by Caroline Leach | Oct 28, 2016 | Leadership, Learning, Social Media, Work/Life
Have you ever spent a day trying not to cry?
For me, there are always moments that prompt tears. Our national anthem at a school event. The doxology at church (with the gender-neutral, more inclusive lyrics for me). Pomp and Circumstance at a graduation ceremony.
Thank goodness for sunglasses. Because one of the last things I want to do is reveal my emotions in public.
After this week’s experience, though, I wonder if that’s because I go to extremes to avoid being labeled as an emotional woman.
But it may be pointless to try, because as a woman I’m going to be labeled anyway. And I can’t control that.
I can only control my own thoughts and my own actions. And there’s power in that.
What made me want to cry for an entire day this week? None other than the TEDWomen 2016 conference. Phenomenal speakers with ideas worth sharing took the stage, with the theme of “it’s about time.”
I was drawn to TED for many reasons. As a communicator. As a lover of ideas. As someone profoundly saddened by our national conversations – on race, on religion, on gender, on guns, on others.
As in, people who don’t share the same worldview. People who can’t or won’t listen to each because they’re so busy screaming about how the other group is wrong. And not even wrong, but deluded, dumb and not deserving. Of a voice. Of dignity. Of empathy.
What if our conversations in the world could be more like what I saw, heard and felt on the TED stage?
- A famous singer talked about channeling her pain from the abusive household where she grew up into her music.
- An actress shared how she fought back against cyberbullying and violence.
- A couple who work to improve a Nairobi slum spoke of the randomness of how privilege or poverty are bestowed.
- A journalist and author talked about the death threats she received when she came out as a lesbian.
- A rape survivor and the perpetrator shared the stage and their agonizing experiences.
Throughout each electrifying talk, a common question emerged: what can I do?
What if I made it a point to seek out different points of view? To listen to a different newscast or podcast. To get out of my social media stream and hear different voices. To seek out people with more diverse backgrounds and life experiences.
What if I spoke up more forcefully to inappropriate comments? The next time someone says something offensive about another group of people, I will ask why they think that and why they would say that.
What if I was more curious about people and their stories? What has their journey through life been like? What experiences shaped them? What do they struggle with? What brings them joy?
What if I used every means of power available to me for good? How can I encourage people to reach higher? How can I help people expand their networks? How can I empower people to open doors to more opportunity?
What if I took action? While I don’t know exactly what that is yet, I do know it starts with better educating myself on multiple perspectives about what’s going on in the world. Kimberle Crenshaw‘s eye-opening #SayHerName is where I’ll start.
Hearing from so many inspiring people reminded me that each of us can make a difference in the lives of others, every day.
As Kennedy Odede said during his talk with Jessica Posner Odede, “We can’t walk in each other’s shoes, but we can walk together.”
Who are you walking with?
by Caroline Leach | Oct 22, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Work/Life
Stories bring people together in powerful ways.
I was reminded of this at a recent leadership offsite.
Following a day of focusing on the future and identifying imperatives for the coming year, we gathered around the dinner table.
The talk turned to people’s stories, their families and the paths to where they are today.
We heard about teachers, farmers and ranchers. We heard about people who were the first in their family to attend college. We heard about struggles and triumphs. We heard about hard work and dedication.
It was an inspiring slice of largely American history. One especially sage colleague remarked about how far each of our families had come in just a few generations.
It’s easy to lose sight of that in our fast-paced, always-on 21st-century world.
I wonder what life was like for my great-grandfather, Neils Peter Larsen. Born in Denmark in the late 1800s, he was the youngest of 9 children.
With little economic opportunity on the Danish isle of Laeso, he left his country as a young teen. As a cabin boy, he sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco.
Some years later, he became the captain of his own ship, the St. Katherine. My grandmother and sister share her name and adventurous spirit.
That’s the ship pictured above, temporarily stuck in the ice in the Bering Sea in the early 1900s. How cold must it have been that day? How likely was it the ship would break apart as the ice moved? How scary was it to walk across the waves?
Or maybe it was just business as usual in that line of work.
According to the San Francisco-based Pacific Telephone Magazine where my mom was featured as an employee in the 1960s, “Captain Larsen made history with voyages to Alaska during the Yukon gold rush and later with the Alaskan fisheries.”
I can only imagine what those experiences were like today, as I gaze at my family’s framed sea charts from California, Hawaii and Japan that line my walls.
It’s absolutely incredible to think how far sea navigation has come in little over 100 years – from large paper charts to electronic navigation systems. What amazing advancements will the next century hold?
My great-grandparents honeymooned by sailing around the coast of China. That chart hangs in my parents’ house in Connecticut, complete with pencil markings of an uncharted island my ancestors discovered on their journey.
These stories and the ones I heard from my colleagues remind me of the hard work and determination that are the hallmarks of our country.
They remind me that when things get tough, there’s always a way through – or around or over.
They remind me that the future is exciting and that we’re each creating it, one day at a time.
We have what it takes. We got this.
As I contemplate a visit to Denmark, I’m inspired by the serendipitous family reunion that the multi-talented photographer Denice Duff experienced on a magical trip to Italy.
While looking for her great-grandmother’s house in Sicily, she had the unexpected good fortune to meet family members she never knew she had.
This heartwarming story may be one of the reasons I recently picked up a book called The Storyteller’s Secret.
In this captivating read, Carmine Gallo says that, “since the next decade will see the most change our civilization has ever known, your story will radically transform your business, your life and the lives of those you touch.”
Why is this important? Because “ideas that catch on are wrapped in a story,” he says.
Stories connect us, inform us and inspire us.
That’s undoubtedly one of the reasons behind the golden age of television, with so many compelling shows. This is why it’s so exciting to work in an industry at the intersection of entertainment and technology.
This is where great stories are told that entertain us, help us make sense of the world and prompt us to think about our own stories and the difference we’re making.
(And this is where I remind readers that opinions are my own.)
Speaking of stories, I can’t wait to hear from the speakers at next week’s TEDWomen 2016 conference. Fittingly for me, it’s in San Francisco, close to where I was born and where my daughter is attending college.
What’s your story? How are you writing it every day?
by Caroline Leach | Oct 16, 2016 | Careers, Leadership, Learning, Social Media, Work/Life
Yes, everyone is making it up as they go along.
And that means you can, too, as you work toward your biggest goals.
I’ll tell you why in my post on the USC Annenberg Alumni website.
I’m a proud Annenberg Alumni Ambassador this year, sharing all the best of this distinguished school for communication and journalism.
Some of my fellow ambassadors, pictured below, were featured alums at the Annenberg NETworks event this fall with students and recent grads.
What a fun evening it was, full of interesting people and fascinating conversations.
#FightOn!
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