Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Leaders. Do you know what this bell is for?
It is our wake up call. The world is shifting at lightning speed. Technology is rewriting the rules. Generations are colliding in values and expectations.
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[00:01:32] Speaker A: Welcome to A Superconscious leader. I am Dr. Adil Dalal. You're watching now Media Television.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Welcome to A Superconscious Leader. Your journey to the pinnacle of leadership starts here and starts now.
Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Jose Angel Pereira, a seasoned executive and a motivational speaker whose resilience is unmatched. Jose endured 1775 days as an international hostage and now guides leaders worldwide in a purpose driven leadership.
Welcome to the show, Mr. Jose.
[00:02:18] Speaker C: Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. Wow, what an introduction.
Thank you, thank you for having me.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: So today we can understand that many audience members face challenges that feel insurmountable. And it often seems like those hardships will define their lives forever.
So Mr. Jose, can you share your story about being held hostage for 1,775 days? That's about what, five years in Venezuela? And what was the experience like, please?
[00:02:54] Speaker C: Well, the people that doesn't know me, I did a career, a long career in the oil and gas. I began my career in 1985 back in Venezuela in the oil and gas and in the continuing the career path. I was transferred here to the US in 2012 and became part of part of Citgo Petroleum, that is one of the US based company of the Venezuelan country.
And I continued my career and finally became the CEO of the company in 2017.
That time there was having a lot of geopolitical thing between Venezuela and the US like it's happening today, right? Exactly the same thing.
Exactly the same thing.
And you know they were imposing sanctions and all this stuff and I was working with Celgo Petroleum that even that I was a US Based company belongs to the Venezuelan government. And I didn't feel comfortable. So I was entitled to get retired. And I got asked for my retirement after 35 years being in the company.
And I was in my retirement mode. November 2017, ready to get retired. I received a last minute call. I was with my wife in a movie, expecting my kids to come to the Thanksgiving.
And I received a call to go to Caracas, Venezuela to make a last minute presentation.
I didn't see nothing wrong because people always ask me why you went to that trip. Well, but was part of my job.
I went to go do that presentation.
I did a presentation. The funny thing is that I did a presentation. It was a crowd of almost 1,000 people. I was presenting the revamping of a refinery we were doing in Aruba, standing ovation. Everything was going smoothly. I was thinking, wow, what a way to finalize my career.
And five minutes after, I saw these guards come into the room with mask. If you see my book, you can see the faces they use mask. And well, they accuse us to be American spy.
They accuse of commit treason to the country and make embezzlement and a lot of false charges. Because we became the victims of the geopolitical thing that was going in that moment. And we became the political parts and negotiation to get us back to five years.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:42] Speaker C: So that was how that story changed dramatically. Being in a pinnacle of my career and minutes after I was hostage.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: Wow. That is.
I can't even imagine the feeling of that, Jose, that is really tough for you. And I cannot imagine your wife and your family and.
[00:06:07] Speaker C: We were six. We were six or six.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: That's what you thought.
[00:06:10] Speaker C: That's why we gained the six or six. Because the press, they struggled to mention the six names and they decided to put us like a brand. We became the six.
Yes.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: Wow, that is so cool. Wow. I don't think anyone else has these kind of stories. Right. So I'm so glad that you're discussing this because there is.
In a hostage situation, human being changes, your mindset. Everything changed. And for five years is a very long time. So let's go a little deeper into that. So during your time in captivity, what mindset or practices helped you survive mentally, emotionally and spiritually?
[00:06:56] Speaker C: Well, that's a great question, because I cannot say that this has like a evolution process. Okay.
Let's say that in the beginning, and this is something that I talk today.
When you go to a situation like this, the first thing that you will experiment is the denial.
This is not happening to me. And this Is something that happened to any situation in life.
The first thing, because it's very human, you. You will deny it. This is not happening to me.
And then comes the acceptance.
Okay, wow, this is happening to me. There is a moment between the denial and the acceptance that is key because that is where you will decide if you can move on or not. So there comes that change in your mindset.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:45] Speaker C: And this is something that happened to a leader in any situation.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:07:49] Speaker C: In any situation. Anybody that's hearing this, if you're in a leader position, you have many times maybe have experimented.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: This.
[00:07:57] Speaker C: That is something that changed in your business or something that dramatically changed and sometimes you don't know how to handle it.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:08:06] Speaker C: And there's. Where comes that true, true leadership when you decide, okay, this is real, this is happening. Let's move on and let's see how we're gonna deal with this. So this is the first thing. And then comes another process that is, you accept it, that is happening. How you decide to face it.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:29] Speaker C: It can be in a positive way or can be in a negative way. And there's going to be a key thing where you decide to say, okay, this is happening.
