Is true leadership about me or we?
Few are intuitive leaders, moving through life with the masses following them. Most of us have to learn leadership. It’s always an interesting journey in my work with agricultural advocates to watch them go from succeeding individually to learning to bring others along in the “agvocacy” journey. More than once I’ve had the conversation “This no longer about you, but the bigger picture. Your work is to now create more advocates like you.”
Only the best become true leaders. Many get distracted by ego, politics and the latest bright shiny object. When I see leaders rising through the ranks, I start watching to see if they’ll be able to make the jump from “me” to “we.” I have the great fortune as a professional speaker to witness many of these journeys; when people make the jump to the “we” of agriculture, it is my single greatest motivator.
Two ladies who farm in Oregon and North Dakota, respectively, are great examples of this. Both have reached well beyond the “me” sphere and shaped the work of others giving voice to agriculture. I’ve known both of them for a few years and have watched their journey; it’s inspiring.
Marie Bowers is a spark plug. The woman makes things happen and I’m fairly certain she won’t take no for an answer. She didn’t think Oregon had enough of agriculture & natural resources people as a part of social media, so she created a workshop that pulled together 20+ natural resource organizations to learn social media and corralled others to help her. I had the chance to work with the group and was very excited about the level of discussion we had; there is no doubt that Marie laid miles of road to bringing others into the agvocacy arena. She does a great job herself; check out her Oregon Green blog.
When I first met Marie at a American Agri-Women workshop hosted by Syngenta, I was pretty certain she thought I was a little over the top. Now I know her real story; it’s so fun to watch her journey. She’s a new board member of the AgChat Foundation, chairs the weekly AgChat/FoodChat committee and will be the President for Oregon Women for Agriculture next year. Yet her titles have nothing to do with leadership; it’s all about her heart and ability to bring others to the cause. I do have to warn you though, she knows how to shoot a gun and isn’t afraid to use it.
Sarah Bedgar Wilson always has a smile on her face and a funny story to tell. I first met her in the Young Dairy Leaders Institute, where her skills stood out and she always had a million questions about the advocacy assignment. She’s now on her own mission as a speaker, a mom of three children under the age of five, a farm partner and in charge of the North Dakota Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers program. I don’t know how she does it all, but after being in North Dakota – I know she does – and with great accolades from others.
Sarah leads people with her heart for the good of agriculture. She and her husband have had some amazing challenges on their farm, but she’s never let that diminish her concern for the bigger picture of getting the story out. She works constantly to reach out and develop human connections, whether through her blog, work, teaching children or just being Sarah. The smile is always there to brighten people’s day, which certainly helps humanize the world of farming.
The impact that both of these women are having on others as leaders makes it a privilege to work with them – and an honor to have them as friends. More importantly, Sarah and Marie are a case study of what happens when agriculturists move from “me” to “we.” Are you taking steps in that direction to bring others to the cause?
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Just a thought here…but when was agvocacy ever about ourselves. I don’t understand what you mean about “This is no longer about you, but the bigger picture. Your work is to now create more advocates like you.” When I started “agvocating” I didn’t do it with the intention of benefiting myself. From the get-go I did it for “the bigger picture.” My passion for agriculture has always driven me to do the things that I do, I don’t care if I get recognition for it or not. It’s all about ensuring the future of our community and encouraging meaningful relationships with those who may not be familiar with our way of life. If someone is becoming an agvocate because they view it as a way to benefit themselves in some way, then maybe they shouldn’t be doing it. I mean that as no offense to the above mentioned women. I believe both of them are doing great things for our community and are wholeheartedly in it for the bigger picture. What concerns me is your emphasis of some metaphorical journey of making the jump from “me” to “we.” Instead from the get-go we should be focused on the bigger picture, benefiting the greater good, all along the way practicing humility and realizing that no one among us is more important than the other. We all have great abilities and contributions to make to the movement and should be focused on working together to ensure our end goals. Starting with a “me” mentality works against the grain on this concept.
Hi Jesse. Of course agvocacy requires an understanding of the big picture at a base level. The difference is what Darin touches on; leadership vs. simply agvocating. Some have developed their skillsets where they can have greater impact on the cause by helping others. And when that happens, they have far greater impact than singularly focusing on their own efforts.
I liken it to college basketball. The great players have talent, drive and work ethic. However, the best players are those who can involve others and help them grow. For example, Mateen Cleaves on Michigan State’s national championship team. He wasn’t the most talented player on the floor, but his spirit and love of Michigan State drove the Spartans to the highest levels of achievement. He brought the team together, made each player better and mentored others. That’s the difference between me and we leadership. Thanks for your comments.
Jesse,
I’m not going to speak for Michele, but here’s how I read the thought. Just being an agriculture agvocate is about “we” no question. Few of us would claim that agvocating for agriculture is going to benefit an individual farm operation enough to make it a good “investment” as an individual. Simply being an agvocate seems to mean you’ve taken a leap into the “we” world, into a greater purpose/mission than yourself.
The point I agree very strongly with Michele on is this. Leadership, not just being a very significant agvocate for agriculture, but having a desire to train and empower others to do that is a whole different ballgame. And I don’t view it as a stair-step on the ladder of success. There will be people that are AWESOME at agvocating, but they really don’t seem to have the time/interest/talent whatever to create future leaders. It’s a bit of a tangent, but it’s like the business philosophy of taking a great salesman and making them the sales manager. Oftentimes that doesn’t go so well, it’s really a much, much different skill set to do both jobs effectively. Being an agvocate, and developing the potential of other agvocates, is very roles with a very different talent/interest set required in my mind.
Did I just confuse the issue?