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Updates for government notices, Things to do, Artists, General things

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - 9:00am
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Governor Gary R. Herbert's Schedule

February 3, 2020 - February 7, 2020 

**The Governor’s schedule is subject to frequent change**

 

Monday,  February 3

9:30 a.m.   Speak to Students at Spring Lake Elementary School Event 

Location:   Pasyon, Utah 

 

12:00 p.m.  Attend Leadership Meeting  

Location:    Governor’s Office 

 

1:40 p.m.   Meet with Lt. Governor Cox 

Location:   Governor’s Office 

 

3:30 p.m.   Meet with General Counsel 

Location:   Governor’s Office 

 

Tuesday,  February 4

Travel to Washington, D.C.

 

Wednesday, February 5

Meetings in Washington, D.C. 

 

Thursday, February 6

Meetings in Washington, D.C.

 

Friday, February 7

9:00 a.m.   Participate in Cato Institute Policy Forum

Location:   Washington, D.C.

Media Access  

 

2:30 p.m.   Speak at POLITICO’s State Solutions Conference

Location:   Washington, D.C. 

 

6:30 p.m.   Attend Republican Governors Association Event

Location:   Washington, D.C.

 

Saturday, February 8

Attend National Governors Association Meetings

 

3:15 p.m.   Speak at Plenary Session: Investing in the Future: Economic Prosperity and Public Health

Location:   Washington, D.C.

Media Access

 

Sunday, February 9

Attend National Governors Association Meetings

 

Lt. Governor Spencer J. Cox's Schedule

February 3, 2020 - February 7, 2020 

**The Lt. Governor’s schedule is subject to frequent change**

 

Monday,  February 3

TBD - Weather Dependent

 

Tuesday, February 4

7:00 a.m.   Utah Republican Party Annual Legislative Breakfast 

Location:   Salt Lake City

 

8:45 a.m.   Career Technical Education Day on the Hill

Location:   Presentation Room, State Capitol

 

10:30 a.m.  Meet UTech Students of the Year

Location:   Gold Room, State Capitol

 

Wednesday, February 5

5:00 p.m.  Utah Museum of Fine Arts Tour

Location:  University of Utah

 

6:00 p.m.  Speak to Public & Nonprofit Organizations Media & Public Relations Class

Location:  University of Utah

 

Thursday, February 6

9:00 a.m.   Meet with Legislative Leadership

Location:   Senate Chambers

 

10:00 a.m.  Attend Legislative Strategy Meeting

Location:    Governor’s Office

 

Friday, February 7

9:30 a.m.   Nonprofit Day on the Hill

Location:   Capitol Board Room, State Capitol

 

10:00 a.m.  Meet with Continuum of Care Leadership

Location:    Lt. Governor’s Office

 

11:00 a.m.  Violence and Injury Prevention Program Media Event

Location:    Salt Lake City

Media Access

 

12:00 p.m.  Attend Cabinet Meeting

Location:    Capitol Board Room, State Capitol

Media Access

 

3:30 p.m.   Meet with Staff

Location:   Lt. Governor’s Office 

===================

EXPERTS: Maureen Bechard, M.S., & Karen Huberty, M.Ed.
Tuesday, March 3 @ 1pm U.S. Eastern Time - Register now!
 

Can't attend the live webinar? Register now and we'll email you the replay link
. . . . .

Social skills challenges, losing homework, maddening morning routines — children diagnosed with ADHD need their parents’ help, even if they won’t admit or accept it. Pinpointing the executive function skills your teen needs to improve will help you create a solid plan for moving forward from elementary through high school.

In this webinar, you will learn how to:

  • Understand the components of executive functions
  • Determine how executive functions affect your child’s success at school, home, and in their social life
  • Master the “detective approach” to pinpoint your teen’s areas of need
  • Problem-solve solutions to those areas of weakness together

The expert Q&A webinar How to Become an Executive Function Detective: Solving ADHD Problems at School and Home will take place Tuesday, March 3, 2020, from 1pm-2pm Eastern Time (12pm-1pm CT; 11am-12pm MT; 10am-11am PT).

Find it in your time zone >
 

Register Now!

NOTE: Qualify for a certificate of attendance when you attend an ADDitude webinar live or listen to the replay.

 

MEET THE SPEAKERS:

Maureen Bechard, M.S.

Maureen Bechard, M.S., is a licensed professional school counselor who has loved working with middle school students for more than 30 years. In her efforts to educate students, parents, teachers, and administrators about executive function deficits, she has found that the strategies that are good for ADHD work for all students.

