The Power of Seeing: Leading & Teaching Effectively Across Generations

Morning everybody lovely to see you so bright and early  great great great today to talk about uh teaching across  the generations which we're all doing right I mean that's just the nature of of  Education these days so we've got um Everybody through throughout the  Continuum from you and me through uh continuing professional development development and it's sometimes they're  all in the same room at the same time so it's a little challenging so today we have uh my friend and  colleague from um Duke here to uh talk to us and share  some of his wisdom that he's learned across the years um with us today so Dr Gordon is an  associate Dean for student affairs and associate professor of emergency medicine at the Duke University School  of Medicine he completed his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and after completing his residency training in  emergency medicine at University of Cincinnati at 2005 and 2005. he joined  the faculty at Duke University where he's been ever since and he's continued to practice as a clinician educator he  previously served as the undergraduate educator director for emergency medicine for over 15 years before becoming an  advisory Dean for the school of medicine in July 2022. he continues to serve as  associate program director for emergency medicine enabling him to work closely with both medical students and residents  and I would say also faculty because of his faculty development sessions to  enhance the learning for the students in Residence and others so Dr Gordon's main  academic interests include the teaching and assessment of clinical reasoning understanding reducing cognitive errors  in the remediation of struggling learners his work as an advisory Dean includes  creating positive and inclusive learning environments which serves as the basis of today's presentation so uh feel free  to this is a smaller group this morning uh feel free to unmute yourself and ask  questions throughout or type some questions in the chat um Dr Gordon is amenable to that or  saving questions to the end whatever whatever you find works best for you but  um yesterday was a wonderful discussion and we hope today will be as well so take it away Dr Gordon thanks Sherry  appreciate you all being here um I'm more of a night owl than a morning person so the fact that you are  on this screen at 7am is is much appreciated um and just also want to thank Sherry  Ria and Deborah and Heather um and Sarah for being a wonderful host  and uh for making sure I have not got lost on campus and have kept me really well fed and rested so thank you I  really enjoying my my stay here um before I start sharing my slides I um  just wanted to give a little bit of more background behind this talk so most of  the time what I've been speaking about historically has actually been clinical reasoning and what it is and how we  assess it and how we can teach it um but about a year ago I was uh  approached by Dr McNeil at Duke who oversees our teaching Academy which is  kind of similar in its mission to for faculty development and she asked me to give a talk on uh teaching  multi-generational teams and uh at first I thought she didn't like me anymore and  was giving me giving me uh maybe I was the last one she asked but what I  thought more about my work with students in Residence and as Sherry said faculty uh through my different roles I could  see why um how a lot of this stuff does relate to the work I do and what I'm sharing with you today is is strategies and  solutions that I found very helpful in kind of working across Learners of different Generations  um I also want to just mention that while the focus of the talk today is about multi-generational teams uh in a  broader sense it's about working with diverse teams so whether it's Generations race gender sexual  orientation there are many different lines of diversity our teams can have but I think the principles that come out  here as far as we Bridge those gaps and create unity and inclusive inclusivity  um detect I think the the principle is the same so I will with that go ahead and start  screening sharing my screen and just bear with me here for one second as I  get my display set up and then we'll start in Okay so  okay and um Sherry or Heather I'm not I don't I'm not going to have view of the chat window so uh feel free if there's  something that comes to the chat window just to interrupt me and we we can pause otherwise I will definitely leave time  at the end of the slides uh for uh so thank you  all right I do not have any conflicts of interest which is usually the case when your primary role outside clinical  medicine is education but I did want to share that I I have some confessions and  I um just some personal Hobbies of mine is my my new coven hobby uh was backyard  neapolitan pizza making which I'm really enjoying uh still learning a lot so if any of you out there have any tips or do  this as well we should catch up for sure and then um I have a problem with dark chocolate  and not being able to say no so I think thank my friends last night for making  sure I had some dark chocolate for dinner last night it was much appreciated  um what I want to cover today I want to review the values attitudes and  communication styles that are assigned to different Generations so this is the idea that we'll dive into that when you  were born might influence your personality uh what that looks like and also what the limitations of that  construct may be I want to talk about um the different needs and expectations  of our Learners that might be informed by the generation that they belong to  I'm going to share what I've heard from my Learners at Duke and we're going to also take some time to share what you  may feel about your learners here locally at carillion  and then lastly I'm going to dive into this concept of seeing and perhaps present it in