Interview with Francisco Lasta: Modern Career Warrior Series @AnneMarieSegal.com

FRANCISCO LASTA is my Modern Career Warrior for April 2020.

As an occupational therapist, Francisco’s career spans the domains of medicine, design and technology, with a healthy dose of emotional intelligence. Among other projects, he consults on artificial intelligence, virtual reality and telehealth, and his ideas and innovations are directly relevant for the global health crisis we are currently facing.

MCW INTERVIEW WITH
FRANCISCO LASTA

FRANCISCO LASTA is our Modern Career Warrior for April 2020. This article is part of a series of mid-career retrospective interviews featuring inspiring and innovative professionals at AnneMarieSegal.com.

Francisco is an occupational therapist whose career spans the domains of medicine, design and technology, with a healthy dose of emotional intelligence. Among other projects, he consults on artificial intelligence, virtual reality and telehealth, and his ideas and innovations are directly relevant for the global health crisis we are currently facing.

AMS: Francisco, my first and lasting impression of you is that you are full of light and always smiling. I assume this is what keeps you centered to do such serious, important work.

FL: Thanks. I always try to keep a positive outlook on everything.

Also, beyond a certain skill level and obvious confidentiality obligations, competency as a therapist lies in how well you are able to make people feel comfortable working with you. As I often tell my patients, “I can help you improve your life and do more of the things you want to do, as long as you trust me.”

AMS: Gaining people’s trust must be harder right now, as the global COVID-19 pandemic is heightening people’s insecurities.

FL: It definitely is. In the midst of coronavirus, I’m actually starting to rely less on smiling to communicate and more on other gestures and cues – as well as sharper reading of body language – since most of us are wearing face masks now with our patients.

AMS: What else has changed for you since COVID-19 hit?

FL: I have been keeping track of any updates regarding the virus ever since the outbreak began in Wuhan, but my initial thoughts were that the U.S. health system would do a much better job. It was when I read the article in Medium by Tomas Pueyo that I really became worried.

Even if we have the full support of our organization, this is still a scary time for healthcare workers. Part of what we do invariably involves being up close and personal with our patients. All the patients I see belong to the most vulnerable group in terms of risk of infection. They are older with multiple medical conditions, and some of them live alone.

AMS: We are all in your debt. You and your colleagues.

FL: Thank you.

AMS: Although the coronavirus is front and center in everyone’s minds at the moment, I also wanted to talk about your career in the larger context.

FL: Of course. And a lot of what I am doing in the technology space is actually very relevant in light of the pandemic, although I was working on most of it beforehand.

AMS: Let’s start with how you became interested in your field. Can you give us an overview of the goals of occupational therapy (OT)? I often think of OT as relating to one’s occupation, although I believe you have told me more than once that’s too limiting of a view.

FL: Actually, it does relate to one’s occupation, but occupation doesn’t have to mean a job. The term “occupation” in OT means what occupies you in your life, how you spend your time. Our main focus is to address whatever is limiting someone from being independent in life.

AMS: That makes sense. Can you also tell us about where you work?

FL: I’m at Premier Point Home Health, and my role has a number of different components, such as home health therapy, telehealth program consultations and optimizing the agency’s app capabilities. At the same time, I’m consulting for NeuroPath to develop an AI-based product.

AMS: And the letters after your name in your LinkedIn profile: OTRL CAPS?

FL: One is my OT registration/license (OTRL). And CAPS, stands for Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist. If you think your readers would be interested, you can share more about Aging-in-Place initiatives on the HUD User site at the links I sent you [available here and here].

AMS: And you said that you are focused on working with older adults.

FL: Yes. I have seen a lot of orthopedic patients, people who have had knee and hip replacements. Many patients are in their 60s through 90s and in general decline, some with dementia or history of stroke, and their disability is exacerbated because of age or other issues. When they leave surgery or a skilled nursing facility, we want to make sure they are safe at home with their new disability. As OTs, our role is to identify the key problems and what are causing them, then create a program with solutions, whether it’s improving a particular skill or modifying their environment or the way they do their day-to-day activities.

AMS: What is it like to work with a patient who has dementia? That must be very hard.

FL: It’s particularly challenging with advanced dementia. We work with caregivers in those situations, spending a lot of time training them on how to avoid things like skin breakdown, falls and joint stiffness, as well as general decline. It often becomes overwhelming for caregivers as the condition progresses, because people can lose their ability to exercise multiple bodily functions, beyond what we traditionally associate with diminished mental capacity.

AMS: These issues are more prevalent with patients whose dementia is advanced, I assume.

FL: Right, these patients are often sitting, sometimes even lying down, for extremely long periods of time and don’t necessarily notice the toll it is taking on their bodies.

AMS: That’s something many of us don’t notice often enough, in fact.

FL: It’s true, and even more acute for that population.

AMS: And for the programs you design? What criteria do you use?

FL: During the assessment, we review medical charts, X-rays and lab results and talk to doctors and other healthcare providers who are taking care of the patient. Of course, we also examine the patient and make a cognitive assessment. For one thing, we look at whether they are recovering from a specific weakness or are in a lot of pain.

