Agriculture LeadershipOver the course of the past two years, I have dedicated a great amount of time to organizing, procuring funding, recruiting participants for and (finally) executing a leadership program for young Montana ranchers. I can’t tell you how happy I was to kick of this Leadership Series in January and I owe a huge thank you to the Montana Stockgrowers Association for allowing me to continue with the program even though I’m no longer a full-time employee.

Working with young ranchers and empowering my peers to take on leadership roles is a personal passion of mine. In the process of putting together a 12-month program that trains people to be stronger leaders and take on associated responsibilities, I had to ensure I am doing my part to continue my personal training and development. While I may not be the strongest leader in all areas, I need to make sure I have the tools in my belt to help others improve upon their strengths.

For me, this has included a lot of reading. Everything from personal development books, articles on business management, TED Talk videos of all subjects, practicing to improve my presentation skills and, of course, books in the genre of leadership. One such book I stumbled upon is quite different. #LeadershipTweet by Kevin Eikenberry contains 140 bite-sized, thought-provoking messages to help you think more about what it means to be a leader with your strengths. The messages (handily in 140-character “tweetable” chunks) are grouped under the areas of Leaders as Learners, Leadership Actions, Leadership Thoughts and Leadership Inspiration.

Collectively, I find the messages encouraging and something to think about when considering how they apply to my personal strengths when leading others. Whether this be in the business, agriculture, farming or ranching communities, we can all use a bit of reminder now and then as to how we can continually improve. I often find that leadership skills often bleed over to helping one become a stronger advocate for their chosen cause(s).

To keep these topics top-of-mind and to share with others, I’ll be tweeting out many of these messages over the next year using the hashtag #AgLead. I’ll include original thoughts of my own and quotes from other sources throughout the process. I hope you follow along and share how these #leadership tweets apply to your own strengths and skills as a leader in agriculture, your own community, and even in your career (this includes working on the family farm or ranch!).

Where do you find inspiration to Never Stop Learning?

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Published by Ryan Goodman

Ryan Goodman works in grassroots advocacy as a communications consultant with beef cattle farmers and ranchers across the United States. He is a proud alumnus of Oklahoma State University, with studies focusing on cattle reproduction and nutrition. Ryan's experience in the beef industry range from family farms and ranches in several states to large feedlots and non-profit policy organizations. Ryan is an avid trail and ultrarunner, proudly showing how beef can be an important part of a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Find Ryan on social media as @BeefRunner.