Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast

What It Takes to Manage Well

Episode Highlights:
Delve into the three essential categories for effective management and self-regulation, differentiation, and high-level thought integrated throughout and responsive to operations.

Three Essential Categories for Effective Management

Self-Regulation:
Self-regulation is crucial for good decision-making. It involves recognizing and accepting your feelings. It means being aware of your feelings and thoughts and choosing not to act on them impulsively. Self-governance enables you to consider the impact of your actions leading to more thoughtful and beneficial outcomes.

• Self-awareness and self-governance: This results in the ability to manage and release unpleasant emotions safely, interpret reality accurately, and maintain a sense of calm and peace.
• Other awareness and empathy: With genuine self-awareness, you'll have heightened empathy and notice and understand others' feelings and experiences. Increased other awareness and empathy in the workplace is a sign of effective management.
• The ability to change and sustain one's habits for elevated thought and action: True self-regulation means not defining yourself by routines or limitations but continuously expanding your sense of self through learning and applying new insights to work habits.

Differentiation:
Differentiation is the ability to see the separate within the whole and the whole within separate and to bring them together. It's the ability to do analysis and synthesis.

• Separation of identity from in-group and out-group bias: The ability to separate your identity from the groups you belong to is crucial in management. A strong in-group and out-group identity is necessary for a sense of belonging and security. However, it's essential to maintain a balance and not let these identities define you entirely.
• Being able to hold multiple points of view without attaching yourself to them: This is a sign of effective management, allowing you to make decisions based on what's best for the collective rather than your personal biases.
• Capacity to inspire others and be inspired: If you are inspired by others, you're likely to be more inspiring yourself.
• Ability to balance encouragement and challenge: It means when people are not feeling strong, you can encourage them and build them up. When they're feeling strong but not showing their best selves, you can challenge them to step up to the plate.
• Being able to read reality without becoming hopeless in the face of difficulty: There are a lot of challenging realities in the workplace, and people go through many difficulties. If you can read and understand these difficulties without losing hope, it's a sign of great leadership.

High-level Thought Integrated Throughout and Responsive to Operations:
It's not enough to have great ideas if no one can act on them. Frequent conflicts between departments occur when high-level thought is not integrated, usually due to lack of consultation.

• Have principle-based discussions that respect individual inputs: Listen with interest without getting defensive or allowing anyone to dominate.
• Collective decision-making that promotes honest and kind participation: Making decisions as a group where everyone is both honest and kind leads to agreed-upon solutions benefiting the whole without excluding individuals or groups.
• Ability to translate thought into action, reflect on the outcomes, and make adjustments: Changing your mind isn't a sign of weakness, but constantly changing it is. Making a decision and sticking to it despite negative outcomes is not a sign of strength.

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The role of spiritual intelligence in effective leadership.

Bio:
Yosi Amram, PhD, is a distinguished psychologist, an executive coach catering to CEOs, entrepreneurs, and other influential leaders, and a pioneering researcher in the field of spiritual intelligence. Holding an MBA from Harvard University and a PhD from Sofia University in Clinical Transpersonal Psychology, Dr. Amram is committed to enabling individuals to unlock their potential through spiritual intelligence. This profound connection to the core of one’s existence – their spirit, where inspiration and deepest interconnectedness reside – enriches their overall functioning, improves their effectiveness, and enhances their well-being.

He is the author of Spiritually Intelligent Leadership: How to Inspire by Being Inspired.

Links:
Website: https://yosiamram.net/

Quotes:
“I think great leaders can also drop back and lead from behind, which is more of a facilitative role of leadership. You can think about it perhaps in terms of the yin and yang of leadership.”

Episode Highlights:
In this interview, Yosi Amram tells us how a leave of absence from his company was a blessing in disguise. The board of Yosi’s company gave him a break because they felt he needed it. Initially, Yosi felt shame for being let go from his company, but later, it provided him an opportunity to find his identity and passion in psychology.

Childhood Incidents:
When Yosi was four years old, he learned from older boys that flicking someone's legs while they're running or walking could make them trip and fall. One day, he experimented on a boy in front of him. The boy tripped, scraped his knees, and started bleeding and crying. The teacher started yelling, asking who did it, but Yosi never came forward. This experience taught him the importance of not causing pain, suffering, harm, or violence to others.

At age nine, Yosi went to a movie theatre without his parents and was molested by a stranger. This incident made him feel like there was something wrong with him, like he was damaged goods. He repressed his feelings about this experience and only addressed them in therapy when he was 40.

