Some inspiring TED talks that promote great leadership...

TED Talks have become a very integral part of the professional development world. Many business owners, social media influencers and educators vie for a spot on the TED stage in order to share their stories of success, triumph over adversity or some novel way that they see the world. When I'm searching for inspiration related to a specific subject matter like, "the future of higher ed", "connecting with students" or "professional development", I tend to type the letters T-E-D behind it just to be sure I find a great presentation that's both entertaining and engaging. For me, that's what TED offers, Ideas Worth Spreading. Below, I have compiled a list of some very inspirational TED talks as it relates to personal and professional leadership skills.  

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sinek's official title is Leadership Expert. He explores how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust and change. He's the author of the classic "Start With Why"; his latest book is "Leaders Eat Last." This TED talk taps into the leadership aspect in a way that it can be applied to both our personal and professional lives. Sinek discusses good leadership as a lifestyle and not merely a specific job description. Leadership can happen in many different ways but inspiring those around you to do their best has a much more viable lasting effect than manipulation or fear. This is a great tool for anyone who is considering their "why", and how knowing why you do anything you do can provide the clarity needed to make a real impact in any environment and institution we happen to be connected to.  

Trial, Error and The God Complex

Tim Harford is an Economics writer who studies complex systems. For this TED talk he shares his findings of a surprising link among the successful systems: they were primarily built through trial and error. Harford asks the audience to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes. He purports that the more ideas we try the higher the likelihood of our success. He believes variation and selection boils down to trial and error. This idea can be applied to educational institutions, businesses, and economics. Harford discusses how trial and error should be taught in schools and should be the platform that most politicians run on. He believes humans benefit a great deal from admitting their own fallibility and ultimately ditching the God complex in order to create more successful systems. 

Listen, Learn, then Lead

Stanley McChrystal is a four-star general who shares what he learned about leadership throughout his 25-year career in the military. He begins by sharing a story about jumping out of  a plane and how that moment impacted the way he feels leaders should conduct themselves. His focus is building shared purpose across different age groups and across various skillsets. McChrystal explains the value of listening and learning while always addressing the possibility of failure. His storytelling abilities tap into an almost campfire feeling. He's direct, personable and authentic, while educating the audience on specific ways to improve their leadership skills, which would ultimately improve the culture of their institutions.   

Why We have Too Few Women Leaders

As the COO of Facebook and author of the best-selling book, Lean-In, Sheryl Sandberg has dynamic insight on why there are so few women in leadership positions. She discusses how there is a negative correlation between likability and women leaders and how this might discourage many women from reaching for those high positions. This is a great TED talk for not only women who are looking to lead but for men who want to further understand the importance of female representation and its impact on future generations of women. The main takeaway is understanding our own biases when interacting with women leaders or women who are developing their careers to lead. Sandberg does a great job of outlining some of the common challenges women face in many institutions and how to address them.    

The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding

Another great story-teller and renowned UCLA coach John Wooden shares his perspective on success and some especially profound tidbits of wisdom he received from his father. He shares a deep understanding for the importance of doing your personal best and not focusing your attention on doing better than others. This personable approach to success is attributed to his simple upbringing on a farm. He discusses his "golden" rules; "never be late, be neat and clean when you do show up, no profanity and never criticize a teammate". This is a simple but very reasonable approach to great leadership, while always operating under the premise that success is about much more than simply winning.
     

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A

Cultivating Positive Classroom Culture

In my experience, every instructor wants a class that is attentive, studious, thoughtful, respectful and a host of other characteristics that we have likely seen more of in a movie than in our actual classroom. The expectation of these outcomes is not unrealistic, but what can often be unrealistic is the idea that it should come with very little effort on the part of the instructor. In my previous blog I discussed the importance of instilling confidence in your students, which outlined a few practices that might assist in that process. For this blog, lets look at the flip side of that coin and discuss some attitudes, habits and practices we should avoid in order to create the thriving space for teaching and learning that we desire.

• Avoid accusatory behavior. We've all had students who miss class, show up late to class or ask to turn in late assignments. This is not new. However, it is important to remember that accusing students of being lazy, being careless, being entitled or that they aren't taking their education seriously will create the type of negativity that has the ability to clutter the classroom for weeks on end. Of course the student should do a better job to stay on top of their academic career, but accusing them with our tone, our words or even our facial expressions does not create the relationships in the classroom we might desire. It is better to assume that we don't know and to ask thoughtful questions first.

• Don't allow the positive aspects of the students efforts to be cancelled out by one act that you might perceive to be negative. Its the same idea as having one bad moment in a day, not being equal to having an entire bad day. Be sure to put both their strengths and weaknesses into perspective before coming to a conclusion about who the student is and what they are capable of. We may be missing some great qualities that could contribute to the classroom culture in a very productive way. 

