[T]wo regional groups are launching an initiative to help people in the Northeast Kingdom become better leaders.
The Northwoods Stewardship Center, with support from the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative, will be hosting the “Northeast Kingdom Leadership Institute” between November and next April.
The leadership and professional development program will feature six sessions across that time, including one overnight, and each event will be held in a different part of the Kingdom “to convey a sense of the region’s rich historic, geographic and cultural diversity,” according to the Northwoods website.
“We hope to see this change — the power, the vibrancy — of leaders … reflected in the communities they work and live in,” said Maria Young, the center’s education and outreach director.
The idea behind the institute stemmed from regional forums and a report published last December by the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative. The report identified low civic engagement, understaffed organizations, lack of infrastructure and negative perceptions of the region as barriers to developing and retaining leaders and professionals in the Kingdom.
The region’s sparse population and expansive geography make it hard for existing leaders to network and find support, Young said, and pose a challenge to people trying to get involved in leadership roles for the first time.
And the same small pool of people tend to hold positions in regional governments and groups for long stretches of time, Young said, which can cause burnout and make it more difficult for newcomers to participate.
To combat the area’s challenges, the institute has a three-pronged approach: growing participants’ confidence, style and self-reflection skills; giving them a better sense of place by promoting regional culture, history and awareness; and teaching practical skills and tools, such as how to organize meetings remotely.
“The benchmarks for this program will be measured in the confidence and success that participants have returning to where they work and live,” Young said.
The institute will be free for participants because of grant funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund in New Hampshire and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Young said.
Northeast Kingdom Collaborative director Katherine Sims expressed her hope that the effort would prove a strong pipeline for new leaders in the community.
“I’m really excited to have a program like this right here in our region, for our region, by our region,” Sims said.
