Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the many directions life can pull you in, leaving you unsure of your true priorities – or if you have what it takes to achieve them?
On Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, I had the pleasure of giving the morning keynote address at the Power Tools for Nonprofits 2024 Conference. The topic was my new book, Conscious Change, coauthored with Jean Ramsey. The first 500 participants who arrived at the conference received a free copy!
Brené Brown wrote one of the book’s forewords and said of my teaching: “Dr. Latting challenged me in ways that were equal parts enlightening and infuriating. I hated how still she forced me to be, and I loved what emerged from the stillness.”
To set the context, here’s how the keynote was advertised:
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“Do you want to show up authentically and in ways that engender engagement and responsiveness from others? Learn to build relationships that foster inclusion and leverage the strengths of others? Jean will share the 6 key skills for developing conscious awareness, insight, and action…Join us for the morning keynote and the opportunity to challenge yourself and find what emerges.” |
During my keynote, I discussed the six principles and 36 skills outlined in the book, using a real-life example to illustrate how these skills can be applied. We used Whova, an online conferencing tool, to gather questions from the audience.
I received nine questions after my talk. In this newsletter, I'll cover four of them and save the rest for next week.
These questions are typical of what I hear when people learn about Conscious Change. The four questions I'll discuss today focus on individual mindset. The remaining five will address difficult relationships with others. These are the first four:
Let's consider each question and my responses, one by one.
Audience Question:
How do you remain conscious and steadfast when scope creep happens?”
Context and Commentary:
Scope creep is when we start with one goal but get distracted by other possibilities, losing focus on our original plan. This is common in organizations where everyone wants their ideas heard. Individually, it happens when we allow ourselves to be pulled away from our priorities.
My response on WHOVA:
“Scope creep is a huge problem. We always want more and see more that could be done. If I did everything on my plate right now without adding anything new, I'd have enough work for two or three years. My goal is ruthless prioritization—going deep instead of broad and focusing on where I can be most useful.
Audience Question:
“How do you come to learn the strengths of others without it feeling disingenuous? How do you empower others to build upon those strengths?”
Context and Commentary:
People often ask about authenticity when discussing having a strengths-focus. Is it genuine to point out strengths if overall performance is lacking?
My response on WHOVA:
“Get over being self-conscious about pointing out strengths. Everyone wants their strengths recognized, yet many fear it looks like sucking up. As a result, people are starved for recognition. A strength doesn't have to be huge to mention it. Practice with service workers—notice how carefully they pour your coffee or thank a cashier for double-bagging your eggs. When you're comfortable doing this with strangers, it'll be easier with colleagues who may desperately want to know you care.”
Audience Question:
How do you learn from your downfalls?
Context and Commentary:
I loved this question! During my presentation, I shared a personal example where I didn't live up to "Conscious Change" principles—despite having written the book! While planning my keynote, I was searching for an example that covered most of the skills when an incident happened that made me realize I was my own case study.
After the keynote, many commended me for being vulnerable and admitting mistakes.
Because of this, I interpreted the audience’s question to implicitly ask how I managed to learn from my own failings enough to talk publicly about them.
My response on WHOVA:
“The answer is deceptively simple. Don’t beat yourself up because we all have downfalls. Instead, sit with the thought, ‘I wonder what I’m supposed to learn from this.’ Don’t expect an immediate answer; just keep open to learning so you'll know better next time.”
Audience Question:
“What is a tool that could be used for conscious change in our daily lives?“
Context and Commentary:
This question highlights a common mindset: In our hearts, we all want easy solutions for success without setbacks or challenges. But that’s not the life I have led. My coauthor and I had a hard time narrowing the list of possible skills down to 36. Even then, we knew some people would want to know which are the most essential.
We have found they all are essential – but at different times and situations. We encourage people to start learning them by just picking out the one or two skills that resonate with you and go from there.
My response on WHOVA:
“All 36 of the skills! Each one is a tool. Find your favorite one or two and practice them.”
The answer to all four of these questions is encapsulated in Skill #29: Commit to Personal Change.
The key is persistence: we learn, fall, and find courage to get back up without beating ourselves up for being human. Along the way, we learn to give ourselves grace.
As we navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth, we try to remember that committing to personal change is not just about avoiding setbacks—it's about embracing them as opportunities for learning.
By prioritizing our goals, recognizing the strengths in ourselves and others, and reflecting on our experiences, we can foster a culture of conscious change within our sphere of influence that benefits everyone.
Here are four challenges:
Together, let’s commit to personal change and support one another in this journey
Thank you to the Power Tools attendees who posed these questions! Your engagement enriches our conversation.
Stay tuned for next week's newsletter, where I'll cover the next set of questions about navigating difficult relationships.
Thank you for being part of this conversation!
Warm regards,
Jean
