Leading Above Differences Episode 1

The first episode of our inclusive leadership podcast Leading Above Differences.

Loren Rosario-Maldonado is a Leadership Development Consultant and Culture Transformation Specialist. She has travelled the world as a People Strategist, combining HR, leadership coaching and Change Management expertise. She’s a certified coach, is currently pursuing a PHD on cross cultural psychology and one of the first – original – CQ Fellows which is where she met Jennifer!

Loren has recently published her book ‘Becoming the Change – The Power of Cultural Intelligence’ which shares how encountering cultural intelligence led to a journey of self discovery – and shares how leaders can harness this powerful part of human behaviour to support them to understand both themselves and the world around them.

Jennifer and Loren talk about how it feels publishing a book which delves into personal change. They reflect on how to relate and use our biases, the multidimensionality of identity and how everyone weighs the different aspects of their identity uniquely – and the consequences of this for leadership.

A recurring theme is the CQ dimension of ‘power distance’. Power distance relates to cultures where power is shared in a flat structure versus cultures where there is a more top down approach. Jennifer and Loren discuss several (personal) examples of their experiences leading and managing teams with members from cultures where power distance varies and offer many practical suggestions.

Finally we go through the six elements of the Loren’s C.H.O.I.C.E toolkit. Grounded in Behavioural theory, change management, cultural intelligence and cultural humility this is a practical approach to going on your own journey of exploring your identity and learning to discover the rich tapestry of life that is everyone else’s in this diverse world – becoming a better, more effective leader in the process.

Jennifer Izekor and Above Difference. www.abovedifference.com

Loren Rosario-Maldonado. www.lorenrosario.com/

‘Becoming the Change’ https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Change-Power-Cultural-Intelligence/dp/B0CPDBJV66#:~:text=Book%20overview&text=In%20its%20pages%2C%20you’ll,comprehensive%20understanding%20of%20cultural%20nuances.