Day: August 25, 2020

…Most importantly trust you are a person of value and purpose. Personally, I believe in the power of prayer and predestination by God so I really try not to stress about anything as long as I believe I am doing the right thing, it’s fun.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Vincent Kabaso, PGA of America.

Vincent Kabaso is a true trailblazer, as he stands alone as the one and only PGA Professional among The Republic of Zambia’s vast population of 17 million. And, in a country with just 25 golf courses (and growing) Kabaso’s journey to PGA Membership is nothing short of miraculous. While Vincent endured several road bumps throughout his journey, his deep passion for the game of golf kept his dream alive. This year, the PGA of America selected Vincent as one of 15 PGA Members who will comprise its PGA LEAD class (2020-’21), which is the Association’s leadership development program. PGA LEAD was created in 2016 to identify, mentor and progress PGA Members from diverse backgrounds into volunteer leadership positions in the Association. Kabaso is currently living his dream as a PGA Professional.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, my book Raised By The World which details my journey to PGA membership and growing up in Zambia has recently been submitted to the publishers. It is scheduled to be released in September 2020. It will inspire anyone that reads it to go after their wildest dream, it will also impress a great feeling to the mind and heart of a reader looking for a beautiful story to read.

I was also recently selected to the 2020–21 PGA LEAD class. PGA LEAD is the PGA of America’s leadership development program created to identify, mentor and progress PGA Members from diverse backgrounds into volunteer leadership positions in the Association. This has been a fulfilling experience, giving me outstanding exposure while further educating myself on important organizational policies. Additionally, it’s afforded me an opportunity to interact with distinguished golf industry leaders as I aspire to assume leadership and administrative positions.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

My foundation Raised By The World exemplifies the greater good of humanity. We aspire to look out for people who are disadvantaged. It has been self-funded for the last two years, which demonstrates how passionate I am about empowering youths and creating opportunities for the least amongst us.

Additionally, I am a proud member of The PGA of America, and it’s truly inspiring to see the Association’s commitment to create a game and workforce that mirrors America. In addition to PGA LEAD, PGA WORKS is another strategic initiative to open doors in the golf industry, by leveraging fellowships, scholarships, career exploration events and more to educate and engage individuals from diverse backgrounds on the many employment opportunities across the golf industry.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

Everyone including my family members told me pursing PGA membership was out of reach. Mainly because we didn’t have the resources. I was strongly convicted in this pursuit that I went to the UK against my parents’ will. I endured financial challenges but still graduated college. I then moved to America to pursue PGA training giving up a good job and selling everything to my name. It was equally an “impossible” mission and to be honest, I didn’t exactly know how I was going to go about it. Against all odds I persevered and achieved my goal of becoming the first PGA member from Zambia and it gives me great pride to look back and think how it so easily couldn’t have been. It was a huge risk that was never easy by any stretch, but I conquered a seemingly impossible goal and I take great pride in sharing my story.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong?

They were left in awe and didn’t have much option except to rally behind me. Lee Trevino described success so well when he said “I played the Tour in 1967 and told jokes and nobody laughed. Then I won the (U.S.) Open the next year, told the same jokes, and everybody laughed like hell.” I’ve always known that very few will support you as you pursue your goals, but everyone will want to align/associate with your success when you achieve your dreams.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Yes, Jonathan MacDonald was the Head of Golf Studies at the first college I attended in England. I sat with him in a meeting with the finance department where they basically said I would be sent back to Zambia because I didn’t have the money to pay tuition fees. After the meeting was done, he tapped my shoulder and assured me “that was never going to happen under his watch,” and he walked me over to the kitchen and lobbied for me to get my first job as a dishwasher. My entire life, my pursuit felt so lonely and personal and I didn’t think anyone cared about me. Jonathan was the first person that expressed empathy towards me and went out of his way to guide me in the right direction on many occasions. Equally when I met Hannah (wife), I was going through a pretty tough time after losing sponsorship at College and I was really not sure what I was going to do. She was a rock and asked to pray for me when I told her about my predicament. That meant a lot to me and proved I could trust and lean on her.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

When I started going to the golf club in Zambia, I noticed that my dad probably was the least socially standing member at the club. Everyone was an executive or operated their own business, while my dad was a general worker in the copper mines. But it fascinated me to see how he carried himself so confidently and never once expressed inferiority even when speaking with executives. I look back at those moments with a lot of pride. He definitely inspired me to always remain confident in any situation.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

1. You must trust yourself and your abilities.

2. You must understand that you’re on your own — if you don’t do it yourself, nobody will (taking absolute responsibility for your life).

