T.Davis

       What?  In leadership, courage can be a catalyst for moving forward and creating space for global change. Similar to how leadership does not equal power, courage does not equal fearless (Novogratz, 2020). Courage is what allowed Novogratz to initialize her entrepreneurial experiences, with encouragement from her parents who believed she could do anything; Their belief in her and her siblings funneled into her having that same faith in herself (Novogratz, 2020). Being afraid does not make us small, it is not believing we can move towards our goals despite our fear that can keep us small (Novogratz, 2020). Novogratz writes about her uncomfortable and unsafe experience with a man whom she babysat for and how this experience, though her parents taught her to be courageous, allowed her lack of faith in herself to drive her actions and decisions. So What? While parents or adults in our lives may show us how to and encourage us to utilize our courage, there may...

 What?      Cultural differences can be divisive. They are engrained in the way we move through life: beliefs, symbols, practices, and values. They can be a catalyst for conflict and can call for needing to manage expectations. In certain settings, we will experience that matches the culture to which we are accustomed. Whereas, as we gain experience, we may also have opportunities to develop an understanding of cultures different than ours. Given that people may take their culture for granted (Shwartz), it also seems that we don't even recognize the pillars of our culture until we encounter something different. Institutions functions based on these pillars, orientations, of cultural value (Shwartz). Cultures will fall on one side of a value orientation and gives guidance on how cultures function and people move through their societies. So What?      Culture does not define us, but it does impact us. Cultural values can influence our perception, our act...

  What? I have been asleep. Though you may not have realized it, you may be too. Though it may go unspoken, it may not be so unheard of to be sleepwalking through our moral experience (Novogratz, 2020). As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, between cultures and countries and communities, the disparities between such can quickly become more apparent. When looking onto a scenario, especially one we are far removed from, we can sometimes pass judgement. If every single life is its own puzzle, we can sometimes forget that the pieces from our puzzles do not fit everyone else’s; this is where moral principles meet imagination (Manolescu, 2025). We take the issue of energy poverty for example. Novogratz speaks of her work with d.light, a company whose mission is to bring energy to those without (Novogratz, 2020). When she tries to bring their solar lantern to Bahawalpur, she sees the missing puzzle piece of electricity and assumes the piece that will fit is the solar lant...

  What? There is no place that exists without differences. In discussing global leadership, it is continuously reinforced how valuable it is that leaders in a global setting take time to deepen their understanding of the culture they will be working with. Preferably, this will be done with first-hand experience (Rowe & Krause, 2022). The place in the world does not dictate whether there will be differences, only what differences you will see. This could mean differences in culture, gender, political views, other demographics, or things like job roles, experience in the field etc.   In consideration of those differences, they can be catalysts for conflict, task or relationship. So What? One of a multitude of examples would be the individualistic approach in some western cultures versus the collectivism approach of some Asian cultures ( (Koyuncu & Denise Chipindu, 2020) . Some differences like individualism and collectivism can create obstacles in finding the bes...

  What? Leaders are not created by knowing exactly what to do at every turn, they are created by being willing to take every turn until they know what to do. Becoming a leader, a title not restricted to someone who holds power, does not come with step-by-step instructions. They are comprised by skill development, real world applications, and innate characteristics (Rowe & Krause, 2022). They require a willingness to learn, further understand, and develop new ways of approaching a given issue. Perseverance and amenability to failure are what allow leaders to grow for themselves, to promote growth in those they lead, and continue towards an end goal for the betterment of a group, philanthropic cause, humanity, etc. The goal is simple: “Try. Fail. Then try again.,” (Novogratz, 2020). There is no story of change that is free of setbacks, miscalculations, mistakes, and lessons learned; there are only stories where this either stopped progress or was just a new starting point. So, Wh...

  What? Diversification in leadership can be directly influenced by Social Identity Theory. Social Identity Theory, in a simplified definition, is the idea that human interactions are based on labels and our tendency to group ourselves based on these labels (Nkomo, 2010). These labels or classifications can be self-inflicted or placed by one individual onto another. Additionally, categorizations lead to and allow humans to place themselves into groups, some of which are based on identifiers that are visible; some of which are either self-identified or assumed. Social Identity Theory (SIT) has a third component, aside from the categorization and identification mentioned previously, which is comparison (Nkomo, 2010). Comparison is where perception can create competition between the in-group and the out-group, the group we belong to and the group we do not. So What?               In the categorizations of individuals into groups, especially subgr...