Good afternoon, thank you everyone for joining us on this webinar today where we'll be discussing brave spaces and charge topics as part of our educators a toolkit virtual workshop series with ASCP. So as a quick introduction, I am Dr. Teresa Tellier-Castellon. My primary job is I'm the program director for two schools of medical laboratory science here in the wonderful state of Rhode Island. I oversee a program at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital. Thank you, Teresa. So I'm Dana Powell-Baker. I am currently the manager for academic partnerships with the Association of Public Health Laboratories. I am based out of Kansas City and looking forward to today's workshop with all of you. So just a couple of webinar reminders. We are recording this so you can access it again at a later time. Please, if you put anything into the chat or you contribute while we are talking, please do not share any PHI or PII information. Also please note that you will be able to get CME and CMLE credit for this workshop. So here are our learning objectives for today, which you all were able to access in our pre-workshop activity and when you signed up for the workshop as well. So today we'll be walking through these three objectives as we work through our webinar. So as a disclosure, neither Dana nor I have any relevant financial disclosures or conflicts of interest with the presented material in this presentation. This mute button always gets me. So we just want to start with some workshop ground rules. Just kind of setting the tone for our workshop today. And so most importantly, we just want everyone, all of you to feel welcome to interact in this space with us. It is an open dialogue. It's not intended to be toxic innocence, I would say, or negative. We really welcome your thoughts, your feedback, anything that you want to contribute to this conversation. Also, we want to limit distractions, if at all possible. I do understand that most of you may be working and multitasking. I know I feel like the queen of multitask. So if you need to step away, please feel free to do so. But if you can limit distractions, that'd be great just for engagement in this one hour workshop together. Also, we can engage in active listening. So, of course, again, just making sure that we are listening to one another and creating room as we talk about creating brave space, but creating room for that interaction to occur. And also, while doing so, demonstrating mutual respect for one another. We don't have to agree, per se, but at least be respectful of each other's thoughts and insights as we continue with this discussion. And of course, feel free to ask questions. If you'd like to add your questions to the chat, the chat is open. Feel free to drop your questions at any point in time. And of course, that was our initial kind of ground rule list. But we will open up the chat now. If you have any suggestions, what would help make this feel like a brave space for you? All right, we have, the list is wonderful. Awesome. Thank you, Haley. Nicole, yes. All right. Well, we shall move forward. Looks like we all agree. Thank you for that. We see that the chat is effective. Yay. All right. And so, then that brings us into our next topic of, or our next kind of official kickoff of this, of really just talking about charged topics at work or school. And this can be in any interaction that you have, whether it's with colleagues, with students, and I'm sure for some of you, this may come up with patients. And so, how do we navigate those challenging conversations or difficult dialogues? It's actually fairly common in work and classroom environments. You'd be amazed how common this is or how common this comes up. And for a lot of people, even in some of the pre-work activities that we saw, some of you have mentioned concerns with conflict and wanting to refrain from having any of those conflicting conversations. And so, these challenges can lead to emotional or physical stress and interference with the learning process in an academic setting. But also, that's where it's important, as we just did in the previous slide, implementing those ground rules. What does that conversation look like that can hopefully foster that open line of communication and also promote mutual respect in discussing or having those conversations that are more typically charged? And so, when we say or describe charged topics, this could really mean any topic that is sensitive to one individual or multiple persons, sensitive topics that can lead to disruption in that learning or professional environment. And also, in particular, with educators or professionals, truthfully, we tend to feel that we should be able to answer the questions. We should be fully prepared to address this challenging topic, where in reality, it's okay to not always know the answers or always have the perfect response. As a former educator in a learning setting, I know I would receive questions or comments from students that I wasn't quite prepared to respond to in the moment. And so, it's okay, and we need to make it okay for ourselves in practicing grace, that we're not going to always have that perfect response queued up. And so, what is more important when it comes to a charged topic or when you're tackling that? Is it being right or is it holding space? And so, sometimes when we're so quick to respond, rather than just holding space, we can actually make things a little bit more charged than they need to be, and we're coming away from creating that brave space where we are holding room for that student or that colleague to express or share what may be bothering them or what may be of concern to them. And so, with these three quotes on this side of the slide would be my right side. I do not have to have all the answers, something you can say to yourself and just reaffirm yourself in that way. Also, I do not have to be fully prepared to handle challenging conversations. We're all human. And even though we may be experts and knowledgeable in various areas and aspects of things that we do, you don't have to be fully prepared. But also, I need to feel equipped, though, to create a brave space. And even in that I don't have the answer, but please go on, continue. I want to hear more of your thought process. I want to hear more of what you're thinking and feeling. So that way, that encourages that conversation rather than shuts it down or you're providing a response in the moment that doesn't really speak to what may be the underpinning of what is going on. So another aspect of creating that brave space is the psychological attributes when we talk about psychological safety. And it's been shown that