Thought of the Day: Dream In Spite of the Negativity

What you focus on, dream about, and put your energy into, the universe will give you. Learn to dream big without limitations and give energy to positive dreams only. Leave the negative behind and no matter what anyone says or thinks, do not give up on your dreams because it is coming whether they believe it or not. 

Push forward, work hard, and watch it all fall into place.

Have an awesome Friday!

Kay

Thought of the Day: Live Up to Your Own Expectations not Others

Picture from: https://plus.google.com/111345634576774774232/posts

Thought of the Day: Easy Solutions

When looking for solutions remember: solutions do not always have to be complicated. The simplest of answers can yield the most rewards. Learn to incorporate simple solutions into your thinking process.

Happy Tuesday,

Dr. Kay

Picture Source: http://webneel.com/motivational-posters-quotes

Thought of the Day: Take the Rose Colored Glasses Off

Do you see your past through rose colored glasses? Many people focus on the glories of their past and often long to get back to it. However, they often fail to remember the hard days along with the even longer nights of work to achieve their goal. The past is the road map of lessons caused by curvy roads, twists, and turns of one's "life marathon" which prepares them for the next chapters of life.

Life is constant change. How you deal with issues, finding solutions, and making everyday decision changes? Think about when you were a kid vs kids now. There are a magnitude of differences and challenges. But each difference and challenge helps us to learn from the mistakes and successes of our past, so you can make a better future by working smarter not harder to achieve your goals.

“You cannot look to the past to get to the present because eventually you will walk into a wall. Instead look to the future while remembering the lessons of the past, with a drive and determination not to return.”- Kay Lackey

By: Kay Lackey

Blogger (http://www.conversationwithkay.com/) and Organizational Development Consultant

Picture is from: http://www.ascrewsloose.com/2013/01/17/technicolor/rose-colored-glasses/‏

Quote of the Day: Look to the Future

“You cannot look to the past to get to the present because eventually you will walk into a wall. Instead look to the future while remembering the lessons of the past, with a drive and determination not to return.”- Kay Lackey‏

Message of the Day: Live without Fear

“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” - Oprah Winfrey

I absolutely love this quote and I have found in life, if you fail to ask then the answer will always be no. A lack of courage to act is what sets people a part from the Oprahs, Warren Buffets, and Steve Jobs of the world. 

Failing to attempt or ask for something is largely due to an individual's feelings of  fear, failing, embarrassment, or seeming unintelligent to others. 

As an adult the one thing I miss from my childhood is the feeling of fearlessness. As we get older we tend to develop fear, worry, self-doubt, and anxiety. As a result, we become reserved in our actions. 

I can admit that I have had those thoughts but in the same moment I have learned to turned those thoughts into a positive. Being positive comes from knowing that it is okay to fail and understanding that failure allows us to grow. As adults we must understand that no one is perfect all of the time. Everyone has made mistakes which have led to embarrassment, failure, and teaching moments from others. It is not the mistake that matters but what you do afterwards.

Learn to live without fear, ask for what you want, and do not give up until you get it. You may hear no a thousand times but live knowing that the next person could be a yes.

By: Kay Lackey

Blogger (http://www.conversationwithkay.com/) and Organizational Development Consultant

Quote of the Day

"Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way to find success. Learn to move away from your comfort zone."

- Kay Lackey

Quote of the Day

"The worst thing you can ever do in life, is depend on someone else to bring you success, self-worth, and happiness."- Kay Lackey 

Message of the Day: Sponge Learning

"Do not ask something of someone that you are not willing to try yourself and expect success. Success is learning even the smallest detail. "- Kay Lackey 

I am a big fan of the notion of letting the experts do their jobs; I mean they are experts. Although you are not an expert, learn to ask questions as if you are training to be one. The most common thing I have found is that people fail to ask questions about the details of what is going on.

Have you ever considered asking the experts to teach you how to do it? Granted you may never be able to change your own car breaks or install a motherboard on your computer. However, do you at least know how it works or the parts that are required to complete the task?

Most individuals request a high level overview, which is great during a meeting and can save time but what about the non-meeting times? During this time be sure to ask question, for instance, so what tool do we use to measure performance and how does it work? 

Understanding how something works, allows you to make better decisions in the future? It can even save you a few bucks over time or help you succeed in aligning your goals to your organization's vision. Be like a sponge and learn all you can because you never know when you may need it. 

Picture source: http://www.illumine.co.uk/resources/newsletters/May-2011-learning-at-work.html

Have an Awesome Friday!

Kay Lackey

Organizational Development Consultant 

Rules for Life, Especially on Mondays

Happy Monday!!!!!

picture from: http://stickywallpapers.com/2014/quotes/inspirational-photos-part-the-recruitment-guru-2014

Strategic Management Planning

Recently, I received a question regarding the definition and best process of completing a strategic management plan.  Below is the requested define and brief explanation of the elements of a strategic management plan.

