00;00;02;18 - 00;00;42;21
Coach Dora Mendez
Welcome back, Amazing Leaders to another powerful episode of season three, Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host Coach Dora Mendez, and today, today we have an amazing conversation for you. Today's conversation is one that will speak to the heart of what it means to lead with both excellence and humanity. We are honored to welcome a leader who brings worlds of medicine and organizational leadership, clinical practice and systems transformation, science and spiritual values.
00;00;42;23 - 00;01;26;17
Coach Dora Mendez
Our guest today is none other than Doctor Falguni Shah, a physician, organizational psychologist, speaker, and author who has dedicated over 20 years to helping people and organizations not just function, but truly thrive. By the end of this conversation, you'll learn more about Truth Lighting. You will walk away with a renewed understanding of what it means to lead with cultural humility, a deeper appreciation for building systems where people can flourish with practical wisdom for creating work places rooted in dignity, justice, and wellness.
00;01;26;17 - 00;01;40;21
Coach Dora Mendez
This episode is an invitation to lead with both head and heart, unapologetically, powerfully, and with purpose. So settle in, take a breath and get ready.
00;01;40;23 - 00;02;06;11
Coach Dora Mendez
Hello and welcome to Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Dora Mendez. I am the founder and CEO of Coach Dora LLC. Our guests will be entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders that drive social impact. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be.
00;02;06;13 - 00;02;28;23
Coach Dora Mendez
It means so much that you join us week after week for these conversations that you are back with us for season three. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. This is why we started this podcast. If you are new to building leadership community, we are so glad you are here.
00;02;28;26 - 00;03;15;18
Coach Dora Mendez
Please don't forget to like, share and subscribe! So you never miss an episode. Say hi in the comments! If you're thinking of starting your own podcast, check out our mini course. I have some great resources to share with you. The entrepreneurs podcast blueprint. I've partnered with my husband and co-producer of this podcast, Dylan Rogers, to create five easy to follow video modules, along with a workbook that you can download and follow along at your own pace, and you get a very handy AI prompt sheet that will make getting your episode out there into the world a breeze.
00;03;15;20 - 00;03;49;09
Coach Dora Mendez
The link in the description takes you right to our course. Season three continues to deliver powerful conversation with amazingly inspiring leaders. Let me tell you about our guest today, Doctor Falguni Shah. Before we get started, I just want to just share, her book, Truth Lighting, is a permanent part of our set. So let me tell you a little bit more about our guests.
00;03;49;09 - 00;04;25;14
Coach Dora Mendez
Only the best and the brightest for for us here at Building Leadership Community. Doctor Shah holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership from Adler University, a Master's in Community Counseling from Loyola University Chicago, and a bachelor's in medicine and surgery from the University of Mumbai with over 20 years of experience in healthcare, Doctor Shah brings together clinical expertise, systems thinking and cultural humility in a way that transforms organizations from the inside out.
00;04;25;16 - 00;04;55;24
Coach Dora Mendez
She has held leadership roles in community, mental health, and federally qualified health centers, with a deep focus on quality and compliance, but always with the human being at the center. Grounded in spiritual values and an unwavering belief in human dignity, Doctor Shah, is driven by justice, equality and a passion for wellness and travel. She brings heart and purpose to every space she enters.
00;04;55;24 - 00;05;11;17
Coach Dora Mendez
And today. Doctor Shah is here to fill you with insight and wisdom. Let hold for applause and bring her on to the stage. Hi, Doctor Shah.
00;05;11;19 - 00;05;14;08
Falguni Shah, PhD
Hi, Dora. How are you?
00;05;14;10 - 00;05;35;04
Coach Dora Mendez
I'm doing great. I want to thank you so much for being here. Your values are so aligned with what we're doing here on the Building Leadership Community podcast. And I just love your book. And I'm so, I know our audience is going to get so much from this conversation. So with no further ado, I've talked a lot.
00;05;35;04 - 00;05;47;17
Coach Dora Mendez
So let's get, let's pass the proverbial virtual mic to you. And if you can share a bit about your, unique story from medicine to organizational leadership.
00;05;47;19 - 00;06;21;15
Falguni Shah, PhD
Sure, absolutely. So, I was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and after school and college I studied bachelors in homeopathic medicine. And I always had the drive to understand people more deeply. And so part of homeopathy is also understanding the individual as a whole. And so I moved to the United States to pursue higher studies in psychology, and I got my master's in community counseling from Loyola University in Chicago.
