"The More I Show My ALOHA, The More I Come From A Place Of Being Authentic." with Coleen Gose, on the ALOHA Framework, the Philosophy of Mahalo, and Intergenerational Communications.

Zhou Fang: [00:00:00] And we are recording. Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Intersection, a podcast program about intersectionality, intersectional identities, and intersectional journeys. And as we all know, all these journeys, they come with a story as well, and there's always a real person behind that story. And, um, I always feel very blessed to have these amazing guests coming on and share their stories with us. Um, so today is no exception, and I'm very excited to welcome Colleen Gose to be on the program. And Colleen and I, we met, I think, a, a while back through, uh, HR community, I think. Um, that's how we first met. And then, and then at the time, I learnt about your work in, uh, c- intergenerational communications, I think, um, cultural differences and how we can work with each other, et cetera. [00:01:00] And you are the founder of Colina Consulting. um, so yeah, I would love for you to maybe introduce yourself.

Coleen Gose: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. So my journey is, is one of, I, I guess a lot of change and being open to that change. So as you said, I, I was born and raised, I was born and raised in Hawaii. Um, spent my childhood there, uh, spent, you know, till I was 18, then I went to college in Washington State.

And the reason I went there was because I wanted to experience something different. You know, I was, I was one of these people that I loved Hawaii, I loved their culture, and I loved sharing it with the rest of, of the world, if you will, through my work now. But I also wanted to experience something different.

I wanted to experience different seasons, I wanted to experience different cultures. So I m- I went to Washington State for college, spent four years there, and it, it was, it was very much a culture shift for me. And it was, is really meeting different people from different places and, and having them understand me and I'm [00:02:00] understanding them.

And what it truly taught me was to really understand people's stories. 'Cause when you meet someone for the first time, you think, okay, you, you form a- as, as we do with all human beings, we form our judgments around them. Oh, they're this way or they're that way. But we don't always take the time to kinda understand their story.

Why are they the way they are? Why do they respond the way they do? And when you can truly understand someone's story, you can truly understand and even have empathy for why they may be going through some pain and some hardship. So I went to Washington. I went back to Hawaii for five years, um, as an adult, um, and decided I wanted to move to California and, and start, uh, another chapter of my life.

So I moved to California, um, and got married, had my girls there, and entered the corporate world while I was there. So I was fortunate enough to work for some smaller companies initially, you know, trying to get my feet wet, and then I was lucky enough to start my career with DHL Worldwide, which is a large company, but It was one of those things where I [00:03:00] started my, my, uh, corporate journey, if you will, not really understanding what the corp-- how the corporate world functioned.

But I was truly lucky enough to have my first mentor. She was my boss. She was the general counsel for DHL, so she had a very big responsibility, but she was also so compassionate. She taught me, as a leader, how to be who you are, how to come up with authentic leadership. And when I was starting my career, I had no idea what those words meant.

What do you mean authentic leadership? I thought to be a leader, you had to act a certain way, and you had to be stoic, and you had to be tough, and you had to come to work with no emotions. But she taught me differently. She was like: "No, no. You can be who you are," and this is who I am. And it really helped me to grow and it, and it was during a time in my life where I was struggling as an individual.

Um, I, I'm a domestic violence survivor, so I sur-survived a long relationship as a, as a survivor, going through a lot of stuff even during this time. But she was my, my... not necessarily my... She was my boss, but she was [00:04:00] also my mentor. She didn't ask me a lot of questions, but she knew something was going on, and she was always there to support me no matter what.

She gave me some-- She gave me ti-chance to have, you know, s-the spotlight, but I was not a person that wanted a spotlight, but I knew that it was important to have that. And she gave me those opportunities, which I really appreciated. Um, and in my career, and then after that, I-- while I was there at DHL, I also went for my MBA, so which opened up some more doors for me.

And I, I was fortunate enough to work for companies like Levi Strauss, Genentech, a lot of large companies that were doing some really great stuff in the world. And I was in for-- I felt fortunate to work for them, not only in the role that I was doing. I was in sourcing and procurement, so I did contracts, negotiated pricing, saved companies millions of dollars in my work.