In my case, I said, I have a family, I have people waiting outside. I'm going to survive this.
There's. Where comes the mindset.
And this is something that can happen in any situation in your life, in the personal life, or in your business.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Perfect.
[00:08:58] Speaker C: When you decided to say, okay, this is happening, we're going to go in this direction and you move on, you made a choice. You made a choice. It's a very, very true, very true.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: And I know you're a spiritual person. How much of spirituality came into giving you the confidence in getting through this situation?
[00:09:20] Speaker C: This is very important, very important. Because I was not a spiritual person. I'm going to say it before you were not. No, no, I was not.
I come from a Catholic country.
Venezuela is very Catholic. I was a typical Catholic guy that went from time to time to church, But I was not a spiritual guy.
I was very skeptical. I was very ground centered in my.
Okay, sometimes ego, you know, there are a lot of ego.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: And that CEO, you get that?
[00:09:51] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: You got.
[00:09:52] Speaker C: It's part of the, you know, this is part of the package of being a CEO.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: Exactly. I agree.
[00:09:57] Speaker C: And, and, and. But now I'm in this place thinking first, why this happened to me.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:08] Speaker C: So you begin to have a lot of anger.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:10:11] Speaker C: That's the first reaction. Anger, anger.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: Why me?
[00:10:14] Speaker C: Why me? Why this happened to me.
And it takes a time to understand that. And my first year I was in a solitary confinement. My friend, you can think a lot during a year. A lot. And you begin to revisit your life and you begin to see the things. Oh, why I did this, for example. And this is something I'm going to say very clear here.
Sometimes when you're scaling the corporate ladder, you begin to abandon your family.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:42] Speaker C: This is very typical.
[00:10:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:44] Speaker C: And my wife, she called me. I never had time for her.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:48] Speaker C: I never had time. Hey, I'm busy. I'm in a board. I'm in that. I'm in this now. I'm here begging for a one minute call.
So this. Confront yourself.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: I know.
[00:11:02] Speaker C: And after one year that we were put together, the six, we found something that for me, I think is hands of God. Because we discovered we were not friends. So now we're knowing each other.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:17] Speaker C: And we discovered that six of us has 30 plus year married.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:11:24] Speaker C: And 30 plus year career.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: So we had a pattern that.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:29] Speaker C: Very uncommon. Six guys choosing randomly.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: Yeah. With that background. Yeah.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: So we.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: And they were your vice presidents, right?
[00:11:39] Speaker C: They were my five vice presidents.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:11:41] Speaker C: And now we are six guys. 31, 32, 37, 35 years married with families there. Oh.
That create really a strong bond.
That created a strong bond. And we begin to read the Bible.
And there's where the spiritual part became. Because now you begin to make the fit.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: Wonderful.
It's probably a way to get you into that. Right.
Push you into the choice.
[00:12:14] Speaker C: I can tell you today I see the hands of God all over.
[00:12:20] Speaker B: Excellent. How did you endure such an extreme adversity?
And how did it shape your understanding of leadership and. And resilience.
[00:12:31] Speaker C: Great, great question. I always say that true leader is tested when you're pushed from your comfort zone.
When that floor is moving, when everything is crumbled, is when you're gonna be tested if you're a true leader or not. You know, I'm gonna say something very honest here.
In a normal situation, in a normal life, when everything is steady and anybody can be a leader, but when you are pushed from your comfort zone is where you're going to be really tested if your leadership trails or not. And the resilience. Resilience for me is not only that word, by the way, let me tell you, I was not familiar with the world. Resilience.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: Right.
[00:13:15] Speaker C: I never heard about it when I came back. I've been to hear about resilience.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:13:20] Speaker C: That's what I did.
[00:13:21] Speaker B: Okay. There you go.
[00:13:22] Speaker C: But the resilience is really not only falling and bouncing back, is understanding what happened and bouncing back better, bouncing back and moving forward. That's where the resilience comes.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: Excellent. Did you ever feel like being Rambo and breaking free and Rambo feeling. Did it come to you at any point?
[00:13:46] Speaker C: I believe.
Well, yeah, I never thought that, but, yeah, maybe not that Rambo, but, you know, when we were released, when we came through the prisoners, the day we were released that we landed here in San Antonio in the Army Brooks base, I was landing and going from the tarmac and my family, I saw them waiting and the feeling was overwhelming of joy that we made it correct. Because we created during our stay there, after we were put together what we call a survivor plan. That, by the way, that's the base of my coaching today.
