Jennifer Kumar, Managing Director, Authentic Journeys Consultancy LLC
My mission is to help you mitigate cultural differences while working on remote, global teams; on-site on an ex-pat assignment. I specialise in coaching accomplished international career professionals like up levelling and localising their communication, leadership, project management and team-building skills using role plays, mock sessions, awareness exercises, and on-the-spot assessments.
Those who work with me often say that coaching helps them understand their thoughts in new, unexpected ways, leading to major shifts in how they show up for themselves and others in their lives on a day-to-day basis (in and out of work).
I am a coach and facilitator with over 20 years of coaching and corporate training experience. I received my first coaching certification in 2009. In addition to receiving my PCC certification through ICF in 2020 and recently in 2021, I completed a 20-hour Mentor Coach Certification Program through Solutions Academy.
I also bring over 15 years of coaching, training, and facilitating for over 5,200 professionals in 100 global startups and MNCs such as Microsoft and EY.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I prefer to use LinkedIn as I find it more amicable to the type of work I am doing. On LinkedIn, I am able to interact more professionally with individuals who tend to understand that LinkedIn is not only for relationship building but also business development.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am blessed to work in the area of my interest and passion - cross-cultural coaching and training. I enjoy talking, reading and learning about these topics all day or night, and I never tire of it.
In fact, it invigorates me. In addition, I tend to enjoy being around diverse and passionate individuals throughout my work and personal life. Though I coach and work with individuals from all walks of life, my focus area happens to be a cultural adjustment between the US and India, as I have lived, studied and worked full-time in India for more than ten years.
My current areas of interest include experimenting with ways to bring teams from India and the US together for learning and coaching interactions to deepen understanding and relational bonds within global teams.
To this aim, I enjoy learning new instructional design, training and coaching skills to add to my ever-growing toolbox. I would also like to add that I believe strongly in "leadership at all levels." Regardless of being a newcomer to one's career, a seasoned professional or any career level in between, I firmly believe that everyone can imbibe, demonstrate, and hone leadership skills.
Anyone and, indeed, everyone has the ability to be a leader in their own right, in their own role. These skills help one to not only fine-tune their own skills in their own current role, but help them grow to the next level in addition to learning how to influence others in a memorable way.
Gaining insight and practical strategies in how to be inclusive and understanding how to leverage one's own and team member's diverse strengths, talents, points of view, world views and linguistic creativity (among many other skills).
It helps us not only excel at our jobs now and into the future but excel at being the best human being we can be. And that is the best testament to life there can possibly be!
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Being humbled and put into my place. Maybe I have the word 'expert' somewhere in my skill set, and people hire me because of being a cross-cultural expert, an expert in understanding the cultural differences between the US and India, or expertise in my coaching skill.
But, honestly, the only way to truly be an expert is to realise one is never an expert. We keep learning and growing. We will never really know all there is to know, and the more we know, the more we don't know.
So, rather than looking toward my "expertise" as the be-all, end-all. Instead, let it be a way to ignite insight and deeper knowledge on the path to continue integrating our inner wisdom with some of the existing knowledge. It exists and continues to be uncovered as we live our authentic journey.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
As I started my business in Kochi, India, in 2011, one of my clients said to me:
"We know you are an expert in cross-cultural studies, for example, and that is why we hired you, but it would really benefit you to talk our language. I am not referring to our mother tongue, Malayalam, though that would always be welcome, but I am referring to talking in our corporate language. Indeed, one can also argue that it is a mix of our corporate lingo with flavours or our local culture and mindset, as we have offices in various parts of India and the world. As you grow your business and leadership skills, when you learn to speak the language of the industry you work in, your clients and those in your programs will relate to you much faster. Once you integrate your content or coaching with how one works in their organisation, your business and career will know no bounds."
While this seems like a one-and-done kind of advice, actually, it's ongoing and is never done as I have had the opportunity to work for more than 50 companies in a handful of industries. However, what he said is really true in that the closer I was to "talking in my client's language," the easier it was for me to build trust and rapport with them. I always try my best to impart this lesson when facilitating cross-cultural training and global leadership coaching.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
Seeing that spark when someone connects or reconnects with their inner wisdom and takes brave, new steps into the unknown areas of their life to create and recreate their authentic journey.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I would say the things that make me feel the proudest are having participated in a great college education, starting a business, and, more than all of that, finding a compatible life partner.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
If it's online, either by email or LinkedIn. If it's in person, meet up for a coffee.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Continually try to take a step back and realise I am not always right. I also try to see things from another's point of view with empathy. I feel this is so important because I would hope that if I needed empathy, the person I am interacting with would be able to take a step back to be patient and understanding.
No one is perfect, and I am the first to say I am not. So, knowing this, and knowing that we all go through ups and downs in life, it's always a good thing to try to give the benefit of the doubt (but, of course, without getting walked all over).
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
It's possible to find those who support you. The support has to go both ways. But, we are not islands. We can find a support team who roots for us and has our best interests at heart.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Hands down, Kirsten Dierolf. She has been my coaching mentor, and now I have the extraordinary opportunity to work with her on her team. She has an amazing natural way of accepting people from all backgrounds to hone their natural talents.
In addition, she is open-hearted; she cares about others and truly wants to see them succeed. She finds ways to align individuals with their passions and interests to stir up and enhance their creativity and collaboration.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Travel, culture studies and hiking.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
A little of both. I rather think about the now and into the future, where I see great things happening. In fact, they are unfolding as we speak!
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
Kirsten Dierolf is my current mentor, at least I see her as one, and maybe she doesn't know it!
I also am really inspired to say my coaching colleague, Sherri Horan. She has been a great personal and professional support since we met several years ago. She takes a few hours out of every month to spend with me, which means a lot to me.
So, I would say I have mentored others, but I think it would be better if they acknowledged this rather than me proclaiming it.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
I find this to be a tricky question to answer, mainly because, for me, the path has not been a traditionally straight one. It also depends on what someone looks to me for, whether it is coaching, training, or a specific cross-cultural piece.
I feel a bit more confident in giving guidance for coaching and training (or even instructional design), but for cross-cultural training, I got into this through my passion and then started getting paid for it.
I can't say I have a traditional path here. This is a great question that I would need to fine-tune to get a more detailed answer.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Lack of support - not only from others- but from the person that really matters the most- ourselves. If we don't support ourselves and find ways to maintain a healthy mental and emotional diet, it leads to giving up.
Also, not really understand an "end goal." While I don't believe we ever really "get it done" as there are always new mountains to climb, without at least somewhat of a good idea or vision of where one wants to go, it could be easy to give up.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
My mentor, Kirsten Dierolf's brand and coaching company, Solutions Academy. I feel so honoured that I not only got connected up with Solutions Academy, but now I am part of this brand, company, and movement.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success - well, I am always struck by the "new" answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When I was growing up, we had to answer this with some kind of job or profession or career.
However, I have recently heard people teaching their kids to say "happy" or "satisfied." Somehow I believe if we can "live up" to attuning our success to how we feel about life, everything else will naturally fall into place because it's coming from within and not without.