But really, the work that I really enjoyed was how I was able to lead other people and, and take a lot of the lessons I learned from my first mentor and say: "No, I wanna be a leader that helps people shine, that gives people the opportunity to [00:05:00] shine, and gives people the opportunity to grow." And not only that, but also gives people a chance to have a safe space to be not only who they are, be able to bring their ideas.

You know, they wanna push back Please do. I wanna hear your ideas. And this is how we grow and innovate as organizations. And I was able to, throughout my career, my 30-year career working in corporate world, I was able to really see that as really, I, I think, the legacy I left was really being able to have teams be able to teach people being, being themselves.

What does authentic leadership look like? What does it mean to be a leader that leads with candor, with care? How do we state what we wanna say in a way that's not hurtful, but it really helps people grow? And, and really do it in a way that comes across that, yes, I'm here to help you. I'm here to mentor you, and I want that for you.

I want you to be successful. So throughout my career, I was able to do that, and I felt that that was my legacy, not the other stuff that I did, not saving a lot of [00:06:00] money and all that kind of stuff. But my legacy was really building better teams, better people, better communities in that respect. So when I left the corporate world, I went, "What do I wanna do now?

I wanna do something that still has some impact, but what does that look like?" So I decided to start a business, Pi'ilina. Pi'ilina means, um, connection in Hawaiian, so I really wanted to really go back to my Hawaiian roots and really bring that to the corporate world. How do we talk about Pi'ilina? How do we talk about building connection?

How do we talk about building balance, which we call pono in Hawaiian? How do we build balance in relationships? And then also, how do we, you know, bring trust and respect into those relationships as well? So I bring a lot of that. My aloha comes out in, in my talks. I talk a lot about what does aloha mean, 'cause people talk about aloha being, yeah, it's good hello and goodbye in Hawaiian.

People say it a lot in Hawaii, but there's so much more to that. H- Aloha truly means how we show up as people. How do we show up in terms of giving people a voice? How do we show up in [00:07:00] accepting differences in people, you know? And we're all gonna come across people that we don't either agree with, we may not accept them, but how do we accept them and allow them to be who they are?

We may not agree with them, but how do we come from a place of acceptance? So I bring my aloha into it as well. And my speaking is I do speaking, I do workshops, which I really love getting to the deeper dive of stuff, and really talk about how do we bridge those gaps, bridge the gaps in communication. How do we bridge the gaps in generational differences?

So I talk about h- we've got five generations sometimes in the workplace. How do we all communicate better? How do we all get along well? You know, how do we forget our diff- not forget necessarily, but how do we put aside our differences and say, "Now, we all have the same goal. We all wanna work towards the same goal in the, in the workplace."

How do we do that and still be able to trust and respect and build good relationships?

Zhou Fang: That's fascinating, and congratulations on your business. I think last time you told me maybe it's been like five years or so[00:08:00]

Coleen Gose: It has been five years. It's, seems like it went by so quickly.

Zhou Fang: Um, so I'm personally very interested in learning more about intergenerational communications and how it shows up in our personal lives as well as at workplace. So can you share a little bit more, like how does your ALOHA, uh, method, uh, help leaders and organizations, um, to connect the gaps or to bridge the gaps?

Coleen Gose: Thank you for asking. That's a great question. So when I think about Aloha, I think about... Aloha is really how do we show up in the workplace? How do we show up in our lives? And it's really talking about Aloha. When I think about the word Aloha, I've come up with like a framework so people can- uh, can remember what Aloha stands for.

Aloha, A stands for awareness. You know, knowing your tone, knowing your assump- excuse me, your assumptions and your impact. 'Cause [00:09:00] we all have assumptions, we all have judgments, but what are there? What are they? 'Cause that helps us to understand where we're coming from. And, and especially intergenerational relationships, so like what are my assumptions about the different generation, which may or may not be true, but what are those?

And then I can look at that and, and understand my perspective and be able to be open to theirs. L stands for listening. How do we listen for understanding versus listening to respond? So many times when we listen, we listen to respond. I know I'm very much guilty of that. I'll sit there and go, "What is that person gonna ask me?

I better, you know, make sure I've got an answer," versus truly understanding what they're saying and coming from a place of curiosity to really ask those questions, to really understand their perspective. O stands for openness. How do I make space for different perspectives? You know, we all have our own perspectives, but how do we open the door to understand different perspectives and different ideas?

