"Alignment is the Ability to Match Our Words and Behaviors that are Consistent with What We Believe to be True and Important" with Cam Yenokida, on Peace, Value, Service, and Compassionate Curiosity.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: [00:00:00] Cool, cool, cool. Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Intersection podcast. And this morning both my guests, myself already started a day with some very kind of nourishing practice. We didn't plan for this, but I did yoga and my guest cam did meditation. Um, so we were already chit-chatting about, uh, how good it is for us, like.

For our health, you know, both physical and mental health. Um, so I am excited to invite Cam to introduce himself and his name's Cam Yita and welcome Cam I.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Hi. Good morning. Thank you so much, Joe. And uh, yeah, it was, it was a pleasant surprise to know that somebody else was getting in the right state of mind for this conversation, but I appreciate you ha having me, and I'm excited to, uh, explore some topics with you.[00:01:00]

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah, so you know when we started our conversation you said, oh yeah, sorry about the music, but actually it's meditation music. I actually find that really cool and soothing a lot of, I think practitioners like us, we use different tools and techniques to kind of help us get into the right mind. And I know you are the founder and executive coach at Achieve.

Excellence, leadership or executive coaching. So perhaps open our conversation with, um, like why did you start your practice and how, if you feel like it, how your kind of, um, mental exercise help you with your, um, business.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Ooh, I'd love to. you know, oddly enough, I was on a personal retreat, um, some time ago and I tried yoga, and during this, [00:02:00] um, yoga session, our instructor encouraged us to think about some intentional words that could capture what we are trying to accomplish in that moment. And I came up with three words, peace, value, and service. Peace has become, um, almost an, a goal of mine within my life to discover more peace, uh, value in terms of the value that I provide to others, to my community, to my clients, and then to be of service. And so personally, I've found that the more, uh, mindfulness that I can bring into my own life. The better I can provide value and service to others.

And so oftentimes before sessions or before work, um, I'll do some type of practice so that I can be in the right frame of mind to give my best to others.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: [00:03:00] Uh, that is beautiful. Um, especially, you know, intentionality is really important in our work. Uh, in our work. And, uh, it's really cool that, you know, when asked that question, you came up with a piece value and service. Uh, that's actually, you know, it's, it's almost like. You didn't think so much for yourself, I feel you thought all piece value and service, it's like offering, it's like giving.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: So, um, has that been kind of like in your value system all along? Like maybe go back a little bit from before you started achieve excellence. Like how did you curate or. Um, grow into a person who really appreciates, you know, offering peace, value, and service to others or to the world. Really?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah, it's, it's interesting, you know, and maybe I can take a step back. So.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: say [00:04:00] personally and professionally, I'm on a mission to improve the world. By

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: leaders in developing strategies to become more effective in their work. Um, and if I go back in time, you know, my, my mother was an educator and had a background in CA counseling, and my father was a physician.

And so throughout my entire life I had these incredible examples of people that led with what I call compassionate curiosity. For their patients, for family members, for friends. And time and time again, I would see them sit with people in moments of distress and just be there to compassionately assist them in working through a variety of challenges.

And it wasn't until a few years ago when I decided to leave the corporate world, that I really started reflecting on how [00:05:00] these. How these experiences had influenced the type of person that I am and the type of work that I want to do. And

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I, I, I really try hard to align my daily actions with the lens of how to provide even more value to others. the byproduct of that is, it does feel good and certainly I believe I have a skillset that aligns with the type of work that I'm trying to do.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: That's really cool. I think when you, me, kudos to your parents, first of all.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Maybe they'll listen this too.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Send it to them. Come on. I need listenership. Okay. Um, so kudos to them and I love that you mentioned compassionate curiosity. To me that translates to non-judgmental. Um, I feel compassion and curiosity. At least [00:06:00] for me, I oftentimes, uh, look at them separately.

And now since you are talking about it. I feel they are actually together. You know, I, I think curiosity is this kind of like wonder and, or like finding things that are so inspiring or like sometimes we say, oh, we are in awe of something, something, or This looks stunning. I think those are all kind of like iteration of curiosity and oftentimes.

