It has been a hectic two weeks with many leaders filling the headlines. How and what are we to think given the rhetoric that fills our ears and floods our senses?
In my leadership classes I have an ongoing exercise I call “Leaders in the News” to help my students consume news while critically thinking about the leaders they read about. My students are required to seek out reliable news sources—not snapchat, Instagram, X, or whatever flavor of social media they like. They must read the news daily and come to class prepared to discuss the leaders they see in the news. EACH CLASS (yes, each class) we start off with small group discussions on the news, then move to the entire class. For the first several classes I facilitate, then I turn the discussion over to the students to lead for the rest of the semester.
I do this exercise for several reasons. One is to get my students off social media by substituting reliable new sources. The other reasons? I want my students to know what is going on in the world and to be able to discuss the news candidly, critically, and respectfully with one another.
This requires practice.
About halfway through the semester, I begin to see the real magic happen. One student will thoughtfully disagree with the majority opinion and take a stand. Others will listen carefully and consider the other’s perspective. Another student will make his or her point then say, “I realize that I formed my opinion based on secondhand sources. I need to do more research.”
The discussions get livelier throughout the semester and become an ingrained practice. So much so that my students find themselves prepared to discuss world events when they go into their internships and careers.
This is how I develop leaders.
Just last week one of my former students wrote to me to thank me for my help and for what she learned in class. Allison has been accepted to Vanderbilt Law and because of “Leaders in the News” she has been faithfully listening to the Wall Street Journal and Morning Brew podcasts. She has gained insights beyond her academic education and now extends what she is learning to how she is communicating ideas about the world that she is now entering. Congrats Allison!
Think about the next generation that works in your business and arrives in your workplace each day (virtual or not). How might you help them to engage critically and respectfully with the news?
Need help? Connect with me at CaptainBarbaraBell.com.
Fly high,
Barbara
Of course, check out my book, Flight Lessons: Navigating Through Life’s Turbulence and Learning to Fly High.
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