Angelica Cortez learned how to get a bunch of people in a room with different opinions to come together and produce good work. Her leadership lessons didn’t first come from a seminar, book, or podcast, but from watching her grandfather. He was a strict, no-nonsense man who tested his grandkids on bones and motherboards, but he turned soft and unguarded the moment he picked up a guitar.
Researchers Guy Itzchakov and Avraham Kluger found the same thing in their work on listening: how a person is received in a conversation changes whether they keep talking and how much of themselves they’re willing to share. Cortez turned that strategy into a process for her board to create a new strategic plan, when no one walked in with the same ideas or values. It’s proof that you don’t need to win the argument to align your team.
This episode is for anyone leading a room that’s giving you less than you know they have. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of what actually makes people show up fully, how to ask questions with clarity without needing to correct anyone, and what it looks like to become the kind of trusted leader people stop editing themselves for.
LINKS:
Guest
- Angelica Cortez, Executive Director, Suzuki Association of the Americas: https://suzukiassociation.org/journalarticle/meet-executive-director-angelica-cortez/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelica-ivonne-cortez/
Suzuki Association of the Americas
Connect with Margaret
Research
- Kluger, A. N., & Itzchakov, G. (2022). The Power of Listening at Work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 9, 121–146.
https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-091013
Music acknowledgments
- Circle of fifths / scale practice — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3GiWauofIA