when we have low psychological safety, where we may not feel as safe in engaging in that brave space or in that challenging or charged topic, we're not going to be willing to take risk. We're not going to feel safe enough to express ourselves. This also can lead to a blame culture, especially within a professional setting, where we're equipped to be accusatory rather than, you know, to be problem solving or solution based. You may also have fear that holds back any forward progress. And that could be fear of conflict or fear of confrontation. And so rather than having an important conversation, you refrain from that. And then, therefore, you're not really tackling the issue that may be at hand. And also, this leads to challenges in problem solving, because, again, if we're not discussing it or leaning into it, we can't solve or come up with solutions together to address that problem. First is where we talk about a highly or high psychological safety environment where you have a stronger sense of psychological safety. This is where we create an opportunity to develop mutual trust and respect for one another. There's more of that willingness to take risk and to learn and to grow together. Again, we're not seeking necessarily agreement. Sometimes we have to agree to disagree, but just demonstrating that willingness to be open to what is being shared and expressed. Also open to discussing those challenging ideas. And with that, increasing our awareness and our understanding for one another. And then, of course, with all that happening or taking place, we're able to have effective problem solving together. Okay. So that brings us now. What is the difference between a safe space and a brave space? So we hear a lot about safe spaces. And this was meant to create a space where people would speak with good intention. They would listen to understand. They would share information that is confidential. And it was considered a no judgment zone. And that's great. However, to kind of then take it a step further and really make people not only feel comfortable, but empowered to speak what is their perspective, their learned experience, and know that there will be no judgment for their sharing. We want to move into creating brave spaces. This is where people feel comfortable enough to use I statements to share what they, again, truly feel and think about a topic. They are able to, as Dana was just discussing, own what they don't know and ask questions. I think one of the greatest lessons my mentor ever showed me, not even just told me, but showed me through her actions, was if she didn't know something, she would look at me and say, I don't know, let's go look that up together. And that to me has been something that I not only adopted when I worked in the lab, but especially now with my students. I'm open and honest. Micro is my jam. Clinical chemistry, we're grabbing that textbook. I can't, I don't know all of that. And so that alone, just accepting that it's not weakness, there's confidence in saying, I don't know, let's work on this together. And then you're also creating a space where almost by owning what you don't know and feeling comfortable and asking those questions, other people are going to be encouraged to join. And then at the same time, if you're not feeling like you want to join in and share your voice, silence is okay too. It's very imperative that when you create a brave space, you're creating a space without judgment. This is a no judgment zone. We are here to listen and not only just listen, but we also want to be able to learn from each other. Okay. Because everyone has a different lens by which they live their life by or through, I should say. So there are some limitations, like I was saying before, to creating a safe space. A lot of times people will hesitate in a safe space to contribute out of fear of triggering others because they don't feel fully comfortable in using or discussing their feelings about the topic that is being discussed. There is a fear of causing harm, which can lead to them censoring what it is that they were going to contribute to the group. That then can also lead to a lack of open and honest dialogue and additional viewpoints being discussed. So the limitations of a safe space do not really bring people to feeling as though that they can truly discuss what is in their heart and how they feel about a specific topic without feeling that there is a possibility that they could be judged for what they're sharing or that they won't be respected for what they're sharing. Right. We are we are encouraging people to listen openly and again, be prepared to make change. Right. We want to be in a brave space where we're going to make change, not just allow people to share ideas, but truly move into the space of feeling uncomfortable. Right. We got to be uncomfortable. We got to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. And that in and of itself helps us to create a brave space. So some benefits of brave spaces, OK, is that team members absolutely feel comfortable, which then kind of does the opposite of a safe space. It really results in people feeling like they can contribute more open dialogue, which can lead to, again, change where we're going to have brainstorming sessions. People are going to contribute maybe their own lived experience or their knowledge about a topic that can absolutely differ from somebody else sitting in the room. All right. This then creates a culture of continuous improvement, learning and understanding of others. Excellent, thank you, Teresa. And so what does it mean exactly to be brave, especially in conversations? And if you look at the definition of brave, it talks about daring to engage in something that might be uncomfortable or enduring something. That calls on you to be courageous. And so as a part of this workshop or the pre-workshop activity, you all were provided with an article. I think it took maybe three to five minutes, hopefully, to review. But it described how to cultivate a brave conversation space. And so I'm going to read directly from that article a couple of lines that although noble, we cannot promise a safe space. So that's first and foremost, I can promise Teresa a brave space in which Teresa can approach me with a charged topic, but I can't promise that it's going to be a safe space. It may be uncomfortable. It may be challenging. Teresa may need to step away from that conversation for a moment, but I'm going to give Teresa room and space to do so and welcome Teresa to bring that conversation back up when we're both in a good mutual space where we can continue to have that dialogue. But however, as Happel described, we