That's nonjudgmental. And then, uh, and then you add compassion to it, that even soften it a little further. And I, I think, you know, I want to emphasize like, uh, soft doesn't mean weak. It just means how you show up to the world. So I really love the term compassionate curiosity. Thank you for saying that.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I'm, I'm, I'm so glad that you mentioned [00:07:00] that compassion isn't weak. know, I, I think of the word compassion because the, the work that I've done with clients really describe a coaching engagement in very personal terms. And so you have to imagine that to, um, have a conversation about. Perhaps something that's insecure or vulnerable or perhaps a self-limiting belief that we're trying to shine a light on.

Um, there's a level of kind of that non-judgmental approach to that conversation that that's really critical for building trust with clients so that they know that the, the whole goal of exploring those topics. Isn't to place judgment or to quote unquote fix anything. truly there to support, encourage, and, and sometimes hold them accountable for

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: even even greater success through that process.

So I think that that's a real, important point in my [00:08:00] practice.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: That's really awesome. And, um, earlier you mentioned, you know, um. Um, alignment, and I think we chatted about it before, during our one-on-one, is what is the value of alignment? And it sounded like, you know, from your long corporate career, perhaps what was missing some at times is alignment. I'm guessing maybe that in a way propelled you into, you know, achieve excellence.

So can you share a little bit about your view? On alignment, like what does that even mean?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Good question. Yep. start there because I do think it is a term that gets tossed out there in, in, in,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Agreed.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: conversations. Um, I, I'll tell you from my perspective, my definition of alignment is the ability to match our words and behaviors that are consistent with what we believe to be true [00:09:00] and important. And so when I think about alignment for my career, I, I truly believe that what drove a large portion of my career was my, my deep desire to assist other people. And when I think about the work that I did internally as a coach to executives and emerging leaders and even additional teams or other teams that didn't report to me, really aligned with kind of who I was and, and who I aim to be. Now, ultimately as an executive, you're, you're asked to make decisions or carry out decisions that you might not agree with, and that's okay. That comes with the type of role and position. The reality is towards the end of my career, there were a couple of decisions that I didn't just disagree with.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I've, it was, it was so far against. What I believe to be true and important in this world, and it [00:10:00] came to a head when I nearly burnt out and I found, found myself really struggling to understand and, and discover clarity around why I was suffering so much. And so that led to me retaining my own executive coach. And that's what's really fueling my passion to work with others. To ensure that they understand what's true and important to them and they can align the work that they're doing so that they can maximize whatever they're trying to accomplish. 'cause I'm a big believer that in order to, to do our best, we need to be our best. And so if I can provide that safety, support, encouragement, and sometimes accountability for my clients, then they'll go out and accomplish what their, what their desired results are.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: I mean, it sounds kind of like you went to, went through this journey from. Uh, you, you mentioned burnt out and [00:11:00] burnt out, I think is a very major symptom of when misalignment happens, that kind of struggle. It just grows on you and then you become kind of like, I'm done. I can't do this anymore. And, and then on your own exploration you're like, okay, I'm gonna do something that's aligned with my value and me wanting to, you wanting to.

You said assist. Assist other people. So I'm very, very curious, like, you know, our, uh, conversation so far talks a lot about offering service, assisting people, helping people improve the world, and how can leaders do better? And you also said, doing this work, it does feel good. Um, and I agree. I have that kind of like gratification as [00:12:00] well.

It's like, it feels good when someone say thank you for what you do. Um, I, that really makes me want to ask you this question is how do you see. Being a good person, doing good work versus doing good work to become a better person.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Oh, that's interesting.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I think. I think that, I think it, I think naturally, my, my, my optimism tells me that the majority of the people in this world have good intentions are hardworking people. And where I think alignment comes in, I'll give you a perfect ex example. Um, I, I, you know, how often do you hear somebody give you advice and in the back of your mind, you're thinking to yourself, well, I wouldn't do that.