Picture source: https://nacmnet.org/CCCG/strategic-planning.html

Strategic Management Definition: The overall comprehensive management of the formulation, implementation, and continuous monitoring of major goals, objectives, and vision of an organization. The process includes strategic planning and thinking.

Why it is important: Like Succession Planning and Management, Strategic Management is designed to identify the long-term needs and overall strategic direction need for the organization to remain successful.

Strategic planning is a major component of strategic management. To identify the long-term needs and strategic direction of an organization, small departmental specific plans need to be developed. The smaller plan’s development is known as strategic planning.  

Strategic Planning is an organization’s guide tool that identifies the specific goals of the organization and the purposed direction, activities, resources, and decisions made to obtain the goal. If this definition seems similar to the strategic management, well it is. But here is the difference:

Strategic planning is the process of identifying the goals/objectives and synthesizing it to actual resources for short-term wins that fit into the long-term goals of the organization. On the other hand, strategic management ensures long-term goals/objectives are met by appropriately formulating, allocating, and implementing activities and resources. Formulating, allocating, and implementing activities and resources increases the chances of an organization making great strategy choices.

Steps in Strategic Management and Planning:'

Project Management Phase: Initiation/Planning/Monitoring and Control

Strategy Formation: The process of choosing the appropriate course of action needed for the organization to realize its vision through reaching goals and objectives. . (Please note: This is where monitoring and control begins.)

1.      Mission Statement: Mission statement tells internal/external clients where organization is currently and what it aspires to be. For example, the Conversation with Kay mission statement is:

Improving organizations by improving the performance of its people at all levels within the organization. It is not an easy task but through the use of articles, presentations, videos, and continuous motivation, it can be done. 

2. Analysis (Strategic Thinking): Identify the current and future needs of the organization to better understand the vision for the strategic direction and ensure that it aligns with the mission and values of the organization. This is where I like to ask the sponsor(s), “What would you like to accomplish with this project?”

Note: In most strategic management post you will probably see analysis are the identification of goal setting, however, I feel analysis should be split into two sections, before and after goals/objectives. 

3. Goals/Objectives: Based on the strategic direction, specific measurable targets both long- (management) and short-term (planning) goals and/or objectives can be identified.

4. Analysis (Strategic Thinking): Identify whether the goals/objectives align with the overall mission/values of the organization. Identify key resources both financially and contractually and an analysis the internal/external position of the organization needs to be completed. By analysis the internal and external strengths and opportunities as well as threats and weakness, a change agents can identify potential opportunity and issues which can affect the strategic process.

Possible Analysis Tools: SWOT Analysis, SMART Goals, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Growth-share Matrix, Strategy Map, and more. Note: I like to use a combination of SWOT Analysis and SMART Goals in the analysis and goal/objective stages. 

Successful Project Tip: Look for several key things including: drives people within the organization, what are the tough issues the organization internal/external faces during change, and why, what is missing, how the goals/objectives will be measured, and what has or has not worked in the past. Also update your monitor and control plan to ensure the project stays on track. 

Deliverable Examples: Communication Plan, Organizational Goals/Objectives Targets, Organization Analysis, Strategic Plan(s), Performance Analysis Plan, and Strategy Choice/Framework

Project Management Phase: Launch/Execution/Monitoring and Control
5. Strategy Implementation: Simply put, this is where the plan is put into action. The implementation of the plan begins with answers who, what, when, where, how the identified goals will be completed by assigning (people or contracts) and/or allocating (money) the appropriate resource to complete the goals/objectives. Monitoring and controls will be used to measure: completion of task vs timeline, maintaining alignment with goals/objectives to vision, and performance of the overall project.

Deliverable Examples: Performance Measurement Tools, Finalized Strategic Plan, Updated Communications and Monitor/Control Plan as needed

Project Management Phase: Monitoring and Control/Close 

6. Evaluation, Control, and Close: Evaluation and close does not mean the project is ending, however, it is merely the signally of the transition over to the next phase in the cycle. Strategic management is an every evolving process that will continue throughout the organization’s life time. Evaluation, control, and close portion of the project will determine the overall success of the project based on whether or not it has met the organization’s goal and objectives. Based on the results, the organization will make appropriate corrective actions or move on to the next phase of the strategic process i.e. close.

In short, all strategic management plans contains the same information, however, the method of completion is completely different based on an organization’s: industry, size, future goals, and more. Some organizations have layers and layers of approval before a plan can be generated, while others have none.

I hope this helps J

Kay Lackey

Organizational Development Consultant 

Message of the Day: Life Lesson

"It is not the roads end that makes it an advantage but its the twist and turns to get there. The twist and turns in life are what mold you to be a better person for the next stage in your life. Learn to give thanks and celebrate, not hide all you have overcome to get here."