a way that you haven't  heard before but in a way that I think can be very meaningful in thinking about  when you're working with a diverse group um how can our the way we see people  help bring our make our tighter community and make it feel more inclusive for everyone  so let's start with the question of generations what's what's what's the big  deal I mean naturally of course as as we we get older our interests may change  our our Hobbies may change um we may have different expectations  but you know is it is it so big that we can't all get along or so big that  something like a good smartphone couldn't bring us all together so what what what's the issue what's the problem  that that we're trying to tackle uh and discussion about multi-generational teams  so what what we're talking about is is generational Theory and the idea that  based on shared world events shared changes in technology uh pers realities  and perceptions of current and future opportunity in the world and then cultural Heroes and and  icons group of people based on just some the time that they're born are going to have shared events and based on that  shared collective experience they may end up with a shared personality and by  that meaning they may develop similar attitudes values the way they relate to work what they want to the value they  they expect to gain from work and and how they communicate so  the reason why this became where this started kind of particularly gaining traction uh was when there was  changes in the way the workforce was structured so historically the workplace was very  divided or very kind of structured such that you had upper management middle management and say lower management is  one example but your age and how long you've been alive kind of corresponded  were where you saw it were you sat in this corporate structure so if you were older you supervise those that were  younger and they took your words for it there was no kind of back and forth discussion negotiation it was it was a very  top-down system uh where seniority incorporation correlated with siony of  age workplace changed though um groups from different Generations  started interfacing differently they might be more horizontal or very possible that someone who was  younger had more corporate seniority than someone that was chronologically older  and what was observed or felt to occur is that because of the different generations and the different  personalities there is new conflict that hadn't existed before  so understanding um what those Generations were and how  they may vary became of more interest in sociology and then the business world to  try to optimize workplace culture workplace efficiency  so you're probably familiar with this nothing new here but just an example that roughly a generation seems to occur  every 20 years um and um carries certain characteristics and  flavors that with it we um we're going to kind of talk a little  bit about Boomers and gen xers and gen wires also known as Millennials although we're also now getting into the Gen Z  which have sometimes been called digital natives as well and kind of understand  how these groups are described and what the implications are when they're part  of our team so this is a slide not to memorize but  just to illustrate how different Generations may have experienced  uh major world events the different cultures and heroes that  can be Associated so I'll start with the Baby Boomers as an example experienced  Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement they're Heroes at the time could be MLK  and JFK versus the Gen xers who came after the  Vietnam War ended there was a sense that America had lost its first war there were a lot of difficult events while  like Watergate and Chernobyl and AIDS to the point where they didn't even have Heroes so apparently I don't have any  like real heroes uh based on my my birth year and the things that I experienced  uh in in my lifetime so far um versus the Millennials who we started  to enter into the war on terror domestic terrorism but at the same time now  started people connecting with one another through social media and so also  had parents that were more Hands-On sometimes more friends than parents uh  and so they became Heroes themselves  let's um take a closer look starting with Baby Boomers at baby boomers gen xers and  millennials So based on their the generational experience  how might that influence the values that they bring to the workforce yeah the assets oh sorry what they value  um in from their employer and and their workplace the assets and liabilities they bring and then lastly I'll talk  about motivation and the terms of  if you wanted to um motivate a baby boomer so to speak in  the workforce what would you say to them how could you light a fire under their belly to get them more engaged  so what a baby boomer values is they want a loyal employer and someone that respects them  um and what they'll give is a strong work ethic and they're eager to Mentor  um and so if you're looking somewhere to develop more younger employees or new employees I should say  um tap into your baby boomer because that's that's the one of the values that they seek in employment but be a little  cautious because you might find in baby boomers are defensive to feedback and judgmental if you need to motivate them  verbiage such as reminding them that they're really important to your success that they're needed  um uh we'll go over well and so that that's that's your baby boomer model  there now I'm a gen xer so I'm going to speak in  the first person um apparently uh what I need I need  someone I can trust uh but I also in that trust want them to  respect my autonomy so that I kind of have some discretion and control about how I do my projects and and how I get  things done at the same time balance is important to me um I don't want it to be all about work  and I need to have a little fun so I give