That's not me. Right. And [00:13:00] a perfect example that I've seen in business time and time again is, let's say you have somebody, um, giving feedback to an emerging leader and they're telling them, just be tougher. You know, don't, don't care what they think. Make a decision, move on, be quick. But deep down that individual believes is an important. Trait to have to to be more supportive, more collaborative. And so just by pure nature of somebody telling them, be more direct, be more forceful, be tougher on them. It's not aligning with who they are. And so I think that when you can understand what's important to people. And help them develop strategies to accomplish whatever goal or result that they're set out, um, to, to accomplish, then you can really assist people in developing. Leadership skill sets [00:14:00] that are authentic to who they are. Right. And, and

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I do believe that performance in business is really important. And at the same time, how we accomplish those results are really important. They have to be authentic to the people that are carrying out the, the work and that are leading the people through the work.

And so think that as. As more and more people become aligned with who they are and can develop real strategies around who they are to become even more successful, then in that process they, they, they feel better, they feel more confident, they feel more fulfilled, and they end up delivering even greater results for whatever work that they're doing.

And so I think that the person that they become through that process becomes really, really important.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm. I think that really much, uh, speaks to you. Earlier you mentioned we need to be our best. And [00:15:00] then we can do our best. So how do we become the kind of, uh, this kind of version of selves that we feel good about is really important. Um, so I think this is a good place to talk a little bit about, um, maybe the technical or the practical part.

So at achieve excellence, uh, leadership coaching or executive coaching. Um, how, how do you conduct your practice and how do you help leaders, um, be or become a better version of themselves? Just like a high level kind of example.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah, so high level, I have a, I have a certain intake process that I use, and then I've developed real practical frameworks that I draw on for my 20 years of experience. And so that's always kind of the starting point for what we do and what I'm, what I'm doing with my clients is looking for. [00:16:00] Themes I'm looking for what naturally do they bring as a, as a talent or ability that we can continue to amplify and enhance. Because I'm a big believer that when people are good at something, naturally, the more we can lean into that, it'll, it'll carry over into the, into their work and their life. second theme that I'm looking for are potential blind spots that are

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: holding this individual back. From achieving even greater success.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: there it's a, it's a process of setting goals. So it's not a cookie cutter approach 'cause it really depends on what this individual is, is trying to accomplish. Um, and ultimately that process of. Goal setting revolves around how can we develop certain strategies that you can go out and work on and test and practice and come back and debrief?

How did it go and start to build some muscle memory and some [00:17:00] confidence

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: maybe areas that people were, a little less confident in. Um, and over time what happens is people then. Not only do they experience the growth, but my personal philosophy, and this might make me a little bit different in the industry, my personal philosophy

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: to tell my clients what to do. It's to help them discover strategies that align with who they are so that they have the strategies going forward to continue to find success past our engagement. I tell my perspective clients that my goal is to work myself out of a job. That I don't foresee working with 'em forever. And if I do, that means I'm not doing a good job, from a business perspective might not be the most lucrative. Um, but I do believe it's the right work to do. And if I do it right, they'll say [00:18:00] positive things about our experience and potentially pass my name along. So does,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah, I think, go ahead. Sorry.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: just gonna say, does that help give you kind of a high level overview of how I approach the work?

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Definitely, I think it's very, um, beautiful, like the way you described it. And I feel, you know, in essence you really center a leader. Like people, they, they are a humanness, as a leader, like to discover who they, they really are. And I think that takes a lot of like. Again, um, compassion and curiosity to really discover who people are and what do they wanna do, who do they want to be, um, if given the opportunity and space.

Um, so thank you for that. Um, one thing I noticed. Uh, and I'm sure our [00:19:00] listeners, um, may notice as well. You don't speak very fast. You speak very steadily, like not slow, but steady. It's like, I've. So I talk to a lot of folks doing interviews or client work, et cetera. Even myself, sometimes I feel like I need to rush my words out.

I feel I need to rush out my thoughts to deliver something really quickly. 'cause everyone says what? The elevator pitch, you have 15 seconds to showcase who you are. Um, I don't love it. I still struggle with, uh, an elevator pitch, but I feel talking with you. I mean, it calms me down almost because you don't rush.