Just as important, we ask the patient what their priorities are. Usually we work with patients up to six weeks, sometimes more, so we develop a program we can complete in that time that helps them meet the OT needs they have prioritized. I am also piloting a program at Premier Point where I see a patient once a week indefinitely, which is much less costly [in the long run] than sending them back to the hospital with a problem.

AMS: How did you choose to work with the older population?

FL: I grew up with my grandmother back in the Philippines. She was deeply present and engaged in my early life and had a lasting influence on me.

That experience developed my ability to empathize with older adults on a deeper level and helped me communicate with them more meaningfully.

AMS: Which also, I assume, helped you develop that level of trust you mentioned is so important. I remember you mentioning a few years ago that you worked with some pretty well-known celebrities too. That probably was an exercise in trust as well.

FL: Yes, that was at Warren Barr. Some were celebrities, and others were certainly high-profile personalities. It was quite an experience to work with people whose names you would recognize from the media. As you get to know them better, you realize the they are just like any other patient with the same needs and weaknesses. As they aged, they had the same issues, like being able to pull up their pants without a struggle.

AMS: Was it intimidating to work with them?

FL: Not intimidating, but certainly high touch. In the normal course of OT practice, the first time you are assigned a client, you get a face sheet with information about them. But there were times that our director just showed us a photo or mentioned a name, and that was enough. The face sheet became more of a formality at that point.

AMS: Did this experience change how you work as an OT?

FL: I pride myself on giving the same care to everyone, but these were patients with high expectations. I think it was great, because it caused me to really think about best practices, create better habits and really push myself in my standard of care.

AMS: What other strengths would you say that you bring that help your work as an OT?

FL: Being able to adapt to new situations and think “outside the box” are certainly important, especially on the medical side of things. Also programming languages, which was not something I would have expected. I have surprised myself by sitting down for hours and learn SQL and Python, for example, after learning Swift for iPhone.

Francisco Lasta at his computer

AMS: Do you think apps are a game changer for OT?

Click HERE to continue reading this article.

For the FULL INTERVIEW, please:

click here (PDF version), or

visit AnneMarieSegal.com/mcw-francisco-lasta (online version).

Technology, the “gig economy” and globalization have irrevocably altered the modern career. Launched in January 2020, MODERN CAREER WARRIORS is a series on AnneMarieSegal.com that explores the lives of professionals leading robust, resilient and multi-dimensional careers.

DEPTH, COURAGE AND INTENSITY radiate from these Modern Career Warriors, who defy the odds and define their own paths. While they may, like the rest of us, feel side-lined or even defeated at times, their inner drive keeps driving them to their own personal best and inspires others to do the same.

Feel free to post a question or “like” this post below, and click here to explore more articles in this series. Thanks!

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Anne Marie Segal, founder of Segal Coaching LLC, is an executive coach, resume writer and author of two well-received books on interviewing and career development. She served as a corporate attorney for 15 years, including roles at White & Case LLP and a prominent hedge and private equity fund manager, before launching her coaching practice.

Based in Connecticut not far from New York City, Anne Marie partners with clients internationally on executive presence, impactful communications, graceful transitions and other aspects of professional and personal development.

No portion of this article may be reproduced without prior written permission from Anne Marie Segal (or the copyright holder of any image above), other than limited quotes that reference this article.

Interview with Tom Johnson: Modern Career Warrior Series @AnneMarieSegal.com

THOMAS (TOM) JOHNSON is our Modern Career Warrior for March 2020. My interview with Tom spans his “two careers” at The Clorox Company, his current semi-retirement as a yoga instructor in Fairfield County, Connecticut and his ideas for the future.

In Tom’s early career days, he was constantly on guard about his identity and knew that he missed a lot of opportunities as a result. Upon being offered a plum ex-pat assignment in London, he finally decided it was time to tell his boss he was not a single guy (as many at the company assumed) but in a long-term, committed relationship with his partner, Bruce.

That was in 1995. There were no policies, playbooks or packages for same-sex couples, so Tom was treading new ground. Yet Clorox believed in him and came through for him. Tom stayed at the company another 22 years and became one of the leaders in the movement across Corporate America for greater diversity and acceptance of LGBTQ employees. This is his story.

MCW INTERVIEW WITH
TOM JOHNSON

THOMAS (TOM) JOHNSON is our Modern Career Warrior for March 2020. This article is part of a series of mid-career retrospective interviews featuring inspiring and innovative professionals at AnneMarieSegal.com.

Tom Johnson - Clorox Company

My interview with Tom spans his “two careers” at The Clorox Company, his current semi-retirement as a yoga instructor in Fairfield County, Connecticut and his ideas for the future.

AMS: When I met you, you had just started teaching my Sunday morning yoga class, taking us through warrior poses, downward-facing dogs and the like. I had no idea that you were a veteran corporate executive, let alone one with such a robust career. Although I must admit a certain intensity was evident at our first meeting, even in that setting.

Tom Johnson Warrior Pose

TDJ: I am definitely driven, and that’s probably something I will never retire from. My husband says I am working just as hard as I ever worked [as an executive] at Clorox. Although my work today is not as stressful. I am driven by internal intensity, not external demands.