Influential Groups:
Yosi comes from Middle Eastern, Iraqi, and Jewish backgrounds. Middle Eastern Iraqi culture is emotionally expressive, warm, and highly hospitable. In contrast, Jewish culture emphasizes Socratic methods of debate for truth's sake and taking responsibility seriously.

Cultural Influences:
As Yosi grew older, his interest in spirituality deepened. He joined various spiritual communities, including Jewish Renewal, Buddhist communities, and a particular path called the Diamond Approach, which emphasizes inquiry and a love for truth. All these communities highlighted the importance of service.

Cultural Epiphanies:
When Yosi moved to the US, he experienced culture shock; people valued personal space and privacy, which was not the case in Tel Aviv or the Middle East in general. He grew up in a one-bedroom house with his grandparents and parents.

What Brings Out the Best in Yosi?
Yosi believes in directness and honesty. He values relationships where people are honest, open, and direct, built on a foundation of kindness and positive regard. He also appreciates regular mutual feedback to keep relationships clear and clean.

Soapbox Moment:
Yosi encourages everyone interested in becoming more empowered and inspired leaders to check out his book, Spiritually Intelligent Leadership: How to Inspire by Being Inspired.

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Is This Soul Enhancing or Soul Diminishing?

Imagine bringing your whole self to an action informed by purpose

Episode Highlights:
Today we delve into the concept of building a sense of purpose using the principle of choosing soul enhancing versus soul diminishing actions in our work behaviour. This episode equips you with tips to increase a sense of purpose at work, while providing you with a tool to autocorrect when you fall short of the ideal.

Getting to the Bridge of encouragement:
The first question to ask yourself is, “Is this soul diminishing or soul enhancing?” Take an instance of a workplace where people are always gossiping. What does that do to the soul? It diminishes the soul and destroys positive company culture. Employees don't feel they can be their authentic selves, fearing they will be attacked. They can't admit to mistakes because they anticipate punishment.

In a soul-enhancing workplace, people encourage each other. They're clear about expectations, communications, and they operate transparently. They think about ways they can help each other, be kind to each other, and progress within the organization. When there's a mistake, they can talk openly about it because they know they will not be punished for bringing it up.

Soul Enhancing versus Soul Diminishing Attitudes, Actions, And Outcomes:
Soul enhancing is encouraging, expansive, joyful, creative, and love-promoting. Increasing soul-enhancing behaviours develops virtues—positive qualities admired across cultures such as kindness, helpfulness, courage, and wisdom.

Soul diminishing is discouraging, constrictive, oppressive, and hate-promoting. Increasing soul-diminishing behaviours develops vices—the negative qualities that destroy cultures such as aggression, violence, hatred, superiority, and self-centredness.

The Essence of Controlling Your Anger:
A Buddhist saying is: “The monk who subdues his arisen anger sloughs off as a snake its decrepit old skin.”

Learning to align our emotions and desires with principles that help us engage in soul-enhancing actions can be extremely useful, not only for work but also for our interpersonal relations and other activities outside of work. The more we practice orienting ourselves towards making soul-enhancing thoughts, words and deeds, the more workplaces will reflect virtues, qualities, and powers that make work increasingly pleasant and enjoyable.

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

1. Purpose is inspiring but has both a light and dark side. You choose the side you want.
2. To choose a purpose that nurtures your light side, opt to develop virtues rather than vices which are soul diminishing.
3. You can ask either in the moment or later in reflection, “Is that/was that…soul enhancing or soul diminishing?”
4. When you fall short of soul-enhancing thoughts, words, and actions, the answer is to forgive yourself and move forward through service, which is like prayer—it helps us autocorrect.

If you’re finding these episodes helpful, you can purchase the book, The Spirit of Work, Timeless Wisdom, Current Realities, online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or directly from my website.

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How can purposeful growth impact your leadership?

Bio:
Mark A. Mears is a #1 Best Selling author, keynote speaker, consultant, and visionary business leader. He has a significant track record of building stakeholder value, driving innovation, and profitable growth among world-class, high-profile brands such as PepsiCo/Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and The Cheesecake Factory among others.

Today, Mark is the Chief Growth Officer for LEAF Growth Ventures and has just released his new book titled, The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markamears/
Website: https://www.markamears.com/

Quotes:
“When we do things randomly, they don't stick. But if we do things intentionally over and over, it forms like wet cement. It hardens and it becomes a habit. In this case, a positive habit.”

“Leadership is like the seed of an organization and the root system. You must have a strong root system for any plant or tree to grow.”

