Term Project The Eden

Extension's role in leading change in communities must shift from traditional notions of leadership to one of catalytic leadership. The expertise, programming-driven leadership model of Extension's past must be replaced with one of activating and convening stakeholders and facilitating problem-solving processes that address public issues collaboratively. This article introduces the basic skills of catalytic leadership, offers two illustrative examples from Extension in Iowa, and connects this leadership model with Public Issues Education. It concludes with some suggestions for how Extension units can move toward the catalytic model.

Ricardo S. Morse

Assistant Professor

Public Policy and Administration Program

Department of Political Science

rmorse@iastate.edu

Paul W. Brown

Assistant Director

Agriculture & Natural Resources Extension

pwbrown@iastate.edu

Jeanne E. Warning

Assistant Director

Extension to Families

jwarning@iastate.edu

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

Introduction

Extension has always been about educational leadership and change. However, just as the social, economic, and political environments have matured, the role of Extension educator as change agent continues to evolve to address the complex issues of our time. When Extension and the land-grant college system were established, our nation was dominated by small-scale agriculture.

At that time, the leadership or change agent role of Extension educators involved breaking through the barriers of rural isolation to engage farm families in learning and discovery (Schwieder, 1993). There was no incentive in the private sector for developing and delivering information on agricultural technologies or rural living practices. The Cooperative Extension Service provided farmers and farm families with knowledge about modern agricultural technologies and practices in an affordable manner. Improving the well-being of individual farmers also advanced social welfare and the developing economy.

As change agents, Extension educators delivered (and continue to deliver) programs and services that advance the public good. Traditionally, programs and services have provided a general benefit to society as a whole or to broad cross-sections of society. This was apparent in the early Extension focus on farm practices. These activities were instrumental in maintaining food security in a rapidly growing nation by supporting the adoption and diffusion of efficient production practices within an increasingly industrial but largely agrarian nation.

As the nation, agriculture, and Extension have evolved in significant ways over the last century, Extension programming has likewise evolved. Extension still provides agricultural production services, but has added substantial resources to community development, youth, family, and business and industry programs, as well as educational services. The delivery of these programs provides a general public benefit by enhancing the social and physical environment in which we all live. This is the heart of Extension.

For much of Extension's history, the role of change agent meant that Extension educators affected change through improved practices--on the farm, in the home, and in the community. Extension provided leadership by providing solutions. Extension educators applied expert knowledge and affected change by providing knowledge. As the social, economic, and political environments have evolved, they have also become more complex and interconnected. In this environment, a "programming" approach for Extension is not sufficient. What is needed is a different mindset, a different way of thinking about leadership or what it means to be an agent of change. Rather than simply providing content, Extension must also facilitate process, processes where citizens work together, create a vision, and make a difference.

Extension Educators as Catalysts

Leadership denotes "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal" (Northouse, 2004, p. 3). Extension's leadership in communities has followed this traditional notion of leadership. However, this traditional view of leadership seems inadequate for dealing with complex public problems. The kinds of problems Extension professionals face in their communities--such as economic decline, water quality, or childhood poverty--are terribly complex (Patton & Blaine, 2001). They cross jurisdictional, functional, and temporal boundaries. They are interconnected with one another. There are usually multiple definitions of what the problem is, with a range of accompanying "solutions," none of which completely "solve" the problem (Luke, 1998).

These intractable, interconnected problems highlight the fact that we live in a "shared power world" where "no one" is in charge (Crosby & Bryson, 2005). Traditional models of organizational leadership--with clear "leaders" and "followers" with clear goals--"do not work well for leaders attempting to address persistent public problems in an interconnected context." What is needed, therefore, is "public leadership, not public sector leadership" (Luke, 1998, p. 5).

Public sector leadership rightfully is the domain of elected and appointed public officials. However, public leadership is exercised by many people in and out of government. In fact, the role of Extension seems to be particularly well suited for public leadership, the kind of leadership that facilitates "concerted action by multiple and diverse groups." Extension professionals are in an ideal position to help "communities, states, and regions . . . work across traditional boundaries, creating partnerships and alliances among historically separate business, government, and education sectors" (Luke, 1998, p. 21).

Public leadership provides a quiet, "catalytic" effect different from traditional "great man" images of leadership. Jeffrey Luke defines public leadership this way:

Public leadership is essentially a transorganizational leadership process of focusing attention and mobilizing or catalyzing a diverse set of individuals and agencies to address a public problem. It is a type of leadership that evokes collaboration and concerted action among diverse and often competing groups toward a shared outcome. (1998, p. 33)

Public leaders lead from the middle in a facilitative manner. They act as catalysts in their communities. It is worth noting the dictionary definition of catalyst. The American Heritage� Dictionary (4th ed) defines catalyst as "a substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process." Few Extension educators would feel comfortable or accept as appropriate a role "out in front" in a public policy issue, leading as an advocate of some sort. But the image here of a catalyst is different, much more in harmony with the educational mission of Extension.

The Catalytic Tasks of Public Leadership

Jeffrey Luke's Catalytic Leadership (1998) identifies the primary tasks of public or "catalytic" leadership. They include the following.

Raising Awareness: Effective public leaders focus the public's attention on an issue. They don't promote solutions; they promote problems. They are "advocates for issue emergence, not necessarily strong advocates for a particular solution or policy position" (1998, p. 41). An important aspect of this task is framing issues in ways that raise attention and urgency and invite a diverse group of stakeholders to join efforts to address the issue.

Forming Working Groups: Public leaders are also conveners. They bring people together to address a common problem. They "use their knowledge of the particular issue, knowledge of stakeholders' interests, personal contacts and networks, and personal credibility to convince key stakeholders that participation in the effort is worthy of their involvement" (1998, p. 67).

Creating Strategies: After bringing people together around an issue, public leaders facilitate a process of "stimulating multiple strategies and options for action." While they may not be at the head of a working group, they do build and nurture the group process so that the group can be effective. They focus the group on deliberation and mutual learning and maintain a fair and open process. They also focus the group on identifying outcomes and options and making commitments (1998, p. 121).

Sustaining Action: Public leaders also help implement strategies and maintain the momentum of the working group. Effective working groups need people willing and able to "keep the fire burning." This is the most difficult task of catalytic leadership and requires more than one "leader." Catalytic leaders identify the sparkplugs necessary for sustaining action and help "institutionalize cooperative behavior." They become "network facilitators" who help groups maintain focus on outcomes, build trust, continuously learn, and otherwise strengthen the joint effort (1998, p. 146).

Examples

We offer two examples from Iowa State University Extension (ISUE) to illustrate this model of catalytic leadership. The first is an example from Families and Youth Extension,

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