2009 Headlines
Noble-Grange Helps Launch Institute
Johnson School communication expert speaks at the launch of the Caribbean Institute for Women in Leadership
August 25, 2009 | Ithaca, NY | Angela Noble-Grange , lecturer of management communication at the Johnson School, last month helped launch the Caribbean Institute for Women in Leadership (CIWIL), an initiative of the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the Caribbean Office of the Commonwealth Secretariat. The two-day launch took place in Barbados, July 28, 2009, and July 29, 2009.
CIWIL's objectives are to monitor and strengthen the work of increasing women's political participation in the region, and to create a sustainable, effective and efficient women's political base, to achieve gender equality, through advocacy, networking, research, and capacity building. It aims to see 50 percent of women involved in political leadership in the Caribbean by 2015.
Noble-Grange was invited to the launch by ESADE exchange student Tonni Brodber, who took her oral communication class in fall 2008, while studying at the Johnson School. Noble-Grange addressed supporters on the role of communication in transformational leadership. "To reach mutual understanding, you must start with a very clear sense of purpose. What is your message and why should anyone listen to you? Once you've become clear in your purpose, take the time to learn about those you are trying to reach," she said. "It is then that you can begin to fashion your argument in a way that your audience can understand and appreciate. "
Among Noble-Grange's advice to the women at the launch: when trying to influence others, especially when trying to change another person's behavior, take Aristotle's age-tested advice: make your case in terms of their attitudes and beliefs, not your own. "It's tempting to overwhelm your audience with your own sense of what's right," she said. "However, if the other party is not in agreement, you will simply cause her defenses to rise, and the goal of mutual understanding will not likely be reached."
Noble-Grange, whose mother was born in Barbados, has dedicated her 25-year career to advancing the potential of others. At Cornell, she founded the Johnson School's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, to widen access to the MBA degree for women and underrepresented minorities. The office was the first of its kind among top-tier business schools. She served as its director for six years, before joining the faculty of the Johnson School as lecturer of management communication.