can't invite others to join us in a brave space where the power dynamic is diminished and people are welcome to engage in growing, learning and sharing with each other, which is so important. And a brave space should feel comfortable in that the individuals involved can hold each other accountable and come away from the conversation with a new understanding or an enhanced awareness about the perceptions or lens in which that person sees or experiences what has transpired. So we can agree to disagree. However, we're going to engage each other, encourage each other to be brave, to be courageous and as our lovely image here. And so, again, when we say brave space, we are inviting each other to be courageous and we're going to invite you to do so now as we transition into our next slide. And I see a question here in the chat. Awesome. So when going into a challenging conversation, what ground rules do you recommend setting at the onset? Awesome question. So I would say similar to the ground rules that we established earlier on that, you know, let's make sure that we're demonstrating mutual respect and that we're actively listening to one another. Those are my two top two that I vow in this conversation. I will be respectful toward you. I only ask that you're mutually respectful toward me and that we will remain calm and that if at any one point we feel like the conversation is becoming too charged, then you're going to give that other person the freedom or the space to step away, always leaving that door open to revisit that conversation at a future point in time, whether it's that same day or the next day. Sometimes people need to sleep on things. I'm one of those people. Those would be my initial rules I would set up. But on the flip side, I would say, Teresa, as I look at Teresa, I would say, Teresa, is there anything that you want to add? Because that helps to invite Teresa into helping to create that brave space. Anything you want to add, Teresa? I was just going to say, I usually do iterate or reiterate that this is a no judgment zone. You know what you're sharing, I will not judge you for because that is how I'm going to learn from you. You know, if I don't get your full feeling, then, you know, and I tell that to my entire class, this is a no judgment zone. You know, we learn from each other by offering each other's lived experiences and truth. So that is just something that I would add. Absolutely. And that just made me think of, too, another aspect I would add to is that whatever we discuss here is confidential. It doesn't need to go beyond the two of us or beyond this space or this room. How you and that other person came to resolve a solution, that's between you both. Others don't need to be aware of that unless, of course, it requires something leadership documentation wise. I don't want to go against any policy, but if, let's say, Teresa and I had a disagreement and then all of a sudden people see us and say, oh, they're interacting really well. I wonder what happened. That's not their business to know the details of that. Just know that we worked it out and we're in a better space. And so I think by adding the confidential, like I will not repeat this beyond this space. I think that also helps people feel more comfortable in leaning into that uncomfortable conversation. I agree. Does that help, Angela? OK, yes, those are fantastic. Thank you so much. You're so welcome. Great question. That was a good question. Would you like me to advance? Oh, you already did. You advanced. We're good. I did. So and we are real friends outside of this, y'all. Yeah. See us cracking up. That's when you know we're comfortable. This is a comfortable space. And so within your current academic or work environment, this was one of the first questions from the pre-workshop questions. So if you didn't get a chance to get these questions, that's totally fine. We're going to discuss them here. But if you did, we have your responses. Thank you so much for those who were able to complete the pre-workshop activity because that kind of helps to frame some of the communication or dialogue that we'll have regarding these three questions. And so again, within your current academic or work environment, your professional setting, have you established a brave space for difficult conversations? Based on some of the responses or initial ones that we saw, we see that some have attempted to establish a brave space or working toward establishing a brave space, which I think is phenomenal. We had a couple that the one that I thought was just very straightforward just said no. And I'm like, thank you for your honesty. So if you were the person who submitted no, thank you for that transparency. I think that's so important when you're approaching work like this. But also I've noticed, and I think it was a couple of the responses to just noting that there's room to improve that you feel like you have done a decent job in establishing a brave space, but there's opportunity to get stronger or better at that. And so Teresa, I didn't know if there's anything that you observed from those responses that you wanted to share before we kind of take it to our attendees. But if you didn't get a chance to answer those questions prior to this workshop, feel free to kind of add your thoughts or insights here to the chat as well. I know I kind of want to build off what Dana said in regards to I really appreciated the honesty and then the which then reflects the effort that that many of you that were able to do the pre workshop questions that you put forth. So I do want to kind of just echo Dana and saying thank you for taking the time to do that because it it it really it really helped us as we were we were looking through these slides. So Melody said, yes, I think Melody said, Do you have tips for creating a brave space in a group conversation environment? Dana, do you mind if I run with this one first and then I'll take it over to you? Okay, so such as team meetings, etc. When we are trying to get multiple points of view feedback on a new project challenge. Thank you, Melody. That's a great question. Okay, so I will I guess I'll kind of reiterate just potentially what I have done. And I mean, it may be it's outside the lab at this point, because I do it mostly now as an educator. But even when I was in the lab working as a supervisor, I think I would have to say one thing that I always led with was that I would show my vulnerability. And, you know, for me, that was what often helped to from again, from my perspective, and from my experience, to seem to help a group feel as though they could truly feel comfortable contributing in their own space. And so