By Frances Graves

Welcome to “Legendary KARL Leadership,” a new column written by associates of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) Program. We hope to share insight and lessons learned from this two-year leadership journey, which includes 12 experiential seminars touring Kansas along with an international study tour; a visit to Washington, D.C.; and Gettysburg Leadership Training.

The 30 changemakers chosen for each class apply and interview for their position. The class represents a range of ages, agriculture-related industries and communities across Kansas, crafting a cohort of leaders who not only learn together but also through each other’s unique perspective.

Each new KARL class begins with our “Genesis” seminar, which brings everyone together at Rock Springs Ranch near Junction City, Kan., to explore team building, learn about the challenges and needs of agriculture and rural communities, and explore leadership and communication. Learning through KARL usually involves tours and targeted discussions, but Genesis intentionally focuses on developing a foundation for the knowledge gained and quality of time together for the next two years.

Leadership has been called the greatest, most dynamic job in the world, and one of the foundations of great leadership is creating an environment for others to succeed. The KARL class explored this idea by applying lessons from a recorded talk from former Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, or “Coach K.”

Related:Remembering Sam Stanley inspires us to forge ahead

Coach K discussed communication and trust as fundamental elements of any successful team. When a group of people work together — whether in a wheat field or on a basketball court — trust is developed through honest communication, telling the truth and accepting the truth from the people you work beside.

Another fundamental element of establishing a culture of success is to develop standards, or as Coach K put it, “talk about how we’re going to live together.” While rules dictate behavior, they are not always owned by the people being ruled. If everyone develops and accepts a set of standards for working together, however, the group owns these standards and keeps each other accountable to them all the time. This ownership of standards, or behaviors and beliefs held by all, produces a sense of satisfaction and commitment that will allow a group to fully trust each other and feel success.

Our KARL class brainstormed standards for its two years together that ranged from easy to measure, such as “being on time” and “asking questions,” to the more abstract, such as “look for the good,” “be open-minded” and “give grace.” Developing these standards together was an exercise in both teamwork and leadership. The class communicated openly about what each person wanted to get out of their time together, developed trust as ideas were shared, discussed and agreed upon these standards, and ultimately settled on exactly the type of culture it wanted to develop to own the KARL leadership experience.

Related:Go out and make your 2025 great

Is your team at work or home feeling frustrated by each other or a lack of progress? Have you brought a new group of people together recently? Taking a moment to discuss standards versus rules and developing agreement on a list together may help create the culture of success you need to reach your goal.

Frances Graves is the leadership program manager and facilitator for the KARL Program and lives in Labette County. She is a graduate of KARL Class XIII.