Leaders inspire leaders during LocLife episode 3
Bring together one enthusiastic moderator, four inspiring panelists and an eager group of event attendees, and one thing is clear: an hour and a half is not nearly enough time to explore personal and professional development!
That said, the third episode of LocLife, Live & learn: ways to unleash your potential, was full of spectacular insights on how we can continually learn from each other, achieve work/life balance and stay motivated in our careers.
Moderated by Acclaro’s global brand champion Javi Diaz, the fun and fulfilling discussion featured panelists:
- Carrie Fischer – manager of globalization services at Subway & manager/program director global community at Women in Localization
- Zak Haitkin – program manager, localization at Lyft
- Jan Hinrichs– founder of Beluga & LocLunch™
- Patricia Gómez Jurado – head of content design at King
As always, many members of the localization community asked the panelists questions during the event, sparking reflection, revelation and shared experiences.
If you missed this enlightening event, you still have a chance to check it out! Watch the on-demand session here!
Thoughtful talking points
From finding sources of inspiration to the effect of mindset and avoiding burnout, LocLife participants raised some intriguing inquiries, which our panelists answered live. Here are just a few of the key takeaways:
In response to what inspires the leaders in our panel, Patricia Gómez Jurado remarked, “Anything can be an inspiration. Women are a great inspiration to me. This is why I joined Women in Localization a few years ago… and when I moved to Barcelona, I joined Lean In Barcelona for women. It gave me the opportunity to meet really cool women out there who are doing really great things.”
When Miguel Sepulveda, the localization manager for King, asked about mindset, Jan Hinrichs offered some great perspectives. “Don’t set yourself limits. When we start to limit ourselves…that’s our barrier. By using the magic words “not yet,” everybody can turn failure into a milestone toward our personal goals and create a growth mindset that will help us tackle our own self-imposed limitations.” Zak Haitkin echoed that sentiment noting, “In order to grow you have to be able to see the opportunities. It’s being focused on what you are passionate about and what you want to do.”
Daniel Iso, localization team leader at Marathonbet, posed what he felt was a difficult question about how failure can impact a career. Most agreed that it’s less about failing and more about learning. As Jan Hinrichs put it, “All experience brings you closer to where you want to go. Experience in any sense, positive or negative. It’s important to not give up”.
Stephanie Cardwell, globalization & localization manager at Alteryx and LocLunch™ ambassador, asked for advice for those looking to start over in their careers. Carrie Fischer noted, “If you can get past what title you think you deserve and what others think of you, you can focus on what’s important to you and hopefully that makes you happy.”
Plenty of other issues were discussed, but to wrap up, our moderator Javi asked each panelist how they will measure their life after retirement. The responses all revolved around giving back.
“We all have gifts to share with each other. And I think I will measure my life by how I can share my gifts with others,” Carrie Fischer said.
Zak Haitkin said it’s all about having a positive impact on someone’s life, noting, “Not only tying accomplishments with your professional life but also to personal accomplishments as well.”
Patricia Gómez Jurado stressed the importance of having priorities in life, using the metaphor of juggling five balls, which came out of a speech by Coca-Cola’s former CEO Brian Dyson. In it, Dyson said, “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit. And you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”
For Jan Hinrichs, it’s about positive waves. “If you drop something in the water, you will see the waves. We all create waves in our lives. Whether you’re a CEO or a husband or a kid. We all make waves. Always try to make them positive. That’s what I try to do.”
Keep up with the conversation
Don’t forget that LocLife is an ongoing series that you can take part in with questions and commentary. Learn more about the online event, and stay tuned for our next session and accompanying registration details.