that to me is what I usually lead with. And that is something that, you know, we'll discuss a little bit later on in our presentation. But again, I usually lead with a personal experience. So if I'm setting up a topic, like I do a lecture on vaccines and virology, and I always open with that I want anyone and everyone to feel comfortable sharing their perspective and viewpoints on on vaccines. And I share my experiences. And, you know, I draw from my public health degree. And I want people to know that, you know, fear is a very real thing. And that is not something to be, you know, shirked off. And that I, you know, we accept that. And that is okay. And let's talk about it. So I think that's, that's my primary tip is that I lead with vulnerability. And I usually share a personal a personal experience to kind of set the tone for what that looks like. Dana, anything that you want to? Yeah, I would agree. I like the idea of leading with vulnerability. I think also, in creating that space where you want to gather that feedback and insights, but also recognizing that some people are just not going to do well in a team setting. And so, you know, adding to that, hey, if you didn't feel like honestly feel like, but if you were uncomfortable with adding your ideas into the space, or if you like an opportunity after our group discussion to have a one on one with me, please feel free to do so. You're welcome to do so. Just recognize that for some everyone processes differently, and how some people, I would say dynamic wise may be in front of a group versus one on one can differ greatly. So I definitely would add that opportunity to engage one on one too. Because I've also and to your note, as far as many introverts in the lab having great thoughts, yeah. And sometimes it also may be luggage that they brought with them into the role where they are like, yeah, you may be saying this is a brave space, but I was told that before at my previous job or at my previous academic setting, and that was not the case. And so it may take time to build up to that level of comfort. But I think with time and consistency, but also providing that opportunity to engage one on one is very helpful. And I think those one on ones, well, then you'll start to notice a shift where they start to share in the group a little bit more because their comfort level has built with you. And they know that you are looking out for them. I agree wholeheartedly, Dana. I tell my students, I have an open door policy. And it always kind of takes me by surprise, even though you think I think after all these years, it again, what Dana was saying, where they may not want to ask the question in the classroom, and then they'll come into my office, and I'll end up having a 30 minute conversation with them about, you know, pick whatever the topic had been. So I completely agree the opportunity and offering of a one on one or an open door policy with, you know, with boundaries, of course, I think really, as Dana said, really helps create that level of comfort. Yeah, sorry. Yeah. So Emily said, how can we establish brave spaces and conversations with a supervisor or in talking with someone with more power than us in the power dynamic? So that is a great question. And actually, what did you say, Dana? Speaking of hierarchy here. Yeah. Yeah, that is a great question. So, you know, that actually will lead into kind of our six pillars, which is which is the second half of our lecture on on how we can continue to create brave spaces. But I do want to address this now before we get there. And some of that is, I guess you could say, leaning into your your fear, and knowing that you have the right to express how you're feeling. Dana, jump in at any time. I'm trying to let my my thought wheels go. Yeah, I would say, well, definitely, this is something that we do plan to address in the six pillars. And, but just to briefly touch on it, I would say, to Teresa's point, some of that comes from us finding power in our own voice, and finding not just the confidence, but the courage and our voice to say, you know, my voice matters, my my thoughts matter. And being confident in the knowledge that you may have, let's say it's about a process or a procedure, or something that is happening in the work environment that you want to speak to. Be confident in supporting that with any best practice, evidence based practice, or tangible concerns that can support what you're saying. Like, you know, this is the reason why this is an issue or problem. And I hope that also adding the line, I hope that we can have a mutual respect for one another and creating this brave space where I come with these concerns at any point in time, I would love to be able to have that kind of working relationship with you. Because that also calls out that supervisor to to meet you where you are in that too. But yeah, but to get to those six pillars, because you bring up a great point, Emily, we'll kind of drive through these next couple slides, just to get those pieces covered. And we're going to come back to those pillars very strongly here. And just so another pre workshop question that we had, can you identify a situation or scenario at work? Thank you, Emily, where you would like tools to create a brave space. And this can be related to the classroom, the laboratory, the office, or any professional space where you interact with others. And so again, your responses here were very much based around unprofessional behaviors. I saw that a couple of times, conflict of thoughts, or conflict of opinions. Also, where you may have difficult conversations with students with direct reports. So brings up that hierarchy again, as far as direct reports and management or supervisory positions. And then even just difficult topics surrounding I saw one on poor hygiene. And that's definitely a challenging conversation to have. And so I want to make sure that I recognize that here too. Was there anything that you wanted to add to that, Teresa? No, I think they were great contributions and good thoughts on where you could use tools. And I appreciate that people felt comfortable to share some of their conflicts or their concerns where they may need to utilize these tools. It was very helpful feedback. So definitely stuff to think on. I think it helps to know that you're not isolated in that experience too. Yeah, Dana and I had some talking points when we were reviewing them about those are tough conversations. And what are some really strong ways that we can. And then we said, well, this is great because it does set up our six pillars, which we'll get to next. Perfect. And so that will bring us to the last question, as I see