- Kay Lackey

Disclaimer: Picture from http://prolifik-one.com/2010/07/17/beautiful-night-time-roads/

Message of the Day: Control Your Reaction

"You cannot control what others may say or do to you but you can control how you react. Do not let someones bad day become yours."- Kay Lackey 

The old saying "misery loves company," is TRUE. A negative person or situation, can turn any great day into the worst day of your life because negativity is all consuming and can spread like a wildfire to all aspects of your life. However, even though those around you are negative, you do not have to be.

How you react, can escalate or defuse any negative situation. I suggest when faced with negativity: identify the goal of the conversation, leave the negative comments out, and find the positive of the situation while remaining calm. Be assertive, respectful, and stick only the facts, do not engage in negative back and forth. Or sometimes, you just have to respectfully table the issue and excuse yourself until you or the other person have calmed down.

By not reacting and/or removing yourself, you can eliminate the transferring of negative energy onto yourself. Learn to stop the cycle of negativity and be positive.

Kay

Disclaimer: Picture is from: http://www.learn4yourlife.com/self-control.html

Saw it, Loved it, So I am passing along: Today's Word from Joel and Victor Osteen

Hey Everyone,

Whether you are religious or not, this is an awesome message about not focusing on our goals to the point of frustration. Instead, live in peace knowing your goal or dream is going to come true at the right time, therefore, enjoy life and be at peace knowing your current situation is only temporary. "When our goals and dreams start to frustrate us, and we lose our peace and don’t enjoy life, that’s a clear sign that we’re holding on too tightly. What’s the solution? You’ve got to release it."- Joel and Victoria

Trust God's timing and live in peace. #TodaysWord @JoelOsteen @VictoriaOsteen  http://tinyurl.com/ktkna3n

Have an Awesome Wednesday!

Kay Lackey 

Quote of the Day

"Success is finding the positive in every 

situation, making necessary improvements, & leaving the negative comments behind you."- Kay Lackey


Disclaimer: picture is from http://seanheritage.com/blog/defining-success/

Message of the Day:

"You are your biggest supporter and harshest critic. When you have to choose between the two, always choose the supporter." -Kay Lackey

Please note the image is: from: http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2010/10/defeating-your-inner-critic-part-i.html

Message of the Day:

Keep moving forward even if you feel like you are just running in place because today could be the day you take flight and achieve your goal.

Disclaimer: Picture from quoteswords.com 

What is Organizational Development anyway?

Have you ever search Organizational Development on Google or Bing? If you do you probably got definitions like theory, research, and practice of expanding organizational effectiveness, or planned systematic change to expand knowledge and effectiveness of individual employees. But what does it all mean?

Here is how I define Organizational Development: continuous process to help organizations to reach their goals and be more effective by developing employees. The development of employees includes a series of trainings to that expand employee’s skills and knowledge.

Now that you have the definition, let’s break it down. I have identified and defined 8 essential steps that breakdown the organizational development process:

1. Define: What are some of the major issues or successes within the organization. At this time, you want to identify potential stakeholders and organizational influencers that are instrumental to the change effort. Also, what goal is the organization trying to accomplish.

2. Diagnosing Issues: What is going on within the organization currently vs where does the organization what to go? Sample Questions to ask:

             a. What is the mission of the organization? Does this mission match its vision and climate and culture?

b. What are the goals or outcomes of the organization? Do the goals align with the mission, visions, and culture of the organization?

c. What are the policies, procedures, and technologies used in the organization? Do the policies, procedures, and technologies align with the goals of the organization? If not, why? What changes should be made?

d. What are the external environment factors that affect the organization?

e. Is the organization ready to take action, why or why not?

3. Identify Needs: Based on you diagnoses identify what the organizational needs including possible resistant to change, budget, and time frame for project. Sample questions to ask are:

a. Who will be involved?

b. What resources will be needed?

c. When will the change effort start, end?

d. Where will the organization be mostly affect?

e. How long will the process take?

4. Develop: Create an action plan for change, which includes but is not limited to: communication plan, resource needs (i.e. employees, IT, etc.), roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, employee involvement, budget with safety net, and risk factors(obstacles)/potential resistance.

5. Deployment: Put you plan into action a continuous monitor your effort to ensure goals are met at each stage of the project.

6. Celebrate Wins and Make Changes: During every part of the project especially in the deployment stage celebrate the wins at each milestone and communication where you are to employees. During the deployment stage, you will also see what is working and what is not, if something is not working, identify what went wrong and CHANGE it.

7. Evaluation and Hand off: Evaluate the success of your project, which can be done through a survey or speaking with the sponsors and employees. In handing off a project, remember to give the organization a few tips to continue managing the change.

8. Check-in: Set up a follow-up visit 3 or 6 must after the change to check and see how the organization is doing. Remember change efforts continuous.

Organizational development is a continuous process and there is no one size fits all plan. Remember, you are dealing with the human aspect of an organization and each individual brings their own attributes such as work habits, communication stays, and job knowledge. As a change agent, you must learn to bring the message to your audience in a method in which they understand to meet their individual needs. So be ready to change how you communicate and the methods in which you do it.