3. You must be open minded, it usually never works out like you plan it, but it does work out regardless.

4. You must treat people with respect and be genuine in your interactions, you never know who’s going to help you or who you might meet and help along the way.

5. Most importantly trust you are a person of value and purpose. Personally, I believe in the power of prayer and predestination by God so I really try not to stress about anything as long as I believe I am doing the right thing, it’s fun.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

It is a bible verse from john 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I also like these quotes

1: “There is always a way”

2: “If it was easy, anybody would do it”

3: “Whoever thinks it cannot be done, must not stand in the way of those trying to do it”

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?

You never know what your idea can trigger. It is inspired by a famous African proverb called “Ubuntu” which means “I am who I am because of who we all are.” It highlights the fact that we are all interdependent and we should live as such especially in today’s environment where we are divided on so many fronts.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Yes, absolutely!

www.vincentKabaso.com

Instagram @65_gross

Linkedin Jabari Vincent Kabaso

Twitter @vkabaso

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Vincent Kabaso of PGA of America: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Katy Kendeall of Sparq Designs: Six Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your Business

Engage with your audience. Instagram has one of the highest engagement rates of all social platforms, so be social! With Instagram, you are given the opportunity to directly interact with your existing and potential customers. Encourage conversations when you post and even join in on discussions on other relevant accounts in your industry. I would also recommend responding to each and every comment and direct message in a timely manner.

As a part of our series about How To Leverage Instagram To Grow Your Business, I had the pleasure of interviewing Katy Kendeall.

Katy Kendeall is a sales executive at Sparq Designs. With over 10 years of sales experience, Katy is committed to providing clients with the utmost customer satisfaction.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I knew after college I wanted to work within the media world, but I graduated right when the 2009 recession hit and no one was hiring. Because of that, I worked in retail for almost two years. During those years I literally applied to thousands (no exaggeration) of jobs until I finally landed one. I’ve been either working with or for agencies ever since!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

The most interesting (and fun!) experiences in my career thus far have been attending upfront parties that television networks hold in New York. Celebrities, free food, an open bar, and getting the chance to see what new shows will be premiering — it’s hard to find stories that beat that! It felt like something I should have been paying them to attend, not the other way around.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Like so many others, I think one of the funniest (and definitely most embarrassing) mistakes I made early on in my career was a simple one. Sending an email about someone without removing them from the email thread. Luckily, what i said wasn’t too bad.

Pro tip: always start an email by removing the recipient(s) from your email draft and then add them back once you are finished.

Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. For the benefit of our readers, can you explain why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?

I’ve been in the media world for over a decade now and have gotten the chance to talk and work with some of the largest agencies in New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. I’ve also now worked for three different agencies and have learned a lot along the way.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

This sounds like a very political answer, but any good marketer will tell you that it depends on what audience you are targeting. That being said, one of our home security clients has seen a huge boost in sales using both organic Facebook posts as well as paid Facebook ads given that is where a lot of their target demographic spends time.

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share 6 ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Engage with your audience. Instagram has one of the highest engagement rates of all social platforms, so be social! With Instagram, you are given the opportunity to directly interact with your existing and potential customers. Encourage conversations when you post and even join in on discussions on other relevant accounts in your industry. I would also recommend responding to each and every comment and direct message in a timely manner.
2. Consider Influencer Marketing. Instagram is the ideal platform for brand ambassadorship. Influencers are connected to their audience and are a proven source of inspiration and information to their followers. Micro-influencers in particular provide an excellent opportunity to target your niche audience in an impactful way. Their fans are loyal and engaged and with their recommendation, there’s a great chance they will enjoy your products or services too.
3. Utilize an Instagram Ad Campaign. If you are looking to either increase brand awareness or increase sales, then Instagram ads could work great for you. When creating an Instagram Ad Campaign, make sure your ad focuses on one goal only. Because Instagram is so visual, your ad creative will need to be impactful. And as most digital marketing campaigns go, A/B test variations of the same ad (changing the copy and image) to help figure out what works best for your audience(s).
4. Consider Shoppable Posts. Shoppable posts make it super easy to tag and shop products directly from your organic Instagram posts. If you are selling products online, shoppable posts allow you to connect your audience with the products you sell and provide a seamless shopping experience right on the platform. You’ll provide your followers with less friction in their buying journey which will hopefully turn them into loyal customers.
5. Add IGTV videos. IGTV is an amazing channel to show off your products, create tutorials, provide customer testimonials, and answer questions or tell stories with interviews. You don’t need a huge ad budget for them either! IGTV videos are very similar to YouTube — your videos don’t need to be studio production quality. Videos on IGTV allow you to grab your audience’s attention to form a genuine, personal connection with them.
6. Leverage User Generated Content. Your followers who love your business can be your best marketers! User Generated Content is uniquely authentic and often gets more engagement on Instagram, which means more likes and comments on your posts. The more engagement you get, the higher your posts are prioritized in the Instagram feed. The higher your posts are prioritized, the greater chance new users will find your content on the explore tab. When using UGC, be sure that you have been given permission from your users to share their content.