we're already at the halfway mark. Gosh, we could talk about this all day. When did you last feel uncomfortable while engaged in a difficult conversation? And can you identify some thing you learned that helped expand your understanding or change your perspective? Sometimes it takes coming away from that conversation and really reflecting on it to kind of have that aha. And you might find yourself even coming back that following day, following week and saying, you know what, I had time to really think about the conversation we had and just really reflecting on the perspectives that you shared with me. And you know what, I can see that or I can understand that point of view now. So I think always going into conversations with the intent of reflecting on what was discussed or exchanged in that is really important. But also for everyone who did respond, yes, they noted where they felt attacked or they felt misunderstood, which I think that's a point of frustration for a lot of people on difficult conversations. Both sides can feel like they were misunderstood or not heard. When you're not heard, you don't feel valued, you don't feel seen. And so that exacerbates that issue for sure. Some people really lean into their own perspectives as the reality of things. And again, that's where some of that will work there in the six pillars. But sometimes it requires ongoing conversations. Someone noted a recent conversation that they had that felt more like a confrontation. But again, where is the opportunity to grow and learn from this experience? And so we'll talk about that a bit more as we get into these six pillars. But just kind of think on these pre-workshop questions a little bit more, asking yourself these questions as it really helps to kind of set the stage and what we're about to transition into now. So the last half of our talk, we'll be talking about the six pillars of creating a brave space. And these were created and developed by Victoria Stubbs, who is a licensed social worker. And she also happens to be a clinical instructor and teaching support program director for the program that she is in. But the thing to take away from these six pillars is that they provide a really great framework for how to create a brave space where participants will feel capable of openness. They'll feel like they are able to grow and hopefully lead to better engagement. So this first one is one that I did reference to earlier and where you want to be able to model vulnerability. And so how do we do that? Well, as I mentioned earlier, I know that I have a tendency to model vulnerability through storytelling. This is where asking questions can really be helpful. And then we also have that by modeling vulnerability and potentially if you feel comfortable participating in vulnerability, this can lead to deeper engagement with either the one on one that you're having or hopefully even and even potentially with the group that you are speaking with. So whether you're facing faculty, someone who maybe is in a higher dynamic than you or your students or a fellow employee, again, this gives them permission to be vulnerable in the space that they are existing in. They're able to make a conscious effort to create a space for that deeper engagement. Right. And again, this is a really great way to really key way to create a brave space is by bottling that vulnerability. And I do want to also add that we want to model vulnerability with boundaries. Right. You know, there has to be that line. I guess I always think of it as that line of professionalism where I will, of course, provide a professional anecdote. I'm sorry, a personal anecdote or a personal story, but always with the minds of a boundary to it. I'm not going to make sure that I share an inappropriate personal story in the space that I'm in. So how can we really come to model vulnerability for the groups that we are working with? And again, we can do this by asking questions about things we don't understand, again, because we should be feeling like we won't be in a zone of judgment. And we can also do this by sharing parts of our story so that the complexity, the true crux of who we are, can come through and again, kind of frame the comments that we make and then again, frame and hopefully model responses that we can have as we hold our conversations. Now, perspective taking is another pillar. And again, this is where we're thinking about the lens that shapes our lives. We all have a different lens that we live our life experiences through. And it's very important that when we're talking about perspective taking, that that doesn't mean that we need to be that person's truth, that we need to have the same truth as that person. We want to make sure that we are able to open ourselves up to listen to the other person and acknowledge their experience as their truth. You're going to validate their lived experience. And again, that's now going to continue into creating that space of feeling comfortable. We want to make sure that people feel that they can share their perspective, share their lived experience and not feel like that they're going to have to defend it. And that we are there to listen to understand their perspective, that we are listening to understand and not listen to respond. So again, this is more where we're actively listening to our groups, our cohorts or our one on one again to understand that, but not just to respond. We want to truly listen to our participants. Lean into fear. This is a big one. I say this is a big one because I think this is one that maybe I struggle with a little in leaning into fear. I very much know I have a type A personality. And so it's hard for me to accept that fear is very much a part of how you grow. Right. When you lean into fear and that is where sometimes I think the most learning can occur and recognizing that when you're not you're not going to know everything and that is OK. And also, you know, recognizing that by leaning into fear, you're opening the door for self-discovery. This is going to allow you to take risk. When you lean into fear, you're most likely going to be taking a risk because you're now moving into that space and where you most likely feel uncomfortable. But in doing so, again, you're really allowing yourself to have a moment of self-discovery, potentially have a new idea or a new idea presented to you, which in and of itself can really create a teachable moment. And so in overcoming your fear and taking this risk, we again are putting ourselves on the edge of discovering something new, of having new ideas be brought to the forefront, new ideas discussed and potentially and also having uncomfortable topics be