Leveraging Leadership: Empowering Local Leadership in Volunteer Organizations
Leadership and Administrative Skills
Emily Richards
Extension Agent I
The University of Tennessee
Gallatin
Abstract
New Tennessee Extension Master Gardener (TEMG) volunteers are highly knowledgeable in consumer horticulture after receiving 40 hours of plant science education from experts, specialists, and their local agents during the TEMG Collaborative Intern Training. Upon completion of initial training, however, new volunteers reported wanting to take the next step in their volunteer journey. Simultaneously, county agents reported a lack of volunteers willing to take on leadership roles in local organizations, often resorting to non-traditional leadership structures. What started as a one-time Myers-Briggs and Leadership program to address these issues became Leveraging Leadership, a sustainable annual program that is a logical next step for 2nd-year TEMG volunteers. The Leveraging Leadership program makes local leadership, outreach, and research-based knowledge more accessible and achievable for volunteers. Leveraging Leadership was based on the “3 C’s” of TEMG: content (research), culture (leadership), and community (outreach). This free hybrid course cultivates emerging leaders and strengthens organizational capacity through a comprehensive education in leadership structures, parliamentary procedure, project management, event planning and marketing, educational program development, and an introduction to research. The course culminates in a regional capstone event (east, central, and west) at one of UT’s AgResearch and Education centers, so volunteers can experience where and how research-based information is developed. Upon completion of the course, 77% of attendees reported feeling confident in their ability to lead within their organizations, 92% reported feeling confident in their ability to engage in community outreach, and 100% reported that they now understood where university research originates and why it is important to share research-based information. Leveraging Leadership has now become an on-ramp for new TEMG State Workgroups in Diagnostics, Trialing, and Education, which are going to be launched at the TEMG State Conference in Knoxville in 2026. Previous participants in Leveraging Leadership will now become the leaders in determining the educational and scientific direction of the TEMGs.
Authors: Emily Richards, Melody Rose
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Emily Richards Extension Agent, UT Extension, Tennessee, 37066
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Melody Rose Extension Agent, UT Extension, Tennessee, 37617