Personal Networks...

When analyzing my personal and professional goals, I narrowed them down to six "biggies" that I felt really compelled to pursue:

10 Years

1.     Grow our farm business to offer an on-site store to direct market our products to customers.

a.     Increase cattle and swine herd operations to ensure adequate supply of pork and beef products for consumers

b.     Lease neighboring land to expand the cattle operation via more grazing opportunities

2.     Hold a job working in brand/product management or in the role of continuous improvement management.

5 Years

1.     Acquire a lease on additional acreage to increase the cattle herd by having access to larger pasture area.

2.     Hold a job working in brand/product management or in the role of continuous improvement management.

2 Years

1.     Complete my MBA by May 2020

2.     Start the job search process to utilize skills developed through the MBA program and build upon the skills I already possess. 

Personal Network Evaluation

Looking at my personal network, I have plenty of connections to individuals associated with the agriculture industry as well as in the K-12 education realm. I know individuals in leadership in practically every school district within a 100 mi radius of my home and have ties to agricultural leaders across the state. Serving on various boards in both of these sectors has certainly helped me to grow that network. In the education realm, I have been a member of the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) since I started teaching in 2003. Membership was certainly a great investment as it not only allowed me to develop myself through conferences and trainings, but also gave me opportunities to make connections from around the world by serving on various committees and boards in my tenure as a member. The area that needs growth is certainly my connections to business and industry if I plan to make a shift from working in the academic sector to the world of business. Based on the short time I’ve been in the MBA program and my own personal interests, working in brand management or project/program management would be an area that I would be interested in pursuing following the completion of my MBA.

In terms of providing leverage, I have lots of great connections in the education sector. I have been able to make connections for friends that are looking at switching jobs and been successful in connecting them to the right people to allow them to be hired in the districts where they have applied. In turn, I have called on these individuals myself to offer support for job applications of my own as well as letters of support for various awards for which I was nominated for my teaching work. The diversity in my personal network is something I can also work on. While there are several people that are very different from me in terms of background, beliefs, and experience, I feel that there is always something we can learn from others that are different from us.

In order to further expand and develop my personal network to better support my personal and professional goals, I’ve recently joined a few circles for women in leadership/business via MeetUp and have signed up to attend some leadership networking events taking place in Cincinnati in the coming months. I am very excited about the Cincinnati First Fridays program, which is a free monthly leadership meeting held on the 1st Friday of every month from 8:00 – 9:00 AM at the Education Center at Indiana Wesleyan University, Cincinnati campus. Each month dynamic, thought leaders will present their perspectives on leadership, personal development, personal branding, and a host of other leadership topics. In addition to this, I have also started researching individuals that are working in the sectors that interest me and looking for ways via personal connections I already have, to develop relationships with these individuals.  I found a great article on 8 steps to getting the perfect mentor. I thoroughly enjoyed this and found great ways to make connections to people outside of my typical circle, but in the sector where I hope to pursue a career in the future. In particular, I have started to research some of the companies that align with the skills I already possess and those that I am developing through the MBA program. Companies that have stood out thus far include: ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), 84.51°, Kroger, Macy’s, and GE. Using connections I have via LinkedIn, I have started to reach out to individuals in these companies that are networked to the same people as I. Thus far, I have had pretty good success in making some new connections and opening up some great conversations about the companies they work for and advice for getting into the business world.

Other Sites and Articles I Found While Researching "How to Develop Your Personal Network"

• https://www.classycareergirl.com/2017/07/network-personal-building-7-tips/
• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246102
• https://www.inc.com/patricia-fletcher/what-are-6-ways-you-can-create-a-strong-network.html

References:

Barker, E. (2014, August 08). The 10 best networking tips for people who hate networking. Retrieved from https://theweek.com/articles/444806/10-best-networking-tips-people-who-hate-networking

8 Steps To Getting The Perfect Mentor For You. (2018, April 11). Retrieved from https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/02/mentor/

Changing Habits Update

So far so good!! The utilization of a tracker has certainly made me more aware of the foods I consume and the healthy behaviors I am striving to develop. I have actually made time for myself to get to the gym at least 3 days per week and am utilizing time in the mornings before work to workout at home.

This was a great read I found this week: https://simpleandseasonal.com/7-simple-rules-to-follow-for-a-fit-lifestyle/

Changing Habits

Module 2 Blog Assignment: Personal Change

State the habit you are changing and what will be difficult about refraining from it. Then update your blog frequently (daily would be ideal) with how it's going. What are you feeling? What do you think of this exercise?