I'm so curious. [00:20:00] You know, that's almost like your mannerism. Is steady and calm and gentle, but also very clear. Do you think these trades or these personalities, uh, are really good for your client work?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: You know, that's, that's a good question. I don't, I don't know if I can answer that. I certainly can't tell you that, you know, how I communicate is overly intentional. I think I communicate as authentically as I can in every moment that I can. and I do believe that in a good coaching engagement and that, look at the end of the day, most of coaching is, does it fit right?

And I tell my clients that if, if, if my style or my approach doesn't fit organically with who you are and [00:21:00] what you're aiming to accomplish, then it's not gonna work.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: with that said, I think a big portion of what I try to encourage my clients to do is reflect. And so do think that giving them space in conversations to think about the topics that we're exploring is a healthy way to help them discover more clarity in that moment. Um. So whether or not it's intentional or not, I, I think that clients that believe the, that reflection and the, that safe place to explore probably appreciate it. Other clients that maybe want a little bit more fast paced, maybe tell me what to do or I might not be the right coach for them and that's okay.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. No, I mentioned it because I, it's so refreshing to me when someone is not rushing. Um, [00:22:00] it's 'cause I feel we're so used to this fast-paced society and world. Um, like usually I, you know, um, especially before, not this year, it's like a couple years ago, I would schedule my time is.

15 minutes or like 30 minutes and you only give yourself, I don't know, 10 minutes for a bathroom break, things like that. And, you know, talking about reflection, I did a lot of re reflection on that. And, um, sometimes it's, you know, intentional and sometimes like I'm forced to reflect on it because it was really impacting my life and my health.

And I just really appreciate you being a very steady person. Not just your communication style, but just you as a person. So I'm curious, I guess the next question will be, [00:23:00] um, you know, how do you appreciate. Uh, now that you are your own person, meaning running your own business, and I from time to time, I see you post on LinkedIn is, you know, you talk about your life, talk about your family, talk about the beauty of just life in general, which I think, again, very refreshing.

How do you appreciate, um, life as is and also the value of, um, slowing down or like just being steady.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah, I think that, you know, from a, from a slowing down and being steady perspective, I think what I've learned, 'cause what you're saying really resonates with me in terms of busyness, um, in my previous career. And, and perhaps that was one thing that kind of me crazy was that every moment of the day it was allocated for.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: so it almost tricked me into believing that productivity meant. [00:24:00] Taking every waking moment and, and doing something with it. You know, I'd make on the way to work. I would always eat lunch with a client or an employee or

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I would do after hours events and I would pack everything in.

Um, and I think what I've learned is that, and it kind of goes back to, in order to give our best, we need to be our best. That I really try to focus on managing energy as opposed to productivity. At the same time, I also recognize that yeah, when, when we're tired, sometimes we gotta get things done and that's okay.

Um, and at the same time, in general, if we can manage and create a routine that gives us the optimal energy, actually gonna produce more in the long run. when we actually sit down to do the work or have the conversation or do whatever we're, we're, we're doing for that day, it's gonna be done with [00:25:00] more enthusiasm and more intention and, and the quality is gonna be actually a lot, a lot better. So, and

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: That.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: and I hope other people can discover that because I think for me. kind of going back to, you know, the, the peace and alignment

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: me, it's given my life an incredible amount of peace, and it's given my family. Even more peace. I, I'm, I find myself more present at home with my relationship, with my wife, with my family. I mean, I've had friends come up to me and say, Hey, you're kind of like a different person in a good, in a good way.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: and,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Wow.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: you know, very unsolicited feedback from a lot of people in my circle. So.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm. That's beautiful. Um, I did want to talk about the peace alignment, so I think you already brought it up yourself. Um, how does your [00:26:00] alignment right now, you know, if, if you are open to sharing like, and a small example, how does that help you with your family, your relationships, and your parent? Like how, how does impact your parenting?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Well, so a couple of years ago, my wife and I, um. Uh, went on a retreat