Many things that we did there, I put in my coaching and that's what plan is very simple. There are a lot of things you have to do to keep, you know, establish some routines, having journaling, mindset, work, meditation, anything with it.
So that plan keep us moving during years.
So when I came back, I was really feeling a sense of joy that we made it, we made it excellent.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: Thank you, Jose. That's really insightful. And I cannot even imagine being in that situation. So this was amazing.
In what way did you experience transform how you approach decision making and leading others today? So how has it changed the way you approach things? You were a CEO, as you said, you had a different way of working.
Do you think you have a very different way of working?
[00:15:31] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. Well, there are two things that are very interesting because my career, for some reason, again, the hands of God all over. I did a career in the international side of the company, so always connecting with international joint ventures, many type of cultures, you know.
So one of the things that always connected our relationship with the human side.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:15:59] Speaker C: So I already had that kind of ability to connect in the human side, no matter what type of culture, race, religion, the human side, of course that helped us. But when we were there that we were tested, we were having incredible changes in that one day we were like this up and the other day was down because it was depending on how the relation in the negotiation were going. So that made us to be adapted.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:34] Speaker C: So we became really adapted to the situation.
So we really developed a strong skill of adaptability.
And today this is something that I tell to any leader that one of the key things today is the capacity to be adaptive to the changes.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:16:54] Speaker C: This is key in any leader Today, any leader that has the ability to be adaptive to the situation, that is the leader that you're going to sustain.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: Because today, world is changing dramatically.
You know what's going on here in the US and international.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:17:15] Speaker C: If you're in a leadership position, many things of this can be impacting you. So you need to be adaptive because that's what you're gonna transmit to your employees, to your manager, to all your staff. And that's what gonna keep that companies moving.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:17:32] Speaker C: Other thing that really we developed was a string, you know, a strong skill of determination.
[00:17:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:40] Speaker C: You know, determination is something that also is key.
No matter what you're going through, when you're determined, you keep going.
[00:17:48] Speaker B: Very true, very true.
[00:17:50] Speaker C: You keep going.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: Your mindset's so important in this situation.
So this has been amazing, you know, great story and I, you know, again, thank you for being on the show.
We'll be right back. Up next, Jose will discuss how empathy and emotional intelligence are essential for conscious leadership, even under extreme pressure.
[00:18:24] Speaker A: Stay tuned, we'll be right back.
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Hi, I am Dr. Adil Dalal, Founder and CEO, CEO of Pinnacle Process Solutions.
For 20 years we have empowered over 9,500 leaders across 25 industries and 5 continents and delivered savings from a million dollars to 39 million dollars via rapid transformations.
Using AI digital tools, Lean Agile and Six Sigma technology.
Through our award winning workshops, Lean AI frameworks and Human centric coaching, we elevate culture, eliminate waste and ignite sustainable operational excellence.
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[00:19:36] Speaker B: Foreign we're back.
[00:19:48] Speaker A: Let's continue this powerful conversation.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: Welcome back to Superconscious Leader.
I'm your host, Dr. Adil Dalal and I'm here with Jose Angel Pereira. In this segment, we're exploring empathy and emotional intelligence in leadership. How leaders can stay compassionate and effective even under pressure.
Many leaders struggle to maintain empathy and EQ during high stress situations, making it difficult to lead effectively.
So Mr. Jose, how and how you, how did you endure one of the toughest, you know, phases of your leadership and how did that experience reshape your understanding of empathy in leadership?
[00:20:38] Speaker C: Oh, that's a great question.
As I mentioned in the first section, during my career I already had developed that type of skills because I work with a lot of cultures.
I had opportunity to work with the Italians, Japanese, American, British, Malaysians, Philippines.
[00:21:01] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:21:01] Speaker C: You know, a lot of culture. A lot of cultures. And so you more or less are kind of involved in the way that be. Empathy.
Empathy with this person. But really I tested my, my empathy was during that captivity because we were six guys.
[00:21:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:20] Speaker C: Living in a, in a space smaller than this.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:21:25] Speaker C: Smaller than this.
Six guys.
Picture this. Three bunk bed, a tiny restroom, a small table to eat. And that's it.
[00:21:38] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:21:38] Speaker C: That's it. And we stay there years and sometimes we stay there months without going out to that fresh air.
So you really need to develop some empathy and EQ because can you imagine how things can go if you don't do that?