Also, remember organizational development can be used in your personal life as well. Imagine how returning to school affects your family and what changes will have to be made to meet your goal. Or a new baby and coordinating childcare and your work schedule. Its organization development, you probably thought I could not tie in a personal aspect.

Whether it is in your personal or professional life, try my 8 steps and tell me what you think. You can also look at Resistance to Change, Risk Assessment, and Team Dynamic and Dysfunction to help build your action plans.


Kay

Chicago Industrial Organizational Psychologist (CIOP) May 2014 Event

Tonight is the Night!!!!!!!!
If you are in the Chicagoland area and interested in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, come check out this amazing event!!!!!

Create a Positive Presence and Brand in Social Media

When:
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Location:
Harold Washington College, 30 E. Lake Street, Room 1001-1002, Chicago, IL

Do you often wonder:

Does my LinkedIn page need a facelift? 

How can I become a blogger? 

How do I create a positive market presence for my organization online?

How can I expand my professional network?

If you answered YES to these questions, then come join the next CIOP event! We have four outstanding speakers discussing how to “Create a Positive Presence and Brand in Social Media” by participating in an interactive panel discussion as well as speed networking event.

Speakers include:

Gia Buckner-Hayden MPH, MA, EdD

Dr. Buckner-Hayden is an Organization Development Consultant. She manages a private consultant practice, Dr. Gia Consulting, and is an instructor in the Master of Organizational Leadership program at Olivet Nazarene University. She is an organization development professional, adult learner expert, skilled instructional designer and project manager. She has over 15 years of organization development, human performance, and training experience. She has a proven track record of assessing organizational needs, developing and implementing recommendations for improving outcomes, and evaluating organizational results. Dr. Buckner-Hayden received her doctorate in Ethical Leadership from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL. She has presented at multiple conferences and published several articles. Her most recent publication is titled, “How to Maximize the Success of New Employees: Onboarding (a flight plan for enhancing your workforce)”.



Kelly Haase, PHR

Kelly is currently serving as the sole Talent Acquisition Lead at Dyson in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to her tenure at Dyson, Kelly worked in Talent Acquisition and Human Resources at Navistar, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, and Precision Framing Systems. She has specialized in recruiting for multiple business sectors such as Engineering, Accounting, Finance, Sales, and Supply Chain functions across all levels of the organizational hierarchy. Kelly received her MS in Management and Organizational Behavior with a concentration on Human Resource Management from Benedictine University.


Debra Johnson

Debra is a highly progressive talent acquisition and marketing professional and is currently a Corporate Recruiter for Career Education Corporation. She is considered to be an expert in finding right-fit candidates in the areas of IT, Academics, Finance, Strategy, Marketing, and Sales. It is all about building relationships on trust and follow through with exceptional results. She has worked with numerous global clients in all aspects of talent acquisition with an emphasis on employment branding. Her 20+ year career spans global recruitment advertising agencies, major media including The New York Times, and talent consulting firms. Debra lives in Naperville with her husband, 11 year old son and a house filled with music.

Hayward Suggs
Hayward is the founder of Commonquest Consulting. a boutique consulting firm helping consultants, coaches, executives and entrepreneurs improve their soft skills, personal performance and business profits. He is a professional coach, trainer and speaking coach with over twenty years of high impact consulting experience with organizations and individuals. Currently, his clients include:CEO’s and business owners, non profit executives in healthcare and social services, public speakers, politicians, consultants, and coaches.

Pay on-site - Free

Payment in cash or check is accepted at the door.

Professional member tickets - $10.00 (USD)

Special price for members

Professional non-member ticket - $20.00 (USD)

Student Member Ticket - $10.00 (USD)

Student non-member ticket - $15.00 (USD)

Personal Brand: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

I have written a lot about the fundamentals of an effective personal brand but what it is and why it is important? Well, the notion of personal branding has been around since 1937 and in a nutshell, it is how people perceive you. Their perceptions of you will gravely affects how you are treated, your access to opportunities, and overall personal capital. 

Personal capital is more than your financial status; it also includes your selling points to others. Think about it, what are Oprah’s selling points? How is she different from you? Try asking yourself these questions to find the answers:

1. Who is she? 

2. What does she do? 

3. What makes her different i.e why do people like her? 

4. How does she create value for others? 

5. What is her major influence? What do you think of when you hear “Oprah”? 

6. What can you expect from her, if you met and worked with them? 

Now, ask the same questions about yourself or someone around you to answer those questions about you. These answers are your brand equity within your personal capital and ultimately a big part of your personal brand. Your personal brand is important because it is what others know of you and associate you with before they actually meet you in person.

Therefore, it is one of the most important things for you to have and maintain. By maintaining your brand, you will increase your exposure within your existing network as well as create new relationships. Each relationship is an opportunity to grow your brand and can lead to promotions, change in your career, and so on.

