You may have heard these words from the legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi before, “leaders aren't born, they are made.” But have you ever wondered; how does one make a leader? In this series, you will hear from two guest speakers that represent two different leadership institutes that do just that— help to make leaders. The speakers from this series share their expertise and knowledge related to leadership in the field of agriculture and natural resources. This episode features speaker, Christy Chiarelli, Director of the Wedgeworth Leadership Institute (WLI).
Resources:
https://wedgworthleadership.com/
Transcripts available here: https://piecenter.com/media/podcast/#transcript
Are you an educator? The Science by the Slice podcast aims to inform diverse audiences about important issues in agriculture, natural resources and public health. Check out our learning guides that were created as an educational tool to facilitate discussions related to the topics presented in podcast episodes. Download the learning guides here: https://piecenter.com/media/podcast/learn/
Music "Homin Brer" by Blue Dot Sessions Available at https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/butterstone/homin-brer/ Under CC BY license Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
The views, information, or opinions expressed by guest speakers on Science by the Slice are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily represent those of the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education or the University of Florida.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ricky Telg (00:04):
This is science by the slice, a podcast from the
University of Florida'sInstitute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences Center forPublic issues education. In this
podcast, experts discuss thescience of issues affecting our
daily lives revealed themotivations behind the decisions
people make, and ultimatelyprovide insight to solutions for
our lives.
Phillip Stokes (00:33):
Hello, and welcome to Science by the slice,
I'm Phillip Stokes, educationcoordinator with the PI center.
Take a moment and think aboutimpactful leaders in your life.
Have you thought of any? If so,maybe you're thinking about
teachers, supervisors, coaches,teammates, or even friends or
(00:53):
family members. What was itabout them that made them
effective leaders? When Ipersonally think about impactful
leaders and my life, I struggledto pinpoint what exactly they
did. But I can usually rememberhow they made me feel. Still,
when I think back about thoseleaders in my life, it's not
actually what they did. It'swhat I did, that makes me
(01:16):
remember them as great leaders.
I guess what I'm saying is,whatever they were doing to be a
good leader to me, I couldn'treally tell you, because I was
more focused on what I was doingand how I was able to prosper in
that moment. Whether that be inschool, athletics, or any other
pursuit, maybe even justfostering a feeling of purpose
in my day to day life. There's aquote from the novel, The Little
(01:38):
Prince written by French authorsent Exupery. That goes, What is
essential is invisible to theeye. I believe that effective
leadership is not always visibleto the eye, but apparent through
the impressions and impacts thatare made to the beneficiaries
and recipients of thatleadership. In other words,
(02:00):
great leadership cannot bewitnessed or accounted for
without observing the actions ofthose that are being led. But
don't take it from me because intoday's episode, you'll hear
from Christie ciarelli, directorof the Wedgeworth Leadership
Institute for Agriculture andNatural Resources at the
University of Florida. So now,let's hear more about Christy's
(02:23):
perspective on leadership in aconversation led by Makayla
cancer, fellow host of scienceby the slice, they discussed the
Wedgeworth Leadership Institute,and how the organization
develops and refines leaders inthe agricultural industry.
Christy Chiarelli (02:44):
Thanks so much for having me. My name is
Christie Shirley. And I'm thedirector of the Wedgeworth
Leadership Institute forAgricultural and Natural
Resources at the University ofFlorida. APHIS. Awesome.
Michaela Kandzer (02:55):
Can you tell us a little bit more about
Wedgeworth? And about themission of your organization?
Yeah, absolutely.
Christy Chiarelli (03:00):
So Wentworth, began in 1992, as the Florida
leadership program foragriculture and natural
resources. So we just celebratedour 30th year of programming,
and 2022. But the idea ofagricultural leadership programs
began really in the 1950s, withMichigan State University. And
(03:24):
there were some group ofprofessors at Michigan State
that engaged in what we know asthe Kellogg's for farmers study.
And there was this idea thatgrowers and farmers were were
great at producing, but they hada very, like limited
understanding of all the factorsthat existed around them
culturally, socially,politically, that impacted their
(03:46):
ability to grow and producefood. And so the Kellogg's
farmer study, it was a kind ofan investigation to say, hey,
can we develop the leadershipcapabilities of farmers and so
they chose 30 men to engage indifferent seminars around the
state of Michigan and to traveloutside of Michigan, and to just
(04:07):
develop their skills. And thisproved to be a great success in
Michigan. And so one of theactual faculty member from
Michigan State had come toFlorida on sabbatical. And he
was in the food resourceeconomics department and started
talking about this program. Itwas like I think one could be
really successful here. And hisname was Dr. Jean Trotter. And
(04:28):
so Dr. Trotter traveled aroundthe state beginning in 19. I
think 89 and just buildingsupport for this idea of
developing Florida's growers andranchers, and had a lot of
industry support. And so in1992, he started class one of
the Florida leadership programfor agriculture and natural
(04:49):
resources, the older classeswe'll call it flipped nor so if
you hear flipping or that iswhat we know as went to earth
today, and so much moreappealing. Yes. Yeah, it's got
an ICER like rolls off thetongue a little easier than
putting our but I know, previousclasses are very endearing to
that to that name. And so thatwas Dr. Trotter was fundamental
(05:14):
just so instrumental in thesuccess of what we know is
Wordsworth today, he andindustry and ifas, they laid an
incredible foundation that hasjust proven to provide continued
success for the program as weknow it today. And how it became
Wentworth was that, again, underDr. trotters, leadership, he
(05:36):
recognized that this was aprogram that would take a lot of
support financially. And hedidn't want to go around the
state and didn't want to botherpeople every year by asking for
funds asking for funds. And soinstead, he rallied the industry
to say, let's create anendowment to help support this
program. So that we can alwayskeep tuition accessible to the
(05:58):
to growers and ranchers thatneed it. And we don't have to
ask for the same funds everyyear for the same things. And so
Dr. Trotter, led that endowmenteffort, and Dennis Wedgeworth
was the chair of the committee.