discussed, moved through, recognizing biases, understanding your own biases and allowing people again to feel as though that they can discuss their truth and know that it will be acknowledged and not judged. Critical thinking. This is so important. You know, we do so much in critical thinking in our profession, whether we're an educator or a lab professional. But this involves evaluating everyone's beliefs or those that are contributing their beliefs and their actions. And this will then lead to diverse perspectives and most likely more complex discussions. Right. Again, when we're having those complex discussions, we're getting at the heart of the topic. We're really in this moment of learning and understanding of those that are participants. And one thing to take away is that when we are critical, critically thinking, we're bringing up new ideas, right? We're discussing potentially new topics to those who are, again, part of our group. And that's OK. There are possibilities also that someone may not agree with a fact or an option or a thought that you've contributed. Therefore, potentially coming back with constructive criticism. And that's OK. In having someone have a potentially opposing opinion or an opposing thought, that doesn't have to lead to conflict. You know, as Dana has beautifully alluded to in those moments, we can learn from each other and maybe it's not in the immediate moment, but it can certainly open the door for a learning moment for both participants over time. Right. So critically thinking is a great way for us to create questions, open questions to the group. And again, allows us to reach a point of hopefully understanding each other's perspectives. And this moves us on to pillar five, where we are examining intentions. By examining our intentions, it helps us to set and also check our boundaries. As we're going to contribute, we can think of a couple of questions that we may want to ask ourselves. Is what I'm about to share, is it for the purpose of advancing dialogue? Or is it merely self-serving? So is what you're going to contribute, is it going to help the group? Is it going to contribute to the conversation? Or is it, again, as I stated, just potentially something that is self-serving. Am I oversharing? Again, and I know this is my internal dialogue is I really love to share personal stories, making sure that I keep my professional boundary in place. That's a boundary that I set for myself. I'm happy to discuss, but of course, within and up to a certain extent. So examining our intentions also enables us to hold ourselves accountable, which is very important, to hold ourselves accountable for our words and our actions. That's very important. We have to take ownership of what we share. Is it possible that what we share may offend someone? And that's in that space where we've created a space where if that happens, that we hope someone is going to feel comfortable to discuss it with us again in that moment. Or we've created a brief space with others where they can then feel comfortable to come and discuss it with us, potentially one-on-one afterwards. And that brings us to our last pillar, which is our pillar of mindfulness. And so I know mindfulness is something that, at least in my realm where my personal world has been something that's been very huge, where I have a tendency to sometimes think without, I'm sorry, speak without thinking. And that isn't something I've worked on probably my whole entire professional life is really making sure that I practice mindfulness. And so as we know, practicing mindfulness is to make sure that we speak with intention, right? That we are taking pause and what we're contributing, we've put some thought into before we contribute. And so I don't wanna say that this is something that everyone should do just naturally or be something that is super obvious, if you will. But when we think about when we're dealing with a difficult topic, whether again, whether it's in the professional space or the classroom, we can easily begin our own mental dialogue that could cause us to be somewhere other than the present. Maybe again, we are not practicing our active listening. However, by practicing mindfulness, okay, this helps us to be aware of that inner dialogue and our emotions and quiet them without judgment. And I think overall with the pillars and when we're creating brave spaces, we wanna be mindfulness of empathy as well, which I know is a big word right now, or just I think kind of in general where a lot of us are trying to be more empathetic. And I think in practicing empathy and being mindful of the amount of empathy that you put towards others is going to help bring your six pillars into your brave space. And so that is another kind of component to our six pillars. And I think it fits in with a lot of our six pillars is also practicing with empathy. So Dana, we're at a point where we are going to pause for a moment. I'm gonna kick it back over to you. Thank you. Thank you for that awesome overview of those pillars. So following Teresa's overview, what are some initial thoughts that some of you have? And you're more than welcome, of course, to add those thoughts to the chat. I know as she was reading through those and I was, again, just reflecting, although I've seen this content, but I continue to always reflect on those six pillars. And there are moments where I struggle more so with modeling vulnerability. And that just has to deal with upbringing and my life experience, where I was really taught to be strong and to stand firm in my stance and in my position. But I had to learn, especially in managing others, that I can't always have that positionality and that I need to model lead with vulnerability. So that they also know that they can also come from that vulnerable space with me and that I would mutually respect that. In some instances, it's mindfulness. Because I know me, sometimes I take it personal, like it is a personal attack, but I'm like, are they attacking me or are they attacking the process? It may have nothing to do with me, Dana. So why am I taking this so personally? And then while I'm in that space, I'm also coaching myself to just actively listen. Don't respond, just listen. And so again, think about which of the pillars can you practice? Which one can you take into your future professional or academic practice? But also which one would be the most challenging for you? Something to think about, but also gives you an opportunity to think about ideas or how you can put that into practice. Maybe you start with one pillar and work your way eventually to the others. So again, something to think about and to continue thinking