Florida extension agents’ perceived level of trust with their county extension director

Abstract

County Extension Directors (CEDs) act as the administrative leader of the county Extension office and implement their own educational program. County Extension agents act as the leader of their program area and corresponding community audience. Because of the autonomous nature of the agents’ work, it is imperative that Extension agents trust their CEDs. The Trust in Leaders Scale (TLS) was created to measure person-based trust between leaders and followers through four constructs: competence, integrity, benevolence, and predictability. A census study was conducted by distributing the TLS to the UF/IFAS Extension agents that report to a CED. Results indicated perceived moderate levels of trust between agents and CEDs, and demographic variables did not impact whether agents trusted their CED. UF/IFAS Extension should seek to understand the impact of moderate trust between county Extension agents and their CED, as research show low trust typically leads to lower job satisfaction and higher employee turnover.