And as they approached theirgoal, they were they were so
close to the goal. And so inhonor of Mr. George Wedgeworth,
(06:18):
the Wedgeworth family gave agift to name the program for Mr.
George Webb Wedgeworth, as aliving tribute to his leadership
legacy, not only in Florida, butreally, throughout agriculture
in the United States. He He's atremendous leader. And so we are
happy to have his namesake andcertainly, we talk a lot about
(06:40):
and Wedgeworth wanting to honorthe family name, right? We
recognize when you representthat a big leader, you want to
do a great job in that. So wetake that very seriously.
Michaela Kandzer (06:50):
So that's a nice teaser into our topic for
today, which is leadership. Andso if I haven't, right, so the
mission of whether we're reallyis to create and train leaders
within the agricultural industryin the state of Florida. Yes, in
Christy Chiarelli (07:05):
a nutshell, that is our mission, our
mission, specifically is todevelop and refine the
leadership capabilities ofleaders to become involved in
policy formation in Florida. Andso whether that's policy that
applies to Florida agriculture,natural resources, or public
policy that impacts the futureof Florida agriculture, we want
(07:28):
we're trying to develop policymakers, or individuals that have
the skill sets and the networksand the know how to make policy
so that agriculture in the stateof Florida can be sustainable
for generations to come. So theledger Leadership Institute, we
have 11 seminars throughout thestate of Florida, the nation,
(07:50):
and our capstone is aninternational study trip. So
over the course of 22 months, 30individuals go through a really
rigorous leadership trainingprogram, as they understand more
about themselves, their localcommunity, they understand more
about teams and stategovernment, they start to
(08:11):
understand about leadingorganizations and then also how
to affect policy at the nationallevel. And then when we travel
internationally, it gives theman opportunity to see that no
matter where you are in theworld, the issues are really the
same. In many ways. People arestruggling with the same things
or people get excited about thesame ideas. And so we're not as
different as maybe we all thinkwe are when we start to talk
(08:34):
with growers and ranchers atdifferent at different levels of
the state, the nation and theworld. So that's how it's
structured. And in, we onlyaccept 30 individuals, because,
again, we are traveling so muchand going into so many different
spaces that 30 is about the maxnumber that we can we can
handle. But what that processlooks like we're actually
(08:56):
starting a new class this year.
So we are going to opennominations for class 12 On
February the 15th. There's anomination form on Wedgeworth
leadership.com. And you can selfnominate, or you can be
nominated by someone that hasbeen through the program or is
another leader in Florida Ag andNatural Resources. The biggest
requirements to be selected isthat you have to be at least 25
(09:19):
years old to be eligible for theprogram. And that's because we
want you to have some workexperience before joining
Wedgeworth I would I always sayyou know, we are not an emerging
leadership program. I thinkthat's very important for
individuals to understand isthat we are we have the
expectation that when you applyto Wedgeworth, you are already a
(09:40):
leader in your industry, on yourfarm, in your community. You are
coming to refine thoseleadership skills. We're not
we're not creating leaders, weare developing them. So it's
important that you've got alittle bit of experience behind
you before you apply. So 25 Andyou have to have been a resident
of the state of Florida for oneyear. So we really want to keep
(10:01):
our, our target audience focusedon Floridians that want to
contribute to Florida in theyears ahead. Again, we we care a
lot about American agriculture,global agriculture. But again,
our focus is just making sureFlorida has a sustainable
agricultural future, ourimmediate focus, I should say,
and you have to have a, you haveto be involved somehow in
(10:23):
agriculture, natural resources,so some portion of your of your
livelihood has to come fromFlorida ANR. So those are the
kind of basic requirements to benominated. And then you're sent
an application to complete, andthen you're invited to a
selection seminar. So we have,typically we have three
selection seminars, I think thisyear, we'll have four so in
(10:44):
Gainesville, Bartow, BelleGlade, and I think Tallahassee
is what we're going to add thisyear, you come to a day long
selection seminar, and we inviteyour spouse and your significant
other to come with you. So theycan also understand about the
program, we know that greatleadership means that you have
to be supported really well. Andso we want the families to be
(11:05):
involved in that space. And thenthe selection will be made in
September ish of 2023. And we'llstart class 12 in November of
2023. And so, class 12, beginsNovember 2023, and runs through
July 2025. That's reallyawesome.
Michaela Kandzer (11:23):
That seems like a long process, but an
opportunity to learn and developa lot of new skills. So you
brought up or you mentioned, youknow, that you're not an
Emerging Leader program. So whatis different about leadership on
those levels from emerging toestablish?