Karen Huberty, M.Ed.

Karen Huberty, M.Ed., has a passion for teaching students with ADHD, and educating students and staff about executive functioning skills. Karen was a 2018 ADHD Conference presenter on executive functions and ADHD and was awarded the Rotary Teacher of the Year Award for her innovative work in this field. She is also mom to a 12-year-old daughter who proudly owns her ADHD.

 

The sponsor of this webinar is...
Play Attention: Helping your thrive at school, home, and work. Play Attention utilizes NASA inspired technology to strengthen Executive Function and Self-Regulation. Learn how you can make ADHD your Superpower! Call 800-788-6786 or click here for our FREE eBooks on Executive Function & Academic Success, Impulse Control, Mindfulness, and more! | www.playattention.com

Mention AdditudeMag0320 and receive 10% off your home or professional program + one FREE ADHD Assessment.

 

ADDitude thanks our sponsors for supporting our webinars. Sponsorship has no influence on speaker selection or webinar content.
=============================

Dear Editor:

Please consider this timely and pointed commentary from public intellectual Winslow Myers on the fake "trial" in the Senate. For PeaceVoice, thank you,

Tom Hastings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where’s my Roy Cohn?”

by Winslow Myers

414 words

At one point when he felt under siege by possible indictments and impeachable offenses, the president whined petulantly, “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” 

 

The question became the title of a documentary on Cohn’s life and career that made one feel after viewing like taking a long hot shower. Cohn blithely represented a number of high-ranking organized crime capos—as well as the president of course (in his younger day--Cohn died in 1986). His reputation for ruthlessness was surpassed only by his reputation for hypocrisy as a closeted gay man who, when he worked for Senator McCarthy, had no problem trashing the reputation of other gay men. 

 

Now the president has found his Roy Cohn—in Lamar Alexander, Lisa Murkowski, and all the other Republicans in the Senate who voted to end the first ever impeachment trial that subpoenaed no witnesses and requested no documents. As e.e.cummings once wrote:

“A politician is an ass upon

Which everyone has sat—except a man.”

 

Women, too—here’s looking at you, Lisa. 

 

But politicians do not have to be sat-upon asses devoid of principles. I don’t know about you, but in the heroic eloquence and poise of Adam Schiff, I saw something presidential. Maybe not this cycle, but down the road.

 

It was hard to choose the most outrageous aspect of this Moscow-like show trial—McConnell’s brazen partisanship even though he swore himself to impartiality; Dershowitz’s cockamamie “arguments” that came right back down to Nixon’s “if the president does it, it’s not illegal”; the general weakness of the defense’s rationalizations of the president’s behavior; the abject, feckless refusal to interview Bolton;  or the fact that the president’s lawyer, Mr. Cipollone, continued to defend the president even as it emerged that Cipollone was in at least one meeting that made him a direct witness of the president’s perfidy.

 

Polls suggest that 75 percent of Americans wanted witnesses. That statistic, given myriad other evidence that the polarization around Trump is more like 50-50, is arresting. It suggests something hopeful about the body politic—that, unlike the Republic senators, even for Trump supporters, basic fairness trumps mindless cultism. 

 

Jill Lepore, in an excellent article in this week’s New Yorker, writes “Nothing so sharpens one’s appreciation for democracy as bearing witness to its demolition.” The empty spectacle of the impeachment trial has the potential to activate a lot of citizens to go to work and show cynics like McConnell the door. 

 

OK—on to the ballot box. At least they can’t take that away from us  . . .  can they?????

–end–

Winslow Myers, the author of “Living Beyond War: A Citizen’s Guide,” serves on the Advisory Board of the War Preventive Initiative, and is a member of Rotary. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not represent official Rotary policy.

==========================

United Utah Party to announce 4th District Congressional Candidate 

What:    United Utah Party 4th District Congressional Candidate Announcement

When:  Tuesday, February 4 at 10:00 a.m.

 

Where:  Online

====================

Iowa lawmakers are working to ban all handheld cell phone use while driving, and according to a recent QuoteWizard report, Iowa drivers were found to have a 4.30% fatality rate and 98 deaths due to distracted driving from 2013 to 2017.

We analyzed NHTSA fatality data to find which states had the highest rate of distracted driving fatalities. You can find the full report here: https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/states-with-the-most-distracted-drivers

============================

 

 

 

USDA Issues Third Tranche of 2019 MFP Payments

 

 

(Washington, D.C., February 3, 2020) – At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the third and final tranche of 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. The payments will begin to show up in farmers’ bank accounts by the end of this week.

