Leadership

What are you curious about? Some folks will respond to this question with an immediate answer: “Everything!” Others may just look at you and ask what you mean. Whether at one end of the spectrum, or somewhere in the middle, watching someone respond to this question will allow you to immediately know a lot about them and their potential for long-term success. In brief, curiosity is one of the most important traits and a high predictor for success identified by researchers at Korn Ferry, an...

Can increasing gratitude improve your brain chemistry and help you feel better? Can it improve your career? The science of gratitude has expanded greatly in the past twenty years. Studies increasingly show that regularly practicing gratitude contributes to better relationships, decreased anxiety, and increased internal satisfaction. These bolster what Daniel Goleman labels emotional and social intelligence, key items for success in our careers and lives. Though once labeled soft skills—i.e.,...

Have you ever found your ability to make a choice and act upon it lacking? Choosing and acting define the broad concept of volition. Some label this as having the power to use one’s free will. But in times of stress or anxiety, we sometimes feel hindered in our ability to exercise that choice and action. We may even feel powerless, frozen in place, and unable to act at all. Can you think of a time when you felt unable to make a decision and then act? It could be something major or minor.

JCEP Extension Leadership Conference Abstracts Due October 11! The Joint Co uncil of Extension Professionals Extension Leadership Conference will be held February 19-20, 2025 in Savannah, GA. The committee invites abstract submissions, which are due Friday, October 11, 2024. Submitters will be notified by November 5 whether their abstract was selected. Conference registration opens on November 6, 2024. See www.jcep.org/elc for details.

OneOp, a leader in supporting military family service professionals, is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert "Bob" Bertsch as its new National Project Leader. With over 30 years of experience in communication, education, organizational development, and digital technology, Bertsch brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this pivotal role. Bertsch, an Extension Specialist with NDSU Extension at North Dakota State University, has been an integral part of OneOp for 13 years. His...

The day started as any other. A pretty normal Tuesday. Put my uniform on, drove through the front gate of the Air Force base where we were assigned, and got to work. After a few minutes, it was apparent this wasn't going to be just another Tuesday... In our military, readiness exercises happen all the time to prepare for events involving natural disasters and domestic/international threats. Awareness of these exercises occurs from internal communication and is posted at the base entrance. An...

Imagine a point in the future where you have achieved your greatest professional goal. Invest a moment here. Visualize your career success. You have worked hard and have earned this. Now consider this question: How does this success feel? I think most people will have some level of contentment or satisfaction. Others may feel a bit of pride in the accomplishment. Some may begin to ponder, “What’s next?” Those responses are all normal and valid. Now, imagine it’s six months after that major...

Virginia Cooperative Extension is actively seeking applicants to be our Associate Extension Specialist for Volunteer Engagement. Please read through the job details and apply if interested.

The Oregon State University Division of Extension and Engagement and College of Forestry are seeking an Extension 4-H and Forestry Natural Resources Program Coordinator to serve youth engaged in 4-H and Forestry Natural Resources programming in Benton County. This position is responsible for the development, management and integration of 4-H and Forestry natural resources non-credit education that meets the needs of youth in Benton County. The incumbent will collaborate with schoolteachers,...

Are you any good at managing your time? Some of you may think, “I'm not bad at it.” But most, like me, are no good at all. So here's the question. What if you worked on managing your energy instead of managing your time? Time is finite. But energy can appear seemingly out of nowhere. In truth, energy has four sources: the body, our emotions, our minds, and our spirit. Tony Schwartz, founder of the Energy Project, says we can learn to harness these dimensions, creating our own energy. Tony...

In this mid-career series, I mentioned that this time in your professional life can be exciting and scary… simultaneously. That’s just the nature of mid-career. If you embrace both the excitement and the worry with humility and a growth mindset, you can set yourself up a fantastic late-career success and positive impact. The next six posts (titles listed below) will give you some specific ideas ( and pose some challenging questions ) that will help you move through this part of your career.

Whether you’re working in Extension, education, the non-profit or government sector, or private business, mid-career can bring exciting professional development and growth, as well as great internal worry and doubt… often at the same time. At mid-career, we begin to trust ourselves (having been around long enough to learn a few things), but we can also have lingering existential questions about whether we’re really on the right path, or if our management and leadership and communication...