you um being an employer My independence and  ability to function independently and I can be adaptive as well as creative but  just know that why I res need trust I need um someone I can trust my trust may  be a little slow to give and so sometimes I might be a little skeptical a little distressful I'm also not very  good at politics in in the office um but I'll tell you what motivates me  is um you know if you tell me what needs to be done but give me the freedom to do it  how I however I want I'll appreciate that and by the way I don't like lots of  meetings um but if we have to have them let's at least make sure they're fun so that's  that's me uh as a gen xer if you're a millennial uh what you want  is someone who understands you and can empathize with you as a person that's the kind of boss so to speak you want uh  you enjoy work but it's got to be meaningful and not work for the sake of work and also you really want to train  develop new skills and evolve as a person you will bring to your employer Tech  savviness a sense of optimism um and you're very very collaborative  you like to work with people um but um you also need supervision and you  really like feedback um because you really want to develop those skills and know how you're doing  um and and kind of meeting the expectations of the job and if you if a millennial need a little motivation then  someone just needs to say or remind you that you make a difference here and that  boy isn't this great you get to work on a team and collaborate working with bright and creative people just like you  you'll come across different um associations and ways of defining the  generations but this was one that I thought was interesting to to ponder about how as we've moved from a baby  boomer now uh into gen Caesar's um the expectations of needs an employer  has gone from loyal to someone to trust someone that understands to someone now  values and can operate in a diverse Workforce and and and and brings  diversity uh to the table going from someone that from their  employer needed respect versus a time difference flexibility now um the workforce really the the newer  generation to gen zeers need stability uh they need they need something a workplace and a job that they feel that  they they can rely on so you might have different reactions to what I just  shared you may resonate with it you may say like I'm not  uh I'm not buying it seems very stereotypical and either reaction is is I think totally fine I'm going to share  with you a little bit in the end about how I see uh this this kind of theory uh  and categorization but I do want to start by acknowledging  um this article that I learned through Sherry who's I think originally posted  by um your Dean which I think is a really good cautionary tale  um to generational categories um one being that this the science is  not a hard science I mean this isn't just totally made up it's based on observation and and surveys so there is  some um some methodology behind it but it's  also very it's it's it's a it's kind of a looser science so to speak  um and then probably the biggest thing is always be cautious in any situation  of not trying to say you fully understand or if someone's totally figured out because you've assigned into  a group so um that is just going to lead to uh stereotyping oversimplification  misunderstanding so just because someone belongs to a gen Z or Millennial or Gen  X or uh generalization uh General um category uh don't assume that they have  as an individual represent all the generational features that have been associated with that group so we  have to be very cautious about that and then some other things about some of the bias that may be inherent in the  categories uh that these constructions tend to focus on differences rather than similarities and the idea that that  people certainly change over time as as they have all personally as they experience new events  so here's um my take home for me and how I kind of  view the utility of of generational Theory  and I'm going to illustrate through a story um and I'm going to basically describe a  behavior that I observed and I know Maria and Cherry are on the call and so  we have to talk about competency-based education it's all about observed Behavior so I'm going to describe it a  behavior and then illustrate how I generational Theory helped me or at least the concepts behind it tell me  interpretive Behavior so um you're at a restaurant and there is a  man who has just finished a nice meal nice Italian meal with his family  um he gets the check he signs the check uh but before leaving he takes that pen  puts it in his pocket and then walks out with it why does he do that that's the behavior  you observed there could be different reasons one interpretation is that purely like the pen that restaurant uses  nice pens and um he saw um he wanted to hold on to that he's a pen collector another interpretation  um could be that um he really had a wonderful meal he wanted a little momento of of being together  with his family so he took it as a little historical token to remind him in the future about wow what a great deal  this was well let me tell you what the taking that pen was really about that man uh is  my grandfather he's 97 unfortunately still doing well  um but that was I just remember that story because it very much captures his personality but to understand that I  needed to understand him not only as an individual but also the greater context of how he grew up and the historical  events he experienced so he was lived through the the Great Depression uh when he had finished high school his  father basically told him that he was now in charge of making it on his own so  he had to hustle and bustle he became a businessman um but in that environment where  resources were scarce every dollar every penny counted so in that meal and I still see this  today um he will haggle over an extra dollar or a