 

“It’s been a great start to 2020 for American Agriculture with the signing of the historic Phase One Deal with China and the signing of USMCA,” said Secretary Perdue. “While these agreements are welcome news, we must not forget that 2019 was a tough year for farmers as they were the tip of the spear when it came to unfair trade retaliation. President Trump has shown time and again that he is fighting for America’s farmers and ranchers and this third tranche of 2019 MFP payments is proof. President Trump is following through on his promise to help and support farmers as he continues to fight for fair market access just like he did with China.”

 

Background on USDA’s Support Package for Farmers:

 

President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a second support package for farmers while the Administration continues to work on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, the President authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide up to $16 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated impacts of unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and other trade disruptions. In May, Secretary Perdue announced these actions to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation and trade disruption:

 

  • MFP for 2019, authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), is providing approximately $14.5 billion in direct payments to producers.
  • Additionally, CCC Charter Act authority is being used to implement a $1.4 billion Food Purchase and Distribution Program (FPDP) through the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to purchase surplus commodities affected by trade retaliation such as fruits, vegetables, some processed foods, beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and milk for distribution by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to food banks, schools, and other outlets serving low-income individuals.
  • Finally, the CCC has used its Charter Act authority for $100 million to be issued through the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) administered by the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) to assist in developing new export markets on behalf of producers.

 

Details Regarding Third Tranche of 2019 MFP Payments:

 

Payments will be made by FSA under the authority of CCC Charter Act to producers of alfalfa hay, barley, canola, corn, crambe, dried beans, dry peas, extra-long staple cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long grain and medium grain rice, millet, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rye, safflower, sesame seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed, temperate japonica rice, triticale, upland cotton, and wheat. MFP assistance for these non-specialty crops is based on a single county payment rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings of MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per-acre payments are not dependent on which of these crops are planted in 2019. A producer’s total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018 plantings. County payment rates range from $15 to $150 per acre, depending on the impact of unjustified trade retaliation in that county.

 

Dairy producers who were in business as of June 1, 2019, will receive a per hundredweight payment on Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) production history, and hog producers will receive a payment based on the number of live hogs owned on a day selected by the producer between April 1 and May 15, 2019.

 

MFP payments will also be made to producers of almonds, cranberries, cultivated ginseng, fresh grapes, fresh sweet cherries, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts. Each specialty crop will receive a payment based on 2019 acres of fruit or nut bearing plants, or in the case of ginseng, based on harvested acres in 2019.

 

Acreage of non-specialty crops and cover crops had to be planted by August 1, 2019 to be considered eligible for MFP payments.

 

Per-acre non-specialty crop county payment rates, specialty crop payment rates, and livestock payment rates are all currently available on farmers.gov.

 

This is the final of three tranches of MFP payments. The first tranche was comprised of the higher of either 50 percent of a producer’s calculated payment or $15 per acre, which may reduce potential payments to be made in tranche three. The second tranche was 25% of the total payment expected, in addition to the 50% from the first tranche.

 

MFP payments are limited to a combined $250,000 for non-specialty crops per person or legal entity. MFP payments are also limited to a combined $250,000 for dairy and hog producers and a combined $250,000 for specialty crop producers. However, no applicant can receive more than $500,000. Eligible applicants must also have an average adjusted gross income (AGI) for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017 of less than $900,000 unless at least 75 percent of the person’s or legal entity’s AGI is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry related activities. Applicants must also comply with the provisions of the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.

 

Many producers were affected by natural disasters this spring, such as flooding, that kept them out of the field for extended periods of time. Producers who filed a prevented planting claim and planted an FSA-certified cover crop, with the potential to be harvested qualify for a $15 per acre payment. Acres that were never planted in 2019 are not eligible for an MFP payment.

 

In June, H.R. 2157, the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019, was signed into law by President Trump, requiring a change to the first round of MFP assistance provided in 2018. Producers previously deemed ineligible for MFP in 2018 because they had an average AGI level higher than $900,000 may now be eligible for 2018 MFP benefits. Those producers must be able to verify 75 percent or more of their average AGI was derived from farming and ranching to qualify. This supplemental MFP signup period will run parallel to the 2019 MFP signup, from July 29 through December 6, 2019.

