Joyful Transformations LLC

Feeling frustrated and disengaged? The key to getting unstuck might be hidden in your values.

Your values are your internal compass, guiding you through big decisions in your life and career. In less obvious ways, they influence your daily actions. How you use your time, what thoughts you entertain, and where you focus your energy reflect what truly matters to you.

Need help finding your way?

ExCEL is a tailored 9-month coaching program for Asian women in leadership roles. Dive into learning stacks focused on self-mastery, leading others, and driving change. With over 3,500 coaching sessions under my belt, I can help you take a values-driven approach to decision-making and holistic life and career planning.

Ready to get unstuck?
Send a DM or visit 🔗 joyfultransformations.org for more info.

If you've watched Inside Out 2, you might have thought about emotions that you only experience as you age. Impostor Syndrome could be one of those.

In this issue, I imagined Riley in a mid-career sequel and teamed up with ChatGPT to conceptualize a character that it called, "Izzy." You can also learn about the five ways to overcome the Impostor Syndrome that clients have found helpful.

MEET IZZY and find out how it looks like here:
🔗 bit.ly/overcome-izzy

UNLEASH YOUR TRUE POWER AS AN ASIAN WOMAN ✨

🛑 Do you find yourself working harder but not advancing as quickly as your peers?
🛑 Have you ever felt you knew the answer but fear held you back from speaking up?
🛑 … or ever been the most accomplished person in the room, only to have your authority undermined because you’re an A s i a n w o m a n who l o o k s y o u n g ?

Asian women are mostly overachievers with high levels of education yet, their career progression often stalls at middle management. According to a McKinsey report, stereotypes of Asians as the ‘model minority,’ viewed as more effective doers than leaders, contribute to fewer opportunities for advancement.

It’s time to break the status quo ✊🏼

✨ Introducing ExCEL: Your Path to Transformative Leadership

ExCEL is a 9-month leadership coaching program designed specifically for Asian women who are Exceptional Changemakers and Emerging Leaders in their respective fields. It aims to help Asian women cross the chasm between middle management and senior leadership so you can participate in meaningful conversations that shape the future. Rooted in the Asian work ethic, ExCEL helps Asian women transform the tiring pursuit of straight As into a sustainable quest for excellence, service, and impact.

Visit joyfultransformations.org to learn more.

CEO Deborah Liu learned to put her head down to keep herself safe from bullying as a kid.

She grew up in a small town where people constantly pointed out how she looked different and commented on her ‘strange food’. Being told that she was ‘the other’ who did not belong felt very alienating for her as a child. While her mindset protected her as a child, she realized that it could only take her as far.

We found Adam Mendler’s Thirty Minute Mentors podcast episode with Deb, and thought these wisdom nuggets are worth a bite for every Asian women who feel stuck in their careers—

💡 IT STARTS WITH AWARENESS, then a conscious decision to take action
💡 Have a growth mindset.
💡 Your motivation is fueled by PURPOSE.
💡 DO THE WORK, and take steps every single day.
💡 Find a mentor and sponsor.

READ our discussion at length by following our LinkedIn page: JOYFUL TRANSFORMATIONS.

Excited to share this recently-released HBR piece by Joy Chen (陈愉) and Angela Cheng-Cimini 鄭婷婷, which I find to be one of the most powerful articles I've read on advancing Asian American leadership.

Using compelling evidence from recent studies, the authors emphasize the need for organizational leadership to address the so-called bamboo ceiling rather than placing the burden solely on Asian American employees. Since most barriers often stem from leadership's cultural bias, it is empowering to find the myths and stereotypes that they debunk:

Myth 1: Asian Americans are excellent workers but poor leaders.
Truth: One-third of U.S. startups that achieved unicorn status over the past decade had Asian founders.

Myth 2: Asian Americans lack leadership capabilities.
Truth: Asian CEOs, often appointed during corporate crises, excel in turning companies around, outperforming their sectors by up to 50%.

Myth 3: Asian communication styles are deficient.
Truth: Asian communication styles are different, and their unique strengths should be recognized and harnessed.

As Asians become the fastest-growing demographic in America’s largest companies, it’s imperative for businesses to prioritize elevating Asian employees to key leadership positions.

READ the full article here 👇🏼
https://hbr.org/2024/06/stop-overlooking-the-leadership-potential-of-asian-employees

Stop Overlooking the Leadership Potential of Asian Employees How can U.S. organizations successfully tap into the talents of their Asian employees, helping them advance in their careers while also benefiting from the unique skills and perspectives this group has to offer? This article explores why so many Asian employees see their careers suddenly stagnate, a...

Are you preparing for a career conversation soon? Keep these 5Cs in mind:

Career development is a hot topic lately. Employees are eager to grow in their current roles, explore new functions, or even consider a complete career change.

