Dr. Karen Gilliam - Choosing Courage or Comfort

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Dr. Karen Giliam is Agency Chief Learning Officer & Organization Development Lead, NASA. In addition to her work at NASA, Dr. Gilliam has served as a faculty instructor, business owner, published author, and elected politician. She is also the grandmother of 12 and great grandmother of two. We explore a number of topics including self-knowledge, hope, empathy, storytelling, voice, and choice.

Quotes from This Episode

• "What can I do, continue to do, or start doing, that keeps me on that inward journey of being all that I can be? Doing all that I was meant to do? And then, 'how can I apply that learning in my work?'"
• "What occurs to me is that we haven't taught people how to examine their life, how to examine who they are..."
• "One thing I find is critically important is that whole notion of voice...and what are you giving your voice to? Or for? On behalf of? And what does that mean to you? And how does that further your values? How does that honor your values?"
• "What do you choose to do? What do you choose to do with the emotions that you're feeling? What do you choose to do to honor your values? What do you choose to do to be that voice on behalf of connecting others? On leading in a way that honors your values?"
• "What do you want to leave this Earth knowing you contributed? And if it's for a single person, that's huge. If it's for a group or a community? Wow."

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Dr. Karen Gilliam - Finding Your Voice in a World That Needs It
• Joan Southgate - Walking the Route of the Underground Railroad

Other Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Brené Brown - Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts  
• Brené Brown - Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
• Daniel Kimble  - Unshakeable Influence: Mastering the Inner Game of Leadership

Quotes Referenced by Dr. Gilliam

• "Develop a capacity to shine a light on yourself. The more we observe ourselves, the more we are aware of how the lens we see through affects our behavior toward other people." — Jennifer Mieres, MD
• "We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time." — Brené Brown, Ph.D.