Episode 1: Give to Gain — A Memo for Everyone Else In this year's first episode of Tune Up with The Moxy Gal, Ami narrates her latest column from The Manila Times reflecting on this year’s International Women’s Day theme: Give to Gain. Instead of speaking to women, this episode is addressed to everyone else: the leaders, institutions, and allies who have the power to open doors, share opportunity, and create real change. Because progress doesn’t happen through slogans. It happens when p...

Remember when you were in school and you had to work on group projects? Were you the one who took charge and handled the lion's share of the work? Or did you know back then that taking on all the work would lead to overwhelm, frustration, or burnout?Working with others is something that will always be a part of life - either at work, at home, or in any other spaces where you live. Managing your share of the work is key to ensuring that you continue to perform and leave yourself enough space to allow yourself - and others - to grow.In this latest episode, we'll tackle over-responsibility - that feeling that you're taking on more than your share of work. What signals does your body or mind send to you when you're approaching the limits of your productivity? How can you train yourself to see these signs before it's too late? What tips or tricks can you use to accept your limits so that you can develop strategies to move forward from a more aligned place?

Work hard, play hard, so they say. After intense periods of productivity or "doing  work", we need to set aside time for ourselves to recharge, reflect, and reset. Seriously - some of the most successful companies are so committed to play that they've enlisted play experts like Lego to help them figure out how to factor in play into their ways of doing business. In this episode, we talk all about play - why we need it, what we can do to get more of it, and literally carving out the time to brainstorm ways to make play an integral part of our lives. 

On this episode, we pause and do things a bit differently.As my own coach Alyssa would say, "If you want to go fast, slow down."One year into this new way of being and doing, we take a minute (or 15) to get present. It's super challenging in a volatile world where so many things clamor for our attention and energy, but being present can help us to process the mix of emotions that the last year in particular has surfaced, so that we can make new meaning and take action from a more centered place.Whether you're grappling with how you show up at work, at home, or in any other spaces you inhabit, consider this episode an invitation. We'll explore four things you can do to get still, get clear, and get realigned. TW: If you are feeling tender or sensitive to the topic of loss - loss of a job, loss of life, loss of identity - then proceed with care. This space is a safe one for you to try out things, but check in before you hit play to make sure you are in a place where you are ready and willing to do this work.

Why do we procrastinate? It's with good reason, I assure you. In this episode, we talk about the meaning behind procrastination - why we do it; what it tell us about our opportunities for growth - and our resistance to them; and some things we can do to try and test our capacity to move past the patterns of procrastination  and into the unfamiliar, scary, yet exhilarating space where a new reality is possible and where we can close in on meeting our goals -  professional and personal. This episode features insights that are drawn from work and scholarship on  leadership, limiting beliefs, design thinking, and growth from the likes of Dr. Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky from the Harvard Kennedy School; Alyssa Nobriga of the Institute for Coaching Mastery; and Bill Burnett and Dave Evans of Stanford University.

In this  episode, we talk about why it's so important for each of us be adaptable - meaning that we can change or be changed in order to deal successfully with new situations (thanks Oxford English dictionary...and also 2020.) We'll discuss why managing risk is so important to getting comfortable with change and stepping confidently into our growth as leaders; how each of us has a "default setting" when it comes to our tolerance for risk and change - one that's helped us to get to where we are but that can also get in our way; and some micro-experiments you can do to build your adaptability muscles, depending on whether you dive head first into the deep end of the pool, or dip your toes into the water before slowly wading in.

In our last episode, we talked about how it's important to build a personal Board of Directors to help you hold yourself accountable for meeting your goals and staying on purpose. But how do we come up with our purpose and stay committed to it? In this episode, we talk about four powerful questions you can ask yourself to get clear on your purpose and how you want to show up in the world. We'll take inspiration from the Japanese concept of Ikigai, Bill George's work on authentic leadership, and some insights from master coaches at the Institute for Coaching Mastery and other practitioners. I've also thrown in some added challenge for those who want to take your purpose game to the next level - whether you're the type of person that leads from the head, the hands, or the heart.

Whenever you're working towards a goal, it's helpful to have practical ways to hold yourself accountable. The bigger, hairier, more audacious the goal is, the more important it is to have people and structures in place to check in and gauge your progress. On this week's episode, we cover how to build your own personal Board of Directors. I call mine my A-team (A for Ami, but also for accountability.) We talk about the key roles that your Board members will play, what kinds of questions they can help you to answer, and how to build a relationship with each of these supporting roles, especially if you're starting "from scratch" (hint: it's as simple as asking someone out for coffee/tea.)

On this episode, we talk about what it means to be a problem solver. We take a deeper look at the work of Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the co-founders of Stanford's D-lab, and discover how to approach problems like designers by asking powerful questions that move us from analysis paralysis to action. You may not love problems like Bill and Dave do by the end of this podcast, but you will learn practical skills that will build your street cred as an always sought-after "problem solver."

On this episode, we talk about what you can do to stop feeling overwhelmed; why silence is the key to getting the clarity you need to come up with creative ways out of a challenging situation; and the three questions you can ask yourself to start making your work situation work for you.