Tagged With "soft skills"
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Resolutions!
At this time our thoughts are often thrust into pondering meaningful ways to focus the upcoming year. We are bombarded with things others feel we should “value” but these decisions should be personal. A couple of years ago I shared my New Year’s resolutions with my wife & she in turn shared hers. At the top of her list was having more patience but the one that sticks in my mind is this… “I will love myself…..after I lose 5 pounds!” 🤣 Too funny, but telling at the same time. We often...
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Community Resiliency Professional Development Opportunities During the January 2022 Impact Collaborative Summit
Community Resiliency Professional Development Opportunities for Members The January 2022 Summit will focus on Community Resilience. Teams from Extension Foundation member institutions and special guests will: Learn the value of integrating community resilience into planning for collective action. Examine existing power structures, formal and informal social infrastructures through an equity lens. Increase their ability to position Cooperative Extension as an organization that can inform and...
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New Leadership Skillsets
The last two years have been filled with despair, uncertainty, frustration and feelings of exhaustion. We are now entering the third year of a global pandemic. Since the world shut down, everything is in a different context now. Leadership feels different. The way we used to lead isn't how we do things anymore. We've had to develop new skills, utilize new tools for communication to create an environment where trust can thrive. In adapting to this dynamic new environment, we carry our...
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Teamwork Part 2: Reliability
Your team may have a powerful engine (like a Ferrari) but if all the parts aren’t working together (like that flat tire in the picture) the team struggles go anywhere. The teamwork concept we're talking about is reliability ! Each member of the team embraces Do What You Say You Will Do (DWYSYWD)! Our behaviors provide the evidence of our authentic intentions and these display our trustworthiness to others. Diagnose Dependability What is the most important contribution you can make to the...
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Extension Skills
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Extension Skills
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A Philosophy for Working on Wicked Problems
A wicked problem is a term used in policy analysis to describe an environmental situation where no matter what policy actions are taken there are still going to be unacceptable losses. Examples of wicked problems can be found in climate change, endangered species, invasive species and environmental justice issues. In order to deal with the psychological stress of threat and uncertainty associated with wicked problems many people are tempted to take a strong position, such as moral outrage.
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We're Hiring! Impact Collaborative Program Coordinator
The Extension Foundation is seeking an individual to join our team as the Impact Collaborative Program Coordinator. This full-time position includes leading all functions of the Extension Foundation’s Impact Collaborative program. The Impact Collaborative Program Coordinator will work closely with the Extension Foundation Design Strategist and Extension Foundation Leadership Development Specialist to design, implement and assess successful offerings, including fostering the ongoing...
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The Human Genome Project
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The Science of Vaccines
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Summer Self-Care Webinar Series
The Community Seminar Series: Summer Self-Care What topics are covered in the series? Summer is busy, and it's easy to forget to take care of ourselves while we try to juggle what everyone else needs. Researchers from University of Illinois can help guide your summer health choices. Find a session that's perfect for you, or participate in all of them. Summer Self-Care is a collaboration between University of Illinois Extension and the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute as part of...
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Jason Weigle Joins Extension Foundation as New Impact Collaborative Program Coordinator
The Extension Foundation is pleased to announce that @Jason Weigle has joined the Extension Foundation team as its new Impact Collaborative Program Coordinator. In this role, Jason will be leading all functions of the Impact Collaborative program to help implement and assess successful offerings to Extension Foundation members and foster the ongoing development of the national Impact Collaborative Facilitator network. The Impact Collaborative is a bundle of services and events that are...
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Practicing Gratitude and Building Better Thoughts
For service providers and clients alike, life is a winding road of good things here and bad things there. Actively working toward wiring your brain to acknowledge the good and appreciating those good things can help individuals shape personal strengths and build protections. Creating protective factors which can help cultivate positive mental health and generate an asset-based outlook that reaches all aspects of life. November is National Gratitude Month Gratitude is the practice of being...
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Extension Skills 2022
This past year, the Impact Collaborative's Extension Skills series has provided Cooperative Extension professionals with the opportunity to build capacity with tools, processes, and tech skills training. Each second Thursday of the month, a workshop was led by an Extension expert to give professionals the opportunity to learn new skills and share best practices to help them be more effective and innovative in their work! This year, the workshops focused on topics such as virtual engagement...
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Helping Service Members Overcome Stress and Anxiety Challenges
It’s a new year and many of us are getting back into the swing of things after the recent holiday break. Everyone is getting back to work prioritizing their to-do lists for the upcoming year. Many military service members and their families are doing the same. There are many great benefits to serving in the military, for service members and their families as well. Career and educational opportunities as well as fulfilling a sense of purpose. However, as with any great opportunity, there also...
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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...
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Program Center Stage: Learn about the Free Tools and Resources Available for Extension Professionals
In this month's Program Center Stage, Extension Foundation’s Aaron Weibe provided an overview of the Foundation’s free tools and resources available for Cooperative Extension and Land-grant Universities including professional development opportunities, leadership, and team development, and other Member Solutions. Aaron walks through the tools, how to access them, and answers attendees' questions. Many participants noted that this session made them aware of many new tools available to them,...
