KCSpeaks

One year goes by really quickly. This year we have focused on improving ourselves and how we can support others in their journey. Improvement is hard. It involves recognizing something within ourselves, something we want to change, and then working on the thing. It could be a personal or professional thing within ourselves, but the truth is that the improvement probably had a big impact our life as a whole. Once you have worked to make an improvement and have been successful, the little voice inside you changes. Once upon a time, the little voice may have not been confident success could ever be possible. Now the voice speaks in a more positive manner. You realize the journey may be hard, but not impossible.   We started our year of #Improve2019 with a small alteration. Something to get us started. Over time, we had to persevere when it seemed like things were a struggle. Change is more successful when others share our journey. We supported others in their improvements an...

Throughout our year of #Improve2019 the discussion has been surrounding individual improvements. From how we can work on our own improvement, or support another on their own improvement journey, the year has been focused on the power of what one person can do. What if the way to improve someone is through improving a system? What if the system is broken? I am a firm believer in the power of the individual and how each of us can control our own destiny. I am also a believer in strong support of others. Supporting others strongly means having a firm foundation with adequate resources. Resources are not only money and tangible goods. Resources are also the people in the system having adequate knowledge, strong commitment, and also their own system of support. Any system, whether it is the government, education, or a workforce system, needs the firm foundation to serve its customer base. If your foundation is crumbling, a system improvement may be necessary. How do ...

How we communicate with one another has a strong impact on relationships. Good or bad, our thoughts and feelings can become words spoken to each other. Those words can be verbalized or written though emails, texts, and messages.   Since every message can be conveyed in a positive or negative manner, it is especially important for those involved with the #improve2019 journey to be aware of their communication.   If you are the person with the goal, it is especially important to be mindful how you communicate can affect your success. The derailment of your own personal journey can quickly happen with poor, inaccurate, or misdirected communication. This can be difficult to bounce back from if your goal requires the support of others for achievement.   Being workforce professionals, we can also think about it from the perspective of providing support to other people. Our words invoke feelings. It is very easy to make people feel bad with the wrong words. If y...

Those that started with me on the #improve2019 journey, set a goal. Whether the goal was personal or professional, the goal was concrete. It was some measurable and specific. Along the way there have been good days, bad days, excitement, exhaustion, and ultimately growth. Regardless of how a person has succeeded or failed so far, something has happened along the way.   A person cannot strive for success in any goal without building strength of character. For those with the education of young children, schools talk about character development, but once people hit the adult years the conversation goes away. There is an assumption character is fully formed around age 18 and everyone has good character and lives happily ever after, but we know this to be untrue based on the realities of life we see on the news and with people we are acquainted.   As workforce professionals striving for goal achievement with individuals, we see the consequences of good and bad choic...

Friends are important. They define us, drive us, and mold us into the people we are. The power of the peer is not only important for us as children, but even in our adult lives. This power is why the power of friendship has been ingrained into every form of media we experience.   Examples can be found in television, books, music, but social media is the hallmark example of this power.   For those on #Improve2019 journey, friends can and should be more than friends. They should empower and inspire another to move forward in their individual journeys. Friends should not only provide support, but encouragement and continued motivation to move forward. The journey may not be perfect. The support and encouragement will help you move forward even when times are tough.     Positive, motivating, and encouraging friends are more than just “good” friends. They are your tribe, your people. These people will guide you along the way to improvement. This tribe is...

Authenticity is not something we think or talk about every day. It is something we all need for ourselves and to truly connect and have meaningful interactions with others. Anyone on the #improve2019 journey is looking to either improve themselves or to be the guiding light for another person on the journey. Without authenticity, the fruits of labor are bitter. They are not satisfying, but meaningless. The fruits grow are wants in the world, but are not what we truly need.   Authenticity starts with the self. It means we are first to be honest with ourselves, good or bad. It means taking a hard look in the mirror and owning our faults. Are we trying too hard or not enough? Are we speaking and not acting? Do our actions match our intentions?   These are the questions we need to ask ourselves and to really ponder. After we have truly done the recognition and have taken the steps we need to improve, we can really look to helping others doing the same.   Auth...

