What would you do if you couldn't fail?

House of Hong Restaurant, Seattle -  This was the question I asked at a recently held Women of Power Luncheon hosted by Assunta Ng, Publisher of the NW Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post newspapers.  Before I get to the answer of that question, though, let me first tell you that this luncheon, now in its third year, benefits one of NAAAP Seattle's partners, the Executive Development Institute (EDI). Twelve lucky auction winners from EDI's Inclusion Fusion held earlier this year got to lunch with some very powerful women. In fact, I had the privilege and pleasure of being seated at one of the tables. I'll introduce them one by one as I go through their stories.

Women of Power Luncheon (l to r) Martha Choe, Donna Giordano, Grace Chien, and Amelia Ransom Letcher (Not pictured: Sandra Madrid)

As the food arrived, Donna Giordano, President of the Quality Food Centers (QFC), shared what she thought were her keys to success(es); that was:

• to listen and learn from others;
• to take any job offered as it would lead people to know that you're the obvious choice when opportunities arose;
• to know you are in the driver's seat of your career;
• to know and articulate your value; and most of all,
• to have a positive attitude as this will assist you in achieving results, both at home and at work. 

Next, the top Girl Scout or CEO, Grace Chien, made a point to stand firm with your commitments and define successes and failures in relation to these.

Martha Choe, Chief Administrative Officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and also a 2010 NAAAP100 recipient, talked not only about change, but about having it be sustained and lasting. She talked about how important it is to building lasting and effective relationships and used the term, "total leadership", when addressing one's well-being: mind, body and soul. Said another way, "When you're health isn't well, neither is your leadership."

When addressing work life-balance, "there is no perfect balance and it's a matter of balancing daily or weekly based on what is important to you. Put another way, if you are on your death bed, would you regret having gone to one more meeting?"

(l to r) Sandra Madrid, Carol Butterfield and Sandi Heddington

Now, Amelia Ransom Letcher, VP Corp Diversity Affairs at Nordstrom, rallied around people first and effective communication. Can you imagine the power in having people believe flowers grow in concrete? Getting to this level of effectiveness can help you become very influential.

Sandra Madrid, Sr. Advisor to the Dean, UW, shared a story about her own career transition. She was let go from the UW after 20 years of service. Her main point was to be part of a community because no one can do it by themselves. It was with the community's support that she got her job back at the UW.

As by now, I'm guessing you want to know what they said when asked, "what would you do if you couldn't fail?" I asked this question because throughout our careers we face fear and indecision and having gone through this themselves, they would give really good insight. Well, in short, the answer was not surprising. To paraphrase what each one of them said, "I would do anything".

Given that we're already on the topic of powerful women, I would like now to take a moment to let you know about the Women in NAAAP! program, which is our own program created and developed to build competent and confident women leaders within NAAAP and within the Asian Pacific community. If you don't already know about it, you can visit our website.

Special thanks to Char Grinolds of EDI and Assunta Ng, Publisher of NW Asian Weekly and the Chinese Seattle Post newspapers for creating a great meeting.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle

President

Leaving a Mark on the University of Washington (UW)

Photos by Lori Call © Alabastro Photography

Mark Emmert after six years of having been the University of Washington President has accepted the honorable position of President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In a farewell event at Kane Hall last week, many acknowleged his contributions to the history of the university. He is leaving the University of Washington having many achievements including creating new colleges: the UW College of the Environment and the Department of Global Health, which was done in collaboration with the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and with tremendous support from the Gates Foundation.

