Growing Leaders Short Course

“You don’t have to save the world, just save your hometown. It’ll add up.” – Hubert Humphrey 

This five week leadership training program in a region helps participants build skills, gain confidence and work together on a local community development project.

Why leadership programs such as this matter — Citizens determine what is best for their community. Planning processes result in better buy-in, adoption of local policies and implementation of plans.

Who Should Attend the Course

• Individuals who want to continue to learn more about themselves, their organizations and communities.
• Individuals who will invest time and energy by attending the five sessions and working on a project.
• Individuals who are open to broadening their perspectives.
• Individuals who want to build a local network while gaining knowledge of leadership and civic engagement.
• Individuals who want to create the conditions for their organization and community to grow and prosper.

Structure of the Course

Participants attend five separate five-hour sessions every two, three or four weeks. Sessions can take place at a single location or locations can be rotated within a region. The suggested class size is 10-30 people. Participants will work on a community project as an individual or a group. Tuition for the five sessions is $250 per participant and covers 
refreshments, meals and materials. Session topics can be adapted to fit the focus of the community.

Sample Session Topics

• Effective leadership attributes
• Understanding and managing conflict
• Understanding the importance of service and volunteerism
• Effective communication skills
• Understanding how leaders grow and change
• Planning for the future
• Civic engagement
• Understanding the seven capitals of healthy communities
• Creating effective community conversations
• Understanding behavioral styles of individuals

A local planning committee will work with the coordinator to set the course agenda and recruit participants. Instructors for the session are NDSU Extension staff, community and external  experts, as well as Rural Leadership North Dakota alumni.

What Participants are saying...

“High level of excitement at the caliber and quantity of motivated people seeking to ever improve our community” — 2017 short course participant

“Loved it. Was great to meet new people. Nice to see different perspectives. Now I know I can make a difference.” — 2017 short course participant

“Don’t be afraid of failure, just do it!” — 2017 short course participant

Contact

Andrea Bowman
NDSU Extension Program Coordinator
Leadership and Civic Engagement
andrea.bowman@ndsu.edu
701-523-6239