I love volunteering for Wisconsin Farm Bureau because everyone truly has a voice to be an advocate for agriculture. Farming in Wisconsin is unique, which also means we have unique challenges when working towards finding solutions to agricultural issues. As farmers and agriculturists, we are extremely passionate about our farms and farming practices, which means emotions can run high at times.
I have learned many helpful tips to be a successful volunteer and leader for Farm Bureau through my master’s degree in organizational leadership and development. My master’s degree research project was on emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand the emotions of yourself and those around you. Building a strong emotional understanding about ourselves and when working with others allows us to make better decisions, solve problems, and communicate effectively as a team. As leaders, we can learn emotional intelligence by active listening, gaining vocabulary for expressing our feelings, developing self-awareness, showing empathy towards others, and managing emotions.
Working in a leadership role for the last seven years and participating in the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Leadership Institute Class XII have helped me gain valuable skills that have set me up for success when working with a diverse group of people. During the Leadership Institute, I developed skills that help me work in teams, resolve conflict, build trust, understand emotional intelligence, and better my communication skills. I challenge every Farm Bureau member to consider participating in the Leadership Institute to not only learn how to become a better leader in your community but to also be a great team player when working with your county Farm Bureaus on tough agricultural discussions.
Something that I always keep in mind when volunteering and working with a group of people is: “Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives and backgrounds who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation” quoted by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
As volunteers for Wisconsin Farm Bureau, it is our responsibility to work with others that have different perspectives to reach the common goal of leading Wisconsin agriculture forward. As members, Farm Bureau provides us a safe environment to discuss tough agricultural issues to do just that.
When you volunteer your time for any organization, it is important to remember that everyone has good intentions and to show compassion. Healthy debate is a good thing because you do not want everyone in the room to have the same exact opinion. As volunteers, we need to work together to find the right solutions.
In conclusion, as volunteers and leaders, we are responsible for the energy we bring to meetings. Your words matter. Your behaviors matter. Other volunteers matter. Most importantly, every farm matters to Wisconsin agriculture.
Savannah Brown is a Jackson County Farm Bureau member and currently serves as the chair of the state Young Farmer and Agriculturist Committee. She is the plant manager at the Land O’ Lakes Animal Milk Solutions plant in Black River Falls. She recently received her master’s degree in organizational leadership and development and is a graduate of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Leadership Insititute. Savannah serves on the Jackson County Farm Bureau board of directors as the YFA chair.
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