Participant Feedback
Overall, I found it extremely helpful in terms of raising self-awareness; providing opportunities for learning; and improving the quality of future panel discussion involvement of the participant.
I want to reiterate that (1) thank you CMMI for organizing this, (2) kudos to the Kardia Group for a very smoothly-running program, no hitches, and great content, and (3) above all, it made me think about what high reward means in a research context.
All the skills from this CMMI program translate to additional technical leadership.
Really phenomenal experience, in many ways reinvigorated my interest in academia.
The 2021 CGCA program fundamentally changed how I engage in group discussions.
During the past year, my career path has suddenly changed and put me into the role of interim department head. The skills that I learned in the Game Changer Academy have already been instrumental in helping me to work toward being an effective leader.
Many of these skills are transferable across other group dynamics, not just panel reviews. I want to feel comfortable leading diverse groups of people with different life experiences, points of view, and opinions, and get the most out of their participation and accomplish goals together.
Beyond the fact that this CGCA experience was very fun, I feel I have used it alot in all the dimensions of my life and that there are still benefits to be gained.
Attending the 2022 cohort opened my eyes to a lot of interesting aspects of human interactions and thought process. This knowledge has been already useful not only in professional settings but also in personal ones.
Since CGCA, I have participated in both CMMI and EEC panels, where I have been re-excited about the process and how I can help play a role in supporting the PO for a fair and equitable review process.
The Panel Fellows program has helped me tremendously in becoming a good reviewer. I have also developed the skills that are helping me in my professional life.
I’ve described this program as “transformative” to several people and would highly recommend it to anyone.
I learned how to embrace my identities to better contribute in group settings.
I can see clearly that I am a better team player now!
I am seeing discussion partners as a whole and not only as an engineering expert.
I learned so much, both in the materials and in sharing with other participants. I feel like I learned things that I didn’t know I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I would like the program and all the social aspects, but I have never felt more intellectually engaged and in awe and wonder of all the insights in a class-like setting…Even with the extra time it took to read and prepare and discuss, it was something I looked forward to which honestly surprised me and tells me how much I was learning.
Since my CGCA fellowship, I continue to be aware of my own as well as others group behaviors and social identities during discussions. I also share these ideas during my classroom sessions and mentoring of graduate students. This continuous reminder of CGCA knowledge and experience has helped towards becoming a natural user of these skills, which would come handy during NSF panel discussions.
I feel that my experience during the CGCA experience has given me courage to stand up for myself and my beliefs but also be considerate of others and their beliefs. And just as importantly, the experience has taught me ways of dealing with conflicts.
I hope that a version of this experience is offered and required for all future panelists. Overall the program was very informative and increased our awareness.
This program provided me with new leadership skills to navigate not only future panels but other meetings and conflict situations.
I realized that I gravitate toward working with others who have similar conflict management modes to myself, and that this actually results in poorer outcomes.
CGCA has positively changed my personality and character. I feel like I am a better mother, wife, and colleague. I am very grateful for the opportunity.
The entire exercise has been transformative. I wish I had taken such a course 25 years back when I started my academic career.
I have led grant projects for more than 28 years and consider myself to be a good leader. However, I want to be a great leader. Participating in the Game Changer Academies has made me aware, or reminded me, of several factors that can influence review panel outcomes, meetings, group discussions, and personal/professional relationships. Great leaders consider factors discussed during our sessions such as social identity, conflict, and biases when interacting with others.
I acquired valuable insights into the significance of intervention when a discussion veers off track, ensuring equal participation for all individuals and preventing one person from dominating the conversation.
I feel like I learned things I didn’t know I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I would like all the social aspects, but I have never felt more intellectually engaged and in awe and wonder of all the insights in a class-like setting.
I have not been entirely sensitive to people’s hesitancy to speak up and the reasons behind that. It helps me understand to work on skills such as attending and rewarding.
I feel that this experience has given me courage to stand up for myself and my beliefs but also be considerate of others and their beliefs.
This program opened my eyes to a lot of interesting aspects of human interactions and thought processes. This knowledge has been already useful not only in professional settings but also in personal ones.
I deeply appreciate that you recognize, celebrate, and emphasize that we each represent a constellation of identities, viewpoints, and approaches. Further, you have helped us understand that the way each of these manifests varies by task, setting, situation, and role. Finally, CGCA has equipped us to understand and work with these various conditions to be positive and productive. We now have strategies to do more than merely manage; we can now flourish together with fresh and open perspectives.
This has been a very rewarding experience. I have gained a better understanding myself, both my strengths and weaknesses. The best appreciation I got is from wife. She mentioned that lately I have become a better listener and become less competitive in our discussions which otherwise used to become huge debates that never led to any meaningful outcomes!!
More about Game Changer Academies
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