• Avoid taking a students' approach to your course too personal. I know how passionate most instructors are about their subject matter. Most of us have learned to eat, sleep and breathe it for the purposes of being a solid resource for students in the classroom. However, keep in mind that we are generally only experts in one subject area, while many of our students, especially undergrad students, are enrolled in 3 to 5 different courses. Many students are not even sure about what their major will be and are possibly taking our course to fulfill a requirement. This does not mean that we should match the lack luster approach some students might display, but it does mean that we should keep in mind that not all students are in love with our subject matter to the same extent that we are. And that is okay.  

• Do your best to be clear about what is expected at all times. One of the most common student complaints is that the instructor is not clear about what is expected. They turn in research papers and often get an arbitrary score with very little feedback. Or they submit a discussion board post and get points taken off for something along the lines of, "not being thoughtful enough". When students see comments like these, they have no idea what is being requested of them. Usually they just submit a longer response the next time which does not always mean their approach to the discussion was any more "thoughtful". Clarity can also wane when instructors only chime in when they feel a student is not doing something right as opposed to also chiming in when they do well.   

• Be as efficient as you want your students to be. When we expect students to be flawless we leave no room for our own inevitable human mistakes. This becomes an issue when an instructor is very hardcore about something like tardiness. The instructor may deduct points for late arrivals or unknowingly treat students who are late as if they aren't taking their education seriously. But what happens when the instructor is late? If the behavior of the instructor is allowed to be judged by a double-standard, the students might build up a bit of resentment. This also applies to things like requesting that students have no grammatical mistakes in their papers, discussions or emails. This puts the instructor under a microscope too, and since we all make mistakes, this approach often does not work for the instructor in the long-run. This doesn't mean high standards are no good, but it does mean that we should always leave room for human error. Nobody is perfect.

I hope you've enjoyed these pointers on behaviors to avoid in order to create a more positive classroom culture. If you feel something was missed, please drop it in the comments below!

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A           

Instilling Confidence in Your Students

Our students come to us from a variety of backgrounds, all with different motivations for being in our classrooms. Finding commonalities among students can be challenging if they never open up or participate during the class. Sometimes a lack of participation might be a sign that the student doesn't feel their opinion is valuable or there may be a general sense of alienation. These feeling might stem from having had a series of less than positive interactions in previous academic settings. When we see a smart student who exhibits waning confidence, there are a few useful tools we might use in order to boost their self-worth, as it relates to how they feel about themselves in the classroom. 

• Remember that our opinion of their work product is highly subjective. In subject areas where there is wiggle room to interpret the meaning of theories and concepts differently, we can try validating the student's perspective even if it is vastly different from our own. In my personal experience as a new graduate student many years ago, I can remember feeling really defeated if an instructor ripped my perspective apart instead of first validating it and then explaining to me why another perspective might be a better approach. It made me feel as though I didn't belong and that I was in over my head. These same ideas I later tested in papers for other professors were praised for their uniqueness. Its important to remember how much our opinions mean to students and while our opinions are backed by years of study and experience, it doesn't mean there isn't a new way to see an old concept. This type of exploration should be encouraged.     

• Try multiple methods of assessment. For those who don't perform well on tests a multifaceted presentation might be a better fit. For those who don't present well, building a website could be where they shine. For someone who doesn't have the skill-set to build a website, try allowing them to develop and shoot a short film. Many of these methods can be used in combination with others. In recent years, traditional ways of sharing information have been challenged by innovative tools that are now available for personal use. With current technological advancements, there is so much room to try various ways of assessing whether or not students have gained a working knowledge of the material. A research paper maybe be safe but the possibilities are truly endless.     

• Share stories about yourself and how you were once just like them. Many students deal with impostor syndrome, which is also commonly experienced by instructors. At the end of the day, we are all human, therefor it should be easy to understand how a student might feel intimidated in an environment they are not accustomed to. I know I have personally dealt with the feeling of not feeling as though I was qualified enough to be in a position or to attain a specific degree. But after getting my footing, I quickly got over that "not enough" feeling. I remembered that no matter the position or how much others seem to be thriving, they are also dealing with some type of insecurity I have no knowledge of. I found that sharing some of my early struggles with being a first generation college student allowed students the space to be easier on themselves. I had created an opportunity for them to settle into their new role as a student and the expectations that come along with it.

The ultimate goal of any instructor should be to facilitate student success to the best of their ability. This doesn't mean that the onus of responsibility is all on the instructors but it does mean the instructor should do their best to not be another place of insecurity for the student. I hope you have enjoyed reading this short list of ways we can assist in instilling confidence in our students. Feel free to share a few of your own in the comment section below. 

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A