Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Course: Bringing Consultation to the Workplace (2021)
Faculty Mentor: Gary Reusche
The most important learning for me was to read the reflections of the women in the course. Having spent a career in a mainly male dominated environment, I gained enriching insights in the differences in thinking and consulting between the two groups. This observation and experience was one the most impactful aspects of the course.
The consultative process we experienced helped me see many new possibilities in the application of consultation in various environments: professional, community, and personal. My main challenge is to observe the room and be an active listener before speaking. Also, I see the need to develop skills in chairing meetings to enhance the level of consultation infused with virtues and spiritual qualities. Being able to synthesize the points of views to bring the consultation to a decision is sometimes challenging.
“It is possible so to adjust oneself to the practice of nobility that its atmosphere surrounds and colors every act. When actions are habitually and conscientiously adjusted to noble standards, with no thought of the words that might herald them, then nobility becomes the accent of life. At such a degree of evolution one scarcely needs try any longer to be good—all acts become the distinctive expression of nobility.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í Scriptures (1923) #822
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning.”
Maya Angelou
My goal has been to initiate some ebbf [ethical business building the future, ebbf.org/] activity in the area where I recently moved. Inspired by the two quotations above, I intend to pursue my efforts to promote ebbf around me, wherever I am. Although this has been challenging, I have found it well worth the effort. The outcome of touching others with the ebbf vision, finding common ground, collaborating, consulting and gaining insights from the interactions are stimulating for the participants and open doors to new friendships. I look forward to becoming engaged in the ebbf’s new initiative for youth–mentoring.