couple dollars uh because that  that's that's how he grew up and at that meal it has so happened that he felt there was an overcharge uh for an item  but the waiter restaurant wouldn't budge so to reclaimed that dollar for dollars he took that pen  um so that in the end it was a zero-sum game but to understand my grandfather uh  really was about in in part understanding degeneration or generational historical forces that he  experienced and how that played a role in shaping who he was now you'll see on  the slide I don't think that necessarily determined what he was I think it was an influence so I see these just this  understanding that our personalities can be influenced by the events by the  technology that are available to us I think does offer some value if we're truly trying to understand an individual  while also recognizing there's so much more that goes into that one's in unique individual genetic makeup and  personality the family they grew up with where they grew up with in the state  country and Country um but I think they all they all inform and can help us understand  those that are in our in our sphere okay so it was wisely observed that  every generation imagine itself to be more intelligent than one before and wiser than the one that comes after that who said that  why is George Orwell so uh it's been all well observed that  uh Generations uh there are things to Generations that they that they do exist  but we also have to word of caution the less you judge those before and after you so as you've been judged the goal  here uh is to kind of understand one another not not to judge one another  all right I want to take this what we've talked about so far and apply it to our  Learners and in this case uh specifically um medical students  so I um did some some very rigorous scientific research um back home about a  year ago uh that research came in the form of a a lunch conversation so I  mentioned that just so you take this uh understanding um what the limitations of it but at the  same time I saw definite patterns and and uh responses the students were  giving me um and so I'm gonna whenever I see patterns I'm like well that I usually  put at least a little weight into that but here were the the questions that I asked my students and I'm going to go  ahead and um this is where I'd like to get you guys involved as well  so if um if you're if you have a smartphone you can use the QR code or if you go to slido.com you can enter this meeting ID  um the meeting code there you don't have to use that space it was just there for ease of read but four two eight one nine  six one all right so here are the questions and I'd like you to share if you could what you think your students would  respond locally if you ask them hey what do you want your teachers or Educators  you know about the way you in generational terms um like to communicate and teach  or what are some things that you think your teachers absolutely need to to  avoid so let's see it see one person was able to great we have some people joining so  I'll give it a moment here see what you can uh see what we come up with  just in case people wreaking or looking at their screens I'm just going to start reading them I like feedback good and  bad share knowledge not dictate it avoid condensation embarrassment uh focus on  benefit talk to me not down to me yes I would like leaders know that  seeing the human first is important destructive feedback Let's see different style of learning not just lecture but  more conversational yeah don't waste my time if it's something I can find on video oh boy was that ever present at my  home [Laughter] um let's see yeah Educators should not  try to be cool hip yeah and you slang just to fit I could  see that being a fail keep me engaged constructively I like that constructive not condescending  great okay I'm going to share what my um uh students uh  uh shared and will match I see two more people typing yeah I I  like boy I just have to share a little personal don't waste my time with something fun video uh that gets back to  a conversation at home with uh children about how seeing the Grand Canyon is  different than seeing it on video so I definitely had some uh a generation generational uh divide  there and yeah what if we are cool and hip well I say go for it um but maybe get some feedback yourself  to verify whether that's an accurate uh perception so but uh yeah we can all be  cool too all right [Music] um okay  so very similar to some of the things that were mentioned didactics to be interactive you could use the world  conversational uh they want to be engaged uh talk with that so yeah that  you that read loud and clear from from you as well  um clear communication and objectives um these are my first year students and I would say in particular where I found  any guidance understandable is they have a lot of resources available to them so  when I was in medical school it was like here is a textbook there was really no other major resources I needed to go or  worry that you know that I was missing it was the textbook that we all had but now there's all these third-party  resources Learning Materials blogs YouTubes it's a bit overwhelming so they  need understandably with the the amount of knowledge and the amount of resources clear guidance and like okay here's what  you really need to know and here are the resources we're recommending you can use others but they do need a little more  guidance than perhaps at least when I was in Middle School I did  um this comes up a lot if you've been um I'm not sure if you have a policy over laptops and lectures but our  students want us to want to make it clear that just because they have a laptop open doesn't mean they're um  emailing or shopping although sometimes they really are um I've seen their screen but there's  also can be good use as well where they've heard something that that piqued their curiosity or they needed to