Tagged With "Clear is kind"

Do you consider yourself a leader? What about a global leader? Usually when this question is asked only a few people respond positively to the first question and almost everyone says "no" to the second question. Why? Perhaps they are hesitant to respond positively because "leader" isn't part of their title, position, or rank. Then when the question escalates they're definitely out. John Maxwell defines leadership as influence. If we use his definition (which I totally dig) then we're all...

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...

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...

We are excited to have Isabel Osborne and Laura Downey to discuss their involvement in the evaluation and reporting process for the system-wide Extension Collaboration on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE) Project. Isabel and Laura have been integral in developing a comprehensive and dynamic system for evaluating the EXCITE project's progress and success. Q: Isabelle and Laura, could you please tell us about yourselves and the roles you play in the evaluation team? Laura: Great.

Extension Professionals! If you weren't aware, the Extension Foundation has a weekly newsletter to help you stay informed about the happenings within Cooperative Extension. In the Connect Extension digest, you receive a round-up of upcoming events, professional development opportunities, job postings, and more. We provide useful resources to you weekly which now includes a section on federal funding opportunities available for the Extension system, updated regularly with new grants! You can...

This work is supported by funding from a cooperative agreement with USDA-NIFA and in partnership with Oklahoma State University, New Technologies for Ag Extension, grant no 2020-41595-30123. ExtensionBot is a chatbot that is built and deployed by the Extension Foundation. We are working closely with Eduworks Corporation on the development and deployment of the technology. ExtensionBot is backed by an LLM (Large Language Model) that is trained exclusively on data provided by Cooperative...

So often when we think about "leadership" it becomes such a big concept we can't imagine how it might apply to us. It is easier to think that it applies only to people with bigger positions, titles, and more responsibility than we have. As a coach of mine once said: "That's stinkin' thinkin'." When we think leadership is just for those "other people" we've unconsciously decided it's not for us. That we don't have to do it. We've told ourselves what we do every day doesn't really matter. In...

A $2.2 billion-dollar fund has been set aside for Native American and Minority farmers who applied for a farming loan of any kind before 2021 and were wrongfully denied or received bad loan terms, may be entitled to significant compensation. Wrongful loan denial or rejection Lower loan amount than expected Higher loan rates than other local farmers Less favorable loan terms Special funding requirements Frequent check-ins and required reporting Some Native American farmers may receive up to...

During a recent workshop we did a connection exercise where participants chose a question to discuss with others at their tables. When visiting the tables one of the folks was sharing their take on how they wanted to be remembered. It was very moving and inspirational. They asked me if I'd answer the same question. Here's the story I shared with them... When we were stationed in Japan my father's health was declining. Just a few years earlier he had recovered from an impossible amount of...

The 1862 land grant institutions face a large task to move beyond their troubled legacy and meet the needs of contemporary people of color. To address racial inequities in extension, we embarked on educational and institutional change activities. We share three key lessons: the need to take time for building relationships of trust, to tailor individual communication about diversity, equity, and inclusion work for different colleagues, and to re-think the sources of expertise in extension work.

The Extension Foundation has added five new titles to its publications library. The brief publications - written as magazine-style feature stories - share project work funded through the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) program , a cooperative agreement between USDA NIFA, Oklahoma State University, and the Extension Foundation. NATE's goal is to incubate, accelerate, and expand promising work that will increase the impact of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in the communities...

The Extension Foundation has added four new titles to its publications library. These brief publications – written as magazine-style feature stories – share project work funded through the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) program , a cooperative agreement between USDA NIFA, Oklahoma State University, and the Extension Foundation. NATE’s goal is to incubate, accelerate, and expand promising work that will increase the impact of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in the communities...

Thought you might enjoy a Yogi Berra quote to start... "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical." Too funny and makes a great point. Life is a constant mental challenge. And we know, heaven or hell, it's between our ears. As you ponder what it will take for you to become more mentally resilient, here are some things to consider. "I don't count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they're the only ones that count." -Muhammad Ali When the going gets...

At an appointment the other day Sesame Street was on the TV in the waiting room. Naturally, everyone from kids to adults was watching it. One of the adults looks over at me and says; "I stopped watching this show years ago, I already know most of that stuff." 🤣 Even if you know all that stuff already, it's still nice to have a reminder every once in a while! Here goes... There's never been another person like you on the planet, and there won't ever be another person like you. Your core...

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (ISUEO) and the College of Human Sciences (CHS) is seeking an exceptional individual to lead its Human Sciences program to enhance the impact of Iowa State University (ISU) on the lives of Iowans. The Associate Dean and Director, also referred to as Program Leader within the National Cooperative Extension Service, provides strategic leadership and administrative management for the Human Sciences Extension and Outreach (HSEO) program. Specifically,...

When we lived in Japan the leader of North Korea was posturing and threatening nuclear war. We did biological and nuclear war drills. Our kids did drills at school. It was stressful for everyone. During this time my wife deployed leaving me to balance parental responsibilities with the intensity of work. It was exhausting but also a period of growth for me. To help get through it all I decided it was time to figure out what leadership meant to me. This took going back over my plethora of...

A supervisor of mine once called me into their office to give me some feedback. They said my lack of clarity in communicating with upper management was confusing and frustrating. They needed more specific updates on how my responsibilities were being handled. It was not a fun conversation. While their tone was one of severe disappointment and very judgmental the feedback needed to happen. This is just another story of how "Karl learns things the hard way" because... "Soon is not a time and...

"Culture" has become such a buzzword surrounding the workplace. People expect to see something on the company's website about it. They ask current employees about it. They ask about it in interviews. The fact is, it's a big deal. It might be THE big deal for any organization. What we've learned about it is it's much more than flexible work hours and bean bag chairs in the breakroom. It's about " the way we do things around here". The way this is answered can be profoundly revealing. Why...