In words said at this event, President Emmert built a diverse administration based on merit and knowledge-based perspectives. In addition, his focus on social justice and responsibility led to the Long Journey Home event, in which Nikkei graduates of 1941-1942, who had been denied the opportunity to complete their higher-education at the UW during World War II, were honored with degrees .  This also served as an opportunity to recognize present and future generations of Japanese Americans and more broadly the Asian American community. The University of Washington was the first university to advocate providing honorary degrees to the Nikkei graduates of 1941-1942. Other universities, such as Berkeley, have since followed the leadership of the UW. (Note: You can read more about Japansese American history at Densho)

Photos by Lori Call © Alabastro Photography

Phyllis Wise will take on the role as President of the University of Washington. It's definitely a first, since she will be the first Asian American woman to hold the position. His wife, DeLaine, accomplished herself, will be leaving with Mark after having made contributions to the community in terms of environmental sustainability and wildlife preservation.

Congratulations to Mark, DeLaine and Phyllis on their new roles.

Thanks to the University of Washington, the Executive Development Institute, and UnionBank for organizing the program. Special thanks to community leaders Ted Yamamura, a former NAAAP Seattle President, Diane Adachi, Dr. Testu Kashima, Dennis Yamashita, and Dr. Phyllis Wise for their speeches.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

"The Power Grid" - An EDI Leadership Navigation session

Federal Way, Wa - At the Weyerhauser Headquarters last friday, Executive Development Institute (EDI)Leadership Navigation program participants met for its 7th session entitled Gamesmanship: Knowing Your Field of Play and How to Create Wins and learn from executive mentors on organizational politics. (Note: the Leadership navigation program is for mid- to senior level professionals having displayed managerial, entrepreneurial and leadership skills.)

I had the privilege of sitting in and taking part in the discussions.  The session's distinguished executive mentors included George S Kikuchi (US Postal Service Executive, retired); John Okamoto (Executive Director, Washington Education Association); Jenette Ramos (Director, Business Operations, Fabrication; Boeing Commercial Airplanes); and Marvin (Ray) Risco (Vice President of International Operations at Weyerhauser).

What I learned was that organizational politics are as old as the history of business. This session looked at the role of power and politics within organizations.

I widened my awareness, gained a better understanding and tools needed to be able to assess the relevant “rules of the Game” and developed effective strategies and skills to succeed in any organization. More importantly, I wanted to be a much more skillful player.  For example, George mentioned to gain power yourself, you need to start with yourself, expand your circle of influence, and be aware when power is granted to you because identifying the invisible power grid underlying the field of organizational dynamics allows us to appreciate what’s really happening versus what we hear or see taking place. Knowing this gave me, I think, a significant strategic advantage in being able to influence decisions, move projects along and close critical deals.

I want to thank EDI's Executive Director, Starr MacDonald and session facilitator, Colleen Yamaguchi for granting me this privilege. Thanks!

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Expanding Local Asian Community Services

Part celebration and part fundraising, local Asian non-profits held events last month to support the Asian community in areas such as healthcare, economic and leadership development, and many more. These organizations have been one of the hardest hit from the economy and it was great to see many in the community showing their support and giving generously. In addition, many volunteers gave their time - alot of it behind the scenes. 

Now in June the Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC), a local multi-language organization providing information, referral, advocacy, social, and support services will host their Friendship Dinner on June 12th at Olive 8 and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), a King county area food bank serving 5000 families will hold their annual Walk for Rice on June 19th at Seward Park.

Picture 1. Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority's (SCIDpda) 2010 ID Spring Roll held on May 24th at Union Station.

Picture 2. Me and Dow Constantine, King County Executive

Picture 3. The Executive Development Institute's Inclusion Fusion Event held on May 20th at SODO Park.

Picture 4. The Executive Development Institute's Inclusion Fusion Event (Full view)

Organization Links:

• Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS): http://www.acrs.org/
• Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC): http://www.cisc-seattle.org/
• International Examiner: http://www.iexaminer.org/
• Executive Development Institute (EDI): http://www.ediorg.org/
• Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda): http://www.scidpda.org/
• International Community Health Services (ICHS): http://www.ichs.com/

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Your values

I happened to be at ACRS at the EDI Leadership Conference where Chee Chew, an engineering director at Google gave the opening keynote. At Google, Chee leads a team of 300+ engineers. I never met Chee, but he came out in a blue sweater and jeans and gym shoes. "So what," you say? Well read on as what he wears says something about his values.

