The Importance of Digital Connections?

Welcome to the eleventh Interdisciplinary Thinking!

I wanted to use this newsletter to make things more accessible. I want to highlight some incredible people to share their stories to elevate social mobility. 

This is a personal blog of sorts which I want to explore more themes including neurodiversity, at work and inclusion and other interesting things.

This week I am joined by a new friend Eric Klug, President of Japan House S?o Paulo. He has such an eclectic experience of everything brilliant, I couldn't help but ask him to be a part of this.

Fun stuff:

Wired examines if Covid-19 vaccines could end up with bias built right in. Biases are everywhere and this was eye-opening.

MIT Tech Review reports that scientists have found a way to decode brain signals into speech. This is super cool, I wonder how this would work with those of us who are neurodiverse (like me!)

Huffington Post explores how the drawbacks of hiring for ‘culture fit'. What do you think of culture fit?

Courier created a wonderful resource on how to set up an effective interview process. I thought this was a great resource for any new managers or companies wanting to mix things up a bit.

Medium on why Spotify filled with search-optimised spammers. This was very interesting as I'd never thought of Spotify as a search engine before.

Canning House is hosting a new sustainable development series. how Latin America's people, environment and economies can adapt to become resilient to the combined impacts of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

TechRound has opened nominations for its Top BAME 50 Under 50 Entrepreneurs. Nominate your top people now!

Oh and, Vin Diesel has begun a music career by releasing a pop song. I am very very excited to see this.

The Guardian reported that five African grey parrots at a British zoo believed to be a bad influence on each other, having told people where to go.

Spotlight: Finding digital connections + peer-to-peer support

Welcome to a new mini-series on digital connections!

After the success of the four-part networking segment I curated for the past month and a half, I wanted to explore something I've been thinking a lot about: digital connections.*

When we talk about digital connections, we can often feel very removed or remote (even more so now!). Timings of how we work can also play into how and where we form relationships. It is something I've often thought about how my personality and work preference can give context as to who/how I connect and engage with others.

I am an oddball. I like early mornings, but I also like very late nights. I partially blame having a wonderful trilateral superpower of dyslexia, ADHD and anxiety. I find I am most productive at these times, due to the lack of distractions. There is also something about the morning I love to no end.

A live poll I've been conducting on this very subject. Initial predictions suggest over half of respondents are very early morning risers and that quite a few like late nights too.

But can you be a night owl and an early bird?

Championing peer-to-peer intersectionality from the onset.

Adding value by lifting others up whenever you can.

I value peer learning like nothing else. I have found so much value from this, and the informal network I've built around myself.

Last week I was became named a HERoes 100 Women Future Leaders List 2020. I ended up being listed as 27th.

This happened due to how much I value peer support and adding value by trying to lift others up.

Peer support is when people use their own experiences to help each other. There are a few different types of it, but they all seek to bring people together with shared experiences to support each other. Everyone should feel like their experiences are equally important.

A large part of peer support for me is the aspect of creating a space to enable people to feel accepted and understood.

However, this sort of relationships can be difficult to navigate. This is especially true for the first time you begin with something like this. Often, you can become caught up in the optics of a 'power play' or the wider narrative of the hierarchy of things. In addition to this, we can often get caught up with comparing ourselves to others, their journeys and how far they've come.

In these spaces, it is key to come into it with an open and curious mind, as everyone is learning from each other.

The community factor

How we can thrive in times of remoteness

I caught up with a good friend, Tee Twyford, a Leadership Coa on some of the peer mentoring circles she ran this year. We both noted that the community aspect of learning from others can have incredible effects on people. Tee noted that she has found that people have really thrived in this context.

I've personally seen a lot of people thrive in a sense of community. We've found this across all of our community events at G&G, where we ran weekly sessions online since March. I do think the informal network I've built around myself of interesting and inspiring people has helped me to be more confident.

Tee further noted two blessings in the pandemic space. First, the awakening to the fact that real-time, in-person talking meetings aren’t the optimal setting for everyone to be at their best and contribute. Second, perhaps there isn’t actually a one-size-fits-all answer that works for everyone.

"It’s no longer about just doing meetings in person by default where the loudest person wins."

Collaboration is key to coming together, building a sense of community and formulating our sense of purpose. I do believe that there are so many different situations where people can lift each other up, connect in different ways and come together to learn.

I just launched The Showcase, focused on championing intersectionality at every opportunity and to build on this idea of peer support.

Why not nominate yourself or nominate someone else now?

*The next few segments will be focused on digital connections, skills and growth mindset. If you have any questions or recommendations do reach out!

This Week: An Interview with Eric Klug, President of Japan House S?o Paulo.

I am beyond excited to speak to Eric, he has been so involved with everything I hold dear. Connecting with people globally, supporting others and adding value where possible. I connected with Eric via LinkedIn and it has been a joy to get to know him.