So one of the things we.
The six, because as I said, we had something in common.
Not only the 30 plus year marriage, the 30 plus year career.
When you are a guy there in the oil and gas, you develop some kind of skills because the oil and gas is very challenging.
You can have in the refinery a fire or a blow in a rig. So you're kind of trained, but not.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: This type of situation.
Yes, absolutely.
[00:22:34] Speaker C: But we decided to become really a strong bond between the six.
We were cheering all day long each other.
If somebody was down, we were immediately lifting. So these are things that today I talk to any leader. That's exactly what you can mirror that in your company.
Because you can be a leader in your company and maybe you have a good manager. A good manager, but he's a human.
He has a family, he has a life.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:23:11] Speaker C: Sometimes he can come down. So if you have that EQ to understand that you can cheer that person and that person will become loyal to you.
[00:23:24] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:23:24] Speaker C: You would create a strong bond.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:23:27] Speaker C: So this is something that, is something that today I tell people. This for me is the secret sauce in a company.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:23:35] Speaker C: Created that bond and that's what the great leader do.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: Yes, yes, yes.
[00:23:39] Speaker C: The people that have been successful is exactly what they do. You have a lot of examples that have been successful creating that bond with the employee. And you create a strong bond, strong loyalty. So these become great places to work.
[00:23:55] Speaker B: And I think what you said is so critical is ego and EQ don't go together.
[00:24:02] Speaker C: Don't go together.
[00:24:03] Speaker B: Ego, the way I define ego is edging goodness out.
That is what ego is. So EQ is the goodness is the empathy in us is allowing people to kind of. You're in their shoes.
So this is, you know, you cannot have ego and empathy at the same time.
Nelson Mandela was in the prison for 27 years. That's a great example And I cannot even imagine that situation. But when he was released, I've seen pictures of him with the guards, prison guards who were mean to him, who put him into prison and they become their bodyguards.
And that would be a wonderful empathy example, right? How he changed because he had to be the leader for everyone when he came out and he had to be the president.
Did you ever feel empathy towards those who were actually imprisoning you or did you have hatred?
What was that feeling?
[00:25:10] Speaker C: Well, let me tell you, that's a very interesting question.
Even during the evolution of our captivity, we created a situation with the guards and even with the direction of the prison.
They saw us so focused in what we were doing and they saw us so committed to maintain our mindset and doing things and creating that routine. We did exercising routine with the meditation routine. So they saw us and they began to admire us. Because one day the director of the prison came to the to Arcelle and he said, hey guys, from what planet you come? Are you Martians?
He could not understand because he knew that we were there because of a political.
[00:26:05] Speaker B: Yes, exactly.
[00:26:07] Speaker C: They knew that we were not there because we did nothing wrong.
So they began kind of admiring us. So last year, the negotiations between the US and Venezuela were moving on to get a release.
Even they begin to give more flexibility.
One of the. Because we were with the political prisoners of Venezuela, high ranked people.
One of the guy that, he's a very famous journalist with me one day he called and said, hey, Jose, why wouldn't we create a seminar here in the prison? And we did a seminar.
[00:26:48] Speaker B: Wow. In the prison?
[00:26:50] Speaker C: In the prison. I did an oil and gas seminar in the prison. So I. So I'm not gonna say that we became friends.
[00:26:58] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:26:59] Speaker C: But you created like an empathy with these guys. And these guys, they begin to really treat us like with authority. You know, they call me Mr. Pereira. No, Mr. Pereira. So they really begin to feel that. And that you create because of the empathy and because of the eq.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: Absolutely awesome. That's beautiful. Thank you.
So EQ is often called the foundation of modern leadership.
How do you help leaders develop EQ in practice?
[00:27:35] Speaker C: Well, because the EQ is understanding the others.
And I'm going to say something here.
When you have empathy for the people, that doesn't mean that you have to accept them, but you need to understand them.
Because maybe I can be wrong, but you understand where they're coming from.
So now you can handle the relation in a better way.
Because people have beliefs, people have some religion fundamentals. So you need to understand why the people act, how they act.
And when you understand that, you create the relation based on the eq.
And that makes your relation better because you understand everybody.
And again, if you do that, you create strong bonds that create really strong bonds with your employees.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: With your employees. So, Mr. Jose, if you had this experience earlier in your career, do you think your leadership style would have been very different?
[00:28:52] Speaker C: It would be different, yeah, of course. Because at some point, you begin to get ego. Yes, you begin to get ego.