00;06;21;17 - 00;06;46;03
Falguni Shah, PhD
And from there, I built my career across community health counseling, accreditation, quality and compliance, and other aspects of health care. So as being in health care, both in clinical and leadership roles. For about 20 years now when Covid hit, just like many people, you know, I found myself at the intersection of, what do I do now? Right?
00;06;46;06 - 00;07;15;25
Falguni Shah, PhD
What is the next big thing that I need to do? And, it pushed me to pursue, PhD in organizational leadership, partly also because I always wanted to study, leadership and wanted to do more research. So, honestly, you know, after that PhD, it opened up a whole new chapter in my life. As I was researching, one of the topics that came to me was, leadership journey.
00;07;15;25 - 00;07;46;15
Falguni Shah, PhD
And how do minority women excel in leadership? So as I was researching more, I found this study by McKinsey and Co. which studied over a quarter of a million people, and they surveyed 750 companies between 2015 to 2021. And the study showed that minority women dropped off by more than 75% at every step of the promotion pipeline from entry level to C-suite.
00;07;46;17 - 00;08;15;29
Falguni Shah, PhD
Ultimately, only 4% of minority women ever reached the C-suite position. So that really hit me hard. And also, I was going through my own struggles, advancing to leadership positions. So I wanted to really understand why there is this lack of representation. And so I took a deep dive into real stories of women, and I interviewed them. And these were some amazing, resilient women.
00;08;16;01 - 00;08;41;09
Falguni Shah, PhD
At one point, I had tears in my eyes hearing their stories. So I asked them about their journey. The obstacles they faced, and the successes that shaped them, with the hope that what their experiences are would really tell me and teach me something about my own leadership journey. So, and it would also help other women who are navigating similar challenges now as I heard them.
00;08;41;12 - 00;09;10;07
Falguni Shah, PhD
There was a pattern that kept showing up, especially for women of color. They were being dismissed. They were being underestimated, and they were told that they were not ready for the next big step without any clear direction. And, so that I called it as a subtle form of gaslighting where, they are they are meant to believe that they're not ready for that next role.
00;09;10;10 - 00;09;36;06
Falguni Shah, PhD
There is a sense of self-doubt and the confidence is eroded. So because of this, I created a new concept called truth learning, which is like an intentional opposite of that. It's about validating people's realities, empowering them and giving them clarity and confidence to do whatever it is that they want to achieve, i.e., you know, their next best step.
00;09;36;08 - 00;09;49;16
Falguni Shah, PhD
So as an author and speaker, this is now my mission to help leaders lead with principles of truth lighting so the workplaces can be fairer, more trustworthy, and truly inclusive.
00;09;49;18 - 00;10;11;02
Coach Dora Mendez
I love this concept because this is exactly, I mean, I feel like you're you wrote about my life, you know, as a woman of color, I pivoted in my career. You know, after so long, because I was, I was, quite frankly, just really tired of the disrespect.
00;10;11;05 - 00;10;12;02
Falguni Shah, PhD
00;10;12;05 - 00;10;47;28
Coach Dora Mendez
Feeling undervalue my experience expertise. And I said, you know, I, I'm going to work with people who value my expertise and my experience. That's a great segue. Way to the next conversation prompt was we ask all of our guests this sort of why community is so important, and leadership can be so lonely and isolating. And you describe some of those reasons, you know, here is kind of your opportunity to share some wellness tips and how you've navigating building community throughout your journey to help support you.
00;10;48;01 - 00;10;59;11
Coach Dora Mendez
Giving the data that that was so disturbing that you studied that, so I'd love for you to share what community means to you with our with our community.
00;10;59;13 - 00;11;27;24
Falguni Shah, PhD
Yeah, sure. Absolutely. And I agree that leadership can often look glamorous right from the outside, but the reality is that it can be lonely and isolating. So leaders are expected to hold spaces for others, make tough decisions and stay strong and uncertainties. And without a trusted community, it's easy to lose perspective, feel unsupported, and also feel worn out.
00;11;27;27 - 00;12;01;26
Falguni Shah, PhD
So in terms of self-care, here are some things that I think would really benefit leaders. The first one is self-regulation. Through meditation, through yoga, through such similar allied health practices, which can really calm your nervous system, reduce stress, and, it will prevent you from acting, acting impulsively as a leader. So I recommend that every, every day for at least ten minutes that we practice some mindfulness meditation or yoga.
00;12;01;28 - 00;12;29;28
Falguni Shah, PhD
The second technique is that really has helped me in my, clarity of thought is journaling. And I feel like writing really helps us pause and reflect on our thoughts and behaviors. So and that also empowers us by creating self awareness. So that's that second tip that I have for our community. The third one is mentorship and coaching.
