It’s college application time for our high school senior son and thousands of students. I’m so glad I don’t have to write those essays. This got me thinking about lifelong learning. I decided it might be fun and interesting to share five things I learned this month, in no particular order.
1. Innovation – This year, I’ve been gathering monthly with like-minded leaders for a conversation about an aspect of Conscious Leadership with the Houston Chapter of Conscious Capitalism. Join us if you can! In October, we focused on innovation. From other leaders, I learned about a welding company who has had huge success with self-managed teams and a family-owned retailer that regularly convenes cross-functional teams to spark and collect innovative ideas. This all reminded me about some of my favorite work by Harvard Professor Linda Hill on Collective Genius. I have used this 3-minute video in all-hands meetings to start conversations on innovation. I also recommend her TED talk.
2. Board Governance – Are you serving on a board? At a Private Directors Association event, I heard that many boards do not conduct an annual self-assessment. I was surprised because much of my experience is with fund boards where the SEC requires an annual self-assessment, and the NYSE requires it for boards of listed public companies. Have you seen board self-assessment be beneficial? I have. Try it. Let me know how it goes.
3. Computer Science – At the Texas A&M Department of Computer Science and Engineering Advisory Council meeting, I learned that some students are applying for ~100 jobs and hearing back from only ~10 companies. What a tough environment! I wish I could have asked more questions. If you can hire new college grads, it sounds like a great time to get some top talent. This also got me curious about how we are doing with women studying computer science nationally. Although women earn more bachelor’s degrees overall, we are only at ~20% women in Computer Science. Does this surprise you? As someone who studied Computer Science, I think it’s a great field for men and women and a springboard into many different careers. Are you doing work in this area? Love to hear about it! Tell all the girls you know.
4. K-12 Education – I learned about some new aspects of K-12 education through a volunteer project with ProUnitas. In 700+ schools and growing, ProUnitas is striving to reduce absenteeism by helping digitize information and connect student support personnel (nurses, counselors, etc.) and service providers in K-12. This helps more students get the support they need to be in school and learn. Do you know about efforts like this in K-12 education? I’d love to hear.
5. Bipartisan work on US Immigration – Do you love bipartisan work? I do! I learned about bipartisan work on immigration from these videos by Rational Middle. As the wife of one of America’s best immigrants, I’ve seen our legal immigration process firsthand, and it’s not pretty. I also learned that immigration is one of the top strategic initiatives of the Center for Houston’s Future, a nonprofit that works to understand future global trends and their impact on Houston, my hometown. Their 2021 research found, “Immigrants already make up nearly one-third of the region’s workforce. With employment growth among native citizens below 2 percent, Houston will need foreign immigration to continue expanding economically.”
Albert Einstein said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” That’s definitely my experience! I hope sharing just a few things that I learned this month sparks new ideas for you. Join me on the lifelong learning journey? Let’s learn more in 2024!
TAMMIRA 