Eric Klug is an experienced director of organisations in the cultural sector with a strong international background, currently the President of Japan House S?o Paulo.

Previously, as CEO of ID Brasil, Eric headed a team of 78 people managing one of the most celebrated Brazilian museums, the Football Museum and the reconstruction of the Museum of Portuguese Language destroyed by a major fire in 2015. Major achievements include partnerships with sponsors such as Motorola, Globo, Itaú, Via Varejo and Decathlon which enabled the Football Museum to promote temporary exhibitions in S?o Paulo, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and the Rio Grande do Sul as well as partnerships with Nike, Itaú and Google to promote local and global projects linked to the 2019 Women′s World Cup. The Museum of Portuguese Language had exhibitions in seven cities in the state of S?o Paulo, and in three African countries: Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique. Its main building was fully restored in December 2019 and will be soon open to the general public.

Before that, Eric was Deputy Director of the British Council in Brazil overseeing projects in Arts, Sports, English language, Education and Exams delivered in 20 of the 27 Brazilian states and leading a multi-cultural team of five directors and 65 staff. Eric was also responsible for the institutional relationship with not-for-profit partners such as SESC, SESI and SEBRAE; corporates such as HSBC, Itaú, Santander, UBS, BG and Jaguar Land Rover; government departments including CAPES, CNPq and DCMS; funding agencies like FAPESP and FAPEMIG and non-departmental government bodies such as Arts Council England and Creative Scotland.

After graduating in Engineering, Eric has developed a career in the Arts working for organizations such as Cultura Artística, Mozarteum, Museum of London and the English Chamber Orchestra.

Jess Gosling: You've had such a diverse career, could you tell us more about your experiences?

Eric Klug: I'd say my career has had three 'phases'. In the first, I was an engineer in Brazil, working for some time also in Switzerland and Germany. In the second, I worked as an art producer/promoter for pop music, contemporary circus, dance and theatre. The third was to work for organisations which operate internationally and focus on culture, education and development.

The breakthrough for me was to leave a career that was 'safe' into the 'unknown' of the arts, but it had always been one of my passions. I have always had two passions, travelling and the arts in general. Working as an interface between business and the arts, being able to talk to artists and sponsors was a way to get in this sector and add real value. It was through my experience of working in events as a producer in Argentina, Portugal, for the likes of the English Chamber of Orchestra and even the Museum of London that I found out how much the arts and education contribute to society.

I joined the British Council in 2011 as Deputy Director in Brazil. I was so inspired to be working in such an international network. The power of collaboration is a wonderful thing. We focused on four specific areas: Arts, English, Education and Sports. Sports was the biggest area of engagement since we had the Olympic handover and we developed incredibly powerful projects, such as Try Rugby and Premier Skills, and it was wonderful to work so collaboratively. Six years later I left the British Council to run two museums, the Football Museum and the Museum of Portuguese Language. I′ve just moved on, during the Pandemic, to be the President of Japan House S?o Paulo.

JG: What was the biggest challenge in your career?

EK: The biggest challenge is always to see the bigger picture, I think. I find it key to understand what the organisation really is about, and not to be trapped in financial issues or bureaucratic details of the organisation. In this field, being true to the big ambitions and big ideas, to build a programme that is meaningful for the society and is aligned with the Mission. By using bigger picture thinking, we can open the eyes of others to knowledge/experiences they aren't aware of.

JG: What was your proudest moment?

EK: One of the biggest things I am proudest of is the role that I can play in others′ lives. To use elements of sports, culture, arts and the like to change peoples lives for the better. Whilst in the museums' sector, we found that we had over half a million people through our doors every year, which in turn creates opportunities and further dialogue. Even the smallest programme can be seen to have the biggest impact.

Why "interdisciplinary thinking"?

Because I fully believe that building expertise, learning from others and bringing together different industries is a positive thing. We often do not go outside our own industries. I've also had six-career changes and relish in the transferrable skills I've picked up along the way. Join me in building unique expertise on all things culture, diplomacy and innovation!

Growth & Grace Collective (G&G) network, a global network seeking to connect, inspire and empower people in all stages of their lives to grow wholesomely. We change the narrative around professional development through masterclasses, a supportive online community, life skill workshops and more.

Co-founded by Jess Gosling (me) - a UK Civil Servant, an Award-Winning Entrepreneur, Public Speaker & International Strategy/Culture/Leadership Consultant. I am a serial multi-hyphenate seeking to bridge the gap between culture, diplomacy and innovation with my bi-weekly LinkedIn segment (Interdisciplinary Thinking) where she built a following of 9k in two months.

Last week I launched my new LinkedIn initiative, The Showcase. Published every two weeks, The Showcase is all about championing intersectionality at every opportunity. Why The Showcase? Because there are so many inspiring people globally that I wanted to use my platform to support. We often feel like we can't showcase ourselves. Let me help you showcase yourself!

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Thanks for reading—see you in two weeks!