Skills and Tools for Complex Adaptive Thinking to Equip Leaders in Change Initiatives

Unanticipated Outcomes

1. One of our most significant outcomes is with the Intertribal Agricultural Council.  After completing the online course, and realizing the limitations of completing this type of training online, IAC ag professionals requested an in-person workshop version of SHIFT.  The PIs obliged, and organized a second 2-day in person workshop.  As a result, IAC is incorporating SHIFT into their training protocol for all employees as well as how they interact through their Technical Assistance interactions across the nation.  This is significant—in 2024 alone, IAC had more than 22,000 TA interactions with over 220 tribal nations represented.  IAC remains "committed to enhancing our nationwide service delivery model based on what SHIFT has allowed us to explore".  IAC has also instituted changes within staff structures as a result of SHIFT training.
2. SHIFT is being implemented with Colorado Conservation Districts.
3. A SHIFT activity is being implemented in a five day Colorado Future Farmers of America module on water.

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A Post Training survey was conducted following in person and online trainings.  Only 23 students completed these follow-up surveys, yet the results are insightful.

• 20 of 23 (87)% of respondents indicated they have strengthened their networks of ag professionals for support and sharing expertise.
• 13 of 23 (57%) indicated they have:
  • improved soil, plant and animal health
• 12 of 23 (52%) indicated they have:
  • deepened relationships and trust with producers
  • helped producers self-reflect, question assumptions and be more open to experimentation and creative thinking in ag
• 9 of 23 (39%)indicated they have
  • deepened conflict resolution skills
• 64.3% of online student responders indicated that they have helped producers self-reflect, questions assumptions and be more open to experimentation and creative thinking (relax fixed mindsets) in agriculture.

Additional, follow up survey respondents shared the following outcomes in responding to these questions:

How have you used your knowledge and/or skills learned via SHIFT in your educational activities, services, information products and/or tools for producers?

"Improved empathy & understanding. Suggesting different options. Keen to coach rather than provide advice/consultation."

"Working with a producer that is a first time farmer. Although she and her sisters have been around agriculture all their life they are now having to be the business person in the land lease. I have assisted with conflict resolution skills and improving their economic well-being.

"I have used the SHIFT ideas to lower the barriers to change, script initial steps and motivate farmers to experiment on their farms and share information with a local support network of farmers."

"My approach to communicating has changed and become more effective."

Given agriculture's unprecedented and challenging conditions, how relevant/beneficial were your insights (as a non-health provider/therapist) to learn and explore sensitive mental well-being topics?  

"Very relevant because you need to meet people where they are and it's often very stressed and worried"

"Really important, as a community organizer I had some awareness but adding tools and language is really necessary these days"

"This course has given me something that I was very lacking. The ability or even the understanding that what people need are not teachers but coaches. My mindset was to teach. Now I have a far greater understanding of how to guide learning, and about what motivates people. I had no understanding of that, just assuming that everyone should share my passion for the environment and agriculture's impact on my own health and well-being."

"Discussing mental well being topics in this leadership training was extremely beneficial. Mental health can often be forgotten about in this line of work but SHIFT brought this topic to the table in a way that could be replicated in other peer to peer learning opportunities."

"I continue to learn. I live in a context that doesn’t openly discuss emotions and mental health. Sharing my own journey recognizing patterns that serve as warning signs of increasing stress and what I am doing to maintain my mental balance. Our group has been important. No judgments. Everyone has the right to speak out of their own context and experience. It is a unique group in this sense. There are large scale farmers who still are using a lot of chemicals and fertilizers and there are also organic home gardeners in the group. We are together on a journey to learn about soils; how they function and what relationship soil health has to community health and our own health and wellbeing."

"Very beneficial. What was eye opening was taking into consideration that said producers may be coming to you at a very low point and had the strength to potentially ask for help. First taking into account my own mental well being and making sure that I am in the proper state to assist others to a better mental and/or physical well being."

"Farmers and agricultural workers are facing increasing levels of stress due to climate change, financial instability, labor shortages, and policy uncertainty. These pressures are not just economic—they are deeply personal, affecting identity, family dynamics, and overall health. While I am not a therapist, my role allows me to build trust and be present in day-to-day conversations that often go beyond farm planning or sustainability metrics."