Christy Chiarelli (11:39):
That's a great question. I think that
emerging leaders, your you wantto be involved, right, or you
have the desire to be involved,but maybe you've just not taking
that step to raise your hand yetin your community or in your
organization or on youroperation, to say, Put me in
coach, I'm ready, I'm ready totry, I'm ready to lead. But
rather, you're on the outskirtskind of seeing that those
(12:01):
opportunities exist, and justtrying to get a feel for maybe
how you can contribute. Youknow, that's how I would kind of
classify folks that are emergingand certainly have an interest,
but may not have had anopportunity to lead in an aspect
just yet. So that's emergingleadership. I think the leaders
that are most successful inWedgeworth are leaders that both
(12:24):
have the interest. And I've hadthe opportunity to lead in some
capacity before. And the reasonwe say that is because this is
such a time commitment that youwill benefit most, if you
already have experience to tiethese principles to if you come
to Wedgeworth. And what we'retalking about is still very
abstract to you, and you're notquite sure how you might utilize
(12:47):
it. It's it just isn't a thebest benefit to the participant.
It's not that we're trying to beexclusive or not appreciative of
emerging leaders. Rather, wejust want to think about how can
we make the most impact on theindividuals that we have. And we
see that the individuals thathave leadership experience, they
just more they understandquicker how to apply the skills
(13:10):
and Wedgeworth to elevate thoseskills, refine them, develop
them so that they can have animmediate impact. There are
several I would say, leadershipprograms that Wedgeworth
participants have been throughthat prepare them very well for
Wedgeworth. And so organizationslike the Florida cattleman,
association, Florida fruit andvegetable Association, both of
(13:31):
those Industry Associationgroups do a wonderful job
preparing future industryleaders, and I am tickled when I
see Wedgeworth applicants thathave been through those programs
because they understand they canunderstand what leadership
programming and agriculture isabout. It's it is not a
requirement to be, you know, toget in Wedgeworth, that you've
(13:52):
been through one of those that Ijust say that for anybody in the
audience that might be lookingfor somewhere to to get started
in leadership, Farm Bureau,young farmers and ranchers. Oh,
my goodness, I should havementioned them first. That's
another great opportunity, and agreat feeder program for
Wedgeworth. That is just alittle different from getting
your feet wet and leadership togo into the next level.
Michaela Kandzer (14:12):
Yeah. And that makes sense to as what you would
teach Emerging Leaders versusestablished leaders like those
that contents going to be a lotdifferent, right? Yes. So what
would you say is or why isleadership development so
important?
Christy Chiarelli (14:24):
For Florida leaders in agriculture and
natural resources, we mustalways remember that what we
provide to them has to helptheir efficiencies and their
productivity, because we aretaking about 55 days of their
time, over the course of 22months. And there is a lot of
self growth that will happen andthey will they will leave this
(14:47):
program different people andthey'll think a little
differently when they leave. Butwe also have to give them tools
to increase efficiencies andincrease productivity. And so I
think that that's an importantpart of leadership development
is why we want to, we want toinvest in people. It's for those
reasons. And I think the reasonI connect it to efficiencies and
productivity is that when we'redoing our jobs well as
(15:11):
leadership educators, we'recreating a growth mindset. And
these leaders, we're helpingthem to understand how you have
to be a lifelong learner. Anyleader that has a set mindset,
and doesn't change, when newinformation presents itself, is
is destined to be irrelevantvery, very soon. And so in order
(15:31):
for us to kind of continue tohave a growth mindset, that
growth mindset is what allowsthese leaders just continue to
look for opportunities tocontinue to look for better and
new ways to do things. And thoseare the ways that I think
developing growth mindsets,ultimately, to increase
productivity and efficiencies,it's just because they're always
(15:52):
looking for better, moreefficient ways to produce for
the consumer.
Michaela Kandzer (15:57):
Yes, becoming innovators.
Christy Chiarelli (15:59):
Absolutely.
Michaela Kandzer (16:00):
So what would you tell someone who wants to
become a better leader?
Christy Chiarelli (16:04):
Well, I would say, spend some time getting to
know yourself, you know, there'sdefinitely we think about
leadership, and it is aboutmobilizing people. But in order
to mobilize people, you have tohave a really strong awareness
of who you are, what your valuesare, what you bring to the
table. And know that the peopleyou're leading are going to have
very different thoughts and verydifferent values. And so I think
(16:27):
it's really good to invest inyourself and understand who you
are, as a leader certainly is abig part of Wedgeworth is we do
a lot of self assessing, and wedo a lot of reflection. So
reflection is a tool that I feelstrongly for adult learners,
adult leaders to always use asare you. Are you reflecting on
the decisions you're making, canyou articulate why you're doing
(16:50):
what you're doing? I wouldcertainly suggest kind of
spending some time thinkingabout who you are some resources
that I enjoy. The truth aboutleadership is a really quick
read by Kouzes and Posner. It'sresearch based kind of 10 truths
that are just basic leadershipfundamentals, if you will, but
(17:11):
they are solid. And I use thisbook in our teaching a good bit.
I also really like the book 360degree leadership by John
Maxwell. And this book is great,because this book really shows
you that no matter where youare, organizationally, you have
leadership power. Andoftentimes, you know, a myth of
(17:32):
leadership is that well, I can'tlead until I'm in charge. That
is that is absolutely not true.