AMS: I could be biased by my own love of yoga, but should we use it as a lens to view your career? We could start with your perspective 25 years ago, when you took (rather than taught) your first yoga class.

TDJ: Yoga is definitely a key part of my daily life. It has helped me make some courageous choices and keeps me centered, which in turn fueled my professional development.

AMS: And you have already shared with me some of the highlights and challenges of your personal story, as it was featured in Out and Equal at Work: From the Closet to the Corner Office. Did yoga help you come to a better place in your life and career, where you could live more authentically?

TDJ: Well, I didn’t take my first yoga class until after I got to London, so I was already on the path to the life I have today. Yoga helped keep me on the path.

AMS: So where should we start to unpack your story?

TDJ: Well, the guiding narrative of my early career began well before I took my very first job and stems from my childhood in Rochester, Michigan.

AMS: You mean themes such as these from your early life, as you told them in the book?

“I was the sixth of seven children raised in a working-class family of devout Catholics…”

“[M]y father ruled the house without debate, discussion or exception.”

“Growing up, our family never had conversations about sexual orientation. However, I understood at an early age that anyone who did not fit a conventional gender profile was not acceptable in my family or my community.”

“[I] felt like I was the only gay person in the whole state of Michigan.”

TDJ: Yes. Life was very different back then, as some of us still remember and (thankfully) much of the current generation cannot even begin to imagine. It wasn’t until I moved to Boston after college that I finally began the process of accepting who I am.

AMS: How did that change come about?

TDJ: The major shift in my life started when I met Bruce, who became my partner and later my husband.

AMS: What did that change look like?

TDJ: Coming out of the closet?

AMS: Yes, if that’s the best term to use.

TDJ: Well, we still don’t seem to have a better one. Bruce helped me tremendously. He saw the real me, and I finally felt loved and accepted. It was incredibly liberating.

AMS: And then you started telling other people?

TDJ: The whole coming out process happens in stages. It’s not a “one and done” conversation.

AMS: So what happened next?

TDJ: Shortly after we met, I was offered a role in San Francisco, and Bruce decided to join me. We had only intended to be there a few years before returning to the Northeast, but we both found our initial footing in our careers and, well, it was sunny California.

AMS: What were your own career plans at that point?

TDJ: I didn’t have an overarching plan. When I was in my early days at Clorox, I remember thinking, “If I just make it to manager, that would be awesome.” I never imagined that one day I would become a Vice President and considered as a potential candidate for CFO.

AMS: But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

TDJ: [Smiles.] Yes, we are.

AMS: Let’s talk about London.

TDJ: Right. I had been offered other expat roles that I didn’t take, but this time I was chosen for a key assignment and asked to move to London. This was one I really wanted.

AMS: What was the role?

TDJ: The title was Finance Manager, and I would be co-leading business development in Central Europe and the Middle East. Working in Hungary, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia… all out of London.

AMS: Exciting.

TDJ: It was exciting especially for someone who had, at that point, traveled very little outside of the U.S. But it also created a dilemma. I wasn’t going to go to London without Bruce. And my boss didn’t know I was in a relationship.

AMS: You hadn’t told them yet.

TDJ: This was 1995. There was absolutely no indication that coming out would be good for my career. There were no policies protecting LGBTQ employees, no resources available and no LGBTQ employees in leadership roles. If I wanted to advance in my career, it seemed like the safest option was to stay in the closet.

AMS: But the London opportunity was too good to pass up.

TDJ: Yep. They were very keen on me going, but they thought they were sending a single guy. I decided it was finally time to tell my boss about my partner, Bruce.

Click HERE to continue reading this article.

For the FULL INTERVIEW, please:

click here (PDF version), or

visit AnneMarieSegal.com/mcw-tom-johnson (online version).

Feel free to post a question or “like” this post below, and click here to explore more articles in this series. Thanks!

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Interview with Catherine Sorbara: Modern Career Warrior Series @AnneMarieSegal.com

CATHERINE SORBARA is our Modern Career Warrior for February 2020. My interview with Catherine spans her early move from Canada to Germany to pursue a Ph.D., work for the Royal Society of Chemistry in Cambridge, move to industry as she became Chief Operating Officer of Cheeky Scientist and 80-women leadership journey to Antarctica with Homeward Bound. She then relates how that monumental trip transformed her view of our collective (human) place in the world, strengthened her commitment to working in service of the environment and illuminated the next steps of her career trajectory.

MCW INTERVIEW WITH
CATHERINE SORBARA

CATHERINE SORBARA is our Modern Career Warrior for February 2020. This article is part of a series of mid-career retrospective interviews featuring inspiring and innovative professionals at AnneMarieSegal.com.

My interview with Catherine spans her early move from Canada to Germany to pursue a Ph.D., work for the Royal Society of Chemistry in Cambridge, move to industry as she became Chief Operating Officer of Cheeky Scientist and 80-women leadership journey to Antarctica with Homeward Bound. She then relates how that monumental trip transformed her view of our collective (human) place in the world, strengthened her commitment to working in service of the environment and illuminated the next steps of her career trajectory.

