Rooted & Unwavering

There is only one version of Robert Washington, Sales Leader at Microsoft, proud father of 6, devoted husband, award-winning speaker and retired US Navy Seal and Professional Martial Artist. Robert stays committed to his commitment to keep investing in his relationship with himself, his faith, his family and his focus (his work). “’I truly care’ that's who I am,” shares Robert. He focuses on s...

“When we shrink fear what takes its place is love,” shares Renée Smith, CEO and Founder of the Human Workplace. She sees putting love at the center as her joyful assignment and she has built a thriving organization around it. What does love at work mean? Renée asked this as part of the primary research she conducted and found that love has many facets, including: respect, trust, kindness, compassi...

We connect to our deeper selves by letting go of our attachments to what is not true and by allowing our true essence to come to the foreground of our experience. We discover this connection to our deeper sense of being by taking the seat of the observer and watching how our small self keeps contracting around images we have of ourselves, others and the broader world, to the exclusion of the broad...

Bert van der Hoek, CEO of the Trimbos Institute for mental health in the Netherlands, shares how his orientation has become more and more inclusive over the course of his life. As a young man his focus was on his own performance and success, and that of his immediate team and family. Now he is focused on serving a higher purpose: creating a better world. He uses purpose also as a powerful leadersh...

“At a point you think no one could love you, and here are strangers showing you love,” reflects James Christensen, CEO of Gateway Bank, on his personal growth journey, transforming severe depression and isolation into deep connectedness with himself and others. Part of the way he leads now includes sharing in a profoundly genuine way, for example that he has moments when he feels completely worthl...

How do we work through challenging emotions? Says Karen Nowicki, Trauma Guide “Giving myself space to feel the darkest feelings without making myself or anyone wrong.” In that space we can access our wiser self and ask: “How much of what I'm feeling and experiencing is really a response to my own trauma I've been carrying?” And then sitting with it and letting the lesson land in you. Karen...

How do we stay connected to some kind of sanity when our country is being invaded by another one? Says Yaryna Klyuchkovska, a senior communications expert, living in Kyiv: “As a country we are surviving because we've learned who we are. Yaryna shares that war has taught her more of what she is truly made of. She acts on what she truly values, even if it means losing relationships, and a presti...

A “common feature of fear – it usually highlights where we need to grow,” we read in  “Unfear,” the book that Rooted & Unwavering guest Gaurav Bhatnagar wrote together with his colleague Mark Minukas. Believing that we are separate and forgetting that we are all part of the same essence, consciousness, causes us to lose our sense of well-being. Being exhausted is a sign that we have are not ye...

How do we come back to our true selves, especially when challenged and lead from that values-based place? Augusto Muench, President of Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico, Central America and Caribbean wears a bracelet that reminds him to be humble, especially when he feels triggered. Is this thought coming from my higher self or is it my ego who is trying to take over and force a solution? He shares how...

What can we learn from six senior leaders about leading large organizations connected to our best selves? Join Hylke Faber and Rick Gage as they reflect together on the past six Rooted & Unwavering episodes with: Pamela Mattson from Outreach, Amit Basak from Full Potential Solutions, Greet Prins from the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Bernard Slowey from Salesforce, John Rex, formerly at Microsoft...

How does sharing our stories help us to connect more deeply with ourselves and each other? How do we help each other by sharing our story? What do we want our legacy story to be that becomes a seed for someone else’s? Pradeep U.N., Senior Director, Inclusive Innovations at Microsoft, shares his story about making choices on what truly adds to his life and about staying courageously curious to lear...

What story do you tell yourself about not being ready yet to do and be what you truly aspire to be? What becomes possible when you inquire into your “I can only…when…” limiting beliefs and let them go? How can you respond to this moment in a way that brings you peace in your heart and feeling pride in your actions? Listen to this episode of Rooted & Unwavering and hear what John Rex, Executive...

Where do we find the wherewithal to choose courage over comfort consistently? How do we help ourselves to stay open and curious? Bernard Slowey, Vice President of Digital Customer Success at Salesforce, shares how it all starts with selfcare. Going for a run, spending time with his wife and five-year-old sun, meditating and finding other ways to take care of monkey mind helps him to stay grounded...

How do we stay grounded in authentic wisdom and purposefulness, without losing ourselves in our individual perspective? “We need to stay deeply curious about perspectives different from ours,” says Greet Prins, Chairman of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, and inquire into the underlying reasons why people hold these perspectives. Greet speaks to the power of staying open and actively absorbing diver...

Amit Basak, who leads Full Potential Solutions and Perch Insights, says that to create peak flow at work, we need to integrate excellence and accountability with grace – having deep empathy for where the other person is coming from. And then take 100% responsibility to foster an environment in which people can realize their full potential. Practicing grace doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to low p...

Being connected to others starts with connecting to our own true selves. When we connect to our true selves, we notice resonance and dissonance. From a place of inner resonance, we share our truth with others, holding it lightly, knowing it may only be 2% of the full picture. People leaders help unlock the collective genius of the group by creating a safe space, ‘the safest table,’ for people to s...

What is the experience being rooted and unwavering? How does it help us lead differently? And how do we practice connecting to our deeper core? Rooted & Unwavering host Hylke Faber and Rick Gage, Growth Leaders Network Executive Director, explore lessons learned from the first four Rooted & Unwavering conversations with Toni Townes-Whitley, NASDAQ Board Member, Zoya Lytvyn, leader of the U...

Stepping into our higher purpose, we connect to a deeper sense of energy that we experience viscerally, shares Erica Schaper, Chairman of the Board of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Purpose helps Erica to be decisive, also when she needs to take unpopular decisions. In the heat of a challenging conversation, she keeps an eye on what is truly important, so as not get...

How do we connect to our deeper wisdom and compassion, especially when challenged? Comes in Grace. “Grace” is the name Rene Yoakum has given to her wiser, more mature inner self. Says Rene “Grace is about 20 years older than I am.” Rene Yoakum, EVP of Customer and Culture at Remitly, shares in this episode of Rooted & Unwavering how she has found in Grace a great inner mentor that helps her mo...

Peace, Compassion, Wisdom, Purposefulness, Creativity and Strength come online in us when we deeply connect with the true, unwavering greatness that lives within ourselves and others. In this podcast and radio show, Hylke Faber engages in deep inquiry with leaders from all walks of life about courageously connecting with our true selves, others and the world at large. How do we stay connected to o...

Peace, Compassion, Wisdom, Purposefulness, Creativity and Strength come online in us when we deeply connect with the true, unwavering greatness that lives within ourselves and others. In this podcast and radio show, Hylke Faber engages in deep inquiry with leaders from all walks of life about courageously connecting with our true selves, others and the world at large. ​ How do we stay connected to...