And that will delay your growthin so many ways, if that's the
way that you think aboutleadership. And so, Maxwell, in
his book, 360 degree leadership,he really provides opportunities
for no matter where you are inthe organization considerations
to think about how you cancontribute and grow. If you're
(17:52):
not into books, I read, he has apodcast, the Maxwell leadership
podcast, always good tidbitsthat I listened to. And then if
you like more kind of shortarticles, just leadership
tidbits, I subscribe to theHarvard Business Review. And
they have very relevant verybusiness centered leadership
(18:12):
articles that I think are veryrelevant to being successful if
you if you kind of just needsome quick resources.
Michaela Kandzer (18:20):
And I like, oh, when you define leadership,
you define it in a much morelike, encompassing way than
here's 10 steps to be a leaderor you guys really seem to go in
depth and really develop, notjust educate leaders,
Christy Chiarelli (18:34):
that's our hope certainly is because
nobody's the smartest person inthe room. And that's the beauty
of Wentworth is we get 30individuals that are at the top
of their game. And when they'reall together, that's where magic
happens. I always think aboutWentworth is, you know, my job
is to create an exceptionallygood sandbox for them. But then
we put them in the sandbox, andthey build the castles. They're
(18:55):
in charge of all the seminars,they introduce the speakers,
they ask the questions, they arethe ones that are constructing
knowledge from the tools that wegive them. And that's what
leadership is, you know,forever, right, is that you use
the tools that you've beenprovided, and hopefully you
create something beautiful fromthat. And so, I don't know, I
don't I'm a, I never believe inthe 10 steps to leadership, I
(19:17):
believe that there's the 10steps are going to look
different for me as they wouldlook different from you. But the
thing that matters to both of usis that we're we're willing to
take the step forward andwhatever that next step looks
like for us.
Michaela Kandzer (19:30):
Yes, and everyone see are unique and we
have unique skills and uniquepersonalities, we all may have a
little bit of a different visionof what we want our future to
look like or what we wantleaders our leadership style to
be or to look like and so whatdoes it look like or how
different do does it seem fromeither class to class with
(19:50):
Wedgeworth or either even justdifferent leaders within one
class together?
Christy Chiarelli (19:54):
Oh, I that's such a great question. I just
get tickled honestly to watchhow they lead how they express
themselves because if we'redoing our jobs, right, but the
classes are very diverse group,they are not, they are not the
same. They have differentcommodity backgrounds, different
geographical backgrounds,differences in every way that we
can make them different. But Ithink, again, the commonalities
(20:16):
of them are this vision for thefuture and caring about people
and wanting to move people fromwhere they are to what could be
like that is something that Isee in all of them no matter
where they where they come from,in that space. But I think how
they present that, you know,some are really dry, and some
are sarcastic, and some arequiet, and some are too loud.
(20:36):
But they all have thosefundamental desires to leave it
better than they found it. Andso I think to just to know that
if your personality is, youknow, I am by nature, very much
an introvert, I do not getenergy from people. And I hope
that I would still be considereda leader, I don't think that
there's a personality type, youdon't have to be a great public
(20:57):
speaker, there aren't these kindof prescribed things, there's
just there has to be a desire tobe in the trenches, and to
constantly grow, and toconstantly move people with you.
And if you have those sorts ofthings, I think the sky's the
limit for you as a
Michaela Kandzer (21:13):
leader. Yeah.
And that sounds like the kind ofI want to follow, right? Me too.
Yeah. So how would you how canour listeners find you and learn
more about your organization?
Sure. So
Christy Chiarelli (21:24):
the easiest way is WWW dot Wenche, where
leadership.com is our website.
And if you go to the website,you'll see on our calendar that
nominations for class 12, openon February 15 2023, there will
be a big banner on our websitethat day that you can click on
and you can begin the nominationprocess. And then application
(21:44):
will be set to you. Nominationsare open until June 15. And then
applications are going to closeJune 30. So if you are
interested in applying for class12, please, you'll have to get
your application down beforeJune 30. And don't delay because
it is a it's a long application,it will take you longer than an
hour or so. So you'll want toreally spend some time doing
(22:07):
that. And then class 12 willbegin in Gainesville in November
of 2023. And certainly peopleare always welcome to reach out
to me directly with anyquestions. My email address is
just three letters cc w@ufl.edu.
And I'm happy to field any sortsof questions they might have
(22:27):
about the program.
Michaela Kandzer (22:28):
Yeah, that's awesome. So if anyone either
wants to go through the programor someone that they want to
nominate for the program, soundslike they can just visit your
website and do that there. Sothat's exciting. Is there
anything else any other commentsor any other thoughts you wanted
to share with our listeners?
Christy Chiarelli (22:42):
I think that's great. I appreciate the
opportunity, so much to be onand for you highlighting the
Wedgeworth Leadership Institutefor Agriculture and Natural
Resources.
Phillip Stokes (22:53):
I want to close today's episode by reminding you
that this series has twoepisodes. In this episode you
heard from Christie ciarelli,and the other episode features a
conversation with John Dain. Besure to listen to both episodes
as both guests had so muchinsight to contribute about
leadership. That's it for me. Asalways, thanks for listening to
(23:16):
science by the slice.