As people we wear rose colored glasses for the most important people in your lives. The number one person we do this for is ourselves. This is why some people are stuck on the side of the #Improve2019 road. There is a large boulder sitting in the middle of the road and it is something internal. Everyone on the side of the road can see it, but you cannot. The way to eliminate it is to acknowledge it and slowly the boulder will move towards the side of the road.   Discussing a personal barrier to success as a large rock seems harsh, but for those of us in workforce development we know the secret to success is usually internal.   We also know that until a person actually knows and deals with that real thing, everything else will be going in circles. Most often someone cannot deal with that barrier until someone intervenes. I hate to use the word intervention. That does not really describe what is necessary. It is rather a care and concern conversation from one individ...

In the land of workforce development, we constantly called upon to assist others on the journey to improvement. I often wonder why some people are better at assisting people than others. Why are some people so motivating? What is it about some people that makes people hear and understand advice and council?   In looking at these people in my personal and professional life, I notice they all have one thing in common. It is their journey. Workforce development like many other social services has people that are relatable to the customer base. Many people that work in the industry have experience being unemployed. This is the relatable factor. It means that the person someone is working with is credible in the eyes of the person receiving the service.   Diving deeper at these relatable individuals, it makes you wonder if an individual can truly be successful with others until they are successful with themselves. For example, a single mother working two jobs struggl...

Anyone who has ever climbed a mountain will tell you about the amazing feeling of satisfaction when you reach the top. At the top of the mountain, you can stop, take a breath, and look down at the valley below. Not only are you in awe of the beauty, but proud of your accomplishment of making it to the top. Avid hikers and climbers enjoy the journey to the top. They marvel at the beauty that surrounds them while they work to challenge themselves mentally and physically. Along the way the journey to the top will not only have beautiful rock formations, but plenty of slippery spots, and things to cause a trip and fall.   Yet enthusiasts persists because they enjoy the journey.   Along the way to success in #Improve2019, there will be good days and bad days. The key to staying on track is to enjoy the journey. Sometimes things will not go as planned. Sometimes the hike will be muddy. Sometimes you will get lost in the woods, but enjoying the journey will bring peace. ...

Fans of the band Rascal Flatts may think the road to improvement is a highway. On the contrary, the road of improvement is a broken road. Improving oneself has many potholes, speed bumps, and unexpected debris in the way. It doesn’t matter if your journey is personal or professional, there will be challenges. What happens when you are diligently working towards your goals and you are not at the spot you desired? Your goal timeline has not been met.      This is the moment and test of commitment for anyone with a goal. Do you give up or push forward? Do you stay the course or go in another direction? The answer is determined by a very important character quality, perseverance.   In the land of workforce development, we see both people who succeed and people who fail. Not only do the successful people have a positive attitude, but when times are tough, they hang in there and hold on for the ride. These folks weather the storm and keep moving forward. U...

We are two months into the new year of #Improve2019 and by now everyone should be in the midst of whatever improvement they wanted to make both personally and professionally. One of the greatest rewards is seeing people working towards goals. In workforce development and most other social service professions this is especially true. For many people, making even a small effort will start to show some result towards a goal, but what happens when it doesn’t. There are times when hard work does not pay off. Sometimes pushing hard does not yield a result. Some people are tirelessly working towards a goal and yet nothing is happening. This can be especially frustrating as a person watches another person reach milestones.   In those difficult times, the best thing a person can do is sometimes to ease up a little. I would not recommend this strategy for everyone in every situation, but sometimes the amount of effort a person is putting into a goal is exhausting and draining ...

Ready for a year of improving yourself? Excited to assist and guide others on their journeys? January is the month to kick improvements into full gear, but for many on their quest the tough part is getting started. It doesn’t matter what improvement you are seeking. The first step is the smallest and can make a big difference in achievement. Starting the journey is never easy. The first step is to make one small alteration. Change is scary, but an alteration implies improvement. Alterations make good better. Alterations take clothes created for everyone and make them for you personally. Thinking about your first step as an alteration can make it less scary. It may help a hesitant person move forward. Living in the land of workforce, we are constantly asking people to make changes. We ask people to change their strategy for job search. We ask business to change their recruitment strategies to include our services. We ask people afraid of doing things differently to do diffe...