Episode Highlights:
In this insightful conversation, Mark shares about purposeful growth and the importance of feeling loved in the workplace, breaking down the concept of love into an inspiring acronym. He shares his experiences, upbringing, and professional journey, imparting valuable wisdom on leadership, community, and the power of feedback. He also shares how being fired from a C-Suite job was a gift in disguise for him.

Childhood Incidents:
Growing up, Mark was an avid swimmer. He had a coach who helped him achieve excellence through hard workouts, and he became a lifeguard and swim coach in high school. Mark put his best foot forward and as a result, became head guard responsible for managing the pool. That experience hones his love for leadership, service, and hospitality.

Influential Groups/Cultural Influence:
Mark sees culture as a set of norms and expectations that people establish amongst themselves as a natural course of interaction. He recalls growing up in the swim team. He was always with his teammates during practice; they carpooled to practice and had bus rides together. Church and college also influenced Mark, giving him a sense of belonging.

Mark has worked for and with many organizations, and his greatest desire has always been to leave the place better than he found it. His experience with various groups taught Mark how to leverage his God-given gifts, talents, abilities, intellect, and experiences to bring organizations to ever-higher levels of excellence.

Personality and Temperaments:
As a child, Mark was passionate and competitive. He was curious and had the resilience to overcome obstacles in his life, which is an enduring trait. Today, Mark has become softer on the competitiveness side and more forgiving of himself. He has learned how to take the best of his core characteristics, round off some rougher edges, and grow new ones.

Cultural Epiphanies:
In Mark’s last leadership position, someone called him a narcissist. It was difficult for Mark to understand where it came from, and he later realized that what he viewed as selflessness was seen as grand-standing by others.

What Brings out the Best in Mark?
Mark lights up like a Christmas tree when he helps align a team. Their increased unity allows them to accomplish more than they even thought possible.

Soapbox Moment:
Are you interested in purposeful growth? Mark invites you to visit his website for a self-assessment to experience the power of his acronym for LOVE: Listen, Observe, Value, and Empower.

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Resistance means you don’t feel safe.

Quotes:
“The reason people resist is because they don’t feel safe."

“Courtesy is the first sign of safety. Respect is the outcome of courteous behaviour.”

“When working with colleagues or bosses work to create a matrix of safety for the head, the body, the heart, the spirit and the culture.”

Episode Highlights:
Part A – Your nervous system and its relationship to feeling safe

Your amygdala is responsible for perception of threat, even if that threat is not real. When there is a perception of threat, the body reacts via the amygdala in an instant freeze, fight, flight response. The remedy to threat is to create a safe work environment.

Part B – How to create safety for yourself

1. Start with an incident that is bothering you:
2. “When I think about X situation…I feel (what emotion?) (angry, frustrated etc.)”
3. Measure the intensity of the emotion from 1-10.
4. Slow down your breathing and become conscious of where you feel this emotion in your body.
5. Move to release the energy.

Part C – Intentionally creating a climate of safety
Creating a workplace matrix is similar to the matrix in the womb that surrounds and nourishes a baby. You can help create this matrix of safety by:

Helping the head feel safe – give it an explanation and facilitate regular communication of listening, speaking and coming to a shared understanding

Helping the body feel safe – is it pleasant to work in this place, is it ergonomically viable? Would you want to work there? If you wouldn’t why would you allow others to work in that condition?

Helping the heart feel safe – listening, acknowledging, validating how other people feel. Acknowledge difference of opinion without vilification of the other person.

Treat others with courtesy and civility which creates respect as the outcome.

Helping the spirit feel safe – If people are trustworthy and show courage to address problems, doing what they say they will do, the spirit feels safe.

Helping people feel safe culturally – be sincerely interested in others, and ask people about their expectations about how things should be done at work.

Part D – Incidents and solutions
Look for the principles involved in an incident to get to a solution. What principle would help elevate thought and behaviour?

Incident: An employee is resisting working with a boss.

1. Maybe they don’t have experience or training.
2. Maybe they feel incompetent to do the task and don’t feel safe saying so.
3. Maybe they feel they don’t matter. No one wants to be invisible, it is a denial of our humanity.
4. Maybe they don’t know how to interact with a person in authority. Or they had bad experiences with a boss when they spoke up in the past.
5. Experience with too many changes with ‘flavour of the month’ decisions, so employees have become cynical.
6. People are unhappy with their job. They act badly or their performance drops.
7. There is a personality disorder or an addiction issue

Takeaways:

1. People resist because they don’t feel safe
2. We all have a nervous system which perceives threat via they amygdala
3. You can calm this reaction by naming an emotion, measuring the intensity, slowing breathing, moving
4. Build a matrix of workplace safety that helps the mind, heart, body, spirit and culture to feel safe
5. If you still have resistance consider training, acknowledgement, how to interact with a boss, job unhappiness, personality/addiction issues.

