I'm just wrapping up one of my best weeks of the year: Texas Community Development Institute. This week-long series of seminars and learning activities is for professionals and volunteers in the field of economic and community development. I signed up for my first year in 2008 at the urging of one of my leadership mentors, Cathy Owen, to see if it might be a good fit for a second career. I loved it so much I just finished the third, and final, year.
Our most talked about speaker this year was Elizabeth Campbell, Partner and Chief Diversity Officer at Andrews & Kurth, LLP. Her topic was "Conflict Resolution" and her purpose was to teach us how we can take one potential cause of conflict, diversity, and use it for the higher purpose of the group.
Through her great presentation, a fabulous animated movie about a giraffe and an elephant, and a lively discussion we learned how we all try to make the people in our lives fit the situation instead of the other way around. She introduced a great teaching tool to our group: jelly beans! But, these were no ordinary jelly beans. These could have been called "diversity beans" because the color of the bean was not an indication of the flavor. So a black jelly bean (licorice, right?) could be lemon or grape. A yellow jelly bean might be lemon or it might be lime or orange or licorice. It was a weird sensation and created quite a stir in the class.
And it was such a good lesson about not judging another person by what we perceive on the surface. The big things like gender, race, age don't tell us what's really inside and what opinions, habits and skills we'll find. And the little things like (dis)abilities, hair color, language, religion, dress, etc... don't tell us everything there is to know either.
Elizabeth also taught us that it's o.k. that we have preconceived notions, biases and stereotypes. We're only human and that's they way humans operate. We are now more willing than ever to go beyond what we see on the surface and see what flavor the jelly bean really is!
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About Me
- Jill Boullion
- Houston, TX, United States
- I've led a lot and followed plenty of times, too. All these experiences have given me some interesting perspective into what makes someone a leader worth following. And what constitutes ethical leadership? We usually can smell it when's it not, so let's find the examples in the world of people leading in an ethical and authentic way! My passion is community leadership but I think the lessons of leadership transcend place and specifics. I'd love to hear what you think about leadership!
What a fantastic exercise with the jelly bean surprises! I have also been working on NOT judging a book by its cover. Moving to a small town in Iowa is forcing me to look for the good stuff in all kinds of people. I am grateful for this experience. Thank you for your sharing, Jill. You are a great leader.
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