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: one of the things that we were trying to accomplish on that retreat was. Much like the work that I try to accomplish with organizations is, can, can we as a, as a, as a team, as a unit, a sense of purpose together? And so we ended up going on this journey together of creating a family purpose statement, which are principles that. we try to live by, right? I mean, to develop the purpose statement is [00:27:00] one thing, and then to try to live in alignment with it is the second. And I think for us, what we found was that if we could put practical. Guiding principles on paper that we both developed, so we agreed on them and we both developed that were true and important to our lives. Then now we can look through the decisions that come through our daily lives, which is pretty chaotic. I got three young kids and, and, and they become a filter for how we can make decisions and do they fall in line with our purpose or do they not? And not everything's as simple as that, but it certainly makes decisions a little bit. Bit easier. Um,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: hopefully that helps.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: It, uh, hugely helps. I just, okay. I don't have children. I'm not a parent. Um, but, you know, I have loved ones in my life. I have my parents, I have my dog, I have my partner.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Sure.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: So like, I feel that kind of family [00:28:00] purpose statement can be so helpful and valuable. Um. I'm sure a lot of families already do that, right?

Like as a unit, what do we do? What do we not do on a high level? But I feel like you went even further, like above and beyond that you went on a retreat with your wife and you are like, we gonna come up with a family purpose statement and we gonna stick to it and we need to make it practical, actually feasible and tangible things that we can do to, you know, make us be a good unit and be good parents.

Wow.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: and the funny thing is, Joe, it's, it's not that much different than an organization. You know, I had, I had the privilege of, of doing a workshop with a local nonprofit a few months ago,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: and they have a little over 50 people and the executive director. Wonderful leader was telling me communication and [00:29:00] collaboration.

Those were the two things that he believed could help enhance their team effectiveness between departments. And while yes, that's true at the same time it was, it was really more an exercise of alignment. Can we all in this room, an organization, agree that these guiding principles are really, really important?

And then can we take the time to really turn these guiding principles and create some clarity into how they present? In our daily work, and so over three and a half hours, which isn't a long time, so we couldn't go that deep.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: and a half hours, we were really able to create even stronger alignment around some of those guiding principles and some of the feedback from people were, oh my gosh, that really helped. I understand where this department's coming from. I got to learn what this department is. Trying to deal with [00:30:00] and I'm trying, and I got to share things about how I'm trying to work through my own work. And everybody came outta that workshop just feeling a lot more connected. And I

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: can feel more connected, then they can offer each other more grace, more encouragement, and they can go out and do more incredible work.

And so, know, the, the, the whole origin of our family purpose statement was really born out of some of the, some of the things that I've seen with organizations too.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Wow, that's so cool that when people come to you just after a few hours say, that makes a big difference. Again, going back to feeling. And good, right? Like that feels good.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: sure does.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Um, so you mentioned it was a local nonprofit. I'm curious, you know, like, because I come across nonprofits as well and leaders and teams, and the majority of them of course come with [00:31:00] really good intention.

Like we want to build a stronger team. Um, it's a very, uh, chaotic environment for nonprofits right now, et cetera. So I'm curious to learn, you know, what's your observation? Of, uh, nonprofits work these days. And would you have any kind of advice for nonprofit leaders in general? Because the majority of them, again, they come with really good value system mission and attention or intention.

Um, but sometimes, you know, they. They struggle for internal and external reasons, and especially now work becomes really challenging. So would you have any just high level advice for nonprofit leaders if they strive to do a better job?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah. know, I, I think. Candidly, I, I, I'd say that I'm not an expert with [00:32:00] nonprofits. I,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Okay.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: don't view myself as an expert in that space. Um, and at the same time, I think that based on some conversations that I've had. Some of this is my observation is that I think nonprofit leaders have an incredible task in front of them. and a lot of times when the mission is really, really important, um, it can make the, the decisions that happen within that organization, really high stakes.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm. True.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: you have a lot of good natured, hardworking people, very talented, working under very high, demanding high pressure situations,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: they're gonna give everything they got.

And so I think it's similar in healthcare. We're seeing

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: the board, you know, burnout affecting healthcare. And I think it's because of the fact that they're tired. It's not because. [00:33:00] They're incapable or lazy. It's because

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Okay.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: you have really good natured, hardworking people trying to deliver really good care under high demanding circumstances.

