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Leadership

"No" isn't negative

"No! Don't touch the hot stove." "No! Don't text and drive." In these examples, "no" is actually positive to alert us from burning ourselves and not driving while distracted. In other situations, primarily in our professional lives, we perceive saying "no" will be viewed as negative. This leads to saying "yes" to much more than we can accomplish and the mistaken idea that if we're busy it means we're valued more. Does always being busy with more equal accomplishing more? Here's a scenario...

Requirement or Preference?

Phil Jackson, the Hall-of-Fame NBA coach (Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers) was once asked about one of his players. He was asked if he minded what hair color Dennis Rodman had. Coach Jackson replied that it was Dennis' preference what hair color he chose but it was a requirement he plays defense and rebound. It might not be what hair color Coach Jackson would choose but he honored his player's preferences. The requirements are not negotiable so he focused on coaching his players to be...

Run from it OR Learn from it

We can't change the past. What happened to us and who we used to be cannot be altered. When we run from it and wish things turned out differently we keep ourselves trapped in the past. It all happened. It will not ever have not happened. Some things happened to us while others happened because of us. Fill those two buckets and accept them. Learn from them. Grow into a better person from them. Your mindset is the key. Are you getting through or getting better? Each day has micro opportunities...

2 thoughts...

When you feel the surge, resist the urge. There are times in our lives when we feel threatened. Some are real. Some aren't. Our bodies process these situations exactly the same. When threats aren't real often we let our fight/flight response take over. In these moments we react as if in real danger. The actual danger here is not having the self-awareness to realize the "threat" is perceived and be able to calm ourselves down. If we succumb to the survival hormones flooding our bodies we...

Have you ever...

Have you ever tried to change something about someone else? Of course, you have. We ALL have! The point is we can't motivate anyone else. Like us, they show up for what they believe in. And like us, they always find time for what's important to them. We can engage , inspire , and support . In short, we can show up for them in an authentic way because we care about them. We don't have to be better or smarter, we just have to courageously care about them. Connect first with your intention. If...

Safety First!

Each of us strives to fulfill basic needs as humans otherwise we're surviving instead of thriving. When we perceive a situation isn't safe our fight/flight/freeze mode kicks in automatically so we can live through it. It's a great adaptation humans have developed over the millennia. We wouldn't be here without it. The problem comes when we live in this mode more than we feel safe. Cortisol and adrenaline flood our system even when we aren't actually in danger. Prolonged exposure to these...

Leadership ABC's

A = Attitude One of 2 things within your control; attitude and effort! Attitude is everything, pick a good one. B = Brave When you believe strongly in something or perhaps it scares you a bit, let your courage shine through. Be brave enough to go first and model the way. C = Character This is your behavior when nobody is watching. You won't always have the training and education for the situations you find yourself in. Your strong character will get you through. D = Dependable You do what...

Equitable Development: Starts Within Individuals and Emphasizes Well-Being

When you think about how societies have grown and developed in the past, can you identify efforts where, “ good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation,” were prioritized? Unfortunately, most stories of development tell tales of exciting economic growth and ignore the inequity that serves as the foundation for their success. However, some countries are shifting from economic-focused standards of development to factors centered...

Flip Your Script

Oh, the things we tell ourselves. Sounds a bit like Dr. Seuss; sadly it's not. You have to wait until the end of the post for some of his wisdom! We're talking about how our personal narratives become aspects of things we believe about who we are. Here's one that's been in my arsenal forever: "I'm horrible at math." Big deal you say. Maybe you're not good at math. You have other things you're good at. What's the problem? Telling myself this has made an agreement that has limited my openness...

More Leadership Theories

The practice of leadership has been going on as far back as we can observe. In a previous offering " 10 Leadership Theories " we looked at where we've come in the recent past regarding thinking and approach to leadership. In one post we can't possibly hit everything related to leadership, so it's a reality we left out a ton of stuff. We're going to continue this journey by looking at a few more influencers in the leadership area from centuries and millennia ago to today. Hang on! Lao Tzu -...

The Perfect Meeting

"One can either work or meet. One cannot do both at the same time." -Peter Drucker Darn it! He's right again. Despite our best efforts we can only do one of these (effectively) at a time. Through this, he also reminds us of the multitasking myth. What we actually do is task switch. It takes 40% longer to accomplish two things we're switching on and longer when we add a third or fourth task. One thing we can do to help with effectiveness is to have better meetings. Most HR professionals will...

Alignment with a Stop Light?

You've worked hard to come up with a great plan that will make things easier, remove frustrations, and even save time for everyone. You're proud of it. It's thorough. It's researched. You've consulted people with more experience in this area. You've taken criticism. You've been vulnerable. Now it's time for the big meeting to unveil it. You're excited. Even a bit nervous. It's your turn on the agenda and... Your excitement is met with a mild, lukewarm reception from the team. What happened?

Email issues? Read this!

You're wrapping things up for the day & getting organized for tomorrow when a last-minute email pops in. Not wanting to miss something, you check it out. The tone is a bit confusing & leaves you unsure of how to proceed. What did the last sentence mean? Reply? Wait until tomorrow? You decide to wait. The problem is, this little message has now stolen your attention for the next few hours making it hard to move on with your evening responsibilities... This scenario has happened to all...

Happiness Power!

Is your goal to have a little success each day? Can probably guess you said "yes"! In one of my favorite Ted Talks , Shawn Achor says every time we experience some success we move the goalpost for what it means to us. AND...if our overall happiness is connected with that success, it's likely we never get there. What? We're undermining our own happiness? In his happiness research, he's discovered our brains work in the opposite way. A "happiness advantage" can occur when we raise our level of...

Legacy of Selfless Service

Monday, 16 January 2022 is the 36th year of the celebration that remembers Dr. King's lifetime of public service. As well as a federal holiday, it's also known as a day of service when Americans are encouraged to volunteer with charities to help their communities. In one of In one of my first semesters in college, the student body was included in a decision about the number of days off we had for holidays each spring semester. Before the decision there were several "town hall" discussion...

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About the Extension Foundation

The Extension Foundation was formed in 2006 by Extension Directors and Administrators. Today, the Foundation partners with Cooperative Extension through liaison roles and a formal plan of work with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) to increase system capacity while providing programmatic services, and helping Extension programs scale and investigate new methods and models for implementing programs. The Foundation provides professional development to Cooperative Extension professionals and offers exclusive services to its members. In 2020 and 2021, the Extension Foundation has awarded 85% of its direct funding back to the Cooperative Extension System, 100% of funds are used to support Cooperative Extension initiatives. 

This technology is supported in part by New Technologies for Ag Extension (funding opportunity no. USDA-NIFA-OP-010186), grant no. 2023-41595-41325 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Extension Foundation. For more information, please visit extension.org. You can view the terms of useat extension.org/terms.

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