about. Teresa. Haley, I think you make an excellent point that it will definitely take some practice to work in all six. And I think that's okay, right? And I think it's fluid, you know, it's dynamic. It's always going to be changing. Maybe one pillar might be one that you lead with more than the other. But I think as long as you're conscious, or I don't wanna say conscious, I think if you're mindful of the pillars, I feel like they almost say, when you really sit back and think about how you're creating a brave space and the actions you're taking, you know, as I was reading through this and I've been reading through this, it's like, you know what? I almost think unconsciously, you are addressing all six pillars without maybe even realizing it at some point. But I think when you bring those actual six pillars to mind and you start thinking about them more and more, you're like, okay, I can work on this one, but you know what? I naturally engage in mindfulness, right? So you make a great point, Haley. And I totally, totally appreciate you saying that. But again, I would say, take a second and give yourself a little, maybe a little more credit and think about how much do I, am I already engaging in these six pillars? Yeah, and just quickly touching back on, I see our time counting down here, but quickly touching back on the question of, you know, how do I enact this with those who may be higher up in authority or in a leadership role? One, you could share the article of six pillars with them, right? Slip it under their door, send it to their email. You know, say, hey, I came across this really interesting article. I think it would be great for us to consider for our work environment and work setting. But also in your conversations with those individuals, say, you know, I really wanna be successful in my role and make a meaningful impact to the organization. And a part of that is feeling safe and having conversations with you or feeling like I am welcome to engage in really critical or crucial conversations with you. Is that okay? I know every conversation can start with a formal implementation of ground rules. You know, like, hey, before we get started, I need to go over some ground rules here. It may be during that challenging conversation that you say, hey, let's take a quick timeout or pause. Can we make sure that we're actively listening to one another? I just want us to make sure we're hearing each other. You may have to do it midway. So just something else to be mindful of and to also keep as a part of that practice. And then I see a couple of other questions. So how do you suggest handling a situation when one individual doesn't follow the Brave Space ground rules or take the ground rules seriously? To say, for me, I would say, you know, this is really important to me and I really value your insights and your feedback too. If we can't agree to this right now, can we identify a better time to have this conversation? Maybe it's just not a good time for them or maybe it's not the right setting or environment, especially if it's in front of a group. So I would give them an opportunity, you know, let's do this at another time. That's what I was going to say is I would probably suggest maybe potentially concluding the conversation for the time and taking some space, you know, especially if it's, I statements aren't being used and communication doesn't seem to be flowing. That would also be my advice is that I would probably conclude the conversation respectfully and recognizing that, you know, this is important and I want both of us to walk away feeling heard, but right now I'm not sure we're in a space where we're going to accomplish that. Exactly. Spot on. Mary Beth, you make a great point as well, that I agree is most difficult in taking time to understand the other's perspective and not judge using your own background and upbringing. Thank you for sharing that. And I agree that that can be a difficult or a hurdle to get over or to work through, I should say. But yeah, it is important to actually validate their feelings. You make an excellent point. Thank you for sharing that. Validating that perspective. Yes. All right. Maybe we can do one more. Emily says, I default to modeling vulnerability to lower the threshold of admitting mistakes so we can all improve. However, I struggle with fear. So too much vulnerability can loop back around to insecurity that the vulnerability undermines the expertise or feedback I bring to the conversation. That's a fun rollercoaster. Do you have tips to balance both? Emily, if I may. So I've absolutely experienced this and this is where I've realized one of two things. I try to make sure that, well, yes, I want to be vulnerable. Please don't mistake my kindness for weakness. And in doing so, that's where I hold my boundaries, right? Like I tell my students, you're gonna authentically get me. However, my expectation is that I treat you with respect and you treat me with respect. And that is a big boundary of mine, right? If you cross a line of where I feel like I am being disrespected, I'm going to, I don't want to say pull back where I take away the vulnerability, but it's more so where I'm going to check the culture and check the sense and feeling in the room. And so I think too, when you recognize that you've been too vulnerable, I think it's just a matter of not owning it where you have to say, oh, I was too vulnerable, but it's almost just you being mindful of that. And the next time that you come into that experience that you're going to just, again, internally keep your boundary. So maybe I guess my whole point is I had to identify my boundary. And I also had to think about what is my professional boundary? Like how much is too much for me to share? And I think that's absolutely different for everybody. I find when I share stories about funny things my son has done, it helps me to connect with my students. And so that for me is until he gets older, I will share that as a form of connection. So I understand what you're saying about too much vulnerability, but I think that's probably my feedback is finding your boundary where you've recognized you've been too vulnerable and then just hold that going forward. And I feel like it writes it. Maybe you had an instance where you were too vulnerable, but moving forward, if you find that boundary, then it rewrites it back to where you're creating that area of respect and recognizing your boundary. Yes. And I will follow up as I see Mary Beth also posed a question here. I know we have a couple of minutes remaining before we go to take home messages. Just that in suggesting a physical space for a conversation, you can offer to