Walking our “talk” - reflections on last weekend’s EASC conference in Budapest
Walking the talk is something we try to do and it is quite difficult, for sure. But, as one person said last weekend, we are always being watched, for good or bad. So, being a positive model and a person of integrity for me is part of my “try hard to do” list.
Last weekend, I took part in a wonderful EASC conference about just that: how we supervisors, coaches - and mentors can walk our talks. The title of the conference was: EASC Connects: Democracy Dialogue Diversity and we met in Budapest where democracy is a big topic at the moment. I loved the keynote speeches on Dialogue by Amitis Sedghi and Gergely Szertics, each having special expertise that we as participants could take into consideration and move forward in our professional work as well as our personal lives.
Dialogue takes honesty and thus means we need to be vulnerable and admit out mistakes. Maybe this is one of the hardest parts in dialogue as humans. Ms. Sedghi spoke of power and how it is given, but also, assumed. I have also been the only woman in a room of older men where my ideas were poo-pooed, only to be owned by one of them later (successfully). I do not belong to a minority, but I do understand what it means to be “not privileged” walking among the privileged from my younger years. There are so many ways in which we are not given voice or power, even if we are given a seat in the room. Privilege is also a topic. I live in a safe and easy bubble here in Switzerland and grew up as a WASP in the US. These are great privilege. We need to use our privilege to help those who are not so blessed.
AI is a commonly discussed topic in politics and business and Szertics gave us food for thought in a positive and proactive way. I, too, think AI is a tool to be learned and harnessed and used for the good of us all. When one is able to harness a new tool and use it for good, it becomes very helpful for us all.
Now, back to walking our talk in work and life- I have some questions for reflection for myself as much as for you this week:
· How have I been a good model for those around me this week?
· Where could I have been better at this? And, do I need to apologize or reach out to someone who might have been hurt along the way?
· What kinds of power do I weald and how have I used that power this past week?
· Where do I feed AI positive things? Where do I feed it negative things? How much does my chatbot/app know about me and how biased is it (for example, does it know my gender, age, socio-economic status, degree, etc?) What do I want AI to know about me? Can it be neutral towards me and others?
As my normal readers know, reflection is my modus operendi. So, let us reflect and if you want to discuss, reach out at:
Have a lovely weekend,
Patricia