00;12;30;00 - 00;12;56;18
Falguni Shah, PhD
We all need somebody, as our thought partners, somebody who can be our sounding boards. So seeking out mentors and coaches really creates that safe space for us to process those challenges, to gain new skills and to stay committed to our own personal growth. And last but not the least, join leadership networking groups. That allows for some peer networking.
00;12;56;20 - 00;13;09;02
Falguni Shah, PhD
It gives us both support and inspiration. And then also helps us build a community where we can collaborate for more opportunities and also provides us a sense of belonging.
00;13;09;04 - 00;13;38;02
Coach Dora Mendez
Doctor Shaw, thank you for sharing those for, wellness tips and community with community really being at the at the center as a coach, what you're saying, to me is very validating. For those who follow my show or follow me, journaling is one of my biggest things. And I would just share on an a personal note, I'm also a middle aged woman.
00;13;38;05 - 00;14;10;15
Coach Dora Mendez
So I have found that self-regulation in the journaling has helped me with my perimenopause symptoms, to be, quite frankly, you know, I'm, you know, I have trouble sleeping, and I have found that, like, just writing it down, the act of writing it down and, like, reflecting on. And I often, uplift gratitude journal. Like, at least write down 1 to 3 things that you're grateful for and just put it down on the paper and put it away.
00;14;10;15 - 00;14;34;09
Coach Dora Mendez
And then it just allows me to sleep better. It's a practice that I'm so happy that, you're validating right now for our audience and just for me, as a coach, an accountability partner to so many of my clients and colleagues and, and folks in my network. So thank you so much for validating that.
00;14;34;12 - 00;14;35;06
Falguni Shah, PhD
You're welcome.
00;14;35;09 - 00;14;56;09
Coach Dora Mendez
I'd love for you to. You know, we ask all our guests, what advice would they give to the next generation of leaders, whether that's something, that you would want to go back and tell your younger self. What do you what would you like to share?
00;14;56;11 - 00;15;23;22
Falguni Shah, PhD
Yeah. So, to my younger self, I would really do some of the things that we really do exactly that I did as my younger self. One was, I would say that believe in yourself, chase your ambition and dream boldly. This is something that I did myself. Make your own choices. And don't be afraid to fail. Because every failure teaches you how to rise stronger.
00;15;23;24 - 00;15;51;25
Falguni Shah, PhD
For future generation leaders, I would say this. Start thinking about your career path early and seek out mentors who can guide you. Have a broader vision of where you want to be in the next two, five, ten years and work towards it. I didn't have that guidance. As I was navigating my own career paths. And so I would highly encourage, the future leaders to seek that.
00;15;51;28 - 00;16;18;15
Falguni Shah, PhD
And to my peers, I would really offer a reminder to understand your privilege, your experience, and the resources you have and use that to support someone, and bring them up to speed. Guide them so they can change their life trajectory and to the next generation leaders, I would say lead with truth lighting, learn about principles of truth lighting.
00;16;18;15 - 00;16;28;21
Falguni Shah, PhD
Create cultures where people feel that their realities are accepted and acknowledged, and they're respected and valued for who they are.
00;16;28;23 - 00;16;51;22
Coach Dora Mendez
So I want to uplift two things you said. So one is don't be afraid to take risks. Don't have fear of failure because everyone's going to fail. My son says to me, my eight year old says to me, that failure that, fail is First Attempt In Learning. I don't know where he got that from.
00;16;51;24 - 00;17;17;01
Coach Dora Mendez
It's probably one of his brilliant teachers, but, he says it to us all the time, and that speaks to young people. You know, encouraging young people to take risks. And then the other one is the mentor mentee. You know, you say you share that you didn't have that. And, but now you are that, you are that, mentor.
00;17;17;02 - 00;17;44;21
Coach Dora Mendez
You're that shining example for so many women and and our allies. I would love for you to share a little bit more about, leading with truth lighting. I think it's so important. I just love I love the concept. I think the book is brilliant, and I love this whole opposite of gaslighting, because gaslighting feels like a trend, but it's been around for a very long time.
00;17;44;21 - 00;18;10;20
Coach Dora Mendez
Besides the fact there was like a famous movie about it and like back in the days, but, you know, making someone feel crazy. When you, you know, making someone feel crazy out of your insecurity or, making someone feel like they're, you know, they're crazy. Which is how what I think of gaslighting is. So could you share a little bit more about leading with truth lighting?
00;18;10;22 - 00;18;42;27
Falguni Shah, PhD
Sure, absolutely. So, truth lighting is an intentional opposite of gaslighting. So it's really about validating people. So there are four main steps to it, right? Number one is validating their realities. So when you're having a conversation you're using terms like I hear you. You're listening to understand it sounds like blah blah blah. You're rephrasing, what you're hearing to kind of make the other person feel that they are validated.