You deserve a job that allows you to thrive.

Bio:
Stephanie is the Founder of Creative Career Level Up, a program that helps those in marketing, creative, and tech industries accelerate their careers and secure their next perfect role—along with a promotion and a salary increase. She has authored, Fired: Why Losing Your Job is the Best Thing that Can Happen to You.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniebrowncareercoach/
Website: https://www.creativecareerlab.com/

Quotes:
“The only way to get over fear is to face it head-on and realize that either it's never as bad as what you think it's going to be or the worst does happen, but you survive.”

Episode Highlights:
Stephanie explores the unifying and passionate nature of sports culture, emphasizing how it brings people together and showcases human potential. While acknowledging the darker side of sports organizations, Stephanie shares her personal experiences and the impact sports have had on communities, providing a balanced perspective on this influential aspect of society.

Stephanie also discusses her experiences at Nike and the development of her coaching platform to support professionals in marketing, creative, and tech industries.

Childhood Incidents:
When Stephanie was 15 years old, she changed schools to an all-girls school. At that age transitioning to a new school wasn’t easy for Stephanie; she had a hard time making friends and the group of girls she associated with bullied her. Changing schools taught Stephanie that she didn’t always have to be where her friends were, and even if bad things happened, you could move past them into a better present.

Cultural Influence:
Stephanie’s dad grew up in a family with plenty of love, but the resources were limited. He made sure that his children had more resources and opportunities than he ever got, such as attending university.

Later in life, Stephanie worked for a winery which gave her an opportunity to meet people from all over the world and ask about their life experiences which triggered an urge for her to see the world after finishing her schooling.

Leadership Influence:
When Stephanie finished university, she secured a job in a sports company and later moved to London, England, where she joined Nike. Despite having an educational background in economics and finance, she found herself in a marketing role in the creative industry. At Nike, Stephanie found her tribe and people who mentored her to become a leader.

Temperament and Personality:
According to Stephanie, her general temperament is to love helping people. As a child, she wanted to become a schoolteacher and today she has taken it full circle as a career coach. Over the years, Stephanie’s personality has developed to embrace the bravery required to step out of her comfort zone and take on new challenges.

Cultural Epiphanies:
When Stephanie was in university, she went to Italy for an exchange program and found some of the local jargon had changed when she came home six months later. Since she couldn’t understand the origin she felt like she didn’t belong. Later on, Stephanie experienced reverse culture shock after being in in the UK for 17 years.

What Brings Out the Best in Stephanie?
Stephanie thrives in environments that challenge her and create room for her to learn.

Soapbox Moment:
According to Stephanie, leadership is about serving others, and she sees it as a privilege and a blessing. For those looking for work, Stephanie recommends first taking the time to analyse the

The Spirit of Work: Purpose and Cora's Restaurant

Cora's Restaurant, a breakfast establishment originating in Quebec, exemplifies the transformative power of a clear organizational purpose. With a mission centered on "promoting the importance of breakfast," Cora's has expanded from a single location to a global presence, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.

The guiding principle of promoting breakfast's significance influences every aspect of Cora's operations, from menu choices to environmental initiatives. Cora's serves vibrant, nutritious breakfasts to infuse people's mornings with energy and joy. Their commitment extends beyond the dining experience; they partner with the Breakfast Club of Canada, donating a portion of each meal's proceeds to provide nutritious breakfasts for Canadian children.

Environmental responsibility is a cornerstone, with decisions rooted in local food sourcing, exclusive use of biodegradable packaging for takeout, and collaboration with environmentally conscious partners. The emphasis on a warm, friendly atmosphere is ingrained in staff training, fostering creativity, work-life balance, and opportunities for advancement.

This purpose-driven approach aligns internal and external processes, creating a harmonious organizational culture. The success of Cora's Restaurant is a testament to the profound impact of a well-defined purpose, inspiring growth and unleashing creative potential.

In The Spirit of Work, I emphasize the importance of purpose to work. A lack of purpose leads to scattered efforts, breeding cynicism and suspicion among the workforce.