So I think nonprofits have a sense of that as well.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: And so my encouragement to any nonprofit leader would be to really spend some time around, not just, you know, is our mission, vision, and values on the wall, but like how are we, how are we incorporating that on a daily basis to ensure that everybody's connected to our mission, our vision, and our values?

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Um.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: do we then provide the right. Development support, encouragement assist everyone on our team in carrying out the work. Um, and I think if they can operate through the lens of their, the people,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: that gives them the best chance of [00:34:00] accomplishing incredible results and making the biggest impact out there.

Yeah, I think nonprofit leaders, personally, it's harder to be a nonprofit leader than it is to be

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: private sector leader. You know,

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah. Great.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: America, you're selling a service, a product. You're selling, you're selling something that somebody kind of gets a tangible, you know, result or benefit from nonprofit.

Leaders have to sell a cost. They have to rally a community

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: to give their own resources, time, and funds. I mean, that's, that's a, that's a heavy lift. And so I think some of the most incredible leaders sit in our nonprofit sector.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah, I totally agree. And I mean, that goes back to alignment. How can we make sure our team members at local nonprofits feel taken care of? You know, it's like, yes, that's your mission, which is all great at the same time, what are we doing internally to make sure [00:35:00] that. Our staff members also feel aligned and, um, you know, have their buy-in, uh, quotes to the mission.

And, um, how do we make sure everyone, not everyone, but staff members, grow with the organization and can face the challenges together.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah, absolutely.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah, the, and another good point I think you brought up is, you know, nonprofits usually operate very differently from for-profit organizations. And I feel, you know, we just entered, uh, Q4, which is giving season

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yep. Yep.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: a lot of nonprofits, um, depending on what type of nonprofits are, a lot of them are fundraising right now.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yes.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: And that just makes me think about. The new kind of frontier or challenges nonprofit leaders are facing is funding. It's like, how, [00:36:00] where are we gonna get the resources? And a lot of that are gonna come in, are gonna be coming from, you know, private donors or foundations, right? Or some other funds that, or grants that are available out there.

It seems like being resourceful or even more resourceful. Than ever is almost a requirement for nonprofits these days.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I agree with that. Yeah. And, and to take it one step further, I think that it's important for, um, all leaders during moments of uncertainty

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: the potential impact to the team. And so you know, what you're describing is how to think outside the box and get creative around funding, which is 100%

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: focus of every nonprofit. And at the same time, with all the uncertainty out there, you have social media, you have [00:37:00] headlines, leaders cannot miss the potential impact it's having. On every member within their staff. And so if they're not talking to their team trying to understand how they feel about this moment and what they're dealing with and what maybe potential ideas they have, then you have some people out there are probably sitting there saying, oh my gosh, there's a lot of uncertainty and I don't know where I sit within all of this uncertainty.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: And so when people are kind of left to their own devices, a large majority of people will go to kind of worst case scenario and start to ruminate on, oh my gosh, am I gonna have a job

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: if our nonprofit can't find funding? And so anyhow, I share that because I think you're spot on. And I think it's important during moments of uncertainty for leaders to really amp up. Their transparency, their [00:38:00] visibility, their communication, and their, their just presence with their team to let them know, we might not have all the answers, but we promise to share what we have and we want your ideas to make this a collaborative process. You know, I'm reminded of the pandemic. When

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: hit, nobody knew what was going on.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: we threw everybody out of the office. We ended up coming back hybrid. We moved people virtually.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: sets of the job changed

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yeah.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: in person. And so we did a pretty good job, but we really tried to stay present. You know, we really tried to stay visible for our team.

We tried to. Check in with them. Not just say, how are you doing, but what are you dealing with? What can we help with?

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: you might have that can assist other people or our teams or our clients? And I think that that level of presence is super important [00:39:00] during these moments.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: I love that. And you just said you are no expert for nonprofits, but I think everything you just said is just. Really great advice for nonprofit leaders, and I cannot agree more transparency is so important. It really reduces the risk of fear and the scarcity mindset.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Yeah.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Oh, thank you so much. Um. So at the end of our conversation, I'm gonna ask you to share, you know, how people contact you and connect with you.