AMS: When we met, you were Chief Operations Officer of an organization that helps people with Ph.D.’s build out their career options. Shortly after that, I heard about your participation in a women-led trip to Antarctica.

CS: Yes, I was at Cheeky Scientist, which helps scientists and others trained for a career in academia build their careers in industry, when I heard I was chosen for the Homeward Bound outreach.

AMS: I am tempted to jump in and ask you about Antarctica, but let’s lay the groundwork first.

CS: Starting with my Ph.D. program?

AMS: Well, it seems like that may have been the first of many big changes in your life, at least from a career perspective. You went from living in Canada and finishing an M.S. in Neuroscience at the University of Ottawa to studying Medical Life Science and Technology at the Technische Universität München. What prompted you to move to Germany?

CS: Since I was a teenager, I have always wanted to live in Europe. I grew up near Niagara Falls, and the furthest place we went on vacation was Toronto, only 90 minutes away! I never had the chance to travel internationally, despite having family roots in Italy. So when I was accepted into the Ph.D. program, I was more than ready to make the move. My last hurrah was the Boston Marathon, and off to Germany I went!

AMS: Studying in Germany satisfied your travel bug while advancing your career goals.

CS: Yes! That’s one great thing about being a scientist. It gives you the opportunity to travel and meet interesting people. The position in Germany also drew me because I could do innovative, advanced research on neurodegenerative diseases, looking at things at a cellular level.

AMS: Is that what you did in the master’s degree program as well?

CS: Before that, I was focused on Alzheimers, another neurodegenerative disease. In my Ph.D., I shifted my focus to multiple sclerosis (MS).

AMS: I saw your list of publications on LinkedIn, which is a bit intimidating for your average reader. Your titles range, for example, include “Pervasive axonal transport deficits in multiple sclerosis models” to “A reversible form of axon damage in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis.” Can you translate this for non-scientists who want to understand what you were working on?

CS: Sure. We were looking at MS from the perspective of how cells communicate with one another. We wanted to know if there was a break in communication from one cell to another that led to or exasperated the disease.

AMS: It certainly sounds easier when you explain it that way. How did you do that?

CS: We did live cell imaging of the spinal cord in animals. We could fluorescently label cells and organelles and watch the movement before and during the disease, including the breakdown of the immune system.

AMS: Did your hypothesis bear out? Was there a breakdown in communication?

CS: Yes. There is indeed a miscommunication between cells before any symptoms of MS actually appear.

AMS: Miscommunication between cells and organelles? Or are the organelles communicating information from cell to cell?

CS: It’s cell-to-cell communication through the organelles. Here’s an easier way to think about it. Imagine train tracks. The tracks are located in the arms of each neuron cell and help pass information from one neuron cell to another. Organelles, such as mitochondria, are moved along these tracks to aid in the distribution of this information.

AMS: So MS blocks the movement of the organelles?

CS: Yes. Early in the disease, these organelles become stuck on the track and can’t bring the communication from one cell to another.

AMS: That’s scary as well as fascinating.

CS: It is! Of course, one of the next steps, of course, is to try to fix the train tracks – which are actually neural pathways – to prevent the disease.

AMS: Is this what you might be doing now if you had stayed in academia?

CS: It definitely could have been.

AMS: What changed?

Cathy Sorbara giving a presentation to other women leaders in Antarctica.

CS: I interviewed for a postdoc [postdoctoral fellowship] at University of Cambridge. I came in, gave a presentation and met everyone in the lab. Everyone seemed to like me, and I was feeling really good about my chances of landing it. Then I got a phone call from the professor the following day.

AMS: Not what you wanted to hear?

Click HERE to continue reading this article.

For the FULL INTERVIEW, please:

click here (PDF version), or

visit AnneMarieSegal.com/mcw-catherine-sorbara (online version).

Feel free to post a question or “like” this post below, and click here to explore more articles in this series. Thanks!

Yoga Mantra: Take a Comfortable Seat (In Your Career)

Welcome to a new decade and my first article in a monthly series, Off the Mat: Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career.

Through this new series, I am creating a space in which I can support clients and readers who are interested in and receptive to furthering their yogic wisdom by providing a means to translate yoga principles to their careers.

This month’s mantra is fitting for the New Year and often incorporated into yoga classes during the first few days of the year (and other times): set an intention.

Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career

If you have ever been to a yoga class, you know that you are often invited to “take a comfortable seat.” You can sit on the floor or on a yoga block, bolster or zafu meditation cushion, and you are encouraged to choose the position that is most comfortable for you.

Relatively comfortable, that is. Not “cozy all tucked in your bed” comfortable, but the seat that feels most relaxed but allows you to stay alert at the same time.

Many of us, at least in the West, are not as accustomed to sitting without a chair or couch that has a back to rest on. We have do not have our core muscles sufficiently developed to keep our spine straight and pelvis stabilized. As we learn how to engage those muscles, we might be encouraged to imagine the pelvis like a bowl that can be tilted forward or back. Your goal is to find the right angle for proper alignment – keep the pelvic bowl level so you don’t (by analogy) spill the soup!