verify  so they're they're searching um and actually promoting their learning not not being  distracted or avoiding attention so did this that is how technology grew up in the world and so they just kind of want  to make sure that it's it's not held against them negatively because it does have some good use um even even from the  lecture um this was attention they felt and I don't know if this is a local fact or  it's more generalizable um but they just wanted to make sure that they're in curiosity and their  questioning didn't come across as a challenging Authority and for for gaining Clarity and I think sometimes it  may have been received like they were being too pushy or challenging when it's just seeking more understanding  um and they just wanted uh instructors to be uh very a little bit mindful  um of how his response it's okay to say this is not a you know uh we'll take  questions later but you don't want to come back saying that you know that's not that's not a meaningful question or  it's not a necessary question just being clear that you know questions are welcome they may just have to be answered at a different time  they mentioned that um they their generation doesn't necessarily take  hierarchy at face value just because you have a title they like to understand why how you got there what your experience  is not not just what the title that is at the end of your email but what's  behind that and then similarly they they um like claired you have a title so  um I'm gonna need this um these students I would say fall primarily under that Millennial kind of characterization so  they grew up in the world where parents uh maybe main function felt more as  friends maybe than than in the past so they may call adults by first names and  similarly sometimes uh if they see a faculty sign their first name their email by their first name they may  assume they want to be called by their first name and um actually as I shared with the last  group had a student that was calling me by my first my first name to begin with which was fine I could tell it kind of  mortified the other students who felt more more formal uh way of uh addressing  their their advisory Dean and then he finally asked how I wanted to be addressed and I thought about it and I  thought about it honestly and I kind of I said you know when I was a student I  always felt most of appropriate calling my advisory equipment advisory Dean by doctor in the same way even as a faculty  member I can't call I feel uncomfortable calling my my Dean by their first name right it's called Dean klotman so  um as I said so my honest answer is this is how I feel more comfortable and they were great with it they just needed the clarity  um so it's it's just being honest um about the situation and the expectations  all right um with second years uh so uh um should clarify that at Duke based on our  curriculum our second years are actually clerk are doing their clerkships so these are students that are in clinical rotations uh what came up on that uh  lunch discussion was they don't they don't want the back of my day they don't want just because I I did it again do it  the same way again it's it's justification it's not taking things that face value it's it's understanding  the rationale and reasoning behind the situations um I thought this was very very  insightful is um I mean it's great to to teach uh in front of of patients and  engage in a teaching Circle but just make sure teaching isn't done in a pejorative way where  um where someone is trying to make a student look wrong or trying to make themselves look more knowledgeable from  the patient uh just in general that there's a little bit of a element of public humiliation that comes with that  um and students that understandably be um uh something that someone would be sensitive to  um similar to what the first year said um uh just be mindful of how you respond  to their questions um they don't want the you don't need to know or it's not necessary it could be like a great question again let's let's  answer this double time or it's okay to say I I don't know but  um there's a difference between saying you know time and place versus not necessary or you shouldn't be asking  questions that's going to make kind of um make kind of uh take a hit on on  their comfort with being curious and and seeking clarification things they want to see they love that  sense of partnership um I think I saw that come out in in one of the responses  um and they love it it's very powerful when uh there's uh their supervisor  faculty or resident says I don't know that either that's a great question what's look that up that is very freeing  uh the permission not not to know um so group questions group learning  they like that sense of partnership um they also mentioned that um  they found it very helpful when it was made clear to them that I am asking  um you not because you need to know everything but because you're here to learn and what we're engaging here right  now is is a is a learning space I'm not I'm not assessing you I'm not watching you right now I just want to give you  this space to learn so let's let's ask some questions uh and and see what we know and what we don't know and just  kind of acknowledging that I recognize you're always always evaluated I'm not evaluating right now I I just want to I  want to teach um but um kind of uh signposting that and making it very clear this is a  teaching space not an assessing space um is appreciated  um other things as as I saw I think we know that they do benefit or appreciate clear  objectives uh again being that it would be easy to have multiple out there but knowing  where they should focus retention and then this last thing about  um um which I was interesting to see because I had actually just read about it was the collective language and the  idea of being using we rather than you uh the specific example was uh lasted  after rounds there was