K-State Research and Extension Agent Tristen Cope has learned to look at leadership differently, especially after taking a class on the topic through Kansas Leadership Center and helping run the Marion County Leadership Program. “I was in a lot of leadership positions in high school and throughout college, but I was never taught or shown leadership as a verb. I was always taught that leadership was a noun,” said Cope. “It’s an act of how you’re a leader as opposed to a noun— acting as a leader— it’s what you do to gain those leadership skills or to help engage and empower others into leadership positions. It’s a different mindset when you’re looking at it as a verb. As a leader, what are you doing to empower others?” Marion County Leadership is a seven-week program that seeks to identify, motivate and continually develop new and emerging leaders from business, non-profit and private sectors to affect change in the quality of civic, cultural and economic life in Marion County. Thanks to funding from the Marion County Leadership Endowment held by Central Kansas Community Foundation (CKCF), Marion County residents have an opportunity to participate in the county leadership program that is designed to teach leadership skills while learning about the county’s needs. The course is facilitated by the KLC and includes tours of the county as well as discussions about how to apply learnings to opportunities and challenges in Marion County. The program, made available by Marion County, CKCF and KLC, originally started in 1992.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