Yoga teachers, for example, may remind us to extend our spine from our sacrum to the base of our skull and relax our neck so our heads feel like they are simply floating. The image helps you internalize the ease and space you can create for yourself. A key takeaway is that we create much less stress in our bodies if we are in optimum alignment and can relax whatever muscles are not needed to maintain the pose.

That’s what you’ll learn in a yoga class – if you have the right teacher – and you can also learn similar concepts from a physical therapist, chiropractor or other health professional. The point of the comfortable seat in yoga, of course, is to help you free yourself (mind, body and spirit) for the work that you’ll do while seated in the class and be able to take that with you as you move off the mat.

THE “COMFORTABLE SEAT” OF YOUR CAREER

As I mentioned in my first article in this series, Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career is focused on translating yoga wisdom to our professional lives.

We can take the suggestion to “take a comfortable seat” literally, creating an ergonomic workplace and striving for good posture that allows us to relax and our energy to flow freely up and down our spines. That would be a great extension of the yogic wisdom of the phrase.

Yet the concept of the comfortable seat can also be imagined as moving beyond the literal and into the higher plane of how you align yourself professionally. The idea of relaxing while maintaining alertness – holding both of these goals in your mind simultaneously – is the aspect of the comfortable seat that gives us the richest metaphor applicable to our careers.

If you are getting hung up on the words pelvic bowl and spinal alignment, just imagine a cat. They are the masters of relaxed alertness, as they are able to sink comfortably and entirely into a space – as if they have not an ounce of tension in their bodies – yet be on the ready should their environment change on a moment’s notice.

Rather than arriving at a comfortable posture, many of us tilt (our career, if not our pelvis) too far forward or too far back. On the one end, we push too far into the future or in one direction or another, hurried and dissatisfied with ourselves, our choices, responses from others or the progress we have made in our careers. On the other end, we may fail to be sufficiently forward-looking, resting on our laurels or even feeling overwhelmed defeated and therefore falling back in our (again metaphorical) seats. In either case, we are not using our core strength to keep us balanced, centered and at ease.

When we are not setting ourselves up for ease, we need to devote more of our energies to maintaining our current position and have less energy available to access the opportunities that would present themselves if we were in an optimum state. When we are not alert, we can become complacent and miss those opportunities. The wisdom is to find the balance that brings both of these states together.

How can you achieve the optimum state of relaxed alertness in your career?
What would be different if you did?

Anne Marie Segal is an executive coach, resume writer and author of two well-received books on interviewing and career development. She served as a corporate attorney for 15 years, including roles at White & Case LLP and a prominent hedge and private equity fund manager, before launching her coaching practice. In addition to her career coach and resume writer certifications, she is a certified yoga teacher.

This article is not medical advice. It is career advice!

Interview with Sandy Baggett: Modern Career Warrior Series @AnneMarieSegal.com

SANDY WORKMAN BAGGETT is our Modern Career Warrior for January 2020. This article is the first in a series of mid-career retrospective interviews featuring inspiring and innovative professionals at AnneMarieSegal.com.

Holding a highly prolific career, Sandy has been a federal prosecutor in three countries, led at least ten “once in a lifetime” cases and was recognized as one of the top 100 women in criminal investigations by Global Investigations Review.

MCW INTERVIEW WITH
SANDY BAGGETT

SANDY WORKMAN BAGGETT is our MODERN CAREER WARRIOR for January 2020.

Sandy is the first in a series of mid-career retrospective interviews featuring inspiring and innovative professionals at AnneMarieSegal.com.

My interview with Sandy covers her journey from Judge Advocate (JAG) and Captain in the U.S. Army to federal criminal defense attorney based in Spokane, Washington. She is eagerly awaiting Spokane’s “real winter” – with an average of eight to ten inches of snow – and loving every minute of it!

We also take a world tour of Sandy’s roles as a prosecutor on three continents, including with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office (New York City), Serious Fraud Office (London) and Attorney General’s Chambers (Singapore), and as a criminal defense attorney at a top U.K. firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Singapore and New York City).

Holding a highly prolific career, Sandy has led at least ten “once in a lifetime” cases and was recognized as one of the top 100 women in criminal investigations by Global Investigations Review. Her global expertise has given her a remarkable level of flexibility to create her own career trajectory. Finally, I couldn’t resist getting the scoop on her house renovations, including a chicken coop in the backyard, as a single mom of three boys.

AMS: When I met you around 20 years ago, you were a JAG Corps lawyer, married and living in a cozy house in New Jersey with a quaint front porch.

SWB: Don’t put that in! About the 20 years, I mean.

AMS: Do you remember your push-up challenge? One time you had at least eight friends over one evening, and you could do more push-ups than the rest of us combined.

SWB: That does sound like me. Always up for a challenge.

AMS: Fitness hasn’t changed about your life, but it seems like just about everything else has.

SWB: I’m the same person I’ve always been, just more confident of myself and closer to my core. And yes, I am all about keeping healthy and exercising.

AMS: Speaking of challenges (and physical fitness), how did your early work in the Army set you up for the rest of your career?