a lot to do and uh the attendings um it was very stood out a lot to the to  the student that uh the the attending as well was gonna kind of get into the  nitty-gritty the dirty work uh and call and help make appointments and and coordinate and kind of using this  language all right team we're going to do this together and that use of we made  the student feel part of the team and uh the attending was was doing even even in  their scene more senior role uh was going to do the same things that everyone else on the team was was doing  and uh that that was very collegial and collaborative  now um I do want because I I really I use we a lot  um especially in in uh with my students in the emergency department um but I also think it's important to  understand where we may have a counterproductive or negative effect and I've learned this as well uh and and  some of my misuse so the power of we is is  um the way I thought and think about is like when you're calling someone a team to action and as a leader you're  recognizing Your Role trying to bring people together and like let's let's we can do this  um here's how we're going to do things together kind of collective action rather than individuals  but we can be harmful if we're using it in a way that um basically assumes you  know how someone else is feeling um because even though we've experienced the same thing we may not all be feeling  the same way this comes up a lot uh unfortunately uh when there are acts of  violence or discrimination that may affect an identity group  um and that identity group um whether it be based on race sexual  orientation um other other kind of grouping um we want we our hope is to Ally and so  support and to kind of create a sense that we are together we're all affected by this but you can't claim that the way  you feel is the way they feel so um when it comes to that and this gets  into crisis management which is complex and talk of in of itself that's where  the use of I uh will probably be able to receive that you can speak to how you are affected how you are feeling still  recognizing them that um you know that this this was a very very sad event but  not trying to claim that you know what they're feeling just because that's how you're feeling  all right so my um kind of summary takeaway from that  very scientific launch uh was that at least my Learners they like having that  space to learn um and they like like it being uh sign posted made framed that this is about  learning not assessment uh that gives them freedom to be curiosity and comfort  clear expectations in the classroom and clean spaces and they are collegial and  they want to partner they want that that sense of Team teamwork in unity  a cross-check to what I learned for what's in some of um that this was uh one of the books  that I used uh to learn more more about generational Theory and I see Echoes  parallels uh with each other um Millennials want um to be told by how they're doing the  feedback they want to feel connected they want to understand um you know their connection with  technology and they encourage us to encourage others to uh join that use of  Technology they want someone who believes in them and also someone they can believe in as  well okay I'm going to Pivot now  um into another concept and this um this is one of my favorite quotes it applies  just to communication broadly that communication isn't just about the ideas  and information it's about how you make people feel and I think this is the essence of creating teams that feel uh  unified and inclusive and interesting when I was thinking a  little bit more about communication because communication is so Paramount to what we do it's not just about transmitting information but the  underpinnings of communication is that is the idea of making things common worth sharing uh like a shared  experience and uh I want to go for it four into more into this so how can we  make our communication um not just about helping people gain  new knowledge but helping people feel in a certain way and certainly with teams  it's about feeling um valued connected respected and seen  so this is where I want to dive into this notion of seeing I first came across it when I was looking at some  different schools this was actually high schools from my older son a long time ago very taken by  um one of the admissions officers who was we were in a group meeting with all the other visiting students and parents  and he said it's very nice to see you and we all replied it's good to be it's  good to see you nice to see you it was like no no no that's that's not how you respond I'm going to teach you something  um in my culture and background when someone says it's nice to see you you reply it's nice to be seen it's like oh  well that that is different um and that really stuck with me and so in this context the the idea was that  um to be seen as a gift someone is offering you a gift and when you say it's nice to be seen you're embracing  that gift and starting to create that that relationship of being seen together  um but it had being seen also means being um it you have to receive uh and  so that really kind of stuck with me uh as I began to talk explore more of this  topic I I wanted to revisit this and they came across this notion of seeing in a slight in a similar uh but slightly  different way that really um fits into this idea of generational understanding and so saobona is a Zulu  greeting it means I see you um in little translation but there's a  lot more behind its meaning um I'm going to rather than try to  explain it myself I have a short video clip where I'm gonna let Dr Bishop explain uh what sawabona means so I'm  going to start this and just expect like a three second delay before the video sorry before the audio kicks in  salbano is one of the Primal words when people were still able to really  see each other in fact the word says we see you so it's not a single eye person  