meet over coffee or tea or whatever that person's preference may be. I would want them to feel just as comfortable in that setting as I would be in engaging in that challenging or difficult conversation. In a private room, do you need a second observer? I would say it depends on the nature of that conversation, especially if it's like a faculty member to a student, or if it's related to something highly sensitive in which even that person may wanna bring in another person. I think it's fair to definitely take that under consideration depending on the severity of that topic or discussion. So wherever it's warranted, where again, it makes both sides feel more comfortable in approaching that discussion, please do so. I know I've had instances where I've had to bring in an observer and they're just there as an ally, as a third party. Same. I don't have a window on my office door. And when there's heavy conversations that need to be happened we'll offer for that student if they feel they need to have a representative or an allies as Dana stated. And then often again, if it warrants, then I may also potentially have someone to come in as an observer of the overall conversation who is non-biased can potentially support the student and myself just so that everybody again, can feel comfortable especially if it's a highly charged topic. Or what I've also done is I've moved some highly sensitive conversations out of my office and into a communal space with a door. So I would put a sign on the door, having a meeting, please do not enter but it at least takes it out of my office where I'm potentially sitting behind my desk or in my familiar space that's uncomfortable for them and moving it to a more neutral space. Again, though, where there is a door where we can have some privacy. Absolutely. Okay, so we're gonna end today with some take home messages. All right, so everyone plays a part in creating a brave space, which I hope is definitely a message that we were able to kind of convey today. And so I think one of the big things that I love about this is that yes, while leadership, endorsement and support is absolutely critical, everyone can help create a brave space, okay? So when difficult situations arise, either everyone works to fix it or they could walk away, always be a part of the solution, right? Or do your best to be a part of the solution if you're in a true brave space, my hope for you is that you would feel that you can offer to be a part of the solution. And that kind of lead us to these five foundational ingredients, if you will, and to creating a brave space. And again, we can lead with authenticity and vulnerability. I think that really helps set the stage, set the framework for creating a brave space. And as I mentioned earlier, practicing empathy, you know, having empathy, practicing empathy. Again, I think it really creates people to want to contribute. Hopefully it will help them feel comfortable or push their boundaries of where they are comfortable. Again, moving into that space of being uncomfortable. And that does lead us into getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, maintaining that growth mindset, right? We're not here to just live through our perspective, recognize that everyone has a different lived experience and that is very valuable. And then radical candor. And that of course I think does come with setting a boundary but allowing those free thoughts to come forward, create that really dynamic conversation, engagement, and just ultimately move towards creating that brave space. And so one of our final take home messages is again, I know I said this a couple of times, but really getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Leave your comfort zone behind, be okay with having the tough conversations, lean into the discomfort, which is part of leaning into the fear, and hopefully collectively as a group, or again, potentially with a one-on-one, help you develop new perspectives, ideas, and approaches to the topic or potential conflict at hand. And this was just, this is something that I want to say, what kind of floats around and we thought was a really great little, I guess you could say poem or words to close with is an invitation to a brave space. So I will not riddle you with me reading it, but we did include it in here as something that can be like a final take home message on how to create a brave space. And I know we have some avid book readers out there. So we created this slide just for some suggested reading because the work continues beyond this workshop. And so I believe I saw a comment earlier, this is a great way to kick off the year. Thank you for that. And so I'd say, keep the year going. Start a book club, start this reading series, working on becoming that braver version of you to prepare for those brave, engaging conversations in your environment and settings. And again, just some quick key takeaways of that everyone wants to feel heard and we all have our part in contributing to the creation of that brave space. Prioritize empathy and also separate understanding from agreement. We could walk away from that conversation agreeing to disagree, but also gain that understanding, that growth mindset. And also importantly, ensuring everyone feels valued and respected because that will help to continue those conversations moving forward. So with that, here's our references. We're finishing right on time today. Thank you all so much for all the amazing questions and comments and just everything you've shared in this chat. We said we could talk about this forever. We really mean that. So if you see us in person and you want to talk about brave space, grab us. We will be more than happy to discuss. And so here I will transition to Teresa to close us out. So thank you for joining us today. It was so awesome to have engagement. This was everything Dana and I hoped for. If you could please stay on to complete the 30 second survey that will appear as the webinar ends. Your input will inform future educational initiatives and the link to claiming CME, CMLE credit is in the chat and instructions will be emailed tomorrow via Zoom to the address you provided at registration. And with that, that concludes our webinar today. So again, thank you to everyone for not only being here with us, but for contributing to our conversation. This was fantastic. And I really appreciate you being here with us today. Yes, thank you for creating this brave space for this workshop today with us. Thank you all so much. It was a pleasure.

brave spaces

vulnerability

critical thinking

empathy

radical candor

power dynamics

open dialogue

mutual respect

sensitive conversations