A personal brand is not just something professionals use, instead, a personal brand is reflected in your friends, spouse, clubs you join, drink select, and so on. It is what you want to portray to others or Personal Brand= Who You Are.

It is important to know and understand that your personal brand will change as your life changes. Things you valued in your 20s are not the same as those in your 30s, so learn to embrace the change to be the best version of you. Let your individuality shine through.



By Kay Lackey

Organizational Development Consultant

Song of the Day

Working while listening to music today and I came across this song. Whether you are religious or not, I think this song is powerful because it's about falling, getting back up, and reaching your goals. So on this Wednesday, I challenge you to get back up if you have fallen and continue to work toward your goal because failure is not an option. 

YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Song of the Day: Still I Rise by Yolanda Adams

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of this video, the video was posted by zoeytrapper1. No Copy Right Infringement is intended. 

Quote of the Day

"I only strive to be the best ORIGINAL version of myself not an imitation of someone else."-Kay Lackey

Today's Thought: Risk Assessment and Management: Theory and Practice

Many of people hate change but inevitable it is just a part of our daily lives. But how can we ensure, the changes we make will have a positive impact on our lives. Well, I always recommend for any change you maybe going through, you should preform a Risk Assessment and Management Plan.

I know its sounds like something you would do at work but you actually do it in your daily life all the time. For example, have you ever been late for work but wanted to stop for a cup of coffee? Your decision to stop or not is a mini risk assessment because you weigh what affect the risk (getting coffee) will have on you over all day. Or returning to school, your decision can affect numerous areas of your life including monetarily, leisure time, and much more.

Below is a power presentation I put together while ago and modified for this post. Take a look at it and try it out the next time you want to take a risk. 

Have an Awesome Wednesday!!!!!!

By Kay Lackey 

Organizational Development Consultant 

Today's Thoughts

We only fail in life, if you fail to get back up after you fall. Falling, missing a step, or shifting the weight of your load are all parts of life. These are hard times that everyone will face as they get closer to their goals. Hard times do not last and you will reach your goal. It may not be when you want it but when you need it.

In a nut shell: Fall but dust yourself off + rethink you position + find the positive= Never Failing and getting to your goal. 

"Like success, failure is many things to many people. With Positive Mental Attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again."- W. Clement Stone  Quote from Brainy Quotes

By Kay Lackey

Organizational Consultant

5 Ways to Position Yourself for Success

Finding a job, getting a promotion, or building an internal/external brand is not as easy as 20 years ago. In today’s job market, you have to not only have an in-person brand but also have an online and social media campaign. This allows current and future employers or clients to get a glimpse of what type of employee or contractor you are, therefore, it is essential for you to build a strong brand which includes positioning yourself to be ready when opportunities arise and to be success in current roles.

Below are the top five ways to position yourself I have used with clients to increase success personally or professional.

1. Mental and physically position yourself for success. Your personal views about yourself, abilities, and personal appearance alter the way you live your life. This also affects how others will see you as well. Think about it in terms of it being the difference between standing out in a sea of applicants and blending in. To mental prepare you need to have confidence in yourself and your abilities to do the best job while having an appearance to match.

2. Create goals and create an action plan with deadlines. By creating an action plan with deadline with you can ensure you remain focused and on track. It also allows you to narrow your focus or make changes to goals as need. (Check out The Problem and Solution to Goal Setting- http://www.conversationwithkay.com/2014/01/the-problem-and-solution-to-goal-setting.html)

3. Align you actions, focus, and personal presentation to match your plan and brand. By increase your participation in activities that will increase your visibility in your chosen field. It also can help you to improve your personal presentation (“elevator speech”) to others.

a. The goal is to focus on activities that increase your knowledge of the field, allows you to network, and give opportunities to growth. Use each group event is an opportunity to build on your personal presentation of your brand. The number of groups you join should be quality or quantity, so do not spread yourself thin.

b. Take classes, attend webinar, or other educational classes to ensure your knowledge of the field and methods used are in line with the current trends.

c. Increase you visibility using social networking sites like a personal blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn (Check out Improving Your LinkedIn Profile- http://www.conversationwithkay.com/2014/01/improving-your-linkedin-profile.html)

d. Take responsibility for the action plan and encourage others to help you maintain it by making your goals your first priority.

4. You never know where your next opportunity will arise, so do not be caught off guard. Be ready to present yourself at all times both verbally and in appearance. First impressions are the most important because we rarely get second chances. It is a good idea to work on transitions words, so you can incorporate pieces of your presentation instead of giving it all at once. Note: Be sure to pay attention to your audience and make adjustments to your presentation as needed.

5. Do not get discouraged. Positioning one’s self cannot be done overnight because it takes time to build relationships and cultivate them. Even if you do not see, changes continue on your path and celebrate the small wins.

By: Kay Lackey 

Organizational Development & Practice Management Consultant
 

Fix a Leak Week

Greetings friends and colleagues,

As usual we are talking about EPA WaterSense and the 2014 March Fix A Leak Week Campaign!
This year's theme is 'Chasing Leaks!' 