"When a farmer feels safe enough to open up about their anxiety, burnout, or isolation, that moment matters. It shows that mental well-being can't be separated from the rest of the work we do—because if a farmer is struggling emotionally or mentally, it's going to affect everything else, from decision-making to long-term planning. I’ve found that by showing empathy, being a consistent presence, and listening without judgment, I can help open the door to further support. 

Sometimes that means encouraging them to talk with a professional. Other times, it's about simply validating their experience and helping them feel seen. In rural communities, where mental health resources can be scarce and stigma can be high, just showing up with compassion can make a meaningful difference."

"In short, exploring these topics has helped me understand my farmers more deeply and serve them more holistically. While I stay within my scope, I believe there's immense value in being a non-clinical ally—someone who can connect the dots between mental health, sustainability, and the future of agriculture."

"Extremely relevant. This kind of understanding is fundamental to relationship building and communicating especially in these divisive and uncertain times."

What patterns were you able to identify to awaken your unique capacity for leadership? How might you utilize this skill(s) to awaken possibility with the people you work with?

"To me, helping folks make that first step for change is key. Understanding what is stopping them, Helping to manage their defensiveness, expectations and not be confrontational while doing this. I try to use enthusiasm, empathy and knowledge to help people choose appropriate experiments to test how some RegenAg concepts could work on their farm. These need to be affordable and won't push them out of their comfort zone (at least to start with)."

"The elephant and the rider have helped me to utilize my leadership skills for myself and working with producers, helping to change behavior, the power of emotions is a huge factor."

"Better understanding of myself, my biases and how I operate to be able to work around and with those"

"Focus on authenticity and just showing up in a genuine way"

"I've felt that I was a caring person, but had no concept of the need to identify my students' needs. I had no understanding of how to awaken curiosity, or how to motivate further learning other than by what people would observe on our own farm. I have a much better idea now of what questions to ask to guide people into their own discoveries, and how to not react to people being adamant about what they've learned previously, to not provoke confrontation and thereby shutting down people's interest before it would even begin. In short, I realize now that I was headed for failure! I probably will fail a number of times, but I feel confident now that when I do I'll be able to identify why. Nicole's story today of having to go outside and run the tension off was a comfort to me as I think about possibly losing control of my reactions sometimes!"

"Through SHIFT I realized the importance of actively listening and relating in a way that encourages additional conversation."

"I take criticism very personally and react internally, cutting off communication."

"I notice more how much other people do not take into consideration the opposite parties’ feelings.  Many people do not listen or lack patience. These are skills I try to improve continuously in my personal and professional life."

"Over time, I began to notice a pattern: I am most effective when I lead by listening. Not just passively, but actively—with curiosity, intention, and care. Time and again, I’ve found that people—especially farmers, ranchers, and community members—don’t always need someone to fix things for them. They need someone to truly hear them. To see them. This has become the foundation of my leadership style."

Another pattern that emerged was my ability to hold complexity and navigate nuance. In agriculture and sustainability work, there are rarely clear-cut answers. The issues are layered: environmental, emotional, financial, cultural. I’ve learned to stay with the tension, to slow down, to ask better questions rather than rush to solutions. That space—where it’s okay not to have all the answers—often invites others to step into their own insight and agency.

Through these patterns, I’ve awakened my capacity to lead with empathy, presence, and trust-building. These aren’t flashy leadership traits, but they’re powerful. They create room for possibility.

Going forward, I hope to use these skills to co-create solutions with the people I work with. Not by leading from the front or dictating direction—but by walking alongside them, helping surface ideas that may have been buried under doubt, fatigue, or fear. Whether we’re navigating grant deliverables, on-farm transitions, or deeply personal choices, my role is to help others remember their own resourcefulness. Sometimes leadership looks like asking, “What would be possible if we trusted ourselves just a little more? That’s where change begins."

"Understanding polyvagal theory better and identifying stages of nervous system regulation/dysregulation and using this understanding to work with and to better communicate with others could be an amazing tool for effecting change and influencing and connecting to the people I am interacting with."

"It has made me aware that there are alternative ways to react to open communication further rather than shut it down."

"Internal reflection. The activity of what did someone actually say to you, not what you assumed they meant."

"Working directly with others in the shift course helped me to make connections and solidify understandings in a way I may not have otherwise. I find myself reflecting on the course and revisiting it periodically as I continue to navigate all of my relationships, whether that be family, friends, coworkers, or clients. SHIFT has laid the groundwork of understanding for me in a way that opened the door for more possibilities and further knowing and I'm very appreciative for that."