Courage to be seen
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Courage to be seen
There is power in listening and seeing another human being. And, there is freedom in allowing others to see us.
I just attended one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to. As someone who has put on many conferences in my career, I say this knowing that these things don’t happen spontaneously. They happen as a result of thoughtful planning, impeccable execution, great content, and dynamic speakers. Yet, even these elements don’t always guarantee the results we sometimes hope for. The Courage to Succeed conference put on by The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Ratliffe & Taylor had something else - authentic connections, real dialogue, a masterful facilitator who wove the content together, creativity, and a little bit of magic from the 200+ participants in the room.
The tone was set very early in the morning by the conference organizers when they asked that we “purposefully listen, deliberately engage, share our stories, and celebrate others’ stories of courage.” We listened intently as Loretta Mester, the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve of Cleveland, humbly shared her own story and challenged us to be the best versions of ourselves, to make others who don’t fit in feel comfortable to contribute, and to surround ourselves with people who are smarter than we are so we can continuously learn and grow.
We then broke for a table exercise where we were asked to answer “who are you?” Not, where do you work, what is your title, or how many degrees do you hold? So, we didn’t recite the words on our business cards, our resumes, or our LinkedIn profiles. Instead, we shared aspects of our real selves, and we were vulnerable and compassionate, and that built trust. Our responses required us to drop our masks, take off our armor, and be authentic. It’s amazing how quickly we can connect to another human being when we strip off all of the protective layers we wear.
We listened intently to amazing women share from the stage their own stories of courage to be vulnerable, courage to be the only one, courage to declare their desire, courage to stay, and courage to be authentic. Throughout our time together we leveraged our newfound camaraderie and creativity to contribute to poems and pieces of art that will be displayed at the Federal Reserve building as a reminder of the time we spent together.
What I didn’t experience or see at this conference were forced conversations, painful networking, or people on their phones hiding in corners conducting “business”. I saw and experienced genuine connections, and that was so refreshing and energizing.
There is power in listening and seeing another human being. And, there is freedom in allowing others to see us. Imagine the impact we could each have in our personal relationships, our work environments, and our communities if we intentionally choose to live our lives this way.