chapter of the United States Green Building Council, Urban League of Lexington, Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar (HOBY) and the YMCA of Central Kentucky.
Lissa Pohl, program and outreach associate for UK's Center for Leadership Development, said "The partnership can expand and we invite other community organizations who provide leadership development opportunities to become present on the site."
At the October 28, 2008 Web site launch, Mayor Jim Newberry stated his belief that it is vitally important to develop leadership to move our community forward. "Leadership is key. Every organization is defined by the quality of their leadership, and our community is no different. Since there is no 'leadership school,' the Let's Lead Web site provides a vital source of information, a place for people in our community to go to further develop their leadership skills and interests."
Other Services
The Center supports the Turner Leadership Academy with leadership workshops for the university as well as for public organizations. Many of these utilize experiential learning techniques, such as the Herd Dynamics For Leaders workshop where individuals and groups learn leadership competencies in collaboration with horses. If you are in need of something unique, the Center will also provide custom consulting for your organization.
We are fortunate to have a resource such as the Center for Leadership Development in the Bluegrass region. The breadth, depth, and quality of programs offered are vital to our continued economic growth. I urge everyone remotely interested in honing their leadership skills to take a look for themselves.
For more information, the Center for Leadership Development can be found at www.uky.edu/Ag/CLD/CLD_CtrLeadrshipDev.htm. To view more information on the Turner Leadership Academy, go to www.ca.uky.edu/TLA and www.ca.uky. edu/agc/video/growingkentucky and look through the archive for December 2008. The Let's Lead portal is at www.letsleadlex.com.
Joel DiGirolamo heads the firm Turbocharged Leadership (www.turbochargedleadership.com), and has a BSEE, MBA, and an MS Psychology degree. You can contact Joel at joel@jdigirolamo.com.