Pass The Plunger! It's Fix A Leak Week!

March 17-23 is the annual EPAWaterSense 'Fix A Leak Week!'
Leaks Can Run, but They Can't Hide!

This year, we're chasing down leaks! Household leaks can waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually nationwide, so we're hunting down the drips during Fix a Leak Week (March 17-23). Race over to your plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems, fix the leaks, and save valuable water, energy and money.

To celebrate FALW, we are promoting
The Golden Plunger Relay Race.

In a twist on the traditional road race this passing of the plunger will take place online via Twitter. Teams of Tweeters should be on their starting blocks at 9am on March 17 set to grab the ceremonial plunger and run for water across the Twittersphere!

Each morning WasteWater Education will post an EPA WaterSense fact on Twitter to draw attention to the personal, environmental and financial cost of poor water use practices - such as letting faucets, toilets and outdoor sprinklers leak away expensive treated drinking water.

At the end of FALW the Team with the highest number of ReTweets, the greatest distance covered, and the most original screenshot of where the Golden Plunger has been sighted will receive an actual, spectacularly decorated, no expense spared fake gold plunger to display with pride!

For more information or to register your Golden Plunger Relay Team begin by Following WasteWater Education on Twitter @OWNWMI and then send us a Tweet with the #GoldenPlunger #wastewatereducation #FixaLeak hashtags.
This is so we can track your Team and award the Plunger at the end of Fix A Leak Week! There really aren't any rules just go grab the Golden Plunger and start chasing leaks from one side of the country to the other!

Please - this is for fun and education and our contribution to see Fix A Leak Week trending on Twitter and Facebook.

Got Water!!!!!

One issue that is near and dear to my heart is the access to clean water. What you may not realize is water is one of the most important resources on this planet, yet access to clean water is decreased every day due to water waste. Water education is important to decrease water waste. It brings me great pleasure to announce I recently joined the Board of the Water Waste Education. This is such an amazing group and cause. Please join me in supporting our efforts by donating to the Crowdise Campaign. A very special donor will be awarded 2 [Two] Tickets to the Detroit Pistons v Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Game at The Palace of Auburn Hills PLUS a Parking Pass. To get more information and the contest rules click the link below: http://www.crowdrise.com/wateriswaternotwaste/fundraiser/kaylackey#sthash.82StcOzW.dpuf

Happy Friday!!!!!!! and Please Enjoy

Here are two funny video to help up you laugh during a bad day but keep in mind nothing is permanent. So laugh it off, find the positive, and you get off at 5. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmNsvKz

Team Dynamic and Dysfunction Presentation

Earlier this week, I received some feedback on the Resistance to Change article. The main point of the feedback focused on team dynamic and resistance. So, I wanted to post a portion of presentation that I created to explain healthy team dynamics, dysfunctions, and ways to overcome dysfunction.

Team dynamic can be affected by many things within the organization because the individual members: work habits, relationship building skills, and personality. These personal attributes decide how a team will communicate, work together, and the environment in which they work. We can see changes in the organization's culture. Due to the large number of influences, resistance can easily be formed within team due to the type of dysfunctions faced. Therefore, leaders need to understand the individual team members and be  proactive in there approach to combat resistance.

By: Kay Lackey, M.A.
Organizational Development & Practice Management Consultant

Quote of the Day

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the 

rest is merely tenacity." –Emelia Earhart

Image: http://qualitylivingmadesimple.com/taking-action-qlms-podcast-010/ 

Quote: http://lnkd.in/bP-p6Qz

The Problem and Solution to Goal Setting

“A successful path is not the end product but the road you took to get there.”- Kay Lackey

On the road to success people often fail to realize that goal setting is a process used to help you to build your brand because it helps to define what you want and stand for in your life. Goals setting also helps to motivate you to complete steps on your life’s path to ensure you are living up to your personal mission and vision. Whether you set personal or professional goals, it is easy to get lost in the process of goal setting because of three main reasons:

1. focus becomes too narrow,

2. forget to celebrate small wins, and

3. “Getting more” becomes your main focus.

How can you develop a goal without getting lost in the process?

1. Realize that goals should not only reflect where you want to go in life but also your passion, mission, values, vision, and essentially the reason as to why you are doing what you are doing.

2. Goals you set during a specific time in your life with specific resources, may not be in line with your future, so as life changes so should your process.

3. Most importantly learn to enjoy the process, allowing yourself to analyze what does or does not work and make adjustments accordingly.

Many people use the S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevance, and Time Bound) or M.A.S.T.E.R. (Measurable, Achievable, Specific, Time-Based, Energizing, Relevant) goal methodologies to successfully achieve goals. I agree with both methods but when I teach goal-setting to my clients, I like to add re-evaluation, education, and preparation or as I like to call it REP-MASTER.

