Perspectives
Recent Stories
A Candid Wake Up Call to Professionals of Color and Women — How You Must Care for Your Career in an Anti-DEI Context
From Judy’s Medium Page: For women and professionals of color (POCs), I hope you’re re-calibrating how you engage with your professional and career development. That is,
Fierce Mother in Body and Spirit
I got to spend another Mother’s Day with my mother this year. It was the first year in my life that I realized this day
One Mother’s Loss is a Loss for Every Mother in the World
For the past several weeks, I’ve carried a deep sadness as violence and death have continued in Gaza and in too many geographies in our
Why Am I So Anxious in a Charming New England Town?
Since the pandemic, I haven’t taken my annual 4-day retreat where I get to be a hermit, stocked with food and drink, books and journals
Lunar New Year – A Rootedness in Family Connections and Identity
I’ve come to see that holidays are a way for people and societies to reinforce what matters in their culture. Food and customs, passed from
Taiwan-China Tensions: Revisiting Family Heartbreak
I was in high school when I found my father sitting at the desk in my parents’ bedroom, face in his hands, sobbing. It was the only time I’d ever seen my father cry. He had been separated from his family for 40 years, when he became a teenage refugee, from China to Taiwan…
Self-Gratitude May Just Improve Your Performance Review
Many professionals undervalue their contributions because they think they’re not enough, but self-gratitude comes from our wholeness and allows us to recognize and own our contributions to our work, which will surely help with our performance reviews.
Separation Anxiety
Tomorrow my Alyssa leaves for NYC for 8 weeks. I sit next to her as she naps, excited for her adventure ahead, all the while
Covid Life – Recluse, Re-Emergence and Ritual
…The day finally arrived this Memorial Day weekend when the four of us and Popo dared to venture out together to visit my father and brother in New York, the first time in over a year. It was cold, windy and wet, but my 87 year old mother determinedly walked to her husband’s gravesite and read the poem she wrote for him that’s etched on the tombstone. We lit incense, bowed in respect and ran back to the car as lightning and thunder reverberated through the skies. After all the sadness, loss and separation, we returned to each other through this family ritual, marking the passing as well as the continuation of our shared journey.
Catching My Breath in Drowning Waves of Death
2020 Ahmaud Aubery Breonna Taylor George Floyd Protests Black Lives Matter Awakening of America to what has always been for black people in America
Is Passion Misunderstood?
Over the years as a coach, observing myself and my clients, it’s become clear that passion can be misunderstood. We generally think of passion as overt, provocative, bigger than life. Somehow we believe our passion can consume us if we are not alert. It can lead us to wayward paths. It’s almost irresponsible. Yet I’ve observed passion to be deep, mature and patient.
BusinessWeek: International Students Struggle to Turn MBAs Into U.S. Jobs
By Julian Sparks July 24, 2014 Students from abroad who study at U.S. business schools often struggle when it’s time to land a job. Increasingly, B-schools set aside resources to help this group overcome a pair of career obstacles: the difficulty of getting legal permission to work in the U.S. and cultural differences that can make navigating the American job market difficult.
HBR: "Adapt to a New Culture – but Don’t Go Too Far"
by Andy Molinsky | 8:00 AM July 15, 2014 One of the most popular pieces of advice that people receive when operating across cultures is, “When in Rome, Act Like the Romans.” This advice essentially means that in order to be successful in a situation different from your own, you need to adapt to the local customs, whatever they happen to
Businessweek: Why American B-School Students Can't Stand Teamwork
By Cory Weinberg June 06, 2014 (Corrects spelling of Darden faculty member’s name in fifth and sixth paragraphs.) When business students are instructed to comb through case studies or pitch new product designs, three dreaded words often follow: “Work in teams.” That dread is especially deep for American MBA students, according to a Graduate Management Admission Council survey released on Wednesday. Only
The Freedom of Personal Accountability
Life is shared, whether at work or at home. Nothing can be done independently of others or our surroundings. So in this interconnected living, it’s plausible to put responsibilities on others when things get tough. At some point, things always get tough. Sometimes it’s the other person. Sometimes it’s shared. Sometimes it’s really ours to own. Question is, do we discern? Do we take the time to be present with what’s going on so we can process what happened and understand our emotional response to the situation? If you stay present to a situation, you will realize that taking responsibility is always an emotional choice.
NPR: Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern And Western Cultures Tackle Learning
by ALIX SPIEGEL November 12, 2012 In 1979, when Jim Stigler was still a graduate student at the University of Michigan, he went to Japan to research teaching methods and found himself sitting in the back row of a crowded fourth-grade math class. “The teacher was trying to teach the class how to draw three-dimensional cubes on paper,” Stigler explains, “and
Harvard Business Review: One Reason Cross-Cultural Small Talk Is So Tricky
by Erin Meyer | 8:00 AM May 30, 2014 It was my first dinner party in France and I was chatting with a Parisian couple. All was well until I asked what I thought was a perfectly innocent question: “How did the two of you meet?” My husband Eric (who is French) shot me a look of horror. When we got
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Retention Is a Growing Issue as More International Students Come to US
By Karin Fischer MAY 28, 2014 Matt Dilyard, College of WoosterAn international student at the College of Wooster presents his independent-study project to fellow students. The Ohio college will begin offering a course this fall to new international students to help them adjust academically and culturally to American higher education. San Diego Like many American colleges, the University of West
Forbes: 7 Ways to Build Accountable Organizations
By Henry Browning Don’t you love that employee who goes above and beyond? She takes responsibility, shows initiative and really owns her projects, processes and problems. Somewhere along the line, she learned that good things happen when you are accountable. But it’s largely up to you, her boss, to be sure she doesn’t have a change of heart. But, you