Perceptions of Leadership Skills as an Indicator of a Community’s Social Capital

The leaders of two local and regional organizations, Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and Workforce Development Board (WDB), were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the leadership skills of each other as an indicator of the social capital within the community. Results showed the majority of both groups did not know if their counterparts possessed basic leadership abilities that included communication skills, task and maintenance skills, conflict management, etc. However, neither group gave the other low ratings on any of the skills. The implications of these findings are that there is little interaction between these two groups on local and regional projects and programs. This suggests the social capital that results when local leaders interact and influence other parts of the community is not being realized and thus is not utilized for local and regional initiatives to the extent that it could be.