R= Re-evaluation

E= Education

P= Preparation

M= Measurable

A= Attainable

S=Specification

T= Time sensitive

E=Elvaluate

R= Relevant

Re-evaluating your goals help keep you in line with your passions, reasons for change, and identifies areas where adjustments are needed. It can also help you to prepare you mentally, emotionally, and physically for the change at hand. This can be something as small as cleaning out a space in your kitchen so you can work or as large as creating a framework for a project proposal for your organization.

Preparation also entails educating yourself about the goal in order to ensure your desired outcome is attainable by understanding your true commitment requirements. Requirements can include time, materials, people, and/or environment. During re-evaluation and education, you can identify goals or more specific task that need to be broke down into smaller more manageable task.

Manageable goals need to be measurable and specific to one outcome. Focusing on more than one outcome can result in mental paralysis or utter chaos due to the stress of needing to get everything done. Typically this is where goal abandonment happens. In other words, climb one mountain at a specific time and celebrate the success of a job well done. Celebrating the small successes will elevate and motivate you to achieve the next goal, in addition to giving you a change to evaluate your process. Continuously evaluating your goal throughout the process help maintain relevance and decrease the loss of passion, mission, values, vision, and reasons for making the change.

Goal setting can be hard and it is easy to get lost in the process of it all. The process on the other hand, is what you should enjoy because it is a sea of self-discovery. The REP-MASTER is a great way to navigate you through and achieve your goals.



By: Kay Lackey, M.A.
Organizational Development & Practice Management Consultant

Welcome to Conversation With Kay!!!!

Quote of the Weekend

“It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.” - Lou Holtz

The loads of life come in many forms, some are within your comfort zone while others may challenge your entire being. These loads of opportunity, challenges, or minor issues make some people strive to have perfection while others are fine with the status quo or buckle under the stress of it all. No matter how the load is carried, it is as different as the personalities of the people carrying it. Therefore, do not strive to carry your load as someone else does but carry it your own way.

This may mean you have to change the side the load is on. Or put it down so you can rest awhile and re-evaluate your position. But keep in mind, the only thing you can change or control is how YOU feel, act, and the things you experience while carrying the load. Do not try to change others’ feelings, thoughts, or position about your load because they are carrying their own.

Also, do not be afraid if it gets too heavy for you to carry alone. Ask for help or guidance on how to carry the load. In the end, when the load has been carried to its destination, it will not have been the load that has made you a better version of you but your experience while carrying it. Overtime you learn to lighten your load by retaining the things that make you the best version of yourself while letting go of the things that drag you down.

Have a Great Weekend

By: Kay Lackey, M.A.

Organizational Development & Practice Management Consultant

Quote is from http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/85179.Lou_Holtz

Quote of the Day

"Do not blame others for what you could not achieve because all they did was do what you were not willing to..."- Kay Lackey

In every motivational story I have heard or read they all have the same premise: people who succeed have to work really hard for it. But what sets them aside from the normal person? The answer is simple. THEY NEVER STOP. They often work longer days, overnight, and weekends. Combined with falls, spills, and utter disasters, each person has got up again and lived to fight another day. 

By falling and getting up, you learn that life is not as bad as it seems and nothing is a permanent. Everyday can bring a new opportunity and idea for success. In fact, you will learn to fall a little less and be happy with the small wins. As my best friend always says, "Don't you know small things can add up to one BIG thing if you pill them all together."

I guess the point of this post is to say, no matter what, KEEP GOING and do the things others will not. You and only you, can control how successful you can be with your drive, commitment, and willingness to go beyond what is expected.

Have an AWESOME HUMP DAY

Kay

Improving Your LinkedIn Profile

"I never aim to be the best imitation I can be because there is no originality, but rather the best version of myself."- Kay Lackey

There are an unlimited number of ways social media can be used to catapult you to the next level in your social or professional life. Whether you are using social media to network, job search, or just connect with others, social media is one of the easiest and versified ways to connect with others. In fact, social media is one of the most valuable tools in building and promoting your personal brand.

Take LinkedIn, for example, there is more than one way to effectively build an effective personal brand. However, many people tend to write their profiles like they write their resume. This can be effective in some cases but for the most part, you should tailor your LinkedIn to be eye catching from your profile picture to the groups you join. LinkedIn, like other social media outlets should be used to tell a story about you i.e. your brand.

So, it is very important to tell the most exciting, jaw dropping, expose about you in as little words as possible. Yes, as little words as possible because you only have so much time to grab someone’s attention. Here are 14 ways to improve your LinkedIn to build and promote your story (brand).

Here are 14 ways to Improve your LinkedIn:

1. Picture: Choose an appropriate and semi/professional picture. 

Unlike, Facebook, LinkedIn is primarily for professionals looking to connect with other professionals. Therefore, a bad picture can be like a bad first impression, so when choosing a picture, ensure that it portrays your brand.