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

There are so many worthy causes — it’s overwhelming to choose just one! A lot of our world’s issues are interwoven and you can’t necessarily solve any of them without solving the others. With that being said, I think an important one that needs urgent attention and action, is climate change. No place on our planet is immune from the consequences, so effort from everyone is vital. It’s such a huge issue, but this quote by Howard Zinn is a palatable way to think about all of our small efforts that can help; “Small acts when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

I’ve been following Steve Stoute for a long time, so I’ll have to go with him. He’s a former music executive turned author and advertising agency owner. He has one of the best pulses I’ve ever seen on the power of culture. Everything he works on is so effortlessly cool.

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!

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Katy Kendeall of Sparq Designs: Six Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Trust the important people of your life. See out and rely on your mentors and key people that believe in you, recognize your worth, and encourage you to take up challenges, especially if they are expert in their areas of expertise.

As a part of our series about how very accomplished leaders were able to succeed despite experiencing Imposter Syndrome, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amber Lacanal.

Amber Lacanal has been helping leaders build optimal organizations and teams for 12 years. She combines a strategic and analytical background with a creative mindset, allowing her to help clients solve complex people issues. She has driven change initiatives across a wide range of industries, disciplines and countries, and this experience allows her to thrive in an ever-changing environment. She naturally gravitates toward both large organizational issues and interpersonal and behavioral issues.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?

My mother was an engineer and my father was a head of school and educational psychologist, and they have both had a big influence on my life. Because of them, I have always felt a tension between my interest in business and my desire to help individuals succeed. While I was getting my Master’s degree in Business Management, I felt like I was missing the human aspect of it. So I completed a double diploma and got a Specialized Master’s, focusing on Business, Human Resources and Organizational Development at the same time.

During my early career, I became a leadership coach. While I have retained this role, I have also constantly pushed forward Digital transformation and Data & analytics capability-building. This is another example of my two-sided brain!

Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

Working in France and in the US has been an invaluable experience. But I definitely went through an adjustment phase at first. I lived with an American family when I was younger so when I decided to work in the States I assumed my transition would be very smooth and familiar. I didn’t expect the working culture to be that different. But I was surprised by the differences in the pace, the expectations and the communication styles.

I have learned so much as I’ve lived in both worlds and taking the best out of them. When I coached, I definitely leveraged my own experience going through the change curve to help my clients do the same. External changes occur at all times in our life (going to college, relocation, company reorganization…) and they trigger an internal transition that is a three-phase psychological process (ending, neutral zone and new beginning). From my perspective, the ending phase shouldn’t be neglected: respecting the past and building awareness of what the transition will entail (who is going to have to let go of what) is vital before moving into any transition strategy.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

At Notion, the sky’s the limit. Not only am I able to bring my whole self to work but I can also help define where we are going as a team. As Notion’s Innovation and Thought leadership lead, I’ve developed our unique service offering as well as trained our team on our Fast Track methodology, which is helping to shape our direction as a new and growing company. Throughout the process, I’ve felt supported by leaders, and had the privilege of collaborating with other creative minds to get to an even better end product.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

A lot of people have supported me throughout my journey, especially early on in my career. When I started my path in consulting, I met Anny, a senior leadership consultant who took me under her wing. I looked up to her for her skills but also her unwavering authenticity. As I moved into a managerial role, she became my mentor and coach, but also a true friend. When she passed away this year, it made me realize that we never say thank you enough to these people who help guide you, and who see your potential before you even do.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the experience of Impostor Syndrome. How would you define Impostor Syndrome? What do people with Imposter Syndrome feel?

People with Impostor Syndrome have the constant feeling of not being good enough and not deserving credit for their success. It often goes along with a lot of self-doubt and fear of failure. For a lot of us, it goes back to our early childhood experiences. Our environment, education and culture have shaped who we are and how we see ourselves and the world around us. But really — how do you break a mental framework that has been built since your early childhood?