 

For more information on the MFP, visit www.farmers.gov/mfp or contact your local FSA office, which can be found at www.farmers.gov.

 

 

 

*For more information or an interview with Andrew Sobel, please contact Dottie DeHart, DeHart & Company Public Relations, at (828) 325-4966 or simply reply to this email

The Decline of the Trusted Professional
Relationship—and Six Steps You Can Take to Reverse It

Are your professional relationships as strong as you need them to be? If not, that's bad
news as they're the foundation of career success. The good news? Andrew Sobel says
there are specific steps you can take to overhaul these relationships,
create more of them, and move from struggling to thriving.

          New York, NY (February 2020)—We live in a low-trust world. Over the last several decades, nearly every measure of trust has declined. What's more, rates of loneliness have doubled in the last 50 years in the United States, with almost half of surveyed adults saying they feel lonely or left out. Not only is the trust deficit harmful for our health and wellness (both physical and mental), it wreaks havoc on our professional relationships. Andrew Sobel says this problem, which hurts both career and organizational success, has grown in tandem with the rise of the Internet—and it's crept in so insidiously that we may not have realized it was happening.

          "The 'normalizing' of digital relationships has masked the weakness of many professionals' face-to-face relationship-building skills," says Sobel, creator of the masterclass Building Relationships That Matter, and best-selling author of eight books, including Power Relationships, Power Questions (both with Jerold Panas), and Clients for Life (with Jagdish N. Sheth).

          "This is especially true for younger professionals, who have grown up on a steady diet of online 'friends' and connections, and are less schooled in the art of face-to-face relationship-building," he adds. "Younger professionals in their 20s and early 30s often lament a lack of influence and recognition within their organizations, but they are not building the key stakeholder relationships that give you those things."

          Sobel says the deterioration of our working relationships undermines our careers and the companies we work for. We feel loyal to people only when there's a real personal connection. Without that, you're a tradable commodity, and may very well be the first to be pushed out the door when times get tough. We all need a small group of trusted relationships if we're to get our ideas recognized and supported, become a successful leader, collaborate and innovate effectively, and serve our clients the way they deserve to be treated.

          "Organizational leadership is rarely vested in the lone genius, a.k.a. Steve Jobs, but is more often founded on a network of trusted relationships you develop throughout your career," he says. "To lead, you need followers and colleagues who trust you."

          Sobel says most of us are aware that we need trusted professional relationships. In his Global Relationships study—which surveyed 2,700 professionals, including 1,000 Millennials—91 percent of respondents said such relationships are "very" or "extremely" important to career success. Unfortunately, only 30 percent said they were "very satisfied" with their professional relationships.

          That's why he created Building Relationships That Matter. This online course—using deeply engaging immersive multi-media technology—brings to life more than 20 years' worth of the most extensive research ever done on the capabilities required to develop deep, trusted professional relationships. More than 50,000 executives in 52 countries have used these skills and techniques to accelerate their careers and grow their businesses, says Sobel.

          As we move into the future, he says trusting relationships will only become more vital. "Artificial intelligence and automation are likely to swallow up most routine jobs, and knowledge-based jobs aren't far behind them," notes Sobel. "The only 'safe' occupations are those that depend on activities humans are better at than computers—like collaboration, creative problem solving, and other soft skills. All of these require strong interpersonal relationships with your manager, colleagues, mentors, and other influencers both inside and outside of your organization."

          So how can we combat the decline of trust and build more and better professional relationships? Sobel offers a few suggestions:

Think eagles, not gnats. (Aim for quality, not quantity.) As we seek to form professional relationships, we now think that more is better. The trappings of the digital age only encourage that mindset. Yet counterintuitive as it may seem, Sobel says that focusing a majority of our relational investments on a smaller number of valuable connections is far more effective. Ideally, he says we need to develop and nurture 15 to 25 trusted relationships (and that's what his course aims for).

"Increasingly, our culture focuses on developing large numbers of social media connections," he says. "These are more like a cloud of busy gnats than a flight of eagles who are powerfully moving your career forward. It's better to deepen the relationships that really matter. My research shows that in most careers, there are a handful of relationships that have a disproportionate impact on your success—and for which you, in turn, can really make a difference."

Sobel cites the example of one of his clients, a highly successful investment banker, who told him that nearly one-quarter of all his lifetime revenue had come through one law firm partner he had developed a close relationship with early in his career.