SWB: Military training is truly unparalleled. One of the most important things you learn is how to be an integral part of a well-functioning team. It translates to everything else in your career.

AMS: Your next stop was an apartment in Queens, and you moved from JAG to the Bronx D.A.

SWB: Yep. We lived in an up-and-coming neighborhood in Long Island City, with a great view of Manhattan from our rooftop!

The D.A. was where I learned to prep, lead and win important cases. I specialized in violent crimes, like murder and armed robbery by drug gangs. I also worked on the Cold Case Squad.

AMS: Like the show Cold Case with Kathryn Morris?

SWB: [Laughs.] Not exactly like that, but some of the cases were pretty compelling. And it’s important work.

AMS: Then you moved to Singapore. Literally on the other side of the planet.

SWB: Yes, it was quite a change. I loved it there. We moved after my ex-husband was offered an expat role with a U.S. firm. Neither of us spoke Chinese, but that didn’t stop us. I didn’t have a work visa at first but soon joined the law faculty at the National University of Singapore.

AMS: And you started a family in Singapore.

SWB: That’s right. As you know, when I was younger, I was never really focused on having children. But I ended up having three, all boys, and never looked back.

AMS: Career-wise, what was your next move?

SWB: I became a Prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Chambers focused on Financial and Securities Offenses, which are looming issues in Singapore (just like everywhere else), especially because of its strategic location in Asia.

AMS: What was that like?

SWB: It took everything I learned in the D.A.’s office and brought it to a much larger scale. I was prosecuting all of the major crimes under international law: corruption, wire fraud, money laundering, sanctions, you name it…. I also became a global expert on U.S. and U.N. sanctions on North Korea and continue to get calls about that here in Spokane.

AMS: You told me that you’re fortunate to have had at least ten “once in a lifetime” cases in your career as a federal prosecutor. Can you tell us about a few of them?

SWB: Two were especially interesting. In one case, I prosecuted Chinpo Shipping after they financed a shipment of nuclear weapons on route from Cuba to North Korea. It was the first criminal prosecution for violations of U.N. sanctions of financial assistance to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. It was covered in the Washington Post and other publications.

AMS: Like your earlier cold cases, this sounds like it could be the plot of a movie.

SWB: So true! The other is the Rolls Royce global corruption case. I collaborated on that prosecution during my secondment to the Serious Fraud Office in London. We generally think of Rolls Royce for cars, but these were multi million-dollar bribes for government contracts in their aircraft and energy divisions. The Department of Justice ((DOJ) coordinated a $170M global settlement agreement.

And last year I was recognized as one of the top 100 women in criminal investigations by Global Investigations Review. That was rewarding. I was honored to be among such good company.

AMS: How did you decide to leave government service in Singapore to join a top international law firm? Was that something you have always wanted to do?

For the FULL INTERVIEW, please:

click here (PDF version), or

visit AnneMarieSegal.com/mcw-sandy-baggett (online version).

Feel free to post a question or “like” this post below, and click here to explore more articles in this series. Thanks!

Published on January 23, 2020.

No portion of this article may be reproduced without prior written permission from Anne Marie Segal (or the copyright holder of any image above), other than limited quotes that reference this article.

Yoga Mantra for January 2020: Set an Intention for the New Year

Welcome to a new decade and my first article in a monthly series, Off the Mat: Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career.

This month’s mantra is fitting for the New Year and often incorporated into yoga classes during the first few days of the year (and other times): set an intention.

Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career

Welcome to a new decade and my first article in a monthly series, Off the Mat: Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career.

WHY I AM WRITING THIS SERIES

When I work with clients, I often incorporate wisdom accessed from my yoga training – I became a certified yoga teacher in 2012 – and ongoing practice.

I am not always explicit about yoga as the source of such wisdom, however, because not everyone finds yoga accessible or personally meaningful to their own lives.

Through this new series, I am creating a space in which I can support clients and readers – among those who are interested in and receptive to furthering their yoga wisdom – by providing a means to translate yoga principles to their careers.

Essentially, in this series I bring yoga to the foreground. Yet these aren’t yoga lessons in the traditional sense. I won’t teach half moon pose, alternate nostril breathing or how to flip your dog. In Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career, we are explicitly taking our yoga off the mat.

How can a (new or existing) yoga practice enlighten your career? How can you integrate what you learn on the mat into your personal or professional life?

This series is my gift to you. In the spirit of yoga, take what serves you and leave the rest.

YOGA MANTRAS

There are traditional yoga mantras straight from the Upanishads, such as Lokah samastah sukinoh bhavantu (translation: may all beings everywhere be happy and free), and more contemporary mantras based on yoga principles.

In Yoga Mantras for the Modern Career, I am building on the idea that every action in our lives can be a meditation and every instruction in a yoga class, however small, can become a mantra.

More specifically, since this site is about leadership, professional development and related areas, the mantras in this series will be in support of your life and career.

THIS MONTH’S YOGA MANTRA:
SETTING AN INTENTION

This month’s mantra is fitting for the New Year and often incorporated into yoga classes during the first few days of the year (and other times): set an intention.

When we set an intention in yoga practice, we do it in present tense, such as:

I live in the present moment.