Ricky Telg (23:20):
Science by the slice is produced by the UF IFAS
Center for Public issueseducation in agriculture and
natural resources. Thanks forlistening to today's episode.
Subscribe to science by theslice on your favorite podcast
app and give us a rating orreview as well. Have a question
or comment? Send us an email topi center@isis.ufl.edu That's pi
(23:43):
center all one word at ifas AI FA s.ufl.edu. We'd love to hear
from you. If you enjoy today'sepisode, consider sharing with a
friend or colleague. Until nexttime, thanks for listening to
science by the slice
This is science by the slice, a podcast from the
University of Florida'sInstitute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences Center forPublic issues education. In this
podcast, experts discuss thescience of issues affecting our
daily lives revealed themotivations behind the decisions
people make, and ultimatelyprovide insight to solutions for
our lives.
Phillip Stokes (00:33):
Hello, and welcome to Science by the slice,
I'm Phillip Stokes, educationcoordinator with the PI center.
Take a moment and think aboutimpactful leaders in your life.
Have you thought of any? If so,maybe you're thinking about
teachers, supervisors, coaches,teammates, or even friends or
(00:53):
family members. What was itabout them that made them
effective leaders? When Ipersonally think about impactful
leaders and my life, I struggledto pinpoint what exactly they
did. But I can usually rememberhow they made me feel. Still,
when I think back about thoseleaders in my life, it's not
actually what they did. It'swhat I did, that makes me
(01:16):
remember them as great leaders.
I guess what I'm saying is,whatever they were doing to be a
good leader to me, I couldn'treally tell you, because I was
more focused on what I was doingand how I was able to prosper in
that moment. Whether that be inschool, athletics, or any other
pursuit, maybe even justfostering a feeling of purpose
in my day to day life. There's aquote from the novel, The Little
(01:38):
Prince written by French authorsent Exupery. That goes, What is
essential is invisible to theeye. I believe that effective
leadership is not always visibleto the eye, but apparent through
the impressions and impacts thatare made to the beneficiaries
and recipients of thatleadership. In other words,
(02:00):
great leadership cannot bewitnessed or accounted for
without observing the actions ofthose that are being led. But
don't take it from me because intoday's episode, you'll hear
from Christie ciarelli, directorof the Wedgeworth Leadership
Institute for Agriculture andNatural Resources at the
University of Florida. So now,let's hear more about Christy's
(02:23):
perspective on leadership in aconversation led by Makayla
cancer, fellow host of scienceby the slice, they discussed the
Wedgeworth Leadership Institute,and how the organization
develops and refines leaders inthe agricultural industry.
Christy Chiarelli (02:44):
Thanks so much for having me. My name is
Christie Shirley. And I'm thedirector of the Wedgeworth
Leadership Institute forAgricultural and Natural
Resources at the University ofFlorida. APHIS. Awesome.
Michaela Kandzer (02:55):
Can you tell us a little bit more about
Wedgeworth? And about themission of your organization?
Yeah, absolutely.
Christy Chiarelli (03:00):
So Wentworth, began in 1992, as the Florida
leadership program foragriculture and natural
resources. So we just celebratedour 30th year of programming,
and 2022. But the idea ofagricultural leadership programs
began really in the 1950s, withMichigan State University. And
(03:24):
there were some group ofprofessors at Michigan State
that engaged in what we know asthe Kellogg's for farmers study.
And there was this idea thatgrowers and farmers were were
great at producing, but they hada very, like limited
understanding of all the factorsthat existed around them
culturally, socially,politically, that impacted their
(03:46):
ability to grow and producefood. And so the Kellogg's
farmer study, it was a kind ofan investigation to say, hey,
can we develop the leadershipcapabilities of farmers and so
they chose 30 men to engage indifferent seminars around the
state of Michigan and to traveloutside of Michigan, and to just
(04:07):
develop their skills. And thisproved to be a great success in
Michigan. And so one of theactual faculty member from
Michigan State had come toFlorida on sabbatical. And he
was in the food resourceeconomics department and started
talking about this program. Itwas like I think one could be
really successful here. And hisname was Dr. Jean Trotter. And
(04:28):
so Dr. Trotter traveled aroundthe state beginning in 19. I
think 89 and just buildingsupport for this idea of
developing Florida's growers andranchers, and had a lot of
industry support. And so in1992, he started class one of
the Florida leadership programfor agriculture and natural
(04:49):
resources, the older classeswe'll call it flipped nor so if
you hear flipping or that iswhat we know as went to earth
today, and so much moreappealing. Yes. Yeah, it's got
an ICER like rolls off thetongue a little easier than
putting our but I know, previousclasses are very endearing to
that to that name. And so thatwas Dr. Trotter was fundamental
(05:14):
just so instrumental in thesuccess of what we know is
Wordsworth today, he andindustry and ifas, they laid an
incredible foundation that hasjust proven to provide continued
success for the program as weknow it today. And how it became
Wentworth was that, again, underDr. trotters, leadership, he
(05:36):
recognized that this was aprogram that would take a lot of
support financially. And hedidn't want to go around the
state and didn't want to botherpeople every year by asking for
funds asking for funds. And soinstead, he rallied the industry
to say, let's create anendowment to help support this
program. So that we can alwayskeep tuition accessible to the
(05:58):
to growers and ranchers thatneed it. And we don't have to
ask for the same funds everyyear for the same things. And so
Dr. Trotter, led that endowmenteffort, and Dennis Wedgeworth
was the chair of the committee.
