What’s Your Cathedral Story? | Jonathan Haberkorn

What’s Your Cathedral Story? | Jonathan Haberkorn

#31: What’s Your Cathedral Story? | Jonathan Haberkorn

Are you completing a task or working towards a bigger vision?  If you have a Cathedral Story your work, your goals – your life will have more meaning.

As the cofounder of Intrizen, Jonathan Haberkorn specializes in making sense of complex processes and organizing them in a way that emphasizes human interaction first. By prioritizing the people who will be using the system and through promoting connections, Jonathan’s purpose fuels his craft.

Show Notes

If we’re going to spend the majority of our time doing work, there’s got to be a good reason and meaning behind it. That’s where the shift is. When you do land on where you feel like you’re in line with your purpose, it is easier to see the impacts, and you become a servant of that.”

– Jonathan Haberkorn

A serendipitous dinner conversation with Jonathan took place a few years ago and stuck with me.  I was moved by a story he told about the time when the magnitude of his work was unexpectedly revealed.  I call it a Cathedral Story.

Start with Purpose

Charging you work with purpose endows you with a greater sense of congruence between your professional and personal lives. Work then goes beyond the transactional aspects; supporting a life of intention and of fulfilling the promise of your potential.

As the cofounder of Intrizen, Jonathan Haberkorn specializes in making sense of complex HR processes and organizing them in a way that emphasizes human interaction first. By prioritizing the people using the system and the process of promoting connections, he relies on purpose to fuel his craft.

The Cornerstone of The Cathedral Story is our Orientation

[12:30] “The bricklayer said, ‘I’m a bricklayer, I’m working hard to make money so I can feed my family.’ The second bricklayer said, ‘I’m a builder, I’m building a wall.’ And then the third guy says, ‘I’m a cathedral builder, I’m building a cathedral where people will worship.’ …Basically, they’re doing the same job, but the context and the orientation that they’re doing it with changes everything.
“When we see how the work that we’re doing is going to be used, what’s the long term and even the multiplier impact it can have, it really changes. It changes the quality of our work.”

We can approach our work as a series of tasks or as a meaningful part of a greater vision with many ripples.

Purpose keeps us centered and whole

[26:00] “So knowing that things don’t always go to plan more times than not, and there’s deviations that happen, what’s our response to that? How are we going to react to it? We have the different ways we can react to it, we can be conscious about the way we’re thinking and kind of deal with it and handle it and give perspective around it.”

[31:40] “I used to think, okay, this is work, and then there’s home life…there’s definitely different aspects of life. But once I’ve really found my purpose, and have completely aligned to that, it all seems like one life to me. It’s all intertwining with each other.”
Purpose gives a perspective that transcends the silos of life.

Links to Intrizen and Jonathan Haberkorn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanhaberkorn/
www.intrizen.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weareintrizen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreIntrizen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareintrizen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeAreIntrizen

To subscribe to the Rise Leaders newsletter for more resources: https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe

To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive.  Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.

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What’s Your Cathedral Story? | Jonathan Haberkorn

Offering Goodness, Truth + Beauty | Sofiya Deva, This Same Sky

# 27: Offering Goodness, Truth + Beauty | Sofiya Deva, This Same Sky

Sofiya Deva didn’t waver from her commitment to launch a new business, This Same Sky, even in the face of a pandemic.  She was unwilling to turn away from any of her ‘loves’ – of beauty, for supporting multi-generational artisans, ethical and sustainable fashion and her self-described geeky love of strategy and business.  I believe Jim Collins would give her an A+ in building a business with a clear core ideology (Vision, Purpose, Values).  Listen in and you’ll also be gifted with Sofiya’s reading of This Same Sky’s brand poem.

Show Notes

“We have a twofold purpose: On one hand, supporting the artisans and preserving their traditions. On the other hand, we’re trying to inspire a more intentional lifestyle for our consumers…that is more fulfilling and authentic.”

Sofiya Deva, Founder and CEO of This Same Sky

Integrating your passions, strengths, and purpose

Not only did Sofiya Deva launch her brand, This Same Sky, in the middle of the pandemic, but she managed to masterfully integrate her loves and strengths. The company focuses on artisan-centered rotating collections of personal and home accessories, but it’s also a social enterprise that earns these multicultural artists an exceptional livelihood. Her purpose is to preserve traditional arts and crafts and remind us that we can’t forget the irrefutable value art can bring into our lives, – even in an era where minimalism is gaining traction.
One of the other passions the brand draws from? Poetry. The inspiration for the company name comes from a book of poetry of the same name. Everyone under “this same sky” lends to the sense of solidarity, that we’re all in this together. Profiling different artistic lifestyle pieces, it celebrates the distinctiveness of cultural differences while affirming a sense of unity.We discuss how Sofiya is achieving “the good, the true and the beautiful” within her new company, and how her pillars and purpose have fueled the company’s genesis and growth, even during such an uncertain time.

When less is more, choose intentionally

[17:47] “My subtle critique to sustainability in the present moment is we have a lot of emphasis on minimalism, and less clutter, which is great, but…I think if we just negate and eliminate, without tapping into a greater sense of who we are, a greater sense of where we come from, it’s incomplete for me.”

As consumers, we’re always voting with our dollars one way or the other. We understand not amassing possessions just to have them. But let’s also choose wisely, bringing things with beauty and life into our home.

The changing landscape of fashion

[25:51] “[The fashion industry] is in need of reform. But the great thing is that consumers are demanding that reform, so I think the brands that are going to deliver that reform have a competitive advantage in terms of being more desirable by consumers.”
[27:59] “Being born in the middle of a pandemic, it’s forced us to be even scrappier than we would have ordinarily been, and very adaptable and very agile – and to really think through, how can we create?How can we create a diverse and flexible business model?…We leaned into collaboration and how to create win-win scenarios.”

