Using the practice of PL

Angeles Arrien, PhD
Cultural Anthropologist; Author of The Four-Fold Way
Personal Leadership provides two principles and six practices that are invaluable resources for applying leadership skills in any local, national and international context. Rarely do you come across information and practices that are immediately useable and universally applicable.

Silvia Austerlic
Previously Latino Community Cultural Liaison, Hospice of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz, California, U.S.A.
I learned about Personal Leadership in the context of the Fellows Program at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in July 2015. I loved PL’s integration of two powerful critical principles: mindfulness (self-awareness and responsibility regarding my own experience) and creativity (the opportunity to respond from a new place). I valued its six practices that one could apply at all times when dealing with critical moments and encountering cultural differences. PL gave me a wonderful simple-yet-complex tool that helped me focus and learn about and from myself as part of an intercultural teamwork experience.

Angela Marie Broeckel
Teacher Trainer & Senior Curriculum Specialist, Dipont Education Management Group
Shanghai, PRC
I work at Dipont Education in Shanghai, mentoring teachers in how to teach effectively. I think PL is amazing. I like it so much that I am doing my Doctoral dissertation on its effectiveness. My research so far shows that it has done wonders.

Dianne Hofner Saphiere, MS
Founder, CulturalDetective.com
Personal Leadership is a powerful practice for improving your intercultural relationships and enjoying your life more fully. I have witnessed it transform communities into more positive, constructive places, with individuals taking responsibility for their own experiences. Cultural Detective and PL are the only process-based intercultural competence development tools available, and these two approaches dovetail to create EPIC results. (Note: EPIC is the integration of Cultural Detective and Personal Leadership into the Essential Practice for Intercultural Competence.)

Lori Lawson
Faculty, Montana State University; Consultant, College of Business Internationalization
Bozeman, Montana, U.S.A.
Personal Leadership has the capacity to positively impact all aspects of one's life. It is a deep—yet simple—approach to better grounding oneself when confronted with difficulties. It is especially effective when dealing with the ambiguity inherent when working across cultures.

Lisa Losanski
Fellow at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in 2015
A job offer came in for my husband that would require us leaving our jobs and moving clear across the country. There was lots of anxiety in our household. We did a CMD, and at the end he said, “I feel at peace with this decision. I don’t have as much anxiety or doubt. There is overwhelming energy on one side of the decision, and the answer is obvious.” This stuff is life-changing!

Elizabeth Robinson
Director, Emerge!© Programs; Senior PL Facilitator
Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.A.
Personal Leadership practices allow people to lead from the inside out, to be anchored in present time, and to have a clear vision for their own right action in the world. It offers a continuous process for people to stay connected to their enthusiasm and courage. I have used the Critical Moment Dialogue (CMD) and the PL visioning process with emerging leaders and with UN managers. PL tools are a prescription for supporting leaders who are focused, committed to the common good, and willing to look inside to find answers for the shifts needed in our world.

Véronique Schoeffel, MA, MAS
Ubuntu Communication
Bienne/Biel, Switzerland
I love using PL when I work with a group of young professionals from all over the world active in education and human rights, who are living and studying in Switzerland for a few months. PL helps them to bring themselves into the picture when analyzing complex relational issues. Thinking about themselves, listening to their bodies, naming their emotions, being aware of their judgments and of possible consequences is not usual for many of them. It makes a world of difference for the group’s life and spirit. It also accompanies them back home, offering them lenses to look inward in order to look outward in a different way before making necessary decisions.

Adrienne Sweetwater, MA
Independent consultant in intercultural relations; Senior PL Facilitator
Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
After this session finished, I did the reflections we all practiced. I saw a pattern I’ve had for many years. This work continues to be a life-long gift.