And I think when we talk about different generations, [00:10:00] that is really key. How do I open myself to understand how Gen Xers think? You know, how do they present themselves in the workplace? You know, how do I think about millennials? 'Cause when you think of millennials, they are diff- two different type, what I mean by two different generations within the millennial workspace.

You've got '80s millennials, and you've got '90s millennials, and interestingly enough, they're very different based on the life experiences they've had. So really understanding what those are are key. Now how do they wanna communicate? You know, what is their form of communication is really key. And then H stands for honesty, speaking truth with compassion.

You know, candor with care. I wanna be able to speak my truth and really have you hear my truth, but doing it in a way that's compassionate. I'm not sitting here to put you down or to make you feel bad, but I really want you to understand things that can help you improve and can help make things better.

But coming from a place of wanting to do that so that we can all succeed. And then A stands for alignment, you know, ensuring clarity [00:11:00] and ensuring shared understanding. And in Hawaiian, pono is the word you would use for shared understanding. It means how do you create balance, you know, within relationships so that people have, uh, respect and trust, but also shared understanding as well.

A- and that really comes into key. When I think of the word aloha and those-- that framework, it really comes into how do we address each other intergenerationally? You know, how do I understand... I'm a baby boomer, so how do I understand a Gen Z? How do I understand how to communicate with them? You know, what is important to them?

And it's so funny because when I've done, uh, uh, presentations about generational differences, you know, people have their, their judgments or mindsets around, especially the Gen Z population of people. You know, "Oh, they're lazy," or, "They're this way. They're that way." They're not. They're not. They really aren't.

But it's like understanding why people have those, um, assumptions, you know, and then really breaking down those assumptions. So I do a lot of that in my workshop, breaking down assumptions. You know, let's all sit [00:12:00] together. Let's you, let the baby boomers sit with the Gen Z and really kinda understand their perspective and really understand how do you communicate.

'Cause when you think about it, interestingly enough, when you think of a baby boomer and a Gen Z, they both want face-to-face communication, especially when they're doing face-- when they're doing, um, feedback sessions. They both want face-to-face communication. They both understand the importance of that.

But you would never know that if you didn't have that understanding that you both want the same thing. You both want truthful honesty, but you both want it face-to-face versus millennials may a- want it more, they're okay with having it, you know, virtual or having it, um, in writing. They don't need to have that face-to-face.

But there are generations that do. So really understanding how people wanna communicate is key.

Zhou Fang: That's so cool. I think I actually didn't know Gen Z prefers in-person time or, like, FaceTime,

Coleen Gose: Mm-hmm.

Zhou Fang: guess it would make sense after, you know, going through COVID, you know, [00:13:00] in their, uh... Maybe during COVID, a lot of Gen Z people are- were teenagers, so maybe they missed out that kind of in-person, uh, quality time, and now they really need it and just consider it as really important.

So from that perspective, the kind of generational gap is connected by, you know, um, personal connections and interactions, you know, say, between, uh, baby boomers and Gen Zs. Yeah. That's aw- that's awesome. Um, and you also, last time when we chatted, you also told me about, uh... Well, first of all, thank you for telling me about the ALOHA framework. Um, I love, you know, it, it represents awareness, listening, openness, honesty, and alignment. I feel all of them are very, very important in today's kind of leadership, uh,

Coleen Gose: Yes

Zhou Fang: Um, a [00:14:00] lot of folks feel, you know, oh, I feel there is some misalignment, but I don't really know how to address that. Well, first of all, we need to kind of be aware of what's going on and listen deeply and actively. I think we need to set up the foundation in order to achieve alignment. Um, so thank you for sharing the ALOHA framework. Um, I'm always also curious about, you know, last time we chatted, you told me a little bit about mahalo, which is, uh, thank you, right? Like, in Hawaiian. Um, can you share a little bit more about your mahalo philosophy?

Like, how does that show up at your work and, um, just in community in general?

Coleen Gose: And that's another word like, like aloha. You know, people hear that aloha, mahalo a lot, and, and they think it's just, just a simple thank you. But, but aloha, um, mahalo means more than just thank you. It, it means how do [00:15:00] we... It's thanking you for your support. It's thanking you for seeing me. A- and there's so much more, uh, based about it.