I'm here, I got ego. You know, you have all the toy. You have a plane, you have a driver. You have a lot of things that begin to feed your ego.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:29:17] Speaker C: And that's human.
[00:29:19] Speaker B: Yeah, very true. And in my book, 12 Pillars of Project Excellence, I talk about five powers of great leaders. And the fifth power is humility. Because as you go higher and you become a better leader, the head expands a little bit more.
You feel you are invincible.
[00:29:38] Speaker C: Invincible.
[00:29:41] Speaker B: Humility is what keeps you grounded and keeps you really. The EQ is. Humility is part of developing the eq. You cannot develop good EQ without humility.
[00:29:54] Speaker C: In my personal life, I always was humble and had humility because my father, he really create that. That we needed to be grounded. So even I did this. I did a wonderful career.
I did a career that I never stopped growing and growing and growing, growing. And I always tried to keep grounded. And let me tell you something, Dr. Adil, that when I came back, I got overwhelmed of people that have worked with me during years that they were following our situation.
And when I opened my Facebook account, it got overwhelmed of people that began to contact. But I can tell you, thousands of people, thousands of people that I have worked begin to get to me. And it's because I really believe that I was a good leader for them.
Some of them still 30 years after, they call me Jefe.
Jefe's boss.
[00:30:59] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. The boss.
[00:31:00] Speaker C: They call me Jefe.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: How nice.
Jefe Jose.
I love that. That is beautiful.
[00:31:07] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: Awesome.
So how do you coach leaders to recognize and manage their own emotions while understanding and influencing the emotions of the teams who are under stress?
[00:31:22] Speaker C: This is very, very important. And today world is key, you know, because in today world, the stress always has been there, but today, how the things are going in the world, the stress is much, much higher.
So a leader has to really have the ability to be calm and be focused in a stressful situation and transmit that to their employees.
Calm and focus.
These two words are very key.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: Yes. Calm and focused.
[00:31:54] Speaker C: Calm and focused.
[00:31:55] Speaker B: Very True.
[00:31:56] Speaker C: Because when you're cal, you maintain the serenity and when you focus, you can begin to identify the things that you can control and the things that you cannot control.
So this is very key because sometimes you get stressed for something that you cannot control.
[00:32:12] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:32:14] Speaker C: So why you're going to be stressed for something that you cannot control? You have to monitor it, but not stress.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:32:21] Speaker C: The things that you can control. Okay. You can go and try to fix it.
[00:32:27] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:32:28] Speaker C: But having the serenity, you can see the things in a better way. Because when you are calm, you can see sometimes the solution that you have in front of you.
Sometimes you have the solution in front of you.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:32:42] Speaker C: Or maybe you had that path. How?
[00:32:43] Speaker B: It's very true.
[00:32:45] Speaker C: But when you are not calm and you're not focused.
So calm and focus. This is where I hierarchy, I think.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: The analogy would be, you know, when the water is all stormy, you can't see below that.
[00:33:01] Speaker C: Correct.
[00:33:01] Speaker B: As soon as it calms down, you can actually see, you know, clearly. And also the other thing is when a leader shows anxiety, it automatically affects the followers.
[00:33:14] Speaker C: Of course.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: Of course they too feel the anxiety.
[00:33:17] Speaker C: Because actually you do that rape effect of anxiety.
[00:33:21] Speaker B: And there is a neuroscience effect.
We have something called mirror neurons.
[00:33:25] Speaker C: Oh yeah.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: So what you feel, it's actually reflected in their brains and you're creating that same feeling within them. So when the leader is calm and focused, it changes the followers.
Beautiful. Very much.
[00:33:42] Speaker C: You change even the atmosphere.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. The whole culture atmosphere, as you call it.
Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with Mr. Jose Pereira.
[00:34:05] Speaker A: Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
Imagine partnering with a firm that fuses lean precision with AI foresight, turning every process into a profit engine built on the foundation of operational excellence.
Hi, I am Dr. Adil Dalal, founder and CEO of Pinnacle Process Solutions.
For 20 years we have empowered over 9,500 leaders across 25 industries and 5 continents and delivered savings from $1 million to $39 million via rapid transformations using AI digital tools, Lean Agile and Six Sigma technologies.
Through our award winning workshops, Lean AI frameworks and human Centric coaching, we elevate culture, eliminate waste and ignite sustainable operational excellence.
Elevate your people, accelerate your performance.
Visit pinnacle process.com and reach your pinnacle today.
And we're back. Let's continue this powerful confidence conversation.