And as they approached theirgoal, they were they were so
close to the goal. And so inhonor of Mr. George Wedgeworth,
(06:18):
the Wedgeworth family gave agift to name the program for Mr.
George Webb Wedgeworth, as aliving tribute to his leadership
legacy, not only in Florida, butreally, throughout agriculture
in the United States. He He's atremendous leader. And so we are
happy to have his namesake andcertainly, we talk a lot about
(06:40):
and Wedgeworth wanting to honorthe family name, right? We
recognize when you representthat a big leader, you want to
do a great job in that. So wetake that very seriously.
Michaela Kandzer (06:50):
So that's a nice teaser into our topic for
today, which is leadership. Andso if I haven't, right, so the
mission of whether we're reallyis to create and train leaders
within the agricultural industryin the state of Florida. Yes, in
Christy Chiarelli (07:05):
a nutshell, that is our mission, our
mission, specifically is todevelop and refine the
leadership capabilities ofleaders to become involved in
policy formation in Florida. Andso whether that's policy that
applies to Florida agriculture,natural resources, or public
policy that impacts the futureof Florida agriculture, we want
(07:28):
we're trying to develop policymakers, or individuals that have
the skill sets and the networksand the know how to make policy
so that agriculture in the stateof Florida can be sustainable
for generations to come. So theledger Leadership Institute, we
have 11 seminars throughout thestate of Florida, the nation,
(07:50):
and our capstone is aninternational study trip. So
over the course of 22 months, 30individuals go through a really
rigorous leadership trainingprogram, as they understand more
about themselves, their localcommunity, they understand more
about teams and stategovernment, they start to
(08:11):
understand about leadingorganizations and then also how
to affect policy at the nationallevel. And then when we travel
internationally, it gives theman opportunity to see that no
matter where you are in theworld, the issues are really the
same. In many ways. People arestruggling with the same things
or people get excited about thesame ideas. And so we're not as
different as maybe we all thinkwe are when we start to talk
(08:34):
with growers and ranchers atdifferent at different levels of
the state, the nation and theworld. So that's how it's
structured. And in, we onlyaccept 30 individuals, because,
again, we are traveling so muchand going into so many different
spaces that 30 is about the maxnumber that we can we can
handle. But what that processlooks like we're actually
(08:56):
starting a new class this year.
So we are going to opennominations for class 12 On
February the 15th. There's anomination form on Wedgeworth
leadership.com. And you can selfnominate, or you can be
nominated by someone that hasbeen through the program or is
another leader in Florida Ag andNatural Resources. The biggest
requirements to be selected isthat you have to be at least 25
(09:19):
years old to be eligible for theprogram. And that's because we
want you to have some workexperience before joining
Wedgeworth I would I always sayyou know, we are not an emerging
leadership program. I thinkthat's very important for
individuals to understand isthat we are we have the
expectation that when you applyto Wedgeworth, you are already a
(09:40):
leader in your industry, on yourfarm, in your community. You are
coming to refine thoseleadership skills. We're not
we're not creating leaders, weare developing them. So it's
important that you've got alittle bit of experience behind
you before you apply. So 25 Andyou have to have been a resident
of the state of Florida for oneyear. So we really want to keep
(10:01):
our, our target audience focusedon Floridians that want to
contribute to Florida in theyears ahead. Again, we we care a
lot about American agriculture,global agriculture. But again,
our focus is just making sureFlorida has a sustainable
agricultural future, ourimmediate focus, I should say,
and you have to have a, you haveto be involved somehow in
(10:23):
agriculture, natural resources,so some portion of your of your
livelihood has to come fromFlorida ANR. So those are the
kind of basic requirements to benominated. And then you're sent
an application to complete, andthen you're invited to a
selection seminar. So we have,typically we have three
selection seminars, I think thisyear, we'll have four so in
(10:44):
Gainesville, Bartow, BelleGlade, and I think Tallahassee
is what we're going to add thisyear, you come to a day long
selection seminar, and we inviteyour spouse and your significant
other to come with you. So theycan also understand about the
program, we know that greatleadership means that you have
to be supported really well. Andso we want the families to be
(11:05):
involved in that space. And thenthe selection will be made in
September ish of 2023. And we'llstart class 12 in November of
2023. And so, class 12, beginsNovember 2023, and runs through
July 2025. That's reallyawesome.
Michaela Kandzer (11:23):
That seems like a long process, but an
opportunity to learn and developa lot of new skills. So you
brought up or you mentioned, youknow, that you're not an
Emerging Leader program. So whatis different about leadership on
those levels from emerging toestablish?
