Top 5 Characteristics of an Innovative Extension Leader

I have been serving on an Innovation Task Force for the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP). The team is made up of about a dozen Extension professionals from across the country and we're preparing a report on what the Cooperative Extension System can do to be more innovative in the 21st Century for ECOP's next meeting in September.

I will be posting my contributions to our task force's writing assignments each week. Please read them over and let me know what you think.

Note: Pictured above are some of my friends from grad school that volunteer in my Extension programs. I appreciate them so much, they are making a difference.

The Top 5 Characteristics of an Innovative Extension Leader:

1. Not afraid to take risks and fail 

 Sees failures as learning  
Rapidly experiments to learn what works  
Seeks to understand the full potential of new ideas 

2. Leverages technology

 Connecting the dots to find solutions to problems using existing technology  
Aware of and savvy with broad variety of new and emerging technologies 

3. Agile and flexible

 Able to move quickly and easily while working with a variety of other innovators from different fields of expertise 

4. Self aware 

 Understands personal strengths and weaknesses  
Seeks guidance from other experts with opposing viewpoints 

5. Creative

 Inspires creativity in others  
Doesn't just create innovations alone, but is effective in leading creative people to accomplish a goal
​Accepts shortcomings and accentuates strengths

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