[00:35:32] Speaker B: Welcome back to a super conscious leader. Loving what you're watching. Don't miss a moment of a super conscious leader or any other of your favorite now media TV shows, live or on demand, anytime anywhere. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and Spanish.
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Okay. Welcome back to Superconscious Leader. I am joined again by Mr. Jose Angel Pereira. In this segment we're focusing on communication and performance. How leaders can thrive without sacrificing well being.
So high pressure environments can break down communication and threaten personal well being, making effective leadership very challenging.
So jefe Jose, in high stakes situations, how can leaders balance empathy and emotional intelligence with the need to make tough and unpopular decisions?
[00:36:56] Speaker C: Okay, that's a great question. Because being empathic and having eq, that doesn't mean, as I said, that you accept everything can be moments that you had to take strong decisions. Here is key, the communication. Yes, the communication is key because when you communicate properly in the honesty, not only communication, the honesty in the communication when you are honest communicating, even if you have to take a strong decision, you can do it in a way that the people that even they don't be glad where it's going, they can understand why it's coming.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Yes, very true.
[00:37:38] Speaker C: They can understand, for example, if you have something that you need to do some layout, calling the people, trying to say, hey, this is something that we're going to help you navigate this. So being empathic with a person, okay, it's a layout but you're trying to do it in a way that the people feel that you're taking care of them.
[00:38:01] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:38:02] Speaker C: So this is important in any stressful situation that you have the ability to communicate properly and be honest the way you're communicating that people always will perceive when you're not being honest.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:38:18] Speaker C: That they will perceive. Yeah, immediately.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: Very true, very true on that. So yeah.
So Mr. Jose, as we close out this segment, could you share with the audience a little bit about where they can find you and also about your executive program which you have, please.
[00:38:34] Speaker C: Yes, as I said, we created this program that is called the Unbreakable Leadership Coaching program that we did it based on the experience that we went there. So this is something based on life experience.
I have this three months program. I have a working book that is called Unbreakable Evaluation Program. My book called the Unbreakable is coming soon that is talking about many things. We're talking here and My book that is from hero to villain is the story what we went through.
You can find me, I have my webpage, joseconnect.com very easy. Joseconnect.com and there you can find my coaching, my speaking.
I have the podcast, I have the newsletter I'm gonna do now the welcome. So we're going to be a host here in Spanish. So yeah, many things that you can find it there in my webpage.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: So, Mr. Jose, in high precious environments, communication often breaks down. What is your approach to cultivating authentic communication at the executive level?
[00:39:44] Speaker C: Well, I believe that when we mentioned the other segment, we talk a little bit about that being common focus is key, being honest in the communication and try tonight to hide.
Because when a leader is honest and transmit that honesty, the people will perceive it. When you are hiding things, people will begin to feel that something is true, something's wrong. So it's key. It's not easy, but being calm. A leader can transmit the things properly.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Perfect.
So stohoser today, you know, work, life, balance has become a big issue for a lot of leaders.
What do you encourage people to do in those kind of situations where work is, you know, really very demanding and obviously family is also pulling on them.
What would you advise? What is your advice for them?
[00:40:48] Speaker C: Well, that's a great question because my coaching is based on that.
My coaching has the motto that is a regraining balance between your business and your personal fulfillment. Because this is something that I lacked, I missed. I'm being honest that in the past I was so focused in my career that I was missing my family.
And when you have this situation that you have time to reflect is that you feel that a leader has to have a balance between the family and the business. If not, you are not gonna be a good leader. A good leader has to have that balance, have time and you can have time. You have to delegate.
You have to set priorities. You have to categorize the things that really matter and the thing that you can.
[00:41:48] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:41:49] Speaker C: And take time for your family.
[00:41:50] Speaker B: Excellent, excellent, Mr. Jose.
So communication becomes very difficult when emotions are high and stress levels, as we said, can be also playing into this.
How have you managed situations where when emotions are high, either in captivity or in leadership situations.
Give us an example of when you had to manage communications.
[00:42:18] Speaker C: Oh, well, in a captivity, can you imagine during years living literally like in a closet, six guys?
[00:42:24] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:42:25] Speaker C: The probability to have problems was very high. So we always said, anybody is going to something, raise their hand and say, I don't like this. So let's vote and correct this. And this is something that you had to do in your company too, your business. Sometimes you don't take the moment that take the pause and say, hey, this is something wrong. Let's talk about this.
This is something that leader has to do because it's not that things will be keep going and then comes a crisis.
[00:43:06] Speaker B: So could you give us an example of a leader who has changed the communication style and work life balance?