Christy Chiarelli (11:39):
That's a great question. I think that
emerging leaders, your you wantto be involved, right, or you
have the desire to be involved,but maybe you've just not taking
that step to raise your hand yetin your community or in your
organization or on youroperation, to say, Put me in
coach, I'm ready, I'm ready totry, I'm ready to lead. But
rather, you're on the outskirtskind of seeing that those
(12:01):
opportunities exist, and justtrying to get a feel for maybe
how you can contribute. Youknow, that's how I would kind of
classify folks that are emergingand certainly have an interest,
but may not have had anopportunity to lead in an aspect
just yet. So that's emergingleadership. I think the leaders
that are most successful inWedgeworth are leaders that both
(12:24):
have the interest. And I've hadthe opportunity to lead in some
capacity before. And the reasonwe say that is because this is
such a time commitment that youwill benefit most, if you
already have experience to tiethese principles to if you come
to Wedgeworth. And what we'retalking about is still very
abstract to you, and you're notquite sure how you might utilize
(12:47):
it. It's it just isn't a thebest benefit to the participant.
It's not that we're trying to beexclusive or not appreciative of
emerging leaders. Rather, wejust want to think about how can
we make the most impact on theindividuals that we have. And we
see that the individuals thathave leadership experience, they
just more they understandquicker how to apply the skills
(13:10):
and Wedgeworth to elevate thoseskills, refine them, develop
them so that they can have animmediate impact. There are
several I would say, leadershipprograms that Wedgeworth
participants have been throughthat prepare them very well for
Wedgeworth. And so organizationslike the Florida cattleman,
association, Florida fruit andvegetable Association, both of
(13:31):
those Industry Associationgroups do a wonderful job
preparing future industryleaders, and I am tickled when I
see Wedgeworth applicants thathave been through those programs
because they understand they canunderstand what leadership
programming and agriculture isabout. It's it is not a
requirement to be, you know, toget in Wedgeworth, that you've
(13:52):
been through one of those that Ijust say that for anybody in the
audience that might be lookingfor somewhere to to get started
in leadership, Farm Bureau,young farmers and ranchers. Oh,
my goodness, I should havementioned them first. That's
another great opportunity, and agreat feeder program for
Wedgeworth. That is just alittle different from getting
your feet wet and leadership togo into the next level.
Michaela Kandzer (14:12):
Yeah. And that makes sense to as what you would
teach Emerging Leaders versusestablished leaders like those
that contents going to be a lotdifferent, right? Yes. So what
would you say is or why isleadership development so
important?
Christy Chiarelli (14:24):
For Florida leaders in agriculture and
natural resources, we mustalways remember that what we
provide to them has to helptheir efficiencies and their
productivity, because we aretaking about 55 days of their
time, over the course of 22months. And there is a lot of
self growth that will happen andthey will they will leave this
(14:47):
program different people andthey'll think a little
differently when they leave. Butwe also have to give them tools
to increase efficiencies andincrease productivity. And so I
think that that's an importantpart of leadership development
is why we want to, we want toinvest in people. It's for those
reasons. And I think the reasonI connect it to efficiencies and
productivity is that when we'redoing our jobs well as
(15:11):
leadership educators, we'recreating a growth mindset. And
these leaders, we're helpingthem to understand how you have
to be a lifelong learner. Anyleader that has a set mindset,
and doesn't change, when newinformation presents itself, is
is destined to be irrelevantvery, very soon. And so in order
(15:31):
for us to kind of continue tohave a growth mindset, that
growth mindset is what allowsthese leaders just continue to
look for opportunities tocontinue to look for better and
new ways to do things. And thoseare the ways that I think
developing growth mindsets,ultimately, to increase
productivity and efficiencies,it's just because they're always
(15:52):
looking for better, moreefficient ways to produce for
the consumer.
Michaela Kandzer (15:57):
Yes, becoming innovators.
Christy Chiarelli (15:59):
Absolutely.
Michaela Kandzer (16:00):
So what would you tell someone who wants to
become a better leader?
Christy Chiarelli (16:04):
Well, I would say, spend some time getting to
know yourself, you know, there'sdefinitely we think about
leadership, and it is aboutmobilizing people. But in order
to mobilize people, you have tohave a really strong awareness
of who you are, what your valuesare, what you bring to the
table. And know that the peopleyou're leading are going to have
very different thoughts and verydifferent values. And so I think
(16:27):
it's really good to invest inyourself and understand who you
are, as a leader certainly is abig part of Wedgeworth is we do
a lot of self assessing, and wedo a lot of reflection. So
reflection is a tool that I feelstrongly for adult learners,
adult leaders to always use asare you. Are you reflecting on
the decisions you're making, canyou articulate why you're doing
(16:50):
what you're doing? I wouldcertainly suggest kind of
spending some time thinkingabout who you are some resources
that I enjoy. The truth aboutleadership is a really quick
read by Kouzes and Posner. It'sresearch based kind of 10 truths
that are just basic leadershipfundamentals, if you will, but
(17:11):
they are solid. And I use thisbook in our teaching a good bit.
I also really like the book 360degree leadership by John
Maxwell. And this book is great,because this book really shows
you that no matter where youare, organizationally, you have
leadership power. Andoftentimes, you know, a myth of
(17:32):
leadership is that well, I can'tlead until I'm in charge. That
is that is absolutely not true.
And that will delay your growthin so many ways, if that's the
way that you think aboutleadership. And so, Maxwell, in
his book, 360 degree leadership,he really provides opportunities
for no matter where you are inthe organization considerations
to think about how you cancontribute and grow. If you're
(17:52):
not into books, I read, he has apodcast, the Maxwell leadership
podcast, always good tidbitsthat I listened to. And then if
you like more kind of shortarticles, just leadership
tidbits, I subscribe to theHarvard Business Review. And
they have very relevant verybusiness centered leadership
(18:12):
articles that I think are veryrelevant to being successful if
you if you kind of just needsome quick resources.
