Leadership

Your Personal Mission A personal mission is a statement about your why. This is what drives you to get out of bed in the morning. It describes what you believe is most important in life, what you wish to focus on, and what you want to be known for. If you allow it to direct your thoughts and actions each day, it has the potential to direct your life and achieve the future you want. I often tell my students to consider doing this exercise and then holding on to it. When one finds themself...

The Values Review Our values may be defined as beliefs that guide our behavior or motivate us to act. As individuals, we all have varying values and belief systems. We come from differing backgrounds and places. This gives us a rich and beautiful diversity. But how do we incorporate values into our everyday work? How do we ensure our core values are the fundamental beliefs that guide behavior and action? Here’s an exercise that can help. Grab a piece of paper. Look at the table below, and...

Triangulating Your Skills, Abilities, and Interests to Find Your Future What do you enjoy doing? What are you good at (i.e., your natural gifts)? Where do you want to learn more? These three items, together, can powerfully steer you toward your desired future. Let’s talk about that today. Most people have multiple gifts. Many people can do a variety of jobs, and career paths are frequently not linear. Anecdotally, my friends and former students share that their journeys have been directed...

Independence Day. Fourth of July . The founding of our nation. Family, fun & fireworks! On this day in 1776, our thirteen original colonies declared independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence document outlines our national foundation of freedom, democracy, and equality. The very first celebration was a year later in Philadelphia. Today, we mark the day with parades, picnics, and fireworks. Historically, July is a big month for the Cooperative Extension Service as...

Five Things to Have, Do, Help, and Be: A Personal Futuring Exercise At a very early age, most people are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” We often prompt young minds with examples: “Do you want to be a firefighter? A teacher? A farmer?” But what if there is a more important question: “Who do you want to become?” This is qualitatively different. This is perhaps the best question to ask to prompt future thinking, focus, and goal-setting. In this blog series, I’m attempting to...

How do you want to be remembered? This is a rephrase of the classic Steven Covey question from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . It is one of the most powerful questions one can ever ponder. In this blog series, I’m attempting to both challenge your thinking, but also encourage your progress. You may consider the question prompt in this post alone, or in conversation with a friend or mentor. Let’s begin. Look at the question below. Spend some time with it. It is a definite brain...

This blog series offers questions from my teaching and practice at The Ohio State University where I coach and mentor numerous faculty, staff, students, and organizational units to help them move toward mission and accomplish goals. If you are reading this blog (and discussing the question prompts with a mentor), your responses will reflect talking with another person. But if you are using this resource on your own for personal and professional development, you can still ask yourself these...

Karl Bradley, Leadership and Team Development Specialist at the Extension Foundation has been featured in Crucial Skills by Crucial Learning. This feature highlights Karl’s exceptional work fostering collaboration and success among professionals in the Cooperative Extension system. In the article, Karl shares his philosophy inspired by Robert Ingersoll’s words, “We rise by lifting others.” He emphasizes the importance of seeing colleagues as “success partners,” a concept that promotes mutual...

Imagine a point in the future where you have achieved your greatest professional goal. Invest a moment here. Try to visualize your career success—you are at the top of your game. Imagine you’ve worked hard and have earned this. Now consider this question: How might that 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.

The Extension Foundation and Dr. Raison are partnering to present this series offering self-study materials and advice for career growth. The series will focus on early, middle, and later career stages. We are proud to share this series with the Cooperative Extension System! The ideas shared in this series are extracted from Dr. Raison’s 2024 book, The Encouraging Mentor: Your Guide to 40 Conversations that Matter . This is a how-to manual for mentors, teachers, coaches, and anyone...

Decoration Day or Memorial Day as we now call it, is set aside to honor those who have died in our nation's wars. It wasn't an official federal holiday until 1968. Flags will fly at half-mast on this day. "If there is ever a day of commemoration, a day, when, as one, America pauses, thinks, thanks and prays, it is Memorial Day. We honor our war dead." -John L. Borling, Major General, U.S. Air Force (retired) Remember what this day is all about. In this tribute, 1963 Air Force Academy...

The last time you went to the grocery store you probably had a list. If you only had to pick up three items or less, my guess is, you usually don't bother writing them down. It's when you get to four or more that a list is helpful. This is because we can remember things in threes fairly effectively. In ancient rhetoric, the rule of three is called Tricolon. The word comes from the Greek "tri" meaning three and "kolon" meaning a clause. When things are put in three's it emphasizes, energizes,...