Why Thought Leaders Must Learn to Lead Across Cultures | Jane Hyun | 653

What if cultural fluency was the leadership skill no one taught you—but every global leader needs? Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jane Hyun—global leadership strategist, executive coach, and author of three books including "Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling"—to explore how high-performing teams thrive on difference, not in spite of it. Jane shares how her early years as an immigrant in New York shaped a lifelong commitment to helping people lead across cultural lines with authenticity and impact. We unpack her concept of “cultural fluency”—the skill of working effectively with people who don’t look, think, or act like you. It’s not about checking boxes. It’s about making the invisible visible and using difference as a leadership advantage. Jane explains how organizations often overlook deep cultural factors that influence trust, motivation, and team dynamics—and what happens when they start to notice. From keynotes to executive coaching, Jane builds frameworks that help leaders and organizations lead better, sell better, and grow smarter—especially in a world that’s only becoming more complex and connected. We also talk about the emotional and intellectual work of carrying an idea like “breaking the bamboo ceiling” for over 20 years—and how thought leadership evolves when it’s lived, not just taught. If you lead teams, create culture, or want to sharpen your edge as a communicator—this conversation is your wake-up call. Cultural fluency isn’t optional anymore. It’s mission-critical. Three Key Takeaways: • Cultural Fluency Is a Learnable Leadership Skill Cultural fluency—Jane's signature concept—isn’t innate, and it’s not just about surface-level etiquette. It’s the ability to recognize, respect, and leverage human differences to drive better business outcomes. Leaders who develop this skill are more effective at collaboration, innovation, and navigating global complexity. • Difference Drives Performance—When It's Understood Multicultural teams only outperform homogeneous ones when leaders understand how to harness cultural differences. Suppressing difference creates friction and missed opportunity. Embracing it—with intention—unlocks trust, engagement, and results. • Thought Leadership Is a Lifelong Journey, Not a Title Jane didn’t set out to become a thought leader—she followed her curiosity and passion to solve a problem she lived through. Over time, that experience evolved into frameworks, language (“breaking the bamboo ceiling,” “cultural fluency”), and a platform that empowers others. The best thought leadership emerges from lived experience, not just expertise. If today’s episode sparked your thinking on cultural fluency and leading across differences, you’ll want to dive into our conversation on "