And before that I would love for you to share, going back, you know, beginning of our conversation. We talked about meditation, we talked about retreats, we talked about yoga, things like that. And you highlighted how important piece is for you in your value system. I. Um, I want to invite you to [00:40:00] share, you know, for a lot of our listeners, it's not a very peaceful time.

How, how can we in our day-to-day life in a moment. When, whenever we feel anxious or unsettled or scared, um, or when we feel we are running out of field or feel burnt out, what is one thing that you would suggest people do to calm our mind and maybe reclaim just a little bit of peace?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Hmm, that's a good question. I think it's so specific to the individual.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: If I had to leave your, your audience with something, I, I think it would be to really carve out space and time to really understand what they believe is [00:41:00] true and important to them. And I think when you do that, you can start to develop a routine. a, or a action plan or, or a kind of go-to behavior in those moments. think that until people do that, and this is just my opinion, I

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Sure.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: people do that, a little bit of a bandaid approach.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Mm-hmm.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: going on? I'll give you a personal experience. I used to exercise. I mean, I've always been a pretty big believer in exercise, but I used to exercise for stress, so I'm like, oh, I'm stressed.

I go, I'll go work out. And I was like, okay, I feel be, feel better. Oh, I'm stressed. I'll go work out. I'm, uh, I'm feeling anxious. I'll go work out. it wasn't until I discovered like, gosh, I was just kind of put in a bandaid to pressure that I was feeling. And so I've shifted now to how do I create a routine that. Unlocks [00:42:00] more creativity that unlocks more enthusiasm and more intention for my life and the work that I do. And so case in point, I meditated this morning. That's part of the routine that brings me closer to who, who I'm aiming to be.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm. That's beautiful. Yeah. Rip off the bandaid people. Um, that's so interesting because another, uh, guest who came to the program recently, uh, she shared, you know, I asked her, you know, how can we help people dream more these days, especially young people? And she says something very similar is to literally take 10 minutes out of your day, lay down, do nothing.

Just be with the moment and let a dream come to you. It's so similar and, but you know, we gotta do it. We need [00:43:00] to do it. We need that space and time.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I think that's great. Yeah. I mean, small, small, small things that I've built into my habits. You know, if I'm thinking about a problem or if I'm trying to think about a new, um, direction for my business or a client situation, I'll, I'll take that thing right into my workout and I'll just, I'll be on the bike or I'll be on a run.

And I'm just thinking about that one thing and just the incredible benefits of, um, thinking differently and more creatively while you're working out, I think is just. Is, it's super, super valuable for me.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: I cannot agree more. I totally agree. Um, so yeah, now is the time to share, you know, where do people find you and work with you, which I highly recommend. Please, people go work with Kim. And, uh, where, where do people find you and contact you?

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: Um, well, I'm, I'm definitely active on social media, [00:44:00] um, LinkedIn primarily. Um, and then you can check out my website at, uh, achieve. Dash excellence.com. Um, I've got a, a bunch of resources for free. Um, and if somebody's inclined to reach out, I always offer a free discovery call. Um, it's not a sales pitch or an agenda, it's really just an honest conversation about my approach, my philosophy, I get to learn a little bit about. Um, some prospective clients and then ultimately try to understand whether or not I'm a good fit and if I could actually deliver on what that individual is looking for.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Hmm. Great. We'll make sure to share your LinkedIn and website in our show notes and in our uh, social post as well. And with that, thank you so much, cam.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: For sure. Well, before we go, thank you. I appreciate this opportunity to have a conversation. It [00:45:00] was delightful and audience doesn't know this, but we had ended up meeting through a mutual connection and I'm

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Yes, we did.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: glad that we got together for coffee and I got to learn more about you and the incredible work that you're doing. So I appreciate that your time and efforts in spreading a positive message for more people to discover, uh, even more clarity and impact in their lives.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: Thank you so much, cam, and I'm gonna say a very cheesy ending, which I usually don't do, which is may peace be with you.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: I love it. Made peace with you.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: All right, take care.

cam_1_10-09-2025_103147: see ya. Bye.

zhou_1_10-09-2025_103148: I'm gonna end recording here.