that my eyes are connected to a dimension of reality we call ancestral ancestors so my saying includes my  ancestors my seeing also includes the divinities that are part of the celestial spheres of reality  so salmon says we see you and the response is yes we see you too  because it's a dialogue seeing is a dialogue establish you as a witness to some  phenomenon that can also be a witness to your own  presence but when two human beings meet in this gesture of salubona the acknowledgment  is we see each other that becomes an agreement because we're obligated from  that point to affirm the reality that seeing has empowered us  to investigate our mutual potentials for life so it invites us to communicate  why are we if we're seeing each other why are we um  here at the same time what is this moment of time given us  given us to be able to do so it's an invitation to participate in each  other's life I mean I was very taken uh by this  explanation this meaning and um um just the idea behind the greeting it  goes a lot further than hey what's up right um I mean there's there's so much in  there every time I watch it I feel like I'm I'm hearing something new um but really that that invitation just  to and and help each other in mutual potential that really stuck with me  because um you know as as teachers and Educators we also are still Learners ourselves and  that's actually one of the joys I find in especially my relatively newer roles advisory Dean how much uh if I open that  space to learn as well as I'm teaching um that really Fosters a a warm  relationship um with my my students so I still have potential to grow into and I find that  my Learners are really um instrumental in teaching me new things especially with vulnerability and  openness which I think they're better at than at least I have been whether it's a generational thing or an individual  thing um but that seeing is really about a relationship  um and and on and recognizing that two people have entered a space at the same time and are connected  um in that way so very very powerful greeting we've seen this in in pop  culture as well it's a big thing in in Avatar um in the naive culture to be seen is to  be accepted and so when the elders finally told Jake that even as an avatar they saw him that  meant that we now see you as one of our own we now accept you um as one of our own  so uh it was very much part of of that The Narrative of that film  um my dog this is Abby she's a little white Havanese who is a voracious  carnivore despite her small size but she has dogs in general just Masters at at  seeing us and teaching us how to see them right so here she is looking at a  steak here she is looking at me so in the end I'm seeing her seeing a steak  um lots of seeing going on um but I think that's one of the reasons why people feel so connected uh to to  dogs is just with those eyes uh they they see you and you know you're being  you're you're being felt seen um and they're and they're wonderful companions  um I wanted to share um an interview I had with a student who was applying to medical school I was  very even from the beginning I was like this is a very mature professional young lady  um and as I learned more about her she in her Gap year was put in a more at  least middle management position supervising people who are at least twice if not three times her age  um but I could tell she really succeeded at it and I mentioned that I just learning more about this concept of  being seen and the way you're talking about work I feel like you've done that how did you what what would you say your  secrets to success were and um here you can kind of see that she knew that it was important to make  people feel valued uh part of that was giving people time to be listened and heard it's a really important space even  if it doesn't necessarily change what you do if people have had time to to enter that space they feel seen  acknowledging that their work is important has meaning and then um she was very intentional  about if there was going to be a workplace change there was always an opportunity to share personal experience and perspective again  may not change the outcome but it certainly changed the process  um and I thought so these are really constant concrete things to to make people feel feel seen  um I also wanted to share um the harm or hurt that can come when  someone is not seen so uh you know the focus of this talk is about multi-generations uh not  um not differences when the diversity is surrounds race or socioeconomic  backgrounds um but I did want to share this because I think um if when trying to make a place more  inclusive it's that seeing that not being seen that I I think is um plays a  big part of the core this is Dr zarassa he was a student at Duke he's now just  an incredible scientist um and um but he's not immune from the  pain of not being seen and you can see there this was a perspective that he published and sell some years ago but he  wrote that I've tried to live in a world that does not see color but only succeeded in living in a world that does not see me it provides examples of where  he's not been being seen and and the pain that can be inflicted so um this this was a very kind of succinct  very pointed piece of writing that I think further kind of helps illustrate  the importance of being seen and so um here the idea that you know  Learners want to know what that you care as much if not more importantly than what you're trying trying to teach them  that comes from one of our former presidents Teddy and Teddy Roosevelt all right lastly and I'm going to just I  um in the I I've been talking a little bit more to you all uh so I'm going to just run through this but I'll go ahead  and just ask you to think about it coach uh that's one of your favorites and think about why and I picked out two  that I've learned a lot from uh the coaching world is so much about building teams and culture and