The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program (IALP) Class of 2016 participants recently explored leadership by example during a seminar held at Sprague’s Kinderhook Lodge in Barry, Illinois. The “Professionalism and Leadership Opportunities Seminar, Sponsored by Cargill” included presentations by fourteen speakers over two days. The IALP is sponsored by the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation (IALF).
Over a two-year period the class is attending 14 seminars covering current social, political, business and economic issues in the agriculture industry. The “Professionalism and Leadership Opportunities Seminar, Sponsored by Cargill” began with a presentation by Larry Fischer, retired Vice President of Instruction at John Wood Community College, and a 1986 graduate of the IALP. He reviewed techniques for writing, editing and presenting a professional introduction in a business setting. Alison Myers, Program Director for the leadership foundation, reviewed individual results from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Assessment and implications for leadership style. She led the class members in understanding their own personality types and those of others they will work with and lead.
Dr. Richard Ringer, Director of the Organizational Leadership Institute and Professor in the College of Business at Illinois State University, discussed Communicating through Leading. The first day of the seminar concluded with a dinner presentation by Rebecca Doyle, a member of the IALP Class of 1984 and a former Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. She spoke of her leadership journey through the quote, “If I am not for myself who will be for me? If I am only for myself, who am I?”
On the second day, the class explored the nature of leadership through a group discussion of the book The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller. Chet Boruff, CEO of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and a 1984 graduate of the IALP, discussed Effective Meeting Management & Roberts Rules of Order. Then the Class of 2016 heard testimonials from three distinguished alumni of the IALP who have served in national and international posts: Ron Moore, a farmer and Vice President of the American Soybean Association (IALP ’98); Gerry Salzman, retired Senior Director of Global Marketing of Harvesting Products for Case IH (IALP ’92); and Wendell Shauman, a farmer and former Chairman of the U.S. Grains Council (IALP ’84).
The panel discussed balancing work/life issues, factors in deciding which leadership opportunity to accept, and the importance of networking within state organizations and across state and national boundaries.
The lunch speaker was farmer and philanthropist Howard Buffett. He manages one of the largest private family charitable foundations in the United States, oversees a family farm in central Illinois and farms in Nebraska with his son. He also oversees three foundation-operated research farms in Arizona, Illinois and South Africa. He told the group of his farming operations, the challenges of his foundation’s efforts to provide food security to portions of Africa and South America, and his publications on conservation, wildlife and the human condition.
Following the lunch presentation, a panel of three IALP graduates discussed leadership opportunities in state and local organizations. Heather Hampton+Knodle (IALP ’98) talked about her political career as a Montgomery County Board member and co-chair of Governor-Elect Rauner’s agricultural transition team; Kent Kleinschmidt (IALP ’86), Past Chairman and Current Member of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, discussed the work of the corn commodity organizations and how to become involved in those boards; and Dr. Peter Johnsen (IALP ’00), Board Chairman of Methodist Health Services Corporation, spoke about transitioning philanthropic involvement to other fields, such as health care.
The day concluded with a rare opportunity to tour the hog production farm of Randy Sims (IALP ’84) and Darren Sims (IALP ’16) in Liberty, Illinois. The Sims family represents a handful of multi-generational members of the leadership program.
“This seminar presented our participants with a challenge to find their leadership paths by exploring the careers and opportunities of others,” noted Don Norton, IALF President and CEO. “As members of the Class of 2016 begin their leadership journeys, they can benefit greatly from understanding the expectations and challenges of leadership at all levels. We were extremely grateful to Cargill, our sponsor, and pleased to hold our meeting at Sprague’s Kinderhook Lodge near Barry, which provided an excellent venue for executive training.”
The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation provides a two-year seminar series that develops knowledgeable and effective leaders to become policy and decision makers for the agricultural industry. It is a non-profit educational corporation under Illinois law. A board of directors, comprised of recognized leaders in agriculture and business, oversees the program. More information is available at www.agleadership.org.
Comments are closed