By: Travis Vaughn on March 13, 2023
This past week was one of those weeks where I thought to myself: It would be easier to just be in the background. Maybe even hanging out, for a year or two, on the beach with our twenty-something-year-old kids, “free” from the warp and woof of serving in an organizational leadership role. “Were things really…
By: Noel Liemam on March 12, 2023
Bruce Lee, the Asian American-born actor, was known by many as an amazing martial artist. But not only that, but he was also a profound thinker. “He left behind seven volumes of writings on everything from quantum physics to philosophy” [1]. Mr. Lee developed a martial technique called “jeet kune do,” which resulted from his…
By: Daron George on March 12, 2023
Agarwal’s book provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the concept of unconscious bias and its impact on individuals and society. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, psychology, and sociology, Agarwal offers a nuanced analysis of how unconscious bias manifests in various domains, including race, gender, age, and social class. The book is divided into two…
By: Tonette Kellett on March 12, 2023
Sway is a book about biases, conscious and unconscious, but mostly unconscious biases. [1] The author, Pragya Agarwal, is a woman raised in India that later immigrated to the United Kingdom. [2] Being a woman intelligent in mathematics and sciences which is often considered a man’s realm, and also a woman of color, and a…
By: Laura Fleetwood on March 12, 2023
Understanding the forces that shape human behavior is a key element of emotional intelligence, strong relationships and successful leadership. In the book Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias, Dr. Pragya Agarwal offers an insightful look at how our behavior is influenced by unconscious bias. Drawing on a wide range of research from psychology to neuroscience, Agarwal shows…
By: Audrey Robinson on March 12, 2023
Pragya Agarwal, in her book, Sway Unraveling Unconscious Bias, explains through research from various disciplines, real stories, and scientific theories the unintentional biases we all experience. Dr. Agarwal demonstrates where the biases come from, how they affect our perspectives and decision-making, and most importantly, why it is necessary to unlearn them. In her book, she…
By: Kristy Newport on March 11, 2023
In a recent Monday Cohort zoom chat, a fellow doctorate student (namely, Greg McMullen) shared one of his tips on writing his blogs. He said that when considering what to write, he lets his ideas “pass through (his) heart” and then begins to organize his ideas around this.[1] Reading Northouse’s Leadership Theory and Practice prompted…
By: Chad McSwain on March 10, 2023
What better way to spend Spring Break than on a college tour. My oldest daughter wanted to visit the University of Oklahoma (OU) and I was all for it, after all these are my people. This is where I grew up and where my family lives. I affectionately refer to this as “the motherland.” The…
By: Caleb Lu on March 10, 2023
There is a Chinese fable by Zhuangzi that I grew up hearing about a frog who lives in the bottom of a deep and narrow well. As other animals come and tell him about the world outside, the frog scoffs at them and knows in his heart that the well is the entire world, there…
By: Jean de Dieu Ndahiriwe on March 10, 2023
Pragya, In SWAY, responding to what inspired him to write the book about unconscious bias, said, “What we are seeing around us in most parts of the world is that partisan politics is taking Centre stage, dividing people, and causing rifts and conflicts.”[1] In this post, as in many others, I might have more questions…
By: Dinka Utomo on March 9, 2023
Read deeply. Stay open. Continue to wonder. -Austin Kleon- Impostor syndrome is a familiar experience for me. I’ve noticed that it tends to surface whenever I embark on something significant and meaningful. I vividly recall feeling extremely anxious about homiletics, a subject during my undergraduate studies twenty-three years ago. As part of the curriculum,…
By: Jana Dluehosh on March 9, 2023
Have you ever found yourself floundering? Directionless? Just plain old bored? Well I have a solution for you. Follow these “easy” steps and in no time you’ll have a Doctorate! Thresholds…. Find opportunities to expand your horizons! We often don’t know we are about to encounter a threshold experience, but we will know we have…
By: Adam Harris on March 9, 2023
I don’t watch a lot of movies these days, but several months ago I had some time and felt the urge to watch the new Elvis movie with Austin Butler. Austin ended up winning the Golden Globes Award for Best Actor in his portrayal as the “King of Rock”. I had a new appreciation for…
By: Jenny Steinbrenner Hale on March 9, 2023
“The truth can be uncomfortable, but if we don’t face reality [our] implicit biases will shape and transform our society in a way that we had never thought possible.”[1] I took some valuable steps backward and forward this week while reading Pragya Agarwal’s book, Sway, and emerged with new learnings and new commitments. Pragya Agarwal’s…
By: Becca Hald on March 9, 2023
Two years ago, my husband and a friend of his both began job searching at the same time due to company layoffs. My husband is a white male. His friend is an Hispanic male. My husband submitted between ten to twenty applications. He was hired within the same company in another position within a month.…
By: Todd E Henley on March 9, 2023
Born in Circleville, Ohio, in 1983, Austin Kleon’s work focuses and rambles around non-fiction and “motivational” niche. Being a millennial himself, Austin realizes the cursory attention span of the internet generation and therefore, he keeps it short and hurls doodles and illustrations frequently just to make sure that the focus stays intact. [1]. This millennial…
By: Pam Lau on March 9, 2023
Liz H. Just seeing her name on my screen floods my mind with the “Things nobody told [me] about being creative.” In 2014, I received a phone call from my publisher announcing with joy how she secured Liz H. as my editor for my next book. Wanting to share in her excitement, I quickly chimed…
By: Troy Rappold on March 9, 2023
In Stephen R.C. Hicks book, Explaining Postmodernism (expanded edition, published in 2019), the author outlines the historical development of postmodernism and then explains the movement’s assumptions and arguments as it exists today. The first two chapters prove helpful as he goes back to the beginning of the Enlightenment as his starting point for the development…
By: Jenny Dooley on March 8, 2023
Không thầy đố mày làm nên. When translated this Vietnamese proverb means: No one can accomplish great things without teachers.[1] For 13 years, I had the wonderful privilege of living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Walking along Dong Khoi Street was a favorite past time. Located in the heart of District 1, it is…
By: Mathieu Yuill on March 8, 2023
Several years ago I was at a conference and came across a book by Ken Wytsma titled Create Vs. Copy[1]. It explored the value of copying others as a learning tool but warned against relying on it as you progressed – especially if you were seeking to copy something purely for personal gain. I picked up a…