Navigating these changes can be challenging, but having effective career conversations is often the bigger hurdle. This applies to both employees and managers. Even experienced managers can struggle, especially when factors like relational dynamics, cultural and generational differences, and timing considerations come into play.

Here are some tips for successful career conversations for both managers and employees:

CLARIFY what growth means to everyone.
Everyone has their own perspective on growth. It’s important to understand what growth means to your team member and align this with your expectations and the organization’s objectives.

Bring CLARITY and COACHING.
Managers play a crucial role in their employees’ growth. Help your team members understand what is needed for a promotion and coach them on how to achieve it.

Facilitate CONNECTIONS.
As a manager, you are the bridge between your employees and the broader organization. Provide opportunities for visibility and collaboration with other teams.

Ensure CONSISTENCY.
Career conversations should be ongoing, not just during performance reviews. Develop an action plan and set a timeline for follow-up.

Remember, at the heart of these 5Cs is the partnership between the employee and their manager. Two critical leadership skills to utilize are active listening and asking insightful questions. Whether you’re a manager or an employee, listening fosters a safe space for openness and understanding, while good questions encourage discovery.

Finally, growth is a team effort—we rise by lifting others.

Here’s how you can build your negotiation muscle as an Asian American woman (Part 1 of 2)

One of the challenges that Asian women come across on our way to building greater representation in higher leadership comes in the form of unpaid invisible work.

This work could be the administrative tasks that others won’t raise a hand for such as the printing of meeting agenda or ordering of everybody’s lunches. At times, it could be the DEI work that we could be trapped to accept—because there are only a few Asian women at senior leadership who can taken on the assignment.

While I hear the same challenge being mentioned by women across cultures and ethnicities, here are the underlying mindsets that make the experience unique to Asian American women:

MORE RESPONSIBILITIES MEAN MORE SUCCESS.

A mindset that is focused more on quantity, instead of the quality could be a pitfall to an Asian woman’s promotion prospects. Sometimes it could be rooted in the overachiever habits built in school where many Asian immigrant families equate well-roundedness to being involved in many things academically, musically or artistically, and socially.

While this mindset may have helped you succeed in school and in your early career, I call this the Asian woman’s middle management trap.

The way to overcome this is to negotiate for more strategic assignments that business finds valuable and gives you leadership visibility. I understand how DEI work is important so if it energizes you, go for it. Perhaps, the negotiation work for you involves getting the buy-in so this becomes a strategic contribution to your organization.

In the next series, I shall cover two other mindsets: “My immigrant elders taught me not to ruffle any feathers” and “This is a good enough opportunity; saying no makes me ungrateful.”

In the meantime, here’s an excellent resource that gives you more tactical ways to negotiate at work—
‘Negotiating as a Woman of Color’

https://hbr.org/2022/01/negotiating-as-a-woman-of-color

APRIL has been nothing short of amazing.

After a quiet winter spent with a lot of introspection and deep work, I’ve felt energies picking up again this spring. Clients are exploring new possibilities, just as my daughter and I are getting ready to take big steps towards the future.

This week, I had an opportunity to hold a Diversity & Inclusion dialogue with Synagie Inc’s 255-strong employees across Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia & Malaysia) at their virtual town hall. So grateful to have such a rich and wide network of colleagues turned friends over the years!

I look forward to closing the month meaningfully at the Bakersfield Women's Business Conference as a workshop speaker and exhibitor this Tuesday. I heard it will be packed – a sold out event with 1,200 attendees.

Say hello! And see you all.

Growth requires stepping out of your comfort zone.

Some common ways people do this are:
• taking a job in a new industry
• accepting a new project or responsibility
• moving to a new city, state or country
• saying yes to love
• doing what you’ve always feared such as public speaking

In all of these instances, you do not have to entirely wave familiarity away. You can lean on your strengths, glance at somebody you know, listen to a favorite song, or carry that lucky charm in your pocket.

READ what other coaches say on ‘18 Actionable Tips For Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone’ 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/out-the-comfort-zone

📣 📣 📣 NEW GUIDE ANNOUNCEMENT: Leadership Micro-learning on Decision-making

Ever suffered from analysis paralysis? Or felt pressured to make a decision with limited information... at the soonest possible time... while satisfying everyone?

Making decisions is tough, especially when your decision could impact not just operations and bottom lines, but also lives.

In this micro-leaning guide, you will learn the critical skills in decision-making, their applications, and some new frameworks and tactics to optimize your decision-making capabilities.

***

This Lean In Circle (aka Facebook Group) started in 2019 as a social learning community, and has gone through evolutions since then. As we look forward to another year ahead, we are reactivating our micro-learning guides which consist of created and curated resources, reflection prompts, and discussion points to help you grow and develop as a leader.

LEARN with your fellow mid-career Asian & Asian American Women Leaders by joining here: bit.ly/asianwomencircle