Balance passion and self-care

[34:03] “As an entrepreneur, you have to take burnout very seriously. You have to recognize that you’re not immune to burnout; you don’t have infinite energy and resources. I’ve had some really good coaches who have helped me recognize that, actually, my energy is a really valuable resource in this project, and I need to guard it.”

As Sofiya says, it’s important to engage intentionally and assess priorities so you’re able to follow through.

Connect with Sofiya:
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofiya-hyder/

This Same Sky https://thissamesky.com/

Social handle: @thissamesky

Twitter – https://twitter.com/sofiyadeva?lang=en

Other mentions:

This Same Sky by Naomi Shihab Nye – https://www.amazon.com/This-Same-Sky-Collection-Around/dp/0689806302
Guide to Owning Your Value – https://mailchi.mp/d37649fa5f04/own-your-value
Guide to Reading Poetry – https://mailchi.mp/6b573fc30d9e/guide-for-reading-poetry
Vickery Trading – https://vickerytrading.org/
Forbes article on Corporate Gifting: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2020/10/01/how-to-make-corporate-gifting-count-this-holiday-season/?sh=7b7db4453666

Sudara – https://www.sudara.org/
Olivela – https://www.olivela.com/
Wolf and Badger – https://www.wolfandbadger.com/us/

To subscribe to the Rise Leaders newsletter for more resources:  https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe

To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit: https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive.  Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.

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What’s Your Cathedral Story? | Jonathan Haberkorn

Leadership, Ethnicity + Wellbeing | Renee Moorefield & Jane Cocking

Leadership, Ethnicity + Wellbeing | Renee Moorefield & Jane Cocking

Renee Moorefield and Jane Cocking share important findings from research they conducted on the relationships between leadership, ethnicity, and thriving. Based on data from 900+ leaders in the Be Well Lead Well® database, Black and Hispanic leaders who completed surveys about their well-being scored significantly higher than leaders who identify as white or Asian. To gain a better understanding, Jane and Renee interviewed 20+ leaders across a wide swathe of industries and ethnic identifications to unpack the data.

Episode 24   | October 13, 2020

Show Notes

 “I succeed when we succeed, so part of my job is to amplify the wellbeing, the effectiveness, the success of the people around me, and in particular, to help lift up my ethnicity.’”

– Interviewee’s feedback from Be Well Lead Well Pulse research

 

 

Race and the science of thriving

In the Be Well Lead Well® (BWLW) Pulse model, thriving is defined as ‘having the internal resourcefulness to meet external complexities and demands’. Renee Moorefield, the creator of the Be Well Lead Well Pulse wellbeing assessment, and Jane Cocking an executive coach and BWLW certified guide share important findings from research they conducted on the relationships between leadership, ethnicity, and thriving.

The research results were shocking. Based on data from 900+ leaders in the BWLW database, Black and Hispanic leaders who completed surveys about their well-being scored significantly higher than leaders who identify as white or Asian. To gain an understanding of how this could be, Jane and Renee interviewed 20+ leaders across a wide swathe of industries ethnic identifications to unpack the data.

Certain themes emerged…

Resilience

The respondents gave striking insights on how inner strengths were built naturally – a byproduct of not living in the dominant culture:

[19:18] “We heard that a lifetime of challenges for leaders who identify as Black or Hispanic have enabled them through the hardships they’ve had in this dominant culture, whether that’s a door shut in their face, whether that’s discrimination, or whether that’s microaggressions. You can think of all the things we’re hearing about in society that have enabled them to build a level of resilience within themselves, coping mechanisms to just live in this culture. It’s also enabled them to build a sense of identity beyond the white dominant culture of success.

“So it’s a way of seeing themselves that goes beyond this culture. And it’s also built within them a connection to their internal capacities.”

[25:43] “… Under stress, growth occurs. In the situation of these people we were talking about, they would say, ‘The reason I got to where I am as an executive, is because I drew from all of those experiences – me knowing who I am and what creates wellbeing for me enabled me to become and grow as a leader’.”

Not everyone’s version of success is the same

[17:19] “Overwhelmingly, we heard, no matter the race of the person, that we are all living in a white model of success…

“The white model is that you have to be productive, you have to achieve, in order to be successful. If you’re not productive and successful, then maybe you’re lazy. Acquiring wealth is important, the status of your job title or where you live or what car you drive – the status and very much a ‘me’ culture.”

These individuals have a story

[34:43] “’What I would love everyone to know,  what I believe about myself is that I’m fully human and humane. And as a black executive, when I operate in the world, I often don’t get treated as fully human, I get treated as an asset or sort of marginalized voice.’”

[38:33] “The people I talked to who identified as black or Hispanic knew a lot about their own history, their story, they had a connection for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years back.”

I’m so grateful for the work being done and the lessons being learned through the conversations Renee and Jane are conducting. They are engendering humility and a newfound appreciation for the significant lives of others.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Be Well Lead Well Pulse Well-being assessment:

https://www.bewellleadwellpulse.com/

Episode 6: An Essential Link: Wellbeing and Leader Effectiveness

https://rise-leaders.com/essential-link-wellbeing-leader-effectiveness/

Renee on Star Coach Show, Episode 141 Be Well, Lead Well

https://starcoachshow.com/141-be-well-lead-well%ef%b8%8f-renee-moorefield-ph-d/

Connect to Renee and Jane:

Renee Moorefield https://www.bewellleadwell.com/renee-moorefield/

Jane Cocking https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-cocking-a9695b3/

To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:

https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive.  Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.

 

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