Michaela Kandzer (18:20):
And I like, oh, when you define leadership,
you define it in a much morelike, encompassing way than
here's 10 steps to be a leaderor you guys really seem to go in
depth and really develop, notjust educate leaders,
Christy Chiarelli (18:34):
that's our hope certainly is because
nobody's the smartest person inthe room. And that's the beauty
of Wentworth is we get 30individuals that are at the top
of their game. And when they'reall together, that's where magic
happens. I always think aboutWentworth is, you know, my job
is to create an exceptionallygood sandbox for them. But then
we put them in the sandbox, andthey build the castles. They're
(18:55):
in charge of all the seminars,they introduce the speakers,
they ask the questions, they arethe ones that are constructing
knowledge from the tools that wegive them. And that's what
leadership is, you know,forever, right, is that you use
the tools that you've beenprovided, and hopefully you
create something beautiful fromthat. And so, I don't know, I
don't I'm a, I never believe inthe 10 steps to leadership, I
(19:17):
believe that there's the 10steps are going to look
different for me as they wouldlook different from you. But the
thing that matters to both of usis that we're we're willing to
take the step forward andwhatever that next step looks
like for us.
Michaela Kandzer (19:30):
Yes, and everyone see are unique and we
have unique skills and uniquepersonalities, we all may have a
little bit of a different visionof what we want our future to
look like or what we wantleaders our leadership style to
be or to look like and so whatdoes it look like or how
different do does it seem fromeither class to class with
(19:50):
Wedgeworth or either even justdifferent leaders within one
class together?
Christy Chiarelli (19:54):
Oh, I that's such a great question. I just
get tickled honestly to watchhow they lead how they express
themselves because if we'redoing our jobs, right, but the
classes are very diverse group,they are not, they are not the
same. They have differentcommodity backgrounds, different
geographical backgrounds,differences in every way that we
can make them different. But Ithink, again, the commonalities
(20:16):
of them are this vision for thefuture and caring about people
and wanting to move people fromwhere they are to what could be
like that is something that Isee in all of them no matter
where they where they come from,in that space. But I think how
they present that, you know,some are really dry, and some
are sarcastic, and some arequiet, and some are too loud.
(20:36):
But they all have thosefundamental desires to leave it
better than they found it. Andso I think to just to know that
if your personality is, youknow, I am by nature, very much
an introvert, I do not getenergy from people. And I hope
that I would still be considereda leader, I don't think that
there's a personality type, youdon't have to be a great public
(20:57):
speaker, there aren't these kindof prescribed things, there's
just there has to be a desire tobe in the trenches, and to
constantly grow, and toconstantly move people with you.
And if you have those sorts ofthings, I think the sky's the
limit for you as a
Michaela Kandzer (21:13):
leader. Yeah.
And that sounds like the kind ofI want to follow, right? Me too.
Yeah. So how would you how canour listeners find you and learn
more about your organization?
Sure. So
Christy Chiarelli (21:24):
the easiest way is WWW dot Wenche, where
leadership.com is our website.
And if you go to the website,you'll see on our calendar that
nominations for class 12, openon February 15 2023, there will
be a big banner on our websitethat day that you can click on
and you can begin the nominationprocess. And then application
(21:44):
will be set to you. Nominationsare open until June 15. And then
applications are going to closeJune 30. So if you are
interested in applying for class12, please, you'll have to get
your application down beforeJune 30. And don't delay because
it is a it's a long application,it will take you longer than an
hour or so. So you'll want toreally spend some time doing
(22:07):
that. And then class 12 willbegin in Gainesville in November
of 2023. And certainly peopleare always welcome to reach out
to me directly with anyquestions. My email address is
just three letters cc w@ufl.edu.
And I'm happy to field any sortsof questions they might have
(22:27):
about the program.
Michaela Kandzer (22:28):
Yeah, that's awesome. So if anyone either
wants to go through the programor someone that they want to
nominate for the program, soundslike they can just visit your
website and do that there. Sothat's exciting. Is there
anything else any other commentsor any other thoughts you wanted
to share with our listeners?
Christy Chiarelli (22:42):
I think that's great. I appreciate the
opportunity, so much to be onand for you highlighting the
Wedgeworth Leadership Institutefor Agriculture and Natural
Resources.
Phillip Stokes (22:53):
I want to close today's episode by reminding you
that this series has twoepisodes. In this episode you
heard from Christie ciarelli,and the other episode features a
conversation with John Dain. Besure to listen to both episodes
as both guests had so muchinsight to contribute about
leadership. That's it for me. Asalways, thanks for listening to
(23:16):
science by the slice.
Ricky Telg (23:20):
Science by the slice is produced by the UF IFAS
Center for Public issueseducation in agriculture and
natural resources. Thanks forlistening to today's episode.
Subscribe to science by theslice on your favorite podcast
app and give us a rating orreview as well. Have a question
or comment? Send us an email topi center@isis.ufl.edu That's pi
(23:43):
center all one word at ifas AI FA s.ufl.edu. We'd love to hear
from you. If you enjoy today'sepisode, consider sharing with a
friend or colleague. Until nexttime, thanks for listening to
science by the slice
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