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Instructors:
Lauren Rodda
Amanda Mok
Topics:
Diversity in leadership I
Lecture 2: Diversity in lea...
» Download English-US transcript (PDF)
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PROFESSOR: What does leadership mean to you guys? Anything in particular? Yes?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] this one person who's high above everyone else, but to me it's someone who guides you. [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: So your ides of leadership is mentoring, helping you find your own way? OK. What about you?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] teaches others about themselves.
PROFESSOR: So to become more than what you are right now? OK. Who do you feel is a leader in your lives? Teachers?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] Your battery's dead.
PROFESSOR: Oh, OK. Oh, well. Parents? Parents lead? How do your parents lead you?
AUDIENCE: They try to guide you and direct you to try to determine what's right and what's wrong in your own sense. And parents try to help you see for yourself what's right in problems.
PROFESSOR: OK. Do you always necessarily take that advice? No.
[LAUGHING]
In one ear and out the other.
[LAUGHING]
AUDIENCE: Often the thing they say is the opposite of what is the right thing to do.
AUDIENCE: Yeah. I agree with that.
PROFESSOR: OK.
AUDIENCE: I found that firsthand.
PROFESSOR: You said you agree. In what way do you agree?
AUDIENCE: Hm?
PROFESSOR: In which way do you agree?
AUDIENCE: Oh, what do you mean?
PROFESSOR: You said you agreed with him with what he said, so expand upon that.
AUDIENCE: Oh. Sometimes parents will create role models and they help with guiding your behavior and creating morals and sometimes not the best intentions.
AUDIENCE: Basically, parents they think because they tell you what you should do, but they don't improvise if you do this, this is what's going to happen. They tell you the basics of it, but they don't give extra details. So we're always lurking to see extra detail, like, oh, well, if I do this, what happens if I don't? And they tell you, but then again it's like, well, can I change that? Do I have to do it?
AUDIENCE: It's like a point in your life where you know that somewhat your parents' advise is wrong and you shouldn't take it and some if it's right.
PROFESSOR: OK.
AUDIENCE: Parents be too old-fashioned sometimes.
PROFESSOR: It's a different generation. It's inevitable.
AUDIENCE: I was talking about this Friday with the generation gap is that they were a lot less tolerant and that's what led to racial tensions, gender tensions, sexual orientation tensions.
AUDIENCE: I think with children our opinions are you can mold them, but you don't judge people just because we're young. But the parents they already have their views of our world and they want to tell you what they think and we're very impressionable at this age, so we kind of take on their views. [INAUDIBLE]
AUDIENCE: Well, I think that parents are usually always right. You don't think they're right and you want to do the opposite of what they say because you don't want someone telling you what to do, but in the end they are right.
PROFESSOR: I agree. Your parents ultimately have good intentions, usually.
AUDIENCE: But the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
PROFESSOR: That's true. Guys, want to call on yourselves? I'm just here to give ideas. Anyone have anything to say? Where else do you find leaders in your community? Are leaders necessarily role models?
AUDIENCE: When you look in the mirror.
PROFESSOR: When you look in the mirror? Yourself? You're your own leader?
AUDIENCE: Mm-hm.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: OK. So where in newspapers?
AUDIENCE: Most people who write [INAUDIBLE] at stuff, they have to have some influence over other people because [INAUDIBLE].
PROFESSOR: OK.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
AUDIENCE: And teachers. Because some teachers teach us what we need to know. Though they all tend to be biased. No one can help it if they [INAUDIBLE].
PROFESSOR: I'm sorry, what's your name?
AUDIENCE: Sara.
PROFESSOR: You want to move up, Sara?
AUDIENCE: No, it's OK. I'm good.
PROFESSOR: OK. Do you have anything to say? Who's your role model, [INAUDIBLE]? Who do you aspire to?
AUDIENCE: I don't know.
PROFESSOR: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: I think the one thing is, we aspire to be someone in our subconscious and we don't really know who it is, but we're reflecting all different sorts of people instead of just one.
PROFESSOR: OK. So you take pieces of different personalities and combine them into this person want to become, kind of idea?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: What about politicians? Are they good leaders?
AUDIENCE: No.
[LAUGHING]
PROFESSOR: No?
AUDIENCE: I think scientists should be leaders, not politicians.
PROFESSOR: Scientists are leaders.
AUDIENCE: They think more rationally.
PROFESSOR: So what do you mean by leaders when you say scientists aren't leaders?
AUDIENCE: I say they could be better leaders than politicians. They don't necessarily have the communication skills. Not all of them. They think more rationally.
PROFESSOR: Can some scientists be leaders in their field, though?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
PROFESSOR: So you mean as societal leaders?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] logical thinking to be leaders.
PROFESSOR: So expand on that. What kind of other skills do you need?
AUDIENCE: Well, scientists are more so left brain than right brain, so they can appeal to things with numbers. But we need to appeal to emotions and thought and [INAUDIBLE] English to effectively communicate with people and know that [INAUDIBLE] feel the way they do.
PROFESSOR: OK.
AUDIENCE: You have to be charismatic [INAUDIBLE] and to be able to tell a bunch of things without consulting.
PROFESSOR: Right. You were saying?
AUDIENCE: We should have all lawyers as presidents.
PROFESSOR: All lawyers as presidents. [LAUGHING] That could be dangerous.
AUDIENCE: The last ten presidents were lawyers. Something has to change.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
AUDIENCE: There are lawyers who defend people that really are criminals and they try to set him free on the smallest technicality. So they're putting criminals back on the street and causing more problems.
