Leadership Butler, Inc.

Leadership Through Service

What is “Leadership Butler”?

Leadership Butler is a county wide community leadership development program that began in 1988, after key people in positions of leadership throughout Butler County came together to brainstorm a way to connect communities within Butler County. The first class began with 18 individuals to start the program off and focused on social, education, economic development and legislative/government issues.

Reflectively over 23 years, the program and organization has changed to meet the challenges people/business/organizations face within their communities. To date, the Leadership Butler organization has incorporated 3 theories of leadership – Servant Leadership, 21st Century Leadership and Civic Leadership.

Leadership Butler continues to be a COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. Teaching skills, capacities and techniques ALONG with community information to tackle those tough, daunting issues.

Leadership Butler is a 501(c) (3), stand alone, non-profit organization that works closely with Butler Community College and Butler County along with other businesses and organizations throughout the county and state.

Leadership Butler Adult Selections…

•Requests for nominations are sent to Leadership Butler Alumni members and businesses throughout Butler county

•Applications are sent to all nominees – with a request nominees attend the Nominee Reception to learn more about the program

•Selections Committee is made up of 2 people within Butler County and 2 people outside of Butler County – selections are made on a scoring system based on information from the applications – Being nominated for a community leadership program is an honor…not all who apply are selected

•Those selected will be as diverse as possible from the applications received – ie; profession, location, etc. Not being selected, does not mean a nominee is not qualified

•Class participants must attend all sessions in order to graduate from the program – if a session is missed, notification must be made to the Board of Trustees within one week

•Sessions will be held at different locations throughout Butler County

•This is a “leadership” program and as such, participants are expected to model the way

Leadership Butler AdultCurriculum…

•Leadership Butler incorporates 3 different, interchangeable, theories on “leadership” – Servant Leadership, 21st Century Leadership and Civic Leadership. Leadership Butler offers practical application to these theories

•The curriculum is intense, but participants will have fun in a trusting and an atmosphere conducive for creative learning while experimenting

•Activities and experiments are designed to test participants beliefs in their perception of “leadership” – looking at “leadership” as action

•Participants will become aware of reactions to situations and recognize how and why they react as they do, as well as applying “adaptive leadership” skills and techniques to tackle tough issues.

•Community information will be included in the work done by the participants

What We Know…

Through listening tours throughout Kansas by the Kansas Health Foundation and the Kansas Leadership Center and through our own experience, we have learned…

1. There was a common theme in the communities visited, a lack of people exercising leadership in their communities – little progress was being made on those tough civic challenges communities face

2. There seemed to be a lack of trust for those in positions of authority

3. There has been a decline in civic and social connectedness over the past 40 years (Putnam, 2000) He reveals there is a dramatic shift in the way people interact with one another

4. (Bolton, 1991; Kirk & Shuttle, 2004; Mills, 2005) Contend that fostering local leadership to help make communities better places to live is one of the primary purposes of community development

5. (Community Development, WSU Self Help Network, 2009) states that community leadership programs are the most prevalant form of leadership development

6. Many corporations/businesses send their employees/staff to one or two day leadership training workshops. Leadership Butler is more extensive and deals with real life community issues.

Other Leadership Butler Programs…

Leadership Butler Alumni Association Committee

This program is a “membership” and volunteer base for all programs of Leadership Butler. Membership provides continuing education, keeping members updated on other alumni members, discounted rates on all events, recommendations for continuing education, employment and much more

Youth Leadership Butler

The first county-wide youth leadership development program in the State of Kansas. Youth Leadership Butler provides community leadership development training for juniors in Butler County high schools.

Why Should You Apply?

Our time is precious – at work and at home. Below are some significant benefits for participating in the program

1. If you truly care about your community and the world you live in, continuing to learn and enhance your skills and techniques will only help your cause

2. Leadership Butler gets to the “meat” of the matter – You will be put in certain circumstances you are not comfortable with – THAT’S LIFE. The best we can do is learn techniques and skills to deal with these awkward situations

3. Continuing Education – Leadership Butler will submit recommendation letters for degree programs and provide information to help obtain credit hours for your time with Leadership Butler

4. Employment recommendations - Employers like to see a community leadership program on the resume

5. The connections made in the class can last a lifetime – also the connections with past participants increases those resources