By Pete Dulin
Recently I participated in Find Your Leadership Voice, an interactive and inclusive leadership training program that uses the 5 Leadership Voices system. NAAAP-KC sponsored the cohort as part of its mission to develop leaders in NAAAP-KC and the AAPI community.
The objective of the virtual workshop is to help each participant “gain confidence in your unique leadership voice, deepen relational trust, unlock your team's true potential, and accelerate its performance.”
Dr. Olivia Law-DelRosso, owner of Building Belonging, is a DEIB Expert Facilitator and GiANT Certified Coach. Joanne Giang is a DEI and Leadership Coach, DEIB Expert Facilitator, and GiANT Certified Coach. They facilitated the online workshops as a dynamic team, bringing a thorough knowledge of the 5 Leadership Voices as well as empathy and wisdom to the experience.
The Five Leadership Voices are Nurturer, Creative, Guardian, Connector, and Pioneer. While everyone bears characteristics of each voice, each individual tends to have a primary voice. As a Connector with a strong secondary Creative voice, I learned about the strengths and challenges aligned with those voices and behaviors. Each voice interacts and relates to other leadership voices in distinct ways. Understanding these interconnected styles led to insight about our communication and working styles.
Each person in the cohort discussed their innate voice and how it related to their professional life with some carryover to each individual’s personal life. As a cohort of Asian American professionals, I felt kinship and understanding of others’ experiences even though our respective lives, upbringing, and influences were different. As a result, I gained clarity and perspective on how I can lead myself and support others with similar or different leadership voices. This knowledge helps me to be versatile and more capable of adapting to situations and personalities in a professional, social, and even personal setting.
The online workshop format and facilitation by Olivia and Joanne provided a warm safe space to share, provide feedback, and support each other. Our facilitators deftly helped us consider our past experiences and tendencies in a fresh light. Honestly, I miss the cozy yet professional discussions that led to insights and pathways for growth.
Recognition and knowledge is only part of the journey. Access to the online videos and information enable me to refer to what I learned. In our busy, information-filled lives, it is natural to take a development workshop such as this, contemplate it for a brief time, and then revert to our natural tendencies. True change and growth requires commitment, practice, and work.