You know, people look at mahalo in a genuine way of, of connection. You know, I'm thanking you because I'm now connected to you. But also I'm connected to you, you're my support. I support you, you support me. That's one thing I learned, uh, uh, even as a small child in Hawaii, how people just connect so easily.

Mahalo kind of connects us. We thank each other, but we also come from a place, truly a place of appreciation. Because it, our, our relationships mean much more than just, you know, I see you every day, I, I like you, I t- but it's more like I trust you. You are important to me. You know, in times of need, you are there to support me.

And, and, and people support each other. Mahalo means just more than that. Mahalo means you're there to support me, you're there for me. When things are tough, I can count on you Mahalo. It, there, there's ... I'm saying it like that because [00:16:00] there's so much more to that word. A- and when I think about my own experiences as a child, like, whenever things got tough in, in our, in our community, even people we didn't really know well, everybody was there to help each other.

"What do you need me to do? What do you need me to help you with?" You know? Never once was it ever like, "Oh, geez, I can't help you 'cause I gotta keep it for myself." No. "What do you need? I'm here to share." Sharing is so important. We learned very young as, as kids to share. Share not only within our families, but sharing in the community, and mahalo kinda talks about that.

Mahalo is, "Yes, I generally care for you. I'm generally appreciative of your support, and the fact that you're willing to share your resources, share your time." You know, whatever it may look like. You know, the mentorship aspect. When I think about when I was a little girl, I had people in my life, older people in my life that were willing just to share their time.

You know? They, they would sit down with me. I remember being three years old and my next-door neighbor, who was like a grandmother to me, she would spend [00:17:00] hours just sitting with me. I don't even know what we talked about. What do you talk to a three-year-old about, really, for hours? But she did. But she was just there to support me, and I felt that.

You know? And I was so thankful for that because she didn't have to. She didn't have to spend her time with me, but she did because she was part of that community that was part of my, my growth. You know? My village. It takes a village. It really does. And in Hawaii, it really does take a village 'cause people are really there to support you and help you in any way you can, and just e- even if it's just listening to what you have to say, they're there to help.

And, and when I think mahalo, I think of all of those reasons. It's not just thank you. It's everything. It's like, "Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for being part of my family. Thank you for the support that you provide." That's what I think about when I hear the word mahalo.

Zhou Fang: , You know, after, Colleen, you shared with me about mahalo, um, what was going through my mind was, um, it's very grounding, you know, knowing that mahalo is much, much more than [00:18:00] thank you, and a lot of that is about our appreciation to our people, to the land, to- Mm-hmm

where we come from. Mm-hmm. You know, going back to your roots in Hawaii, you mentioned it really takes a village, um, to raise a child, and that's how I felt too, you know, coming from China. Um, I also grew up... I'm a only child, so for me, my village is my family and my extended family, like my parents, of course, and my grandparents and my cousins, et cetera.

So I really resonate with that. And when you say mahalo is much, much more than a simple thank you, but really to show your, um, appreciation and to tell people, "I'm here to support you, and I'm here to share my resources with you," and for me, that's actually, uh, very mo- I'm, I'm, I'm quite moved by it just thinking about it.

It's very, um... It, [00:19:00] uh, I think a lot of us in the States perhaps take the things we have for granted- Um, we forget about how precious things are or people are, honestly, and, uh, community is. Um, so I'm very grateful that you told me about, um, the, the true, the true meaning behind, uh, mahalo. So thank you. Oh, you're welcome.

Yeah. So combining aloha and mahalo, the wisdom you learned, uh, from Hawaii, and now you live in Portland, Oregon, um, how do you be the... And maybe just kind of, um, stepping out of your work a little bit, um, just stepping into your life, is how do you be the connector, right, between, uh, Oregon and perhaps the mainland to Hawaii, the island?

We know there is such a complicated history there, uh, about [00:20:00] colonization, about controlling and occupying, and, um, I feel to me you are almost like the cultural, like a messenger or representative of, uh, Hawaii. I know Hawaii is not a monolith either. Uh, it has so many people, different cultures, a very diverse community.

Um, so now when you go back to visit and come back to Portland, how does that make you feel just as a Hawaiian and right now as a Portlander? That's a great question. It, it, it's interesting because when I'm in Hawaii, you're right, Hawaii is such a melting pot. I mean, people, uh, I mean, I'm gonna grew up, we grew up in different cultures, and people are so willing to share their cultures and, and some of those cultures actually became Hawaiian cultures.