Discovering Purpose – Cora's Journey:
Finding purpose, whether individually or collectively within an organization, is a challenging but critical endeavor. Cora, a divorced mother of three, stumbled upon her purpose when she sold her house to start a small snack bar. Her knack for creative, nutritious snacks evolved into the first Cora's Breakfast restaurant, emphasizing the importance of breakfast.

Over seven years, Cora and her children expanded the venture from nine restaurants in Greater Montreal to a global, multi-million dollar franchise. Her journey underscores the link between clarity of purpose, values and branding.

Purpose, Play, and Joy in Workplaces:
Purpose, like children's play, involves dedication to an activity that energizes and brings joy. However, purpose can either contribute to the betterment or detriment of society. It serves as fuel, requiring direction to ensure it serves the greater good.

Reflecting on Cora's example, how has purpose affected your business or career journey?

Reflection Questions:

1. Similar to Cora, how has facing difficulty in your life contributed to personal growth and purpose?
2. How did your purpose evolve when creating something new and testing it with others?
3. If in a leadership position, can you state your organization's founding principle in 5-7 memorable words?

Purpose, is pivotal chapter in my book, The Spirit of Work: Timeless Wisdom, Current Realities. If you liked this episode, the book is available online on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly through my website.

Unveiling Gerald J. Leonard’s journey from music to making a difference

Bio:
Gerald is the CEO and Founder of the Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute and the CEO of Turnberry Premiere, a strategic project portfolio management and IT governance firm based in Washington, DC. He attended Central State University in Ohio, receiving a bachelor's in music and later earning a master's in music from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldjleonard/
Website: https://productivityintelligenceinstitute.com

Quotes:
“Once you learn the complexities of things, I think you can implement it with very simple processes.”

“Words shape our world.”

Episode Highlights:
This episode delves into the significance of personal development, reframing negative thoughts, and embracing cultural diversity. Gerald shares insights on overcoming constraints, the power of relationships and the importance of learning from diverse cultural groups.

Gerald has authored three books: Culture is the Base, Workplace Jazz, and A Symphony of Choices."

Childhood Incidents:
From his father’s example of building a construction business and his mother working as a seamstress, Gerald knew he had to be industrious. In middle school, Gerald was part of junior achievement where he learned more about business and the monetary value of hard work.

Influential Groups:
As a child, family shaped a lot of things for Gerald. He saw how hard his father worked to provide for them, how he was there for them and his business. The experience taught Gerald what it was like to be a family man.

Gerald grew up Methodist, but after joining college, he learned about other religions. He got a chance to interact with people from different backgrounds and used the scriptures as point of reference to see if he was on the right track.

Cultural Influences:
Gerald never saw his parents meditate, but he integrated meditation into his life from Indian spiritual practices into his life. He credits a course with Judith Glaser on conversation intelligence for teaching him about the brain and nervous system which he has incorporated into his own behaviour.

Personality and Temperament:
Gerald believes that he values long term friendships. He has people whom he has known for years, and he goes out of his way to ensure they remain close.

In 2018 he lost 86% of his right inner ear capacity and experienced constant vertigo. Although he was six weeks away from giving a TEDX talk, he did everything in his power to heal , incorporating music therapy as part of the process. His resilience and determination paid off and he delivered his TEDX talk on the appointed date and time.

Cultural Dissonance:
Gerald once worked for a big law firm where the work culture was different from what he was used to . In the Ivy League environment Gerald knew he had to find ways to belong but it felt uncomfortable. He looks at it now as a positive learning experience that taught him new skills.

What brings the Best in Gerald Leonard?
Gerald has a focus on spending quality time to make a difference in the lives of others. He isn't counting the money made or time spent, rather the impact of the exchange.

Soapbox Moment:
Gerald invites us to check out his books and podcast from his website. He also encourages us to check out KIVA provide microloans that support people in difficult circumstances to reach their dreams.

What I Learned About Culture From 100+ Interviews

Cultural insights from 100+ interviews

Quotes:
“When you don't have cultural awareness, you tend to take things personally when they are not personal. They're cultural.”

Episode Highlights:
In this episode, I delve into a rich tapestry of cultural insights drawn from over a hundred interviews on the Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast and my own intercultural experiences. Building upon our previous discussion on leadership, this episode focuses on unraveling some of the dynamics of culture.

Before we embark on this journey, let me offer a brief glimpse into my background. With a doctorate in culture and learning in the workplace, my personal narrative, shaped by immigrant roots and diverse professional experiences, serves as a lens through which I navigate the nuanced terrain of culture. From becoming fluent in French to changing my religion, I've undergone transformative changes that allowed me to see culture with more nuances.

