Reading
Developing the Leader within you 2.0
by John C. Maxwell
You will learn:
The True Definition of Leader: Leadership is influence. That’s it. Nothing more; nothing less.
The Traits of Leadership: Leadership is not an exclusive club for those who were born with it. The traits that are the raw materials of leadership can be acquired. Link them up with desire, and nothing can keep you from becoming a leader.
The Difference Between Management and Leadership: Making sure the work is done by others is the accomplishment of a manager. Inspiring others to do better work is the accomplishment of a leader.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
by Chip and Dan Heath
Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems--the rational mind and the emotional mind--that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort--but if it is overcome, change can come quickly. In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.
Listening
Ted Talk – “The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage”
Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness. In this deeply moving, humorous and potentially life-changing talk, she challenges a culture that prizes positivity over emotional truth and discusses the powerful strategies of emotional agility.
Ted Talk – “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation”
When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations -- and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. "Go out, talk to people, listen to people," she says. "And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed."
Watching
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Our Nation and world have again been confronted with its greatest ongoing pandemic, Racism.
Racism is not a virus of the body; it is a virus of the mind, and unfortunately, it can be lethal.
But you cannot fix a problem that you do not know you have. And if “ignorance is bliss”, in this case, bliss has caused bondage and pain for others. But there is a fix. We can all access the life-saving medicine that will cure the world’s most ailing, long-lasting pandemic. But in order to access it, we’re going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man is a safe place to have the uncomfortable conversations about race that many white people have never been able to have. But enough is enough- I want to remove the barriers for why we’ve never had these conversations. I want to provide a free space for curious white people to answer the questions they’ve always had but have been too nervous to ask. Like, “How can I have white privilege if I’m not wealthy?”, or “is racial profiling ok if black people tend to commit more crimes”, or my personal favorite from a 19-year-old girl from rural Alabama named Amy who asked, “if black people can say the ‘N’ word, why can’t I?” And many, many more.
Many have thought these questions without realizing the key to mending the racial divide in our world lie within the answers, and that white people DO have the power to affect sweeping change, and short circuit racism within their own lives and communities. The cure for what ails us – all of us — lies within these, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.