Coleen Gose: They may have come from Portugal or from the Philippines or anywhere else, but they became a Hawaiian culture 'cause we just shared it as, as, as well. And when I think about that, I think about the sharing [00:21:00] and, and creating that balance in those relationships and, and you talk about connection and how so important that is, and I try to bring that sense when I, when I live here in Portland, Oregon.

'Cause a lot of times I think we are so untrusting, uh, as a society and, and it c- it makes me really sad to say that because when I was growing up, it, I was so trusting because I knew the people who were telling me something, I, I could believe what they were saying. I knew that they cared about me. I knew that we were a community that was there to help each other, no matter what.

And then when I ma- moved to the mainland, I realized that I had to kinda temper some of my temp- my trusting nature. I couldn't be as trusting as I wanted to be because, you know, it, it wasn't something that was reciprocal, uh, which really saddened me to be honest when I first moved here. But then I realized that the more I can show my aloha, the more I can come from a place of being authentic, coming from a place of giving, and that people will then resonate with that.

There are more and more people I think that are, that especially in Portland, that resonate with that type of [00:22:00] behavior and want to be part of those kind of communities. They want to be there for each other and create connection. Um, and especially I think the younger generations do as well. They wanna have that sense of community, and they wanna be able to give back to commu- the community as well.

Philanthropy becomes very important, and I think I ... Some of that's from I believe philanthropy's very important just from a younger age, giving to people who needed help, and I think more and more people, especially the younger generations, uh, understand that and want to give back to community. So I think that's important.

And I see that more and more when I think about giving back, when I think about connecting with people, which, and then building that trust and respect- Is, is I think more and more people are understanding those values and wanting to bring those values into their relationships, and that's when, when I see that happening, when I see people, you know, really when I see work groups, you know, people from different backgrounds, and instead of sitting there and judging each other and maybe hating each other for something that someone can't really [00:23:00] control, it's really, no, get to know the person.

You know, get to know who they are. You know, something I learned is growing up in Hawaii, I want to get to know people for who they are, not for what they look like or what they may represent, but who are they as human beings, and I want to connect with you as a human being. And, and then you, you realize, wow, I never realized what a great person you really are and how much we really have in common if I just allowed myself not to, to have, you know, things get in the way of that.

So when I see relationships build from there, when I... And when I talk to different groups and want to open up those doors and saying, "Let's try to learn from each other," and understand the fact that the more differences we bring to the table, the more growth happens, the more innovation happens, the more I learn from other people.

I don't want people that think like me. I want to have people that think differently from me, 'cause I get to learn from you- Mm-hmm ... and you get to learn from me. So that's what I'm seeing when I, when I meet with people, when I do different groups. I want people to connect and really open up their ideas and really being able to really [00:24:00] create community with diverse groups of people, 'cause that's how we all learn and grow together.

Zhou Fang: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I- that's very well said. I totally agree. I think, you know, when, you know, when we talk about intersectionality, I think we talked about it earlier as well, is as different as people are, at the end of the day, we're all very similar people. Mm-hmm. We have a lot in common. Mm-hmm. Um, the things we want and need in life, they are very- they are all very basic stuff if we, you know, look beyond the appearance, look beyond the status, the class, things like that.

Right. Yeah. Those are all very, you know, made up stuff. It's like- Right ... and, um, these standards shift all the time, you know. Of course, the same $5 can buy you different things now compared to 20 years ago. Um, but really all we need is that, you know, s- the ability to live, like- Mm-hmm ... a decent life [00:25:00] and- Mm-hmm

have community and be able to support each other. Um, but nowadays it seems like the complexity of life, um, is- Not only confusing, but also very overwhelming. Mm-hmm. Exactly. Absolutely. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I'm very just, just being kind of a little bit reflective on what you've been talking about today, Colleen, is the Aloha framework and your idea of, or your practice of mahalo.

So, um, what are the other maybe, um, practices that you learned from your roots, from your culture that you feel our, mm, uh, like main- the mainland can learn from? Well, that's a great question. So I think it's also aloha, yes, a- and mahalo, and those things are really important. [00:26:00] But also understanding, like I brought up the word pono.