I once had a conversation about traditional names with my late mother-in-law. She told me that parents should give their children “proper French” names. According to her, those proper traditional names were like the names she gave her own children. I asked her what names were given to her mother and siblings and their ancestors. It turned out that a so-called traditional name was dependent on the generation and didn’t carry over between generations. This was a revelation to my mother-in-law!

From the 100+ interviews about culture that I have had the privilege of hosting, I have noticed certain recurring themes and characteristics.

Insights About Cultural Awareness From The interviews:

• Awareness of one's culture deepens when you move away from it and experience culture shock as you become aware of differences between what you have experienced and what others experience.
• There are degrees of cultural flexibility and rigidity in all people. If people express cultural rigidity, it is best to accept that and move on to another topic where there is more willingness to explore.
• Third culture: In cultural studies, third culture refers to people who have moved a lot because of the military were displaced due to war or because of immigration. Now because of our interconnectedness, more and more people are showing characteristics of third culture in their view of the world. They feel more comfortable with people who have had broad experience rather than narrow experience.
• Those who have reflected consciously about the role of culture in their lives tend to be more credible than cultural competency experts in the field who have not reflected on their personal cultural selves.

Characteristics of People Who Reflect on Their Culture:

• They suspend judgment and hone the ability to bring it back to themselves and say, “Is this me or is this them or is it a little bit of both?”
• As we become more nuanced in cultural understanding, we start to see the person in the culture, and the culture in the person.
• Those who feel the most uncomfortable in a new cultural experience tend to adjust faster than those who feel comfortable because they try harder to make sense of their world. However, when people leave a cultural experience without being able to join cultural understandings, it's because they feel that their values have been compromised.

Every person needs a mentor for personal and career growth.

Bio:
Liz Jaluague is a Toronto-based cybersecurity engineer and Canadian Army reservist. She earned a BSc in Biochemistry and a postgraduate certificate in Computer Security and Digital Forensics, and has been a non-profit leader in seven different organizations since the age of 19, currently volunteering with a NFP cybersecurity organization.

She believes in the power of mentorship from her own experiences, Liz consistently commits her time to guiding others along their professional paths.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/existentializm/

Quotes:
“When you're constantly learning different skills, you kind of remember that everybody is a different level, and it's a humbling experience.”

Episode Highlights:
On today’s episode, we delve into the captivating story of Liz Jaluague. From navigating cultural experiences to challenging conventional career paths, Liz shares her journey of resilience, determination, and growth. She shares insights into the ethical implications of cybersecurity, the power of mentorship, and the impact of cultural influences on leadership.

Childhood Memories:
Liz grew up in a Filipino family in Toronto. She had a great understanding of both English and Tagalog. In Tagalog, there are suffixes that one uses when addressing people older than them to show respect. At some point, Liz started questioning why she wasn’t accorded the same respect as a young person. She dropped the suffixes, and it caused her issues with her parents. A year or two down the line, her parents came to term with it. Later in her own life, she came to value the respect accorded to elders and now sees both sides of the issue.

Cultural Influences:
Growing up, Liz had a desire to learn new things and really valued the learning culture. She was able to grasp a lot of new things but learned later on that she couldn’t ace everything and became more selective with her learning and more humble in her approach to others.

Liz’s parents had her much later in life which gave her an opportunity to learn from her older cousins.

Influential Groups:
After university, Liz volunteered in several NFP organizations, currently with a cybersecurity non-profit. Looking back at her leadership journey with the NFPs, Liz realized that the people she most admired had a sense of purpose, and in every job, she connected with the mission and vision of the organization.

Liz vividly remembers a time when she was in Las Vegas for a conference and she recognized one of the sponsors. She walked up to him and thanked him for giving her the opportunity to make friends working in that organization. The simple act of gratitude gave Liz a mentor.

Personality and Temperaments:
Liz describes herself as a pessimistic optimist. By nature, she looked at things glass half empty since her family didn’t have a lot of material means. On the flip side, Liz learned to adapt and understand that things always work out in the end.

Cultural Epiphanies:
In Belgium and the Netherlands, Liz began to consider cultural differences through the experience of a glass of water in restaurants and different types of door locks in AirBNBs.

What brings out the best in Liz?:
Liz loves working with people who are authentically themselves. She is not a fan of hierarchy.

Soapbox Moment:
Do you have a question on cybersecurity? Liz invites you to send her a message on LinkedIn, and she will be more than willing to answer the question.