I've just been  amazed at how one individual can come in and change a change an organization uh  you know part of it is because they're great they understand the sport they understand the Techno aspects the part of it is they also incredibly they know  how to build a strong culture and bring people together so um Dion Sanders I think an incredible  story I know there may be people who aren't sports fans but briefly uh he is  a Hall of Famer football player incredible athlete um multiple Super Bowls but played  offense and defense and was also known as prime time because he's got a very flashy personality very genuine but uh  definitely flashly in the public space he um has unusually made a successful  transition from being a player to a coach started off at Jackson State in in the college World historically black  college but put turn that program around um and put him on on the map  now with some controversy he's now the head coach at University of Colorado but  has already taken a team that only won one game the entire last season to winning their first two games including  the runner-up to the championship game last year really incredible um Again part of us because he knows the  game but I think probably most of it or an essential piece of it is how much he  he loves the sport how much he loves his players and part of it this quote here is just kind of you know there are  different ways of seeing people he's focused on seeing the best part nurturing um the the qualities that that he can  sprinkle and Blossom and then you know these are words on the screen  um that don't do full Justice to hearing him say these words because you can you feel the emotion behind it but he truly  comes from a position of love he wants the kids to do well he has their back  um and because they feel that support they elevate their their games so you  know his his he holds his players to a high standard this is not about being fluffy and soft uh as in his own words  he's told this team we're not here to win we're here to dominate that's that's that's powerful um but to get there he's there for them  and and they are doing great things there and then of course I'm from duke so  um without being disrespectful I have to bring Coach K uh in into the conversation  um but uh things I've learned a lot from Coach K hearing him various talks uh for  this for this conversation some things that stood out um questions that he has asked his team  um to help build that relationship is inviting that space asking them what do you think how do you feel about that  even if you may know the answer um again uh showing that you value the  conversation the collaboration and then he drew the difference between delegating versus empowering delegating  is just kind of telling people what they need to do empowering them is giving the belief the resources that they can get  there so um here's what like what we've covered  um just the idea that you know recognizing that categorizations always have limitations but that knowing what  gender the idea of that generation forces May inform someone who they are can also inform our understanding uh the  things that our learner values between expectations safe spaces to learn and partnership the power of seeing uh  seeing and being seeing salabona the importance of communicating not just knowledge but feeling and emotion and  then just ways to invite our Learners to the conversation so I have some so I  have some references there so I'm going to stop there and come back to  see see everyone okay great so uh thank you for the attention  and um I hope this was insightful and provided some some new uh ways of seeing  things uh and your learners  who has some questions or some thoughts or comments for Dr Gordon  um this is your time  I do love um Dr Gordon I mentioned this last night but  uh you know with Dion Sanders in his comments about uh you know embracing his  players as family and I've had the pleasure of you know hearing um Coach K  speak and numerous occasions as well and um he also Embraces that family mentality and I think what's behind  there um a lot of times is what makes a great coach and what makes a good teacher and  a great teacher and and a great parent is just sort of embracing and showing  your learners your kids your um players that you care about them as  people like your job is to make sure that they are successful as people and I  think that's I try to convey that most times that I talk about teaching is just just engaging in that dialogue that  relationship to where they recognize that you're not being hard on them  um because you don't like them you're being intentionally mean you're challenging them in a way that makes  them uh be successful um and hopefully it's a respectful  Challenge and something that if they recognize how much you care about them  then it's seen a little bit differently I think oh I totally agree with that  um two things on what you just said Sherry one is you I think you'll find  um that you know you feel more value and connected and enjoyment in your work as well like  because that whatever love or however you want to call it you're giving that learner you'll be reciprocated and your  cup will be a little bit more full too so um you're not just giving but you're receiving as well and I have definitely  had that experience where once I had that Foundation of trust it gave me more leverage to actually improve my ability  to be provide constructive criticism um because they know you're coming from  a good place so once I have that I actually think I can be more effective and and helping that learner so uh  and I've said this before and just to reiterate this is not about not having expectations not about setting you know  expect striving for excellence it's just creating a foundation  um to get there well thank you all so much for being  here I hope you have a wonderful day have a great rest of the day everybody thanks for coming.