Coleen Gose: Pono means balance. It's how do we create balance in relationships, you know? How do we create that balance? 'Cause a lot of times the- relationships may be one-sided for whatever reason, but how do we create that balance? And balance really means communication. If I wanna create balance in a relationship, I'm gonna have to be curious.

I'm gonna have to start asking questions. Why do you think the way you do? You know, t- tell me more. I really wanna understand your perspective. And, and really creating more of a balance because of that. So if I understand you and you understand me more, and even if I- my initial thought may be, "Hey, we're coming from different sides of the world," if you will.

We've got different perspectives. We've got different ideas. Are we ever gonna be able to connect? Yeah, you can, but you've gotta be able to be open, to a- ask questions, and to be open to understanding that person's perspective. At the end of the day, you may not agree with them, and that's okay, but at least understand why they think the way they do.

And, and you realize that you may [00:27:00] have, like you b- brought up in the beginning, you may have more, more in common with people than you thought if you can just ask the questions and be open to accepting different ideas and different beliefs and different ways of thinking. And, and that's what I mean by pono, creating that balance.

How do I create the balance in those relationships? And creating balance means asking questions, understanding your perspectives, and having you understand mine. And, and, and really then at the end of the day, I realize, wow, you really do have some things in common that I never would've expected if I didn't spend that time with you, and really wanting to build that relationship.

Zhou Fang: Yeah. Yeah, I resonate with that a lot, kind of both in personal and professional relationships. Um, it's hard, definitely. I think- Mm-hmm. Yes ... um, we talked about sometimes the myths of alignment, um, or the missing of alignment is, um, you know, whether or not the questions are gonna land, and how the receiving party is going to [00:28:00] interpret the question, or how they respond, and how their response is gonna land.

You know, that's tricky sometimes. And, um, it's humbling for me to think about, you know, even though I came from a communications background, but, you know, more than I want to admit, I make a lot of mistakes as well when it comes to- Mm-hmm ... communications, and I don't always get it right. Um, but I think- Being able to stay open and just to think, uh, I do make mistakes.

At the same time, you know, we do need to communicate. We need to ask each other questions to our best ability and always, you know, have that good intent. Like, you know, we're not out there to, uh, you know, people are not out there asking questions for no reason, 'cause people are curious. People want to know.

Right. [00:29:00] Um, so how do we harness that curiosity, I guess is another question as well. Exactly. It's hard to say. I think a lot of times when we think about, I- and I, and I'm guilty of this as well, when I initially would t- talk with people, and if I got some resistance, you know, when you think about con- conflict especially, you think, "Ooh, I, I'm not...

Coleen Gose: I don't enjoy conflict." Mm-hmm. I don't think that people really do, but there are people that deal with it better than others. But when you think about conflict and someone says or does something, go, "Ooh," your first reaction is to either stop perhaps, or not even go any further. I don't wanna, I don't wanna t- you know, understand your differences.

You're different. I'm just gonna end it at that. I'm gonna walk away. But it's like understanding the person's perspective, you know, is really important. Asking, like you said, asking those questions. But it's also really understanding people's story as much as you can. What is the guiding... I, I don't wanna put a guiding principle.

What is, what is really driving someone? You know, why are they acting the way they do? Maybe they're coming across resistance. They're coming across angry. They're coming [00:30:00] across, you know, not wa- It, it may seem like at first they don't wanna have a relationship of any kind with you. I always wonder why. You know, why?

And the only way to get to that why is to ask questions as much as you can. You know, "Hey, I really would like to, you know, have a r- you know, really wanna understand a little bit more about why y- what you said. You know, why do you think that way?" Or whatever that may be. Coming from that place of curiosity may help to brid- um, you know, make those bridges or those walls come down, and then you can understand that person.

At the end of the day, you may not want a relationship with them either. Hopefully you do. But at least you'll understand their perspective. Okay, now I get why you're angry, or why you reacted the way you do, or I understand why you think the way you do. I get it now because of your story. I understand it now.

I may not agree with it, but I understand it. Mm-hmm. And that's where people can then start to change their perspectives 'cause they may be hopefully open to hear your side as well. Mm-hmm. And they want to learn more [00:31:00] about you. And when people start breaking down their walls and asking those questions and really wanting to learn, that's where great relationships get formed.

