In this Season 2 launch of The Chatterbox Podcast, I share the real and raw story of an emergency plane landing that turned an ordinary flight into an extraordinary moment of connection. Among the passengers were fellow JCI members (leaders from around the world), whose presence and humanity in crisis reminded me what leadership really looks like.

This episode is about more than a midair emergency. It’s about how shared space, vulnerability, and deep listening can transform strangers into a circle of trust. It’s a reminder that leadership isn’t just about taking charge, it’s about how we show up for each other when it matters most.

This one is for anyone who believes that human connection is at the heart of leadership.

In 2022, as National President of JCI Canada, I saw the need for our members to re-connect. We had spent 2 years in forced isolation, unable to connect with each other in person for fear built out of the pandemic culture. Our member-driven organization that thrived on our ability to build and maintain a strong network was suffering.

Little did I know it at the time, but the notion of re-connecting to rebuild communities was starting to gain traction in the academic world; where those who had a voice in the academy were publishing articles and books that touted connection as the key to success in not only academia, but also in the broader context of our increasingly diverse society (Jordan, 2024; Lewis and Olshansky, 2016).

Finding opportunities to study and write about human connection has not only influenced and impacted my development as an academic writer, it has also inspired my outlook for this Masters degree.

I look forward to publishing more in the future.

Stay tuned for Season 2 of "The Chatterbox" launching in June 2025!

Resources:

Jordan, J. V. (2024). Introduction. In Relational–cultural therapy., 3rd ed. (pp. 3–13). American Psychological Association. https://0-doi-org.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/10.1037/0000411-001

Lewis, C., & Olshansky, E. (2016). Relational-cultural Theory as a Framework for Mentoring in Academia: Toward Diversity and Growth-fostering Collaborative Scholarly Relationships. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 24(5), 383–398. https://0-doi-org.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/10.1080/13611267.2016.1275390

With the first draft of our main course assignment due in the next week, I am circling around ideas of human connection and the impact that it has on the journey of an academic writer. Looking back to the assigned reading from Week 4, I'm drawn to an excerpt from an article taken from Swales and Feak's (2012) "Academic Writing for Graduate Students" that discussed how more teams were emerging with co-authored work (p.250-256). Since team work would indicate humans that are connected with each other on the foundation of the academy, I am curious to read this article again to see if it resonates with my current work for my literature review.

References:

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students : essential tasks and skills (3rd ed.).

University of Michigan Press. Wuchty, S., Jones, B. F., & Uzzi, B. (2007). The Increasing Dominance of Teams in Production of Knowledge. Science, 316(5827), 1036–1039.