Rader completes Leadership 254 program

LIBERTY - Liberty County Sheriff Bobby Rader was recognized at the latest commissioner’s court meeting after completing Leadership 254.

The Texas Association of Counties Leadership 254 is designed to advance the skills of county officials to enable them to meet the unique challenges of their duties and to enhance their leadership skills and style. 

“The instructors are awesome professionals that share their knowledge and techniques,” said Rader. 

The participants learn to overcome their limitations and to redefine the possibilities that they set for themselves and their constituents.

“I was honored to be accepted in this program,” he said.

According to Rader elected officials from all 254 counties are eligible to apply for acceptance in this training. 

TAC chooses two representatives from each elected position to attend the training. (Example: 2-Sheriffs, 2-County Judges, 2-Commissioners, etc.) There are four modules that are completed in 14 months, requiring extensive homework. 

The training includes interactive discussions, theory building, skill assessments, and experimental learning activities. 

“The classes taught me how to handle different problems and how to work with others that had different views on the way things should be done. I was shown that beliefs, choices, setbacks, and emotions may limit a leader’s skills. The training made me realize what a leadership really meant. I am using many of the things that I learned. One thing that was stressed was that ethics has a big impact on County leaders in their everyday work and that every leader needed to work on increasing their personal ethical leadership strategies,” said Rader.

Rader highly recommends that every elected county official, not only in Liberty County, apply to attend this class. 

“It is the best leadership class that I have ever taken,” he said.

“I was reminded of a quote by Mahatma Gandhi; ‘As human beings our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world…as in being able to remake ourselves,’” Rader concluded.