2. Headline: Create an attention grabbing but relevant to your brand.

Like your picture, your headline is a little more insight to the person that you are. The headline should be attention grabbing but relevant to your brand. Most people use their current title or occupational specialty, you will very rarely see someone’s hobbies. Keep in mind: You do not have to list all of your titles and interest, this will be taken care of in your summary/experience.

3. Summary: Write a descriptive, attention grabbing, and provocative summary.

A summary is a high level overview of your experiences, task, and results that makes you stand out from others. One of the key mistakes people often make in writing their summary is using first person. Do not use first person, remember this is a story about you. Write your summary as if someone else is writing about you. Trying asking: What would others say are my best qualities?

Be sure to also include key terms relevant to your brand or skill as well as a few task and results i.e. if you work in technology, us technology terms or proven track record of increasing sales productivity by within 6 months by 40%. Make sure you standout and make people want to read more about you. Essentially it is what you bring to the table that is different than all others. Note: Keep an eye on the word count and paragraph count (3-4 paragraphs).

4. Experience: Write professional experience to include task and results.

Many people want to see what makes you different, therefore, it helps add numerical values as much as possible to your experience. Potential employers as well as current contacts want to see how you improved processes and productivity. You do not have to list all task assigned to you, like your summary, you need to show what sets you apart from people that are similar to you. Keep an eye on the word count.

5. Publications/Projects/Languages: If you have any publications or projects that you are involved in then add then to your profile. 

These can be used as a basis of discussion in groups or a way of connecting to others with similar interest.

6. Education/Certifications/Awards: Keep all of the information up to date. 

This helps other to see that your are continuously learning to become or remain a subject matter expert.

7. Additional Information: Keep an eye on the word count and ensure that it is relevant to your brand.

This section can be used to tell something personal about you: hobbies, interest, future certifications, and/or anything that you feel will help your brand.

8. Advice for contacting: Ensure that the information is up to date and all e-mail addresses have appropriate names.

Depending on your preference you can add contact information to your profile.

9. Recommendations: Ask for or accept recommendations from others or give recommendations to those whose work you appreciated and they may return the favor.

Recommendations are a great thing to have on your page. It helps others to further understand you, you skills, and quality of work.

10. URL: ensure that your URL is customized and appropriate to promote your brand.

If you have a personal blog, website, twitter, or other social media site be sure to include the URL on your LinkedIn. Depending on the content of the information, some of your sites may be inappropriate for your brand.

11. Public vs Private Profile: depending on what you are looking to do with LinkedIn. This is up to you, if you are looking to personally promote yourself, business, or organization then a public profile for you.
12. Website Links: added website links to your personal sites that you would like to promote.

13. Groups: Join groups that are relevant and of interest to you, do not join so many that it overwhelming to get involved.

14. Status Updates: Status updates are effective 8-10:00 am or 12:00-3:00 pm, people usually check LinkedIn in the morning and during/after lunch. You can also update others times as well.

**Update your LinkedIn right after the completion of projects, this way you can keep your information current. **

By: Kay Lackey, M.A.

Organizational Development & Practice Management Consultant

Resistance to Change

Why do people resist change and how can a leader decrease resistance?

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

Winston Churchill

The ability to change and adapt to internal and external demands are evitable to a successful organization. Even though change is evitable it can be very problematic to implement within an organization due to resistance. Resistance to change can occur on a number of levels but this article will focus on resistance to change in reference to people. People often resist change for a number of reasons, in fact, ten of the most common resistances to change are:

1. Loss of control over one’s environment. 
2. Fear of the unknown. 
3. Negative view of change due to past involvement in change efforts (predisposition to change). 
4. Lack of knowledge of why change is happening. 
5. No communication surrounding the change/reason for the change is unclear. 
6. Mistrust of the organization. 
7. Timing of change effort. 
8. Changes in the normal day to day operation. 
9. No seen benefit or reward from change (ex: increased work load). 
10. Employee are not consulted or included in the change effort/lack of buy-in from employee.

"Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up."

— James Belasco and Ralph Stayer

The responsibility of a leader is to minimize the resistance to change by identifying and understanding the source of resistance to predict when, where, and why resistance is happening. This information should then be used to build strategies for decreasing resistance to any change management plans. This can be a hard and very problematic solution to come up with. Can one predict resistance?

In short, YES but there is no easy way to predict the type of resistance that a leader may face. In large, people are very unique and everyone’s reason for resistance to change is different. However, a leader identify commonalities or trends of resistance within an organization. It all starts with communication. Communicating the why, when, where, how, and why can be essential in identifying areas of resistance. Communicating through change increases buy-in, allows inclusion, and most of all decreases the unknown. People are more accepting if they know what is coming even though they may not like the change.

There is no one size fits all way to eliminate resistance to change but as a leader you can minimize resistance. During change efforts, leaders need to have an open line of communication about the change to employees. Remember, change is already scary, so let’s not add to the fear.

Dr. Kay Lackey

Quotes in order, are from: http://www.brainyquote.com/ and http://www.leadershipnow.com/changequotes.html