Nathan Moore asked:


Obama’s attorney general Eric Holder has decided the whole unity thing is overrated. Last week in front of Justice Department employees he called out Americans for being racial cowards

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards,” said Holder, nation’s first black attorney general.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, Holder said, but “we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race.”

“It is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation’s history, this is in some ways understandable,” Holder said. “If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us.”

Vanderbilt Torch writer Mike Warren rightly takes issue with Eric Holder’s assertion that we people are afraid of discussing race, primarily because, well – we discuss it all the time

“At a university, where discussion is a critical tool for learning, I think it’s good to at least talk about these things. But the conversation is stitled, predictable, and really not too free. I am pretty outspoken about several issues in class, but I don’t exactly rattle off the numbers on the rise in black crime and its correlation with the rise in black single motherhood without being extremely measured.

The point is that we talk about race all the time; some professors believe it informs a lot more than it probably does. The plain meaning could not be clearer – talk, which we have had legions of over the last four decades, must become a permanent one-way street, where government plays the role of collective caretaker!).”

Of course, Mike is still at Vanderbilt, and I haven’t been in a Vanderbilt classroom in a nearly a decade. However, I do recall no shortage of discussions of race in the pertinent class setting (I do go on record hoping race never comes up in, say, calculus). If there is a problem to be addressed, it is certainly not a lack of discussion.

Indeed, let us address the real problem. I say we need to stop being cowards in discussing Eric Holder’s comments. Let us move toward a more relevant discussion, and dissect the difference between what Holder said and what he meant. If you take Holder’s words as spoken, they hold little, if any, real meaning.

Let us begin discussing what a “frank discussion” actually means. He isn’t talking about “talk”. If you don’t think we talk race, or talked race during the latest and longest presidential campaign in history, I cannot help you. If we take Holder’s words at face value, we will always be racial cowards because there is never going to be enough time to talk. Talk is cheap and ineffective when seeking real incentive and societal reform.

And that is just it – this was a clarion call for more race pandering, not a broader race discussion. We already have race discussion, but when it is “frank”, it just does not seem to be well-received. Certainly, Eric Holder remembers what happened to Bill Cosby when he dared mention the real problems in minority communities. Unlike a century ago, white oppression can no longer be deemed the cause for black poverty. Growing single motherhood, higher male incarceration rates, and the growing masses of ignorant, uneducated young people are the plague of urban America.

Indeed, the only way we can truly address the root causes of this ongoing urban societal disaster flick is by getting to frank discussions that move past race. The aforementioned problems began to accelerate after World War II, and have gotten even worse as racial issues have been materially addressed. In fact, the urban areas that have seen the most societal breakdown along with the surrounding white suburbs are the populations who voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama and propelled the first black president into the White House.

Something is certainly amiss with our black urban populations, but it is not a frank discussion about race that we need. A more legitimate approach is required.

Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

Barbara Brown, PhD asked:


Consider this scenario.  You have an employee who is constantly complaining about how others communicate.  This employee could also benefit from better communication approaches as well (unbeknownst to the employee of course!).  You have decided to talk to this employee, but you are unable to offer clear and concise suggestions for improving the situation. While ironic (not being able to communicate about communication), this happens.  

If it’s happened to you, one reason might be that you did not enter the discussion with a clear list of performance—improvement behaviors to recommend to the employee.  These could range from explaining that the employee needs to engage in more active listening or perhaps she or he needs to do better at asking open—ended questions. 

Another reason could be that you did not frame the discussion in way that encouraged the employee to see the value of trying your recommended behaviors.  Try getting employees to think about what they “want” from the coworkers they have difficultly communicating with.  Do they “want” others to stop being defensive, to listen more, or to just be more cooperative?  It’s all about results!  

Once you get employees to recognize the results they want, you can offer some behaviors to help them achieve those results.  Consider these three hypothetical results and recommended behaviors:

Result 1: One of your employees complains that coworkers are defensive and not cooperative during conversations. Your employee “wants” certain coworkers to be more civil.  

Your Recommended Behaviors Might Include:

• Stop using phrases such as ‘you always’ or ‘you never’ when discussing other coworkers’ mistakes.

• Allow coworkers to finish speaking before interrupting.

• When giving feedback, restate key points given by coworkers.

Result 2:  One of your employees is responsible for distributing assignments to other coworkers. But these coworkers seem to frequently misunderstand instructions or make unnecessary mistakes.  Your employee “wants” coworkers to do a better job of grasping instructions.

Your Recommended Behaviors Might Include:

• Use probing questions such as: 1. How might this task be accomplished quickly?  2. What are some possibilities for accomplishing this?

• Ask the coworker to explain the approach for handling the assignment.

• Give more specific instructions to the coworker by explaining ‘when, where, or how’ something needs to be done.  Then ask the coworker to restate the instructions.

Result 3:  One of your employees complains that when conflicts occur, they tend to escalate and evolve into discussions about personalities and non-relevant issues.  Your employee “wants” disagreements to be more civil.

Your Recommended Behaviors Might Include:

• Address ‘professional issues’ rather than ‘personal issues’ during difficult conversations.  Keep the topic on WORK, WORK, WORK!

• Address ‘behaviors’ rather than ‘beliefs’ during difficult conversations.  Keep the topic on what the other coworker DID or what the other coworker SAID.

• Address ‘facts’ rather than ‘feelings’ during difficult conversations.  Keep the topic on DATA and INFORMATION.

The main point to this process is to move the employee who is doing the complaining away from focusing on what’s wrong with other coworkers to focusing on what she or he wants.  An equally important point is to know the kind of behavioral changes you want to recommend.  When you approach performance discussions in this manner, you have a much better chance of getting employees to see the value of performance improvement.



Caffeinated Content