The goal is not simply to have your intention on the mat (while practicing yoga) but to take it with you as you move off the mat (into the rest of your life). In the context of your personal and professional life, you might set another intention that serves you:

I have a great career.

I speak fluent Spanish.

I live in New York City.

An intention is stated in present tense, even if it is not your current state. By wording it in the present, you can see yourself as if you have already achieved – and thereby activate the power of – your intention.

Once articulated, your vision is transformed into action through:

continuing to bring your awareness back to the intention,
maintaining a commitment to the intention (for yogis, this is the tapas or fiery discipline of the Niyamas),
holding a confident belief you can achieve it, and
taking active steps to realize your intention.

When clients come to me seeking a career change, promotion or new job, for example, we work (explicitly or implicitly) on some or all aspects of the above.

First, I help them clarify, articulate and prioritize their intention.

On a very granular level, what does it mean to you to have a great career? (This is a version of the classic coaching question, “What does success look like for you?”)

What is working in your professional life, what needs to change and what specifically would that change look like?

What are the obvious and not so obvious things that would need to shift?

What would you be doing on a day-to-day level (which type of projects, what type of team or individual work, what working environment, how much oversight, etc.)?

The more you can clarify your intention, the more effectively you can keep it on the front burner and take concrete steps to realize it. You may also find that a more specific career or other intention will not only enable a richer and more robust visualization but also increase your ability to keep your awareness on the intention rather than giving way to the inevitable distractions that each moment presents.

Second, we work on increasing their confidence.

You may have confidence across many aspects of your life, but to achieve your intention you need to have the confidence that you can actually bring it to fruition and maintain that confidence through the process of creating the reality your intention represents.

Third, we devise active, effective steps to realize their intention.

This third aspect works in tandem with the second one, as your confidence will increase as you outline and begin to take active steps to put your intention into action. This may include, for example, moving out of your comfort zone, acquiring new skills or meeting people who can help you realize your goal.

Since the steps to creating a great career may be very specific to your individual case, let’s take a look at the implementation plan for a more universal intention, like foreign language acquisition. If your intention is to be fluent in Spanish, you may decide to take some or all of the following steps:

launch a weekly “Spanish table” lunch group or other gatherings among friends or colleagues,
find and listen to Spanish-language podcasts or songs during your morning commute,
engage in community service that exposes you to native Spanish speakers,
make a list of and watch top or classic movies or TV shows in Spanish (with or without English subtitles), from an Almodovar classic to Roma or even Jane the Virgin (which is partially in Spanish),
hire (or barter English lessons with) a Spanish tutor,
get and use magnets and/or flashcards with words and pictures in Spanish,
keep a diary in Spanish,
read books or magazines in Spanish,
do yoga in Spanish (hint: you can get your perro hacia abajo (down dog) going with a plethora of YouTube videos for every range of fitness level and special interest), and/or
prepare for and take one or more trips to Spain or Latin America during the year.

The overarching theme is to come at the same intention from a variety of perspectives – in this case, to create an immersion in the Spanish language – which is the same advice I would give for your career or any other aspect of your life.

Remember that part of the wisdom of putting your intention in the present tense is to recognize that you may not need to start from scratch or make a 180-degree turn to realize your goal. If your intention is to have a great career, you may start with recognizing what is already “great” about the current state of your professional life. Do you hold a leadership role? Have a great team? Relish the intellectual challenge? Make a lasting contribution to a cause you support?

If your intention is to be fluent in Spanish, build on what you already do and cherish in your life. So if you are an avid cook, you can start to follow recipes from cookbooks written in Spanish or talk yourself through the steps of your cooking in Spanish and explore any words you are missing. For example, in the phrase “ahora, voy a poner el agua a hervir….” if you don’t know the word for boil (hervir) or always forget that water (agua) uses the article “el” rather than “la,” you can remember both in the context of the sentence.

Although I spend a lot of time above giving examples of steps to illustrate the importance of putting your intention into action, the execution process is not more important than the setting of the intention in the first place. (It simply has more steps, as an intention by its nature is short and sweet.)

You can have the best implementation plan in the world, but if you don’t keep your intention alive and continue to bring your awareness back to it, outlining the steps will get you nowhere. We will meet here again month after month, New Year after New Year, and you will ask me why you have not (sufficiently) progressed. I am certain that is not what you seek!

Instead, post your intention at the top of your mat or on your bathroom mirror – literally, with a sticker or sticky note – and return to it every day.

MY OWN INTENTION FOR 2020

My own intention for the New Year is the first one written above:

I live in the present moment.

Carter at the Beach for New Year's

At Compo Beach for New Year's

Yesterday, on January 1, I took my dog (Carter) to Compo Beach for the first time. It was windy and cold but lovely nonetheless. Carter was ecstatic, and I had lot of fun keeping pace as he raced and frolicked across the beach.

Today is a new day and another chance to reset or refine my intention.

Happy New Year! What’s your intention?

Befriend Your Inner Naysayer: It May Be Trying to Tell You Something Worthwhile

SELF-SABOTAGE can happen at any the time. We try to create something important to us, whether it’s greater leadership or a deeper sense of calm, and we get in our own way. The internal naysayer takes the lead, and we convince ourselves that it’s easier to stick with what we have.