He started off with showing us pictures and asking us which we related to most.

Picture series A

Blue sky bridge vs a Sunset (Blue)

Timex vs Rolex (Functionality)

Hooded sweatshirt vs Tuxedo (Functionality)

Grand Piano vs Electronic Piano (Maintenance)

Washington DC vs Rome (New adventurous places)

Key: Chee's picks (Chee's Values)

I picked the sunset, rolex, hooded sweatshirt, grand piano, and Washington dc. I am sure other folks picked something else. As it relates to Chee, he chose the Blue sky, the timex , the hooded sweatshirt , the Electric piano , and then Rome .

He later described why he picked the pictures he chose, an indication of his values. He chose the Blue sky picture for blue; the timex for functionality; the hooded sweatshirt for functionality; the Electric piano for its easy maintenance, and then Rome for his love of adventurous places.

He then showed us another picture series and asked us to pick the pictures he would choose based on his given values. Which ones do you think he picked?

Picture series B

Red Acura vs Blue Honda (Blue)

ChoiceDek Recycled vs Wood Deck (Maintenance)

Knife vs utility knife (Functionality)

Gym Shoe vs Dress Shoe (Functionality)

Africa vs Seattle (New adventurous places)

Key: Chee's picks (Chee's Values)

I admit, I struggled a bit as some of my values got in the way. Knowing his values, it was a bit easier for me to pick the pictures that would he would pick.

Chee then dialogued about meetings he attended for his group and watched the decision making process. In the earlier part of his career as he grew into management roles, he admitted that he was more hands on yet the bigger his team got, this management style didn't work for his worklife balance as he spent a lot of time fixing issues and he had to be in the room to make decisions.  He realized that this process didn't scale as his team globally grew. He had to state his values to his team so that they could speak to what Chee would decide if he wasn't there.  (The exercise above demonstrates this.)

The lesson to be learned with Chee is to be open about your values and to be self aware of your management style meaning are you hands on or are you consistently sharing your values to help your team make decisions?

Regards,

Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Additional Links:

○ Google, Inc.: http://www.google.com/

○ Executive Development Institute: http://www.ediorg.org/

○ Asian Counseling and Referral Service: http://www.acrs.org/

○ Authentic Leadership by Bill George: http://bit.ly/ddNOmG

In Your Time

Mahatma Ghandi in his time led his country India to freedom. Benjamin Franklin in his time invented the lighting rod and was a founding father of the United States. And Barack Obama in his time became the first African American to earn the spot of the 44th President of the United States . These great leaders had something in common: purpose. What purpose guides you? What is it that you'll be known for? Is it to be the best leader, parent, athlete or manager?

Having a purpose guides you. It opens up actions to take and pulls you forward to be great. For example, being the best musician (your purpose) takes a lot of practice (actions you'd take). You'd also hire a teacher, buy a piano and music, enter recitals, study music, and play everyday. Similarly, becoming a leader (your purpose) takes great practice (actions you'd take). You'd also need to build skills in communication, look for opportunities, network, understand issues, listen for other's commitments and to their greatness. Most of all, you need to stand for your purpose.

Now where do you begin after you define your purpose? If it's to be a leader, there are a variety of organizations you can take part in to support your purpose. Take part in the National Association of Asian American Professionals Seattle Chapter. Take part in the Executive Development Institute as well as Landmark Education. And commit time and be open to the experience. I promise you will be in your time a leader with purpose.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Additional Links:

• National Association of Asian American Professionals Seattle Chapter - http://seattle.naaap.org/Welcome.do
• Executive Development Institute - http://www.ediorg.org/
• Landmark Education - http://www.landmarkeducation.com/
• Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics - http://www.leap.org/
• Asian Pacific Leadership Community Foundation - http://aclfnorthwest.org/
• Ascend Pan-Asian Leaders - http://www.ascendleadership.org/display/router.aspx