Zhou Fang: Yeah, I, I really hope our listeners can, uh, take home with that, you know, it, it's not about at the end of the day you for sure will be able to solve all the problems and have, you know, all these great relationships, but having, like, an understanding and at the end of it perhaps some kind of acceptance, right?

Okay. Like, you accept that. Right. So thank you. Well, today I think we learned about, uh, first off, for, uh, Pilina, uh, that's the name of your business. Mm-hmm. Pilina means connection and pono means balance, and then aloha. Aloha means a lot. Aloha means awareness, listening, being open, being honest while being compassionate and having [00:32:00] alignment in our work and relationships, as well as mahalo.

Like you said, it's much, much more than a, a thank you, which is nice. A thank you is nice, but like goes beyond that. It's about appreciation and having that village mindset, I think. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Like, we're on this island together, we're in this village together. Let's build and let's up- uplift each other pretty much.

Mm-hmm. Right. Um, and also, you know, reflecting on your work, which is, uh, intergenerational communications and helping solve the conflicts and help each other just understand each other a little bit better. Mm-hmm. And how we leaders can set, like really set a good example to be someone who understands the generational differences and being able to bridge the gaps.

Exactly. Um, so yeah. So I really appreciate you coming on today, Colleen, and, um, and thank you for your patience with me as [00:33:00] we kind of switched gear a little bit, um, the recording technology here, and- No worries. Yeah. I, I do feel I need to... I think I, I let them know before about the echo issue, but somehow it came up again, so maybe they haven't really solved it.

Uh, maybe that's worth another note to them. Like, "Hey," like- ... yeah, how can we use aloha and mahalo to address these kind of technical issues, these, uh, pr- pretty persistent issues? Um, so not to be off track too much here, and as we wrap up our conversation, Colleen, um, can you share, you know, how do people find you and learn more about your, um, aloha framework and mahalo philosophy to help their organizations grow?

Coleen Gose: Oh, that, thank you for asking. So, uh, they can get ahold of me, uh, through my web... Well, two ways. Through [00:34:00] my, uh, email, which is connect@pilinaconsulting.com. Mm. And also, they can review my website, which is www.pilinaconsulting.com. Gotcha. Um, that's great. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing your cultural perspectives and your leadership, uh, perspectives with me today, Colleen.

Zhou Fang: And I know they are very interconnected. There's no leadership without culture, I think. Exactly. Um, so yeah, and tell me, when are you going back to Hawaii next time? Oh, God, that's a great question. I would go back tomorrow if I had a trip. Oh. No. I was just kidding. Um, I'm hoping to go back, uh, maybe later this year.

Coleen Gose: I try to go back at least once a year. Last year I went back for my daughter got married on Kauai, where I'm from, so that was wonderful. Oh, Kauai. Okay. And hope to go back... Yeah. Yeah. Hope to go back this year, if not early next year. But I try to make a trip every year, and it just kind of resets [00:35:00] me. I, I don't know how else to put it.

Being back in my, my community that I grew up with, you know, seeing my home that I grew up with, the people that I grew up with, my ohana, uh, I just... It just resets me, basically. It resets my thought processes, resets what I do, and I just come back with a, with a better perspective. You know, especially when things get hard, I'm like- Yeah

you know, things get difficult and I may not be in the right frame of mind. Whenever I think back to Hawaii or go back to Hawaii, it just provides that great reset. So I look forward to it. Mm. Does ohana mean home? Ohana means family. Ah. So when... In, in Hawaii, when we see ohana, w- it doesn't mean just your family that you're related to by blood.

It means people that you're close to, your community. Like when you talk about a village, my ohana in Hawaii is really people that I grew up with, my... They're like my, they're my family, you know, people that helped me throughout my life, my own family, people I... You know, my cousins and my aunts and uncles, 'cause I've got a lot of those, too.

So that's my ohana, and when I [00:36:00] think about it, I, you know, w- I was able to build my ohana here in Portland, you know, of people like yourself who are just, you know, wanting to connect and wanting to grow, and that's... When I think of ohana, those are the people that make up that. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Now I learned another new thing.

Zhou Fang: Community and village and family. Yeah. I, I appreciate that a lot. So, uh, thank you so much, Colleen. I hope you get to go back to your ohana soon, later this year. Me too. Yeah, me too. Yeah. Cool. Um, with that, I'm going to stop recording here.