And what lessons can they learn from this adaptability as you talk about?
[00:43:20] Speaker C: Well, I always talk.
There is a guy that I always admire that was Steve Jobs.
[00:43:25] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:43:26] Speaker C: I really admire him.
And well, he had a style of leadership that, well, I admire because he created that culture in his company.
[00:43:36] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:43:37] Speaker C: And he died. But he left something that is his legacy.
He left the legacy.
[00:43:43] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:43:44] Speaker C: That's what the great leaders do. They leave a legacy.
[00:43:49] Speaker B: That is what I talk about is live a legacy, to leave a legacy. Because that is exactly. He lived it during the years and now everyone is following it. And Apple is one of the biggest companies there is. So awesome. Thank you, Jose.
So don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. Next, Jose will share insights into leading with purpose and humanity, showing how leaders can inspire rather than just manage.
[00:44:29] Speaker A: Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
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[00:45:51] Speaker B: And we're back.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: Let's continue this powerful conversation.
[00:45:56] Speaker B: Welcome back to A Superconscious Leader. I'm here with Mr. Jose Angel Pereira. In his final segment, we'll explore how leaders can connect purpose and humanity with daily operations to inspire lasting impact.
Many leaders feel disconnected from the meaning in their work, focusing on tasks rather than inspiring people and creating an impact.
So, Mr. Jose, many leaders today feel disconnected from meaning in their work. How can they realign leadership with purpose and humanity?
[00:46:33] Speaker C: Wow. This is a great question because it has to do with even your spiritual connection. People lack to.
And I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about a spiritual connection that really you need to connect with your spirituality and go back to that because there is where you will discover your purpose, your real purpose.
When you make that connection and you find what is your real calling, sometimes you're in the wrong place.
[00:47:09] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:47:09] Speaker C: You can discover that you're doing the wrong thing.
[00:47:12] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:47:12] Speaker C: Many people have shifted their career because they discover that they wanted to be a singer or, I don't know, whatever.
Do what you feel you have to do, but do it intentionally and do it following your calling.
There's where you are going to connect with the people because the people will know that what you're doing is because you're doing, because it's your calling.
[00:47:38] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:47:39] Speaker C: And that will make you a great leader.
[00:47:41] Speaker B: Purpose driven leader.
[00:47:42] Speaker C: Purpose driven leader.
[00:47:44] Speaker B: And I am pretty sure you know about Viktor Frankl who wrote, you know, Man's Search for Meaning. He spent three years in four concentration camps and came out of it.
And he created something called Logotherapy, which is finding the meaning in what you do. And that is so important today.
[00:48:04] Speaker C: Let me tell you, what is my connection with Viktor Frankl. I was like maybe in the, the third or the fourth year of our captivity and I said we were with political prisoners and we were with military political prisoners too.
Militaries. So I had with me my neighbor in cell was a high rank general.
[00:48:26] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:48:27] Speaker C: High rank, three star general. And that guy who had a lot of, you know, incredible background. Well, this guy, even though he was a political prisoner, they respected him because he was really a high ranking guy and they allowed him to have a lot of books.
[00:48:43] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:48:44] Speaker C: So his family brought him a lot of books. One day this guy came to me and said, hey Jose, you had to read this book.
It was a tiny book. Yeah, not so big book. And I saw Viktor Frankl, man in a Search of Meaning. I had the opportunity to read it in prison.
[00:49:03] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:49:04] Speaker C: And when that guy was talking his experience.
The guy was talking to me.
[00:49:11] Speaker B: Yes, exactly.
[00:49:12] Speaker C: He was talking to me.
[00:49:13] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:49:14] Speaker C: Talking to me. Talking about finding purpose in the pain and how you can find a meaning. How he discovered why the people survive and why don't.
[00:49:24] Speaker B: Yes, some people could not survive.
[00:49:26] Speaker C: Well, that's it. So I became big fan of Victor Frankl, by the way, one month after I came back, I did an interview, talked about Victor Frank and Anderson Cooper of cnn. He heard me and he interviewed me. You have to see my interview with him.
[00:49:43] Speaker B: Excellent.
[00:49:45] Speaker C: Because he's a Big fan of Victor Franklin.
[00:49:47] Speaker B: Oh, I, I, I'm a huge fan of Victor Frankl.
[00:49:49] Speaker C: I'm today.
[00:49:51] Speaker B: He's amazing. I've written about him in my book, so.
[00:49:53] Speaker C: Oh, I had that also. I did a, I did a podcast.