What are the downsides of Impostor Syndrome? How can it limit people?

A huge downside of this Syndrome is not asking for what you deserve — from a personal and a career perspective. In terms of work, that means it can limit your opportunities — for promotion, for career development and compensation. A turning point in my career was when my first manager told me in one of our 1:1 conversations: “you have to ask for what you want”. I learned that no one understands your needs and dreams better than you do and no one is going to anticipate them or meet them if you don’t put them on the table.

How can the experience of Impostor Syndrome impact how one treats others?

If you’ve had Impostor Syndrome, you probably project a little bit of your experience onto others, which can help you show more empathy towards anyone displaying any sign of lack of confidence. But let’s face it — we all feel Impostor Syndrome at some point in our lives, simply because this world is moving so fast, and it is constantly raising the bar and pushing us to adjust and take up new challenges to feel a sense of meaning and accomplishment.

We would love to hear your story about your experience with Impostor Syndrome. Would you be able to share that with us?

As far back as I can remember, I have had feelings of self-doubt towards tasks that were out of my comfort zone. In hindsight, this was probably the result of setting the bar too high. I had very high standards for myself that were unachievable, at least in the short term. For example, when I started to practice leadership assessment and development, I felt I had to know all the tools and techniques from the get go, so that I could be called an expert. This was my personal framework. I was restless until I realized that these standards were preventing me from taking on new challenges. Expecting perfection from the outset can simply paralyze you because it can seem so daunting. Now, I try to value progress over perfection.

Did you ever shake the feeling off? If yes, what have you done to mitigate it or eliminate it?

Yes, but it didn’t happen overnight. Overcoming Impostor Syndrome and gaining personal confidence have been more of a process and a journey.

I was born and raised in a small village in the Southwest of France. I’ve lived in Paris and Singapore, and now I am settled on the east coast of the U.S. I have studied and worked with many cultures, and in a myriad of different environments. By meeting new people, cultures and backgrounds, my perspective has shifted. I have learned to trust in myself and my ability to solve problems. I have learned that my experiences all contribute to my ability to coach others, and I can position myself as an expert by constantly challenging myself to do more, while keeping a curious mindset. I don’t assume I have all the answers, but I know that I can bring a valuable perspective to the table, no matter what the problem is that I’m trying to solve. By recognizing that each of us can determine the definition of perfection, I took back control. Through all my life experiences, I have changed my perspective. I continuously try to keep learning, and unlearning my mental framework so that I can continue to grow.

In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone who is experiencing Impostor Syndrome can take to move forward despite feeling like an “Impostor”? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Get external validation — through indisputable proof, like education, degrees and certification.
2. Look at objective measures of success — defining and meeting metrics and targets is another objective way to validate your accomplishments.
3. Trust the important people of your life. See out and rely on your mentors and key people that believe in you, recognize your worth, and encourage you to take up challenges, especially if they are expert in their areas of expertise.
4. Be vulnerable and stay curious. A partner at my first consulting firm taught me that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” By saying that, he gave me permission to ask questions without doubting myself.
5. Change your context and perspective. Above all, I think radically changing your mental framework, with something completely different and new, is the single most meaningful thing you can do. For some, this change might mean picking a new career or way of life, for others it’s moving to a new country. By changing your surroundings, you are changing your perspective. You are learning that knowledge, worth and success are deeply relative to each individual. When you shift your context, you are allowing yourself to see things and yourself through a different lens. Being exposed to new people and environments allows you to recognize that we are all flawed, imperfect humans. We all have much to learn, and we all have much to teach.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

When I don’t spend time with my little one, I help women find their authentic style and feel their best every day. Separate from the work I do for Notion, I’ve developed “Like a haircut,” a unique coaching approach that combines American willpower and the French sense of style. The name of the project originated from the idea that life is like a haircut — as easy to love as it is to hate. I want to continue to empower women to help them understand what they want, know how to go after it, and look and feel great while doing so! Your readers can learn more about the project here: http://www.likeahaircut.com/image-consulting-1

We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

Brene Brown. She has been and still is instrumental in my personal journey to vulnerability as well as in my coaching practice, where I help others recognize their potential. Brene, if you read this, thank you.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can find me on Linkedin linkedin.com/in/ambrelacanal

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

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Amber Lacanal: “How To Thrive Despite Experiencing Impostor Syndrome” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.