Your Holiday Gift: People Do Well If They Can

Hello all,

We are in full winter holiday mode in my town, with craft fairs and concerts, lights and parades, dinners and all the overwhelming feelings of happy anticipation and unhappy inadequacy and worries about not being or having enough. Not having enough to share and not having enough to offer, or being enough for family and friends to gather with. And for me these feelings are also wrapped up in years of memories about what winter holidays were, and who was there and should always be, which is of course impossible!

If you are anything like me, and I know I am (that's my favorite joke by the way, cracks me up every time!), you could use a little boost to help you remember how to handle these weeks.

My holiday gift to you is this fabulous phrase... "People do well if they can."

These words are from Dr. Stuart Albon (Harvard Medical School) in a podcast interview with Mel Robbins that she says is a lifetime-changing phrase. And it is profound. "Kids do well if they can." "Coworkers do well if they can." Because Dr. Albon says that research has shown that it's not a lack of will that prevents good behavior, achievements, and social connection, it's a lack of skill. Those "soft skills" like flexibility, problem solving, creative thinking, emotional intelligence, questioning for understanding, and organizational skills that are necessary complements to "hard skills" like scientific and technical, mathematics, computer coding, analytical reasoning, deep subject knowledge, and organizational policy knowledge are often lacking in people around us through no fault of their own. They just haven't picked them up yet.

The short Instagram reel with an excerpt of the interview will get you started, but please listen to the full podcast for the most value.

The podcast is long, so start at the beginning and then skip around if you want to... do some microlearning, like I mentioned last week! And, sorry for the commercials, but really, it's worth it!

• 4:43: If someone’s behavior is driving you crazy, this simple shift will provide patience.
• 8:10: The most powerful way to help anyone change their behavior.
• 16:22: This story will completely change how you think about helping others.
• 22:34: 5 ways to communicate better in your relationships to avoid chaos.
• 40:50: How to motivate people in your life to take positive action.
• 49:47: 3 powerful strategies to handle any challenging behavior.
• 1:01:19: How to positively transform any relationship in your life.
• 1:04:15: How to practice true empathy with the people that you love.
• 1:10:02: 3 ways to connect with someone in your life who is struggling.
• 1:18:16: The truth behind why young adults are struggling now more than ever.
• 1:24:11: What every parent should know about generational trauma (and how to break it).
• 1:28:01: Show yourself empathy; you’re doing the best you can.

Our SUNY campuses are learning organizations, therefore our SUNY employees should be in the best possible position to keep learning. Whatever skills you need now, I am certain there is a way for you to get them here in SUNY.

I'll be taking a WIT Wisdom break until after the New Year, so I'll be back in 2025.

Wishing you all the best for whatever holidays you celebrate!

Holly

Keep Fighting the Good Fight - Challenge Stereotypes and Uplift Excellence!

Hello all,

We know that stereotypes limit our ability to see others clearly, and limit our ability to effectively connect with people as individuals. So breaking through stereotypes and unmasking myths about groups of people has been a focus of research, DEI workshops, and other community-building strategies. Artists and entertainers have also contributed to showcasing the wide range of strengths that all types of people can have. Nonetheless... stereotypes exist and persist.

New research covered in the most recent Women in Academia (WIA) Report delivered some disappointing news. The summary below highlights the results, and the WIA Report contains a link for those interested in the original article citation.

"A new study led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in partnership with the University of Michigan, has found that people who strongly believe in gender stereotypes about intelligence are more likely to dismiss brilliant women characters as unrealistic, even when the characters are based on real people. A similar result was found among people who endorse racial stereotypes regarding intelligence."

Their research outcomes showed that "participants who strongly believed in gender or racial intelligence stereotypes were less likely to perceive White women, Black women, and Black men protagonists as believable geniuses, compared to White men actors, even when these characters were based on real-life stories."

"According to the authors, prior studies have found counter-stereotypical characters in entertainment media can positively affect viewers’ perceptions of marginalized communities. However, they argue these new findings suggest that strongly held gender and racial biases may undermine the potential for character portrayals to positively impact viewers’ attitudes and beliefs."

My takeaway is that as disappointing as this might be (it was a fairly large study with 1,000 participants), a realistic view of human nature would take this in stride. Strongly held beliefs are hard to shake. Entertaining portrayals of stereotype-breaking people are probably not sufficient, just as the research found. That simply means we have to continue regularly disputing these stereotypes and pointing to counter examples in order to continue our progress towards inclusive equality. Every time one of us lifts up and acknowledges excellence in our WIT colleagues, we help shake those harmful beliefs. So keep doing what you are doing!

All the best,
Holly

Maximum Results from Microlearning

The November/December issue of American Libraries includes a brief column focused on academic insights, with this issue's title Small Victories on Microlearning. In this column, the author Lorin M. Flores (librarian at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi) discusses the possibilities of microlearning for professional development. Earlier coverage of Lorin's work, Bite-Sized Professional Development: Microcourses boost engagement at a library retreat, provides additional information for anyone interested.

We all know that microcredentials have been gaining traction as alternative ways for people to advance in their skills or change careers without investing the years required for a full degree. Lorin describes microlearning as very short online courses where information is condensed into "bite-sized chunks of information for maximum cognitive impact." "Successfully implementing a professional development microcourse begins with planning the pedagogy, technology, and instructional content. The emphasis on brevity means that the format is best suited for teaching to a single learning outcome that’s focused on narrow topics."

Getting even more specific, Lorin describes how their library "successfully implemented a microcourse series designed to teach digital and information literacy to all first-year seminar students. At the time, we were struck by how microlearning resembles the way most of us consume information on social media. When the opportunity came up to plan the annual Instruction Librarian Retreat, reenvisioning the retreat as a microcourse series seemed like a natural first step toward establishing a vibrant educational trend."

As we approach the end of the fall semester and get ready to step into the whirlwind of finals, commencements, and several major holidays, think about your own professional development needs and look around for any microlearning opportunities that could fit into your plans. Sometimes 10 minutes is all we have time and brainpower to absorb! Be kind to yourself even as you commit to professional growth and a standard of excellence. It doesn't have to all be done at once.

All the best,
Holly