AUDIENCE: It's actually their choice because they were hired by the person.
AUDIENCE: Unless they're appointed.
AUDIENCE: But some people, like prosecutors, is what you're talking about. But they say, OK, well they hired me so I must defend them.
PROFESSOR: You see it as their job?
AUDIENCE: Yeah. I mean, that's your job and you have personal feelings, but sometimes you have to keep your personal feelings out of your work space. After working [INAUDIBLE] you don't want to work with them. But at the end they do pay you, so that is your job. If you didn't want to defend someone that's bad, then why did you take that job if you didn't like it.
AUDIENCE: I don't think lawyers should be--
[LAUGHING]
--leaders though, but [INAUDIBLE].
PROFESSOR: I think it's dangerous to put one label on a group of people because there are always exceptions.
AUDIENCE: Should get a lawyer who thinks like a scientist, but acts like a lawyer at the same time.
AUDIENCE: A lawyer who thinks like a politician, but acts like a scientist.
AUDIENCE: Yeah. That's what I meant.
PROFESSOR: OK. So we have school life, who are your leaders? Your teachers, right? No?
AUDIENCE: No. I would never follow directions.
AUDIENCE: How about our friends?
AUDIENCE: Nope.
PROFESSOR: Do you have friends that particularly lead a group?
AUDIENCE: In certain events. If you needed help on work ethics, then you go to one friend. They could direct you when you need help in math or whatever. But when it comes to having fun or you have an activity to do they'll help you on that. And there's different friends, they show their strength in different sections.
PROFESSOR: Different areas?
AUDIENCE: Yeah. Different areas.
AUDIENCE: When it comes to meeting between kids our age it means the difference between saying no to fun and saying yes when there's work to do.
PROFESSOR: OK. Can you think of someone your age who's a leader? Someone you know? Like music artists can also be leaders, right?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
AUDIENCE: If there's someone new, someone who's had an idea that's so different that it's [INAUDIBLE] they could lead the age of something else instead of just--
AUDIENCE: You mean starting an era?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: OK. I get what you mean. I think music right now is hilarious because little kids have Hannah Montana. Some people might like Hannah Montana, but there is always controversy with certain artists between different people. Like, oh, I like her and then I like her. And then at our age we have so many different genres of music now. So it's hard to pick one or two people that you think could change something because everyone seems to change now.
PROFESSOR: So you said musicians are bad leaders.
AUDIENCE: Some. Like, [INAUDIBLE] is a good leader.
[INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: So what's that definition of a leader, though? Like, are they leading music or are you talking about leading general life, though, right?
AUDIENCE: Both. Inspiring people through their music.
PROFESSOR: Inspire people through music.
AUDIENCE: They say the same thing about the Beatles.
AUDIENCE: Music's had a huge impact on the world.
PROFESSOR: Right.
AUDIENCE: It's the only think the world can connect on, beats and stuff.
AUDIENCE: And musicians can convey any sort of message through their songs. [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: OK.
AUDIENCE: Lil' Wayne.
PROFESSOR: [LAUGHING] So when I say a word leader, what do you think of?
AUDIENCE: I reflect on my past camp experience. I was in an LIT program and we were working with kids with learning disabilities.
PROFESSOR: If you had to pick one leader you know, who would it be?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: Anywhere. One person that exemplifies all qualities a leader should have.
AUDIENCE: Lil' Wayne.
PROFESSOR: Lil' Wayne? [LAUGHING] Next.
AUDIENCE: Right now they're all dead, deceased.
PROFESSOR: Any person?
AUDIENCE: I'm OK.
PROFESSOR: I'm OK.
AUDIENCE: Your parents.
PROFESSOR: Your parents are your leaders? OK. Any other thoughts?
AUDIENCE: My mom.
PROFESSOR: Your mom?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] religious leader.
PROFESSOR: Right. A religious leader.
AUDIENCE: Do they have to be alive?
PROFESSOR: No, not necessarily. So-- let's talk about why you guys are here. What do you want to gain from LTI?
AUDIENCE: Confidence.
PROFESSOR: Confidence? So let's say leaders are here and you're here, right? You want to get up to their level. You want to become leaders, right?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
PROFESSOR: In which ways do you think you want to change?
AUDIENCE: Better understanding what people need.
PROFESSOR: So how to interact with people or skills too?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] an audience. And not be in the audience.
AUDIENCE: An ability to speak out when there's an awkward silence. To lead, initiate a conversation.
PROFESSOR: OK.
AUDIENCE: Gaining respect from a large group.
PROFESSOR: OK. Any other thoughts?
AUDIENCE: I want to share a time when we went on a field trip to the state house. We were in the [INAUDIBLE] but they were doing a debate on the death penalty. And one girl was standing up speaking and when another guy said he wanted to interrupt her and she's like, no, sit back down. [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: That's a lot of confidence to be able to say that to someone. [INAUDIBLE]
PROFESSOR: So you guys all want to become leaders. What do you guys want to do as leaders? Is there anything you want to change about the world? In your small communities? In your life?
AUDIENCE: In our town it's a very small farmland [INAUDIBLE]. When people [INAUDIBLE] they don't really know anything. They just know what's here. They don't really go into the world. I kind of want to open their eyes.
PROFESSOR: Open their eyes? [INAUDIBLE] Open their eyes. Anything else? We've had a good discussion here.
[LAUGHING]