Rebounding to purpose.
In my late 20s, I was stuck in a ‘dream job’ inside a multi-lateral organization. I often heard from people how lucky I was to have the job I had, with access to government and private sector leaders from around the world and with uber-talented professionals as bosses- peers, colleagues, and mentors. However, my internal microphone would constantly nag me and let me know that I wasn’t happy. Something was missing—a clear sense of direction and passion for what I was doing. I looked at the expected ladder of career growth, and it wasn’t for me.
Single and without children, I spent my weekends and holidays getting trained to coach youth-at-risk and gang members and help them change their risky behaviors. One of the people I had the privilege to train with was Tony Robbins. Tony encouraged us to keep a mini-trampoline nearby, so I put one in my office. To the millennials and Generation Z’s reading this, used to working in sneakers and having ping-pong tables in the office, this may not seem like an audacious move. But in the late 90s, when I was the only woman in a team of 17 men, a mini-trampoline in my office was not only a bold move but also ‘weird.’
The mini-trampoline invited me to an executive business innovation workshop after the Bank’s VP had to cancel last minute. Everyone down the chain of command said they were too busy to attend when they read the description of the 3-day event. It read something like this: Learn alongside other C-level executives how to shift your mindset, discover breakthrough thinking through inquiry-based practices, and activate positive emotions with mindfulness practices to propel you through innovation. The description sounded too woo-woo at the time, and that is how the person with a mini-trampoline participated in this high-level event.
In hindsight, that moment was the catalyst that set me on a new path. That single seminar gave me the clearest sense of purpose in years. At that seminar, I not only learned I was an “intrapreneur” and that my passion was to unlock the Bank’s resources to incubate innovations, I now had an external network of unreasonable(woo-woo) leaders who would continue to help me grow throughout the years.
For the past 20+ years, since that moment, I have been on a continuous learning journey on how to innovate and lead from within. I now dedicate most of my time to sharing my knowledge and experience with executives and their teams, who want to create new business models with a positive impact. I am also committed to democratizing this information and sharing it with as many people as possible who cannot pay corporate fees. I do this through an online academy - called the Personal Academy. Over 260 people have gone through the PA from over 40 nationalities. In 2023 I am launching a PA just for Executives to help them navigate and lead in this era of exponential change.
High-performing leaders cultivate high levels of self-awareness, are driven primarily by kindness, and meet the future with an open mind, heart, and will.
I currently sit on the Board of two impact investing funds, serve as senior advisor to two systems change initiatives, and am a leading team member of an initiative to transform Commercial Real Estate into an impact asset class in the United States and abroad. I still have a mini-trampoline in my office — who knows where it will take me next.