Everyone knows that bad habits are hard to break! Many times we don't like to admit that we have bad habits until they start to affect our quality of life. I have never been one to work out on a consistent basis. Blame on a super busy schedule, being a parent to two wild boys, or just plain not wanting to go to the gym, regardless, I have never made time in the gym a priority. A few months back I had some bloodwork done and apparently thanks to great genetics, my cholesterol is well beyond that of a normal 30-something female and if I didn't make some changes I was going to have consider medications to prevent future problems associated with that. I have kicked around the idea of getting more time to workout but never really felt compelled until this assignment. Who knew a simple assignment could be the reason I really start working on becoming a healthier human? So, for the next two weeks (and hopefully well beyond), I am going to strive to get to the gym three times a week, I am giving up all soda (diet or regular), and embracing a better diet. Stay tuned for how this goes...

Here's a tracker I am going to use as well to help me monitor my progress. I'm a big fan of planners and this fits in nicely to my routine!

You can print it for free here: https://the-lilypad.com/habit-tracker-free-printable/ 

There are also some great smartphone apps to help this process too:
https://www.lifehack.org/668261/best-habit-tracking-apps

Some other great resources I've found to help this process include:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fixing-families/201712/how-break-bad-habits
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/21-days-actually-66-break-bad-habit-4-tips-how-win-jastrzebska

Emotional Intelligence

Source: https://hbr.org/resources/images/article_assets/2017/01/W170124_GOLEMAN_EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE.png 

1.     Select three competencies you feel very confident in, ones you feel you command well. For each, describe an example of how you've used it recently. How did it go?

Considering my personal strengths and where they lie within the twelve competencies associated with emotional and social intelligence, the three that I feel that I command well include:

·       Achievement Orientation: According to the Korn Ferry Institute, when we’re strong in the Achievement Orientation competency, we strive to meet or exceed a standard of excellence. We look for ways to learn how to do things better. We set challenging goals and take calculated risks. Personally, this fits very well with my reasoning to pursue an MBA degree. I already hold a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership as well as 30 hours beyond that MAEd to attain certification as a supervisor of instruction and director of pupil personnel. I felt that in my current role as STEM outreach director the skills I could acquire in leadership, management, etc. from an MBA could certainly bolster the work I am doing. In addition to this, we all know how well the public education sector fared last spring during the legislative session here in KY. Having a degree that gives me an option to pursue a career outside of education isn’t a bad option to have for the future. Looking at this competency in my current work and my work as a classroom teacher, I never settle for less than the very best. I was very achievement driven in the classroom and strived to make my classroom one of the best and from the awards I received, the success of my students, and the relationships I forged with them, this hard work paid off.

o   More information about this competency can be found here: https://www.kornferry.com/institute/achievement-orientation

·       Adaptability: Adaptability entails having the flexibility to adapt to new situations, handle change, and balance multiple demands. An adaptable leader can meet challenges as they arise and adjust their strategy based on what is needed most. They are comfortable with the uncertainty that leadership can bring. Working 13 years as a middle grades science teacher, adaptability comes as second nature. In the world of a classroom teacher, being adaptable is key to success. Even in my current work as the STEM Outreach Director here at NKU, adaptability enables me to do my job and do it well. For example, in one of our recent professional development sessions, the school apparently was not notified by the district administrator in charge of scheduling the sessions and when we showed up with teachers from every school in the district, they were certainly surprised and not in a good way. We had no room to present in and the only empty room was on the third floor of the section of the building that did not have elevator access. I told them to not worry that we could certainly transport our materials (2 wagons full of bins of science supplies) and set up there for the day. This is typical of many situations we encounter in our work in outreach. You learn to fly by the seat of pants while still maintaining control of the situation.

·       Coach and Mentor: The ability to foster the long-term learning or development of others by giving feedback, guidance, and support.  Leaders skilled at this competency have a genuine interest in helping others develop further strengths. They understand the person’s goals, give timely constructive feedback, and offer challenges that will provide growth opportunities. As a teacher and now as a professional development provider in my role as the STEM Outreach director, I learned to foster this skill early on in my professional career and have worked to fine tune it since then. I love the part of my job where I get to mentor and work with new teachers and teachers new to teaching science. Sharing the passion I have for the content is my favorite part of the job.

2.     Select three competencies you feel are opportunities for you to improve, ones you feel need work. Identify a way you can practice this competency (look at your calendar for meetings or events where certain competencies may be most useful) and commit to practicing it. You practice plan for each competency should include:

o   the situation/meeting/event where you plan to use it

o   what you'll do to keep it top of mind 

o   what behaviors you'll use to develop this area

·       Empathy: This competency forms the basis of social awareness and relationship management. Empathy means having the ability to sense others’ feelings and how they see things. Leaders skilled at empathy take an active interest in the concerns of others, pick up cues to what’s being felt and thought, and sense unspoken emotions. They listen attentively to understand the other person’s point of view and can communicate effectively with many different types of people. Personally, this is something I have always felt was a weakness of mine when it comes to leadership. I often keep to myself and would rather not be drawn into the issues that others are dealing with. I am currently dealing with developing this competency in dealing with a co-worker at work that has been sick beyond what most would consider a normal amount of time. There always seems to be something wrong with this individual or with one of their children/family members, almost to the point where it affects their quality of work. I’ve not said anything up until now because I usually make up for their shortcomings in the outreach work we conduct. I reached out to my director who is working with me on coming up with a tracking system for this employee to chart their days missed and come to the agreement that missed time will be made up. Salaried faculty that are 9 month employees really don’t get sick days but it doesn’t seem fair to everyone else that one person continually misses work.

o   More information can be found here on empathy: https://www.keystepmedia.com/empathy/

·       Teamwork: This is the ability to work with others toward a shared goal, participating actively, sharing responsibility and rewards, and contributing to the capability of the team. While on one hand, I feel that I am rather good at working with teams, this is certainly an area I feel as if I could grow professionally. When it comes to getting work done, frankly, I’d rather just do it myself, even if it means more work on my part. I know that a team approach can offer great insight and a variety of ideas but on the other hand I also hate the feeling that some people aren’t making much of a contribution while others are doing the majority of the work. I suppose this stems from past experiences in working on teams where I was the one that burdened that workload to ensure our success on a project. My strength in being achievement orientated works against me in this aspect. In my department, we are working on finding ways to put together a STEM expo for elementary schools that we partner with. My plan is to get a group of our colleagues together and help direct everyone towards contributing to make this project a success. I would much rather step back and let others contribute more versus having to do all of the work myself. I think the approach of really creating an atmosphere where respect, helpfulness, and cooperation are highly valued as is the concept of getting everyone on board with the common goal in mind of completing this project.

·       Organizational Awareness: Organizational Awareness means having the ability to read a group's emotional currents and power relationships, and identify influencers, networks, and dynamics within the organization. Despite having been at NKU for 3 years, I still feel as if I am growing in this strength as a leader. There are still faces I don’t know and that’s not surprising. Part of the issue I feel stems from the fact that as the STEM Outreach Director, most of my work takes place with school districts off campus. I have set aside one day per week where I am always on campus from 8-4 p.m. and that has really improved things this year with regards to being available for campus wide events, etc. Still, I think there are opportunities where I could be more involved in what is going on here on campus. In the upcoming months, I plan to try and become involved in more of the offerings for faculty such as lunch and learn seminars, college wide meetings, etc. I am purposefully leaving portions of my calendar open to allow more time on campus for these events. Having connections at work are vital to one’s success and I think that is an area where I could see great gains professionally should I make more of them.

o   More information on organizational awareness can be found here: https://www.kornferry.com/institute/organizational-awareness-leadership

Character Strengths

This week I had the chance to evaluate my character strengths using the VIA Character Survey that can be found at http://www.viacharacter.org. In taking this survey my top 5 character strengths were:

·       Curiosity: “Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one's own or formally; related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows.”

When I think about myself and this trait, it is certainly one that has always guided what drives me. I love learning new things, seeing new places, and exploring this great big world. Recently, my husband and I took a weekend away to Las Vegas. While most people would spend the majority of their time in the city doing what you do when you go to Vegas, I took it as a chance to see some really amazing geologic features I had read about. One of my favorite spots to explore while we were there was the Valley of Fire State Park. We spent hours hiking and driving to see all the amazing formations this park had to offer. This is no different than most other trips I've taken where I took the chance to take the "road less traveled" and learn about this beautiful planet we get to call home.

·       Love of Learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one's own or formally; related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows.

It's no wonder as an educator that the love of learning was one of my top strengths. I thrive on learning new things. I love reading non-fiction books, especially biographies and books about personal growth and leadership. I take every opportunity given to attend lectures and conferences that can help me improve and grow both personally and professionally. 

·       Judgment: Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one's mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly.

As a farmer, the strength of judgment is invaluable. Making decisions that are in the best interest of the operation, best interest of animal welfare, and finding ways to think things through without worrying about every single thing is certainly a skill you have to learn to utilize. Keeping an open mind and using the best information you have to make the best decision when the pressure is on.

·       Zest: Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated.

Living life to it's fullest is what I strive to do. Zest is a way of ‘approaching life with excitement and energy and from that, I try to bring a sense of excitment into everything I do. I have a true passion for my work both at NKU and on the farm and that is what drives me. I take opportunities when they come my way and strive to make things fun. When traveling for work or pleasure, I always opt to try out new places and meet new people. Mingling with the locals is something I love to do best when I travel. Getting new perspectives on life and the world really make you appreciate things. 

·       Perspective: Being able to provide wise counsel to others; having ways of looking at the world that make sense to oneself/others.

As the director of my team it's important that I find ways to provide great feedback to my colleagues and do so in a way that supports them and builds them up while at the same time moving us all forward towards success! In my role as a parent and a spouse this strength is also vital to forging lasting relationships. Offering ways of looking at situations that might be different or provide an alternate viewpoint can help others through difficulties they may face.