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GET MORE GRATITUDE!
What is gratitude ? It's a sense of wonder, thankfulness & appreciation for life . Gratitude helps increase optimism for life. It promotes positive thinking. It helps us cope with daily stress & traumatic events. Appreciating things in our life and focusing on the positive can help us move forward with purpose. Gratitude can also strengthen our relationships. People who feel gratitude towards others feel closer to them and report overall better relationships, even if they don't...
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Coaching or Mentoring?
Not that many years ago it wasn't very cool to have a coach for personal development. It was seen as somewhat of a weakness if you sought out a coach for help. Today, it's different. You want to learn and grow because you're after increased effectiveness. It's cool to have a coach. On the other hand, mentors have been a big part of personal and professional networks throughout our lives. These relationships continue to be a vital part of our development and the quality of our lives. Mentors...
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NIFA Awards $10 Million to Extension Foundation for Workforce Development
The ECOP Workforce Development Program Action Team in collaboration with the NECIW National Working Group (NWG) and Extension Foundation (EXF) will collaborate with NIFA staff to form a robust network of public and private entities across every U.S. region to build the nation's capacity to respond to the changing needs in the food and agriculture sector. The primary audience for this project, “will be Cooperative Extension practitioners, workforce intermediaries, and the participants they...
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A T T I T U D E
During my senior year in High School, we were fortunate to play in the football state playoffs. Throughout the experience, at home or away games, signs hung up in our locker room with this saying... If you think you are beaten, you are. If you think you dare not, you don't. If you'd like to win but think you can't, it's almost certain you won't. Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can. We made it to the...
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Twelve Coordinator Positions Available: Extension Foundation and ECOP WorkForce Development Program Action Team Launches AgriProspects Workforce Development Network
Summary NEW Application Due Date: November 17th, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. Application Link: https://webportalapp.com/sp/agriprospects Positions Available: AgriProspects Regional Network Coordinators, AgriProspects Regional Content Coordinators Time Frame: This is a five-year grant project. Support for each position is a flat $25,000 per year beginning on or about January 1, 2024. Funds can be used by the recipient to support the portion of an FTE commensurate with the incumbent’s current rate of...
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Application Deadline Extended for 12 Coordinator Positions – AgriProspects Workforce Development Network
Summary NEW Application Due Date: November 17th, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. Application Link: https://webportalapp.com/sp/agriprospects Positions Available: AgriProspects Regional Network Coordinators, AgriProspects Regional Content Coordinators Time Frame: This is a five-year grant project. Support for each position is a flat $25,000 per year beginning on or about January 1, 2024. Funds can be used by the recipient to support the portion of an FTE commensurate with the incumbent’s current rate of...
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Two AgriProspects Workforce Development Network Coordinator Positions Available for 1994 Institutions
Summary: Two individuals are needed to fill the Regional Content Coordinator and Regional Network Coordinator roles across the 1994 institutions. As 1994 institutions are located across the country, the 1994 incumbents will serve as leads with assistance in program execution from other AgriProspect coordinators, specifically those where CES regions overlap. These critical positions will help build and engage our national network of partners working to provide access to skills training and...
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UNH Extension seeks 4-H Program Manager, Cheshire County
UNH Extension Seeks a 4-H Program Manager in Cheshire County | Extension This position is located at Extension’s Cheshire County office in Keene, N.H. The 4-H program manager will facilitate growth of the county 4-H program and life-skill development of 4-H youth through recruitment, training, support and guidance of volunteers in a community-based, youth organization. 4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization, works in local communities to offer youth in-person and online...
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Extension Foundation Hiring Grants Specialist (CLOSED)
THIS POSITION IS NOW CLOSED - PLEASE REFER TO NEW GRANTS SPECIALIST OPPORTUNITY HERE FORM FOR SUBMISSION: https://registry.extension.org/233424869896172 Grants Specialist - full-time position Application Deadline: January 2, 2023 Target start date: January 2023 Salary: commensurate with experience Extension Foundation (EXF) is a well-established non-profit organization providing diverse services to over 100 public universities across the United States. EXF is a membership-based 501(c)(3)...
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Registration now open for Digital Volunteer Initiative Train-the-Trainer Workshop
Register by March 22nd for a three-day in-person intensive train-the-trainer workshop. This workshop is for teams of Extension professionals interested in addressing the challenges of increasing digital literacy by working with local volunteers to provide information technology (IT) training and support in their communities.
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Digital Volunteer Initiative Train the Trainer Workshop
Digital access is vital to community wellbeing. Yet many communities and individuals lacking access struggle with navigating the divide. In partnership with Extension Foundation, the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy's Broadband Program Action Team, and USDA NIFA, the National Digital Extension Education Team (NDEET) is offering a three-day in-person intensive train-the-trainer workshop for teams of Extension professionals interested in addressing the challenges of increasing...