[00:49:56] Speaker B: Talking about that he really has, has found. I mean, I think your stories are similar. From what I mean, obviously it's not the concentration camp, but, you know, being in captivity is a totally different experience. And not many people, let me tell.
[00:50:13] Speaker C: You, but we were literally in a concentration camp because these guys applied techniques, techniques from there, they come from concentration camp.
[00:50:21] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:50:21] Speaker C: Things that we were suffering.
I read it in his book.
[00:50:25] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah. Amazing.
So how can leaders give me an example of how you have changed your perspective for leading with a higher purpose. More consciousness. A higher consciousness.
[00:50:42] Speaker C: Well, as I said that when you find your purpose, whatever you're doing is because it's your calling.
You have to do it so intentionally that you want to leave your legacy.
When you're working from your heart, trying to leave your legacy, you will do it because you will pursue no matter what circumstance you're going through, because life will always bring challenges.
[00:51:10] Speaker B: Yes, always.
[00:51:11] Speaker C: And if you're in a business, the business can be going well and sometimes can be going bad.
But when you have your purpose very clear and you, no matter what circumstance you're going, you're pursuing that dream you have, my friend, you're going to be unstoppable.
[00:51:31] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:51:31] Speaker C: You're going to be unstoppable.
[00:51:32] Speaker B: Excellent. Very true. Thank you very much for sharing that. How can leaders create lasting impact? Those goes beyond the financial or the KPIs and the metrics we put in.
[00:51:45] Speaker C: Place, as I said, trying to leave a legacy.
Persons like you mentioned Nelson Mandela or Steve Jobs or many persons in the history that you find that they live their life trying to leave a legacy.
And when you do it, when you do that, try to leave a legacy. Today I really want to leave a legacy. Everything that I'm doing today is intentionally because I want to leave a legacy. I'm thinking, for example, I'm going to begin a nonprofit very soon.
I envision my grandson in that nonprofit, in that brother.
[00:52:30] Speaker B: Amazing.
[00:52:31] Speaker C: So this is something that when you begin to visualize things that way and you talk about neuroscience. Neuroscience, Neuroscience has confirmed the things that already you can read in the Bible.
[00:52:44] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:52:46] Speaker C: What has confirmed that?
Observer can change the reality. And so if you intentionally do the things with that perseverance, you're going to change your reality.
[00:53:01] Speaker B: Yeah. I've written a book on this visualization, power of visualization, the V factor. So I am totally in sync with what you were saying.
Okay, so last question. What advice would you give a leader who is just starting off in the carrier to lead with a higher purpose and a higher consciousness.
What are the steps they can take to start doing that?
[00:53:26] Speaker C: Well, the first thing is that you have to, as I said, understand if what you're doing really is what you really want to do first.
That's the first thing that you're in the right track.
When you are in the right track, you're going to have a dream.
[00:53:44] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:53:44] Speaker C: Pursue that dream and never stop.
Never stop. Never stop. Because that's what is the resilience.
You're gonna be falling and failing, my friends. Stand up and keep moving.
Keep going.
[00:53:59] Speaker B: Very true.
[00:53:59] Speaker C: If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot walk, crawl. But keep going.
[00:54:05] Speaker B: Yes, keep going. It's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get up is the key thing. Right? And excellent advice and very profound. Thank you, Mr. Jose. So, Jose, this has been just incredibly valuable for the people and for my audience. Where can people follow you and your work and continue this conversation?
[00:54:29] Speaker C: Well, as I said, I have my webpage called joseconnect.com www.connect.com. i'm very active in LinkedIn. I'm very active in LinkedIn. I'm very active in Facebook. I have my YouTube channel where I do my podcast that is called Building Resilience. And I'm going to be a host now in Now TV in Espanol.
Okay, so you're going to be hearing about me and I always talk about leadership and resilience because that became part of my purpose in my life.
[00:55:02] Speaker B: Awesome. Excellent, Jose. Thank you for sharing your insights and your personal, remarkable, personal journey which you have, and very practical insights for my audience.
So your story reminds us that resilience, empathy and purpose are not just leadership traits.
They are lifelines during adversity. To our viewers, remember that leading consciously is about balancing performance with humanity, making decisions with integrity and inspiring those around you. Reflect on what you have learned today. Take intentional action and lead with purpose. In every area of our life, this has been a super conscious leader. I'm Dr. Adil Dalal. Thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time and continue the journey forward with conscious, impactful leadership.
Remember, in the age of AI, you do not need to be superhuman. You just need to be super conscious.