00;18;43;00 - 00;19;13;12
Falguni Shah, PhD
Right. So that's the first step to truth lighting. The second one is to, give positive affirmations or acceptance. So words like how, using words that will strengthen their confidence in themselves. So that's the second aspect of truth lighting is to use affirmations. The third aspect is to provide facts or data around whatever it is that they're struggling with.
00;19;13;14 - 00;19;44;12
Falguni Shah, PhD
So if somebody is struggling with their career progression journey, you provide them concrete, actionable steps on what they can take towards that next. Next the next goal. Yeah. Their next goal. Like what? What are those facts or what are those steps that they can take. And the fourth thing is really, guiding them, and providing them resources on how they can take those steps.
00;19;44;12 - 00;19;50;11
Falguni Shah, PhD
So these are really those four steps, or principles of truth lighting, if you will.
00;19;50;14 - 00;20;13;25
Coach Dora Mendez
So I love that. And I love the idea that truth lighting is almost like illuminating, illuminating a path. Like, I see someone in, like, a dark cave of doubt. And then, you know, you're this truth lighter, this mentor, this person. Sort of like, illuminating them out of the darkness into the light. And I just I just love the concept.
00;20;13;28 - 00;20;33;22
Coach Dora Mendez
I think people are going to get a lot out of not only this interview and getting to know you, but I hope they go out and and buy the book today. It's just it's so amazing. And, something that you shared with me that I would love to have the audience knows this sort of the how the book was born.
00;20;33;25 - 00;20;46;12
Coach Dora Mendez
Can, you know, I don't want to speak for you, but I just want to leave it for you because you had shared that with me. Can you share a little bit of the Genesis story of how this how truth lighting was born?
00;20;46;14 - 00;21;19;09
Falguni Shah, PhD
Sure, absolutely. So, as I was, doing my PhD, you know, and, through research, like I said earlier, there was a stark statistic that minority women, face headwinds to reach their final leadership peak. And, there's only 1 in 4 women who are in leadership roles, and there's only 1 in 20 minority women of color in CEO C-suite roles.
00;21;19;11 - 00;21;50;15
Falguni Shah, PhD
And so, I decided to focus on that as my topic for the thesis. And, as I interviewed women, I realized that, oh, my God, these are so many worthwhile tips that would help other women who are in their leadership journey. Right? It will help other women who are looking to excel, and it will feel it will make women feel validated, those who are going through challenges.
00;21;50;18 - 00;22;27;04
Falguni Shah, PhD
Not only that, it unfolded some things like, there are biases in the promotion, decision making or how, those promotion roles are allocated. And so it is important for leaders and managers to know how can they create that culture. And that dawned on me that I need to come up with some, skills and tools, that leaders and managers can adopt to create this culture where every woman feels like they have a fair chance and share advancement opportunities.
00;22;27;04 - 00;22;53;12
Falguni Shah, PhD
So how can we change that culture shift? And that's how truth lighting was really born out of those actionable steps. And so my book, has those actionable strategies, not just for women who are looking to grow, but also for managers in HR and talent teams on how they can make, a systemic change towards a fair career advancement opportunity for women.
00;22;53;15 - 00;23;24;03
Coach Dora Mendez
Oh, Dr. Shah. Thank you so much. In this economy, in this current economy, so many women of color are finding themselves laid off and looking for their next move. And I think while this book was born out of something completely different and was written at a different, time, it is so fitting, for what so many women of color are going through right now.
00;23;24;03 - 00;23;51;13
Coach Dora Mendez
So I want to thank you so much for being on our show. I want to, let our listeners and our viewers know that we're going to share the link to how they can get their copy of Truth Lighting in, in the description of this episode, and, I can I can only thank you so much. We're I'm so happy there's someone like you out there doing this work.
00;23;51;18 - 00;24;07;09
Coach Dora Mendez
And elevating it and getting out there. So we appreciate you so much here on the Building Leadership Community Podcast. We wish you well. And I'm going to ask you to hold on one minute while we roll our closing credits.
00;24;07;12 - 00;24;36;20
Intro Outro
You've been listening to Building Leadership Community. Watch on YouTube @CoachDoraM. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts, follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube @CoachDoraM. Visit me on the web at CoachDoraMendez.com. Hosted by me, Dora Mendez. Produced by Dora Mendez and Dylan Rogers. Graphics, editing, and sound mixing by Dylan Rogers.