Except that it’s not easier. You feel the call to change because there’s a fundamental imbalance in your life. Something that’s not working anymore.

So how can you change the way you talk to yourself?

SELF-SABOTAGE.

It can happen at any the time. To any of us.

We try to change our lives or create something important to us, whether it’s greater leadership or a deeper sense of calm.

And boom. We talk ourselves out of it.

It’s too….

Hard
Expensive
Long
Boring
Intense
Unrealistic
Unwanted
Different

Whatever the reason(s), we get in our own way. The internal naysayer takes the lead, and we convince ourselves that it’s easier to stick with what we have.

Except that it’s not easier. You feel the call to change because there’s a fundamental imbalance in your life. Something that’s not working anymore. A job, a relationship or even a deeply held belief that needs to change.

After all, if it were truly easier, you wouldn’t be called to change. You wouldn’t have the nagging feeling that keeps you up at night or the emotional turmoil that haunts you during the day. You would have a sense of purpose. A sense of calm.

Even if the change is not within your power, and you are adjusting to a change that you didn’t want, there will be an emotional gap – and possibly other gaps – between clinging to the past and embracing the change. This gap will take a toll that is ultimately harder to bear than taking the necessary steps to adjust to and actively redirect your life or situation.

Would you like an example?

Say you were laid off from a job. Your instinct could be to close off from the world, lick your wounds, protect yourself and mourn the loss. Yet what you likely need most, after a few days to regroup, is to get out and find another opportunity.

Your internal naysayer (a.k.a. worry brain) says:

“You should have seen this coming.”

“You don’t have the time for this.”

“Why did you have to screw this up?”

“You are getting older. No one is going to want to hire you.”

Or any of many other negative messages that people feed themselves.

The crux of the problem is this: your naysayer can’t simply be silenced. It needs to be heard, because it’s telling you something important. It houses the deep-seated fears that developed over the course of a lifetime.

While your naysayer can’t be silenced, it can be befriended and turned into an ally. To do that, you need to make a mindset change before the intended change.

Are you ready?

First, take a deep breath. Inhale and exhale. Maybe a few breaths….

Then venture into the forest of your fears. Visit as an invited guest. Stay a while and see what lies there and what you can learn.

If your worry brain is whispering (or yelling) at you, take time to explore it.

A message like “this is all your fault” or “this change is beyond your grasp” has a deeper meaning behind it, and if you can grasp the meaning, you can find value in the fear.

This is all your fault.

Rarely is anything ALL your fault. But assume for a moment that your naysayer brain is squarely assessing you with a great deal of blame.

Remember, the naysayer can’t be silenced. Nor should it. It’s there to warn you of danger, and you can trust its intuition. The problem is, while the naysayer is good at identifying possible danger, it is not as good at quantifying it. That’s the job of another part of you: your ability to problem-solve and reason, which you can only do if you are not emotionally charged.

So try an experiment. Befriend the naysayer and thank it for its insight. Then tell it:

“Rather than focusing on blame, let’s see what we can learn from this situation. There are certainly ways I can develop greater foresight and resilience.”

Or simply:

“Thanks for the warning. I’m good.”

The naysayer (worry brain) part of yourself can then calm down, because you have changed the way you talk to yourself.

This change is beyond your grasp.

If your internal naysayer is raising a stink that a change is too much for you, take a walk into the forest of your fears. What can you learn?

Is it a good change for you?
Are there hidden consequences you should explore?
Is there an easier way to get where you want to go?
Could you break a larger change into stages?
Are important people in your life going to be disturbed by this change?
Do you have mixed emotions yourself that are worth exploring?

Explore these questions and any others that arise. Write down what occurs to you as you meditate on the change. You can use either stream-of-consciousness writing or a tighter, more structured exploration on a whiteboard or the equivalent. Whatever you do, get it down on the page so you can sort, quantify and evaluate what you are thinking and feeling about the change.

Engaging in this mindset work to acknowledge – rather than try to supersede or hide – your fears will strengthen your resolve and give you greater ease in the change management process. Befriending your inner naysayer will help you create a fruitful internal dialogue about your goals, appropriate risks and the best way to navigate both the changes you elect to make and the ones that appear in your life.

Feel free to make a comment, post a question or “like” this post below. Thanks!

Anne Marie Segal is an executive coach, resume writer and author of two well-received books on interviewing and career development. She served as a corporate attorney for 15 years, including roles at White & Case LLP and a prominent hedge and private equity fund manager, before launching her coaching practice. Based in Connecticut not far from New York City, Anne Marie partners with clients internationally on executive presence, impactful communications, graceful transitions and other aspects of professional and personal development.

Coming in early 2020:

The 28-Day Career Mindset Journey at Segal Online 24/7

You may also like:

Old Dog, New Tricks: What Can You Change Before Year End?

The Ultimate Holiday Dilemma: Donut v. Orange (Or, Practical Strategies for Better Decisionmaking)

For a list of articles by topic on AnneMarieSegal.com, click here.

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