Follow the relationship recipe. Sobel says there's a process that should be followed when creating and sustaining great professional relationships:

Build Rapport - Understand Their Agenda - Add Value - Connect Personally - Stay in Touch

"This process is not linear—you don't do it once and then stop," says Sobel. "Rather, you repeat these steps many times, continuing to strengthen the relationship. Trust is a natural outcome of doing these steps well."

Assess your relationship IQ. What skills do you need to work on? Sobel says there are certain attitudes and skills you need to cultivate in order to build solid, trust-based relationships. In fact, his program revolves around nine of them: generosity, curiosity, rapport, power questions, empathy, trust, agenda helping, influence, and relationship healing. (NOTE: See tipsheet below)

"These skills need to be exercised in a balanced manner," says Sobel. "If you demonstrate too little rapport, for instance, you'll seem aloof and distant and won't make a connection. Too much rapport and you'll come across as an inauthentic glad-hander."

Stop telling and start asking... Often in an attempt to seem smart or to impress others, we are tempted to give nonstop advice or spout everything we know about a subject. Squelch that instinct, advises Sobel. Asking builds relationships while telling can create resistance. Learn to ask the right questions and you'll gain access to new information, uncover solutions, and understand what's really important to the other person. You'll show that you're curious and eager to learn from them. Ultimately you'll have higher-impact conversations and be seen as more likeable and trustworthy.

Sobel tells a story about how early in his consulting career, he was tasked with engaging a famous business school professor known for his large ego and for being impossible to work with. At the beginning of their lunch, he simply asked, "I'm curious; how did you get your start?" and then listened for two hours as the professor talked. Sobel barely said a word—and the professor glowingly told Sobel's boss the next day that Sobel was "really smart" and that they had had a "fantastic conversation."

...and really listen to the answers. We don't always appreciate just how powerful deep, empathetic listening can be in building relationships. And while most of us think we're already good listeners, the truth is we probably aren't. Sobel says that good listening means getting yourself and your ego out of the equation, and not trying to outshine the other person.

"This doesn't mean you should sit there silently the whole time," he adds. "If you just listen and never say anything, the speaker may feel stranded. Paraphrase and synthesize as you go along. Affirm that you've understood what they're saying, ask follow-up questions, and sprinkle in your own thoughts and feelings about the subject. That's the recipe for a rewarding conversation."

Get intentional about building trusted relationships. These powerful business relationships don't just happen, says Sobel. They must be deliberately cultivated and maintained. It means putting forth the effort to really get to know the other person, checking up on them, trying to help them, and genuinely caring about making their life better. This is why we must make our professional relationships—actually all relationships—a priority, says Sobel. He recommends listing your "critical few" relationships—the 15 to 25 that can really make a difference—and developing a staying-in-touch plan for each one. "One of my oldest and most important relationships began over 30 years ago," he says. "This individual, later in his career, became the CEO of one of the world's largest companies. He has introduced me to many, many other top executives over the years."

          "Life is complicated and it's easy for us to put off relationship development until 'things settle down' or we have more free time," he says. "The problem is, that day never comes. This is how people lose touch, and how relationships atrophy. You have to carve some time out of your schedule, put it on your to-do list, and commit to making it happen. Relationships rarely stay the same—they either deepen and grow, or they wither on the vine."

          The effort is always worth it, he adds.

          "We simply don't thrive on hundreds of superficial contacts," says Sobel. "In business and in life, we flourish on a handful of trusted relationships. We owe it to ourselves and to those around us to start building relationships that matter."

# # #

Nine Attitudes and Skills You'll Need
to Build Strong Professional Relationships

Excerpted from Andrew Sobel's Building Relationships That Matter Masterclass

          Through 20 years of research and extensive experience working with over 50,000 professionals, Andrew Sobel has identified a set of powerful attitudes and skills for building the relationships that truly matter to your career. In his masterclass Building Relationships That Matter, he teaches people how to remove the barriers to these attitudes and skills and gives very specific tips for implementing them in their day-to-day relationships. They are as follows:

TWO ATTITUDES...

GENEROSITY. If trust is the universal lubricant for relationships, generosity is the fuel that gets them started and keeps them growing. Sobel describes it as the willingness to give freely of your time, expertise, experience, and social capital. In other words, it's not just about giving money (which is what most of us think of); it's often about being willing to forgive someone who has hurt you or being happy for other people's good fortunes.

"Most of us aren't as generous in practice as we'd like to be," says Sobel. "We have a 'me' focus. Sometimes this is due to a lack of role models. Other times it's a fear of being taken advantage of. We need to strengthen our generosity muscle by taking small, daily steps."

For example: Think about someone in your professional network who has experienced a success or positive development in their life. Speak to them in person, call them up, or write a short note (ideally, not an email or text). Express your admiration and how excited you are for them.

CURIOSITY. This attitude helps you learn about people, giving you a better basis to build rapport with them. It drives you to understand what's important to others. The more you learn from those around you, the more proprietary knowledge you'll accumulate (i.e., stuff you can't Google!). Curiosity tends to atrophy as we age—but it doesn't have to. We can intentionally initiate and cultivate it.

For example, when you talk to people you're trying to form trusted professional relationships with, ask them about their goals, aspirations, and dreams. What have been the most important experiences in their lives and turning points in their careers? If you feel uncomfortable doing this, "practice" with a family member or friend.

...AND SEVEN SKILLS

RAPPORT. Rapport is a harmonious, sympathetic connection between you and the other person. It requires effective communication and an understanding of each other's feelings and ideas. You can't manipulate others into feeling rapport by, say, simply mirroring body language. People see through such tricks. To create rapport, you must come across as trustworthy, competent, and likeable—and all three qualities require preparation and being present and human.

"There are things you can do to project all three qualities," says Sobel. "Find commonalities and similarities—this increases your likeability. So does walking in and thinking, I like this person—studies show it makes them like you. Ask questions and show an active interest in the other person, which increases trust. And of course, nothing demonstrates competence like being prepared and having a well-developed point of view on the topic you're discussing."

POWER QUESTIONS. Sobel says the CEO of a large, global corporation once said to him: "I can always tell how experienced someone is by the quality of their questions and how well they listen. Good questions are far more powerful than quick, easy answers." Power questions dramatically improve the quality of your conversations and help build stronger relationships. Of course not every question is a power question, says Sobel.

For starters, a power question is open-ended: Not, "Is it a priority to bring new skills into your department?" but rather, "In your department, how will your mix of employee skills need to change in the future?" It typically surprises the other person—so don't fall back on clichés like "What keeps you up at night?" Instead ask, "What's the most exciting thing you're working on right now?" A power question gets you focused on the right issues, helps you understand the other person's agenda, and brings the strategic context and higher-level goals into the conversation.

CARING THROUGH EMPATHY. Empathy is the ability to sense other people's emotions, and also imagine what they are thinking and feeling. It's a fundamental skill that enables us to walk in the other person's shoes. Sobel says the four main foundations of empathy are an interest in others, self-awareness, humility, and listening skills.

"Take listening skills," says Sobel. "We may not think of listening as an expression of empathy, but it absolutely is. And most of us have bad listening habits: rushing people through conversations, finishing their sentences, 'faking' paying attention. We check emails while on the phone with them. All these tell people, 'I don't care about you or what you're saying.'"

DEVELOPING TRUST. Trust reduces the inevitable frictions inherent in working with others, the way oil keeps a car engine running smoothly. It enables the creation of deep, resilient connections at work and at home. When people trust each other, everything is easier: You can work together faster and more efficiently, because you don't need to check up on each other all the time. You can express yourself to others without fear. Collaborating becomes a pleasant experience. In a high-trust workplace, you need fewer rules and controls.

To build trust, demonstrate that you are always acting with the other person's best interests in mind. You need to meet commitments, keep confidences, and answer questions without hedging. Make these qualities tangible by sometimes doing something for the other person that is clearly not in your interest, and telling people quickly and openly about mistakes or bad news. Prepare carefully for meetings to showcase competence. On the other hand, trust-busting behaviors include criticizing others who aren't in the room, exaggerating, and always ensuring that your needs are met first.

AGENDA HELPING. A person's agenda is their top three to five priorities, needs, or goals. It's what is really important to them over the next six to twelve months. We all have both a professional and a personal agenda. When you understand a person's agenda, you can add value by helping them meet their goals—by sharing ideas or introducing them to others who can help. You may even anticipate or help shape their future agenda.

"Anticipating what may impact someone in the future is extraordinarily valuable," says Sobel. "It's the difference between saying, 'Here's an idea to help you climb your career ladder faster and better,' and, 'I think your ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.' You're looking ahead and giving them the big picture. But be careful: You must be certain you understand what they're focused on today. Don't be one of those boors who tells people what to do without first getting to know them!"

INFLUENCE. Simply put, influence is the power to change or affect someone. If you have it, you'll be able to convince others of your ideas and proposals and gain support for your goals. The foundation of influencing is having a strength of character and depth of knowledge that commands others to listen to you and follow your advice. This is your "pull" strategy. The second part of the influence process involves "pushing" via the use of persuasion strategies.

There are seven main persuasion strategies: self-interest, rational appeal, emotional appeal, consistency, reciprocity, social proof, and scarcity. All are valid in certain scenarios. "I typically use the first three in combination, as they work well in most situations," notes Sobel. "Then I may draw from the other four to supplement these three. I tend to avoid scarcity—I find that it's close to scaremongering. Appealing to self-interest and rational analysis is more powerful."

RELATIONSHIP HEALING. Your ability to help resolve conflicts and heal broken relationships is paramount to your own well-being and those around you. Unresolved conflicts will fester, fueling anger and resentment. That's why Sobel says it's crucial to be able to hold healing conversations. But first you must be able to forgive the other person.

"Forgiveness is often misunderstood," says Sobel. "It doesn't mean that what the other person did is now okay or that you absolve them. Rather, true forgiveness is when you drop your demand to make them pay for what they did—you stop seeking revenge and compensation. This means you absorb the pain in the short-term, but then enjoy long-term peace.

"The alternative is to try to punish the person—perhaps badmouthing them to everyone or somehow sabotaging them," he adds. "But if you don't let go of your anger and resentment, you'll become, as my mother used to say, an 'injustice collector' who is perpetually angry at everyone and stuck in a spiral of unending retaliation."

# # #

Andrew Sobel, creator of masterclass Building Relationships That Matter, is the leading authority on the strategies and skills required to build the relationships that truly matter to your career. He is the most widely published author in the world on this topic, having written eight acclaimed, best-selling books on developing enduring professional relationships. His books have sold over 250,000 copies and have been translated into 21 languages. His newest book—It Starts With Clients: Your 100-Day Plan to Build Lifelong Relationships and Revenue—will be available in April 2020.

Andrew's programs have been delivered in 52 countries for many of the world's most successful companies. These include public corporations such as Citibank, Cognizant, Experian, Hess, UBS, and Lloyds Banking Group, as well as private firms such as PwC, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bain & Company, Grant Thornton, Deloitte, and Norton Rose Fulbright.

Andrew spent the first 14 years of his career with Gemini Consulting (formerly the MAC Group), where he became a senior vice president and country chief executive officer. He lived in Europe for over a decade and speaks four languages. For over 20 years he has led his own international consulting firm. He graduated from Middlebury College with honors and earned his MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School. Andrew can be reached at www.AndrewSobel.com.

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The Dynamic Duo: CTE and School Counseling

By Adriana Harrington, Director of Innovation Policy for ExcelinEd

Today is not only the start of Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, it is also the start of School Counseling Week.

I don’t know about you, but I take celebrating CTE Month and School Counseling Week very seriously. It’s the perfect opportunity to thank CTE teachers and counselors for their important work. And after all, the two go hand in hand. Counselors play an instrumental role in supporting all students through their K-12 careers and ensuring that they are armed with essential knowledge to make decisions that will set them up for postsecondary and career success. These decisions affect both general and career and technical education.

But do school counselors have the most relevant information they need to effectively advise students in postsecondary and career? Most would say no. So how can states help counselors ensure students are well-informed about postsecondary and career options?

 

3 Ways States Can Empower & Inform School Counselors

1. Integrate postsecondary and career advising into counselor training and certification requirements.

To help students weigh their interests and identify next steps both within high school and after, counselors need to have information on the full spectrum of student opportunities. The state’s Department of Higher Education can consider requiring postsecondary and career awareness and advisement training in counselor certification program requirements. While many counselors receive some training related to college programs, they also need critical training in occupational options and pathways that extend beyond four-year college and university admissions. State Boards and Departments of Education can then fold in ongoing supports through trainings and guidance.

2. Provide user-friendly, regional labor market analyses to counselors.

We all recognize the importance of labor market data and their alignment (or misalignment) with CTE programs. But states cannot simply assume that this information is part of the student advising process. The state’s Department of Workforce Development (Labor) and the Department of Education can consider collaborating to provide tools on labor market data to school counselors. This labor market data can highlight career information such as which careers are growing or which are experiencing a shortage of qualified applicants. By providing counselors with labor market data, states can help reach students with information on viable, high-quality careers in their region. How to use these tools can then be folded into the training supports provided by the Department of Education listed in the above recommendation.

3. Increase communication between postsecondary institutions and local counselors.

Counselors proudly clap and cheer as their students cross the stage at graduation, but they often never know what happens to their students afterward. Counselors are left with the following questions about their students—and students across the state:

  • What were enrollment and completion rates at all postsecondary institutions?
  • What percentage of students required remedial supports or additional time to graduate, by institution?
  • What percentage of students switched their major or program of study?
  • Were there factors in high school that increased a student’s chances for graduating (such as early postsecondary opportunities like dual enrollment)?

Answers to questions like these would empower counselors with data to improve how they are advising their current students. The state Department of Higher Education can consider packaging and sharing this information with high schools, especially counselors.

 

Even dynamic duos need additional support now and then, and states that implement these three action steps could strengthen both counseling and CTE opportunities for students.
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Colleagues,

We, at the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP), have a number of announcements for February:

First, three upcoming events: 1) Our final Utah Women’s Leadership Speaker & Dialogue Series free event, is titled, “The Status of Women Worldwide: Becoming Informed & Empowered as Global Citizens,” will be held on February 19th (6:30-8:30pm) at UVU (live streaming available too). Our speakers will include Sharon Eubank & Dr. Valerie M. Hudson. You can RSVP online now! 2) We also have a few seats left for tomorrow’s Unconscious Bias Workshop - From Awareness to Action!, which is being held at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Lehi. 3) Our last Women’s Leadership Forum will be a free panel discussion on “The Gender Wage Gap: Digging Deep into Understanding The Complexity” (March 24, 3:30-5:00pm), with panelists Katie Hudman, Carrie Mayne, and Erin Jemison.

Second, today we are releasing a new research snapshot titled A Historical View of Women in Utah’s Top Political Roles (co-authored by Rep. Candice B. Pierucci); it highlights all women, throughout Utah’s history, who have served in the state legislature or executive state positions. All of our research can be found here.

Third, we have a few new resources this month. In this event video, therapist Tiffany Roe discusses “Real Tools for Women’s Mental Health.” We are also launching our new Podcast Website that hosts our 14 podcasts; this site allows you to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn + Alexa. We have also released a new “What Can I Do?” report titled What Media Professionals Can Do to Strengthen the Impact of Utah Girls and Women and an updated infographic on Voting and Civic Engagement Among Utah Women.

Fourth, here are some important events that our partners are hosting:

Finally, check out the following editorials and articles from January:

Spring Planting is Near: Join the Arbor Day Foundation in February and Receive 10 Free Trees

Joining the Arbor Day Foundation is an ideal way to get in the mood for spring planting. Anyone who joins the Foundation in February will receive 10 free Norway spruce trees or 10 free redbud trees to plant when the weather turns warm.  

The free trees are part of the Foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

“These trees will help beautify your home for many years to come,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The trees will also add to the proud heritage of your state’s existing Tree City USA communities.”

The Tree City USA program has supported community forestry throughout the country for more than 40 years.
 
The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between March 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow, or they will be replaced free of charge.

Members also receive a subscription to the Foundation’s colorful bimonthly publication, Arbor Day, and The Tree Book, which contains information about planting and care.

To become a member of the Foundation and receive the free trees, visit arborday.org/February or send a $10 contribution by February 29th to:

Ten Free Norway Spruce Trees
or Ten Free Eastern Redbud Trees
Arbor Day Foundation
100 Arbor Avenue
Nebraska City, NE 6841

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Spring Planting is Near: Join the Arbor Day Foundation in February and Receive 10 Free Trees

Joining the Arbor Day Foundation is an ideal way to get in the mood for spring planting. Anyone who joins the Foundation in February will receive 10 free Norway spruce trees or 10 free redbud trees to plant when the weather turns warm.  

The free trees are part of the Foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

“These trees will help beautify your home for many years to come,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The trees will also add to the proud heritage of your state’s existing Tree City USA communities.”

The Tree City USA program has supported community forestry throughout the country for more than 40 years.
 
The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between March 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow, or they will be replaced free of charge.

Members also receive a subscription to the Foundation’s colorful bimonthly publication, Arbor Day, and The Tree Book, which contains information about planting and care.

To become a member of the Foundation and receive the free trees, visit arborday.org/February or send a $10 contribution by February 29th to:

Ten Free Norway Spruce Trees
or Ten Free Eastern Redbud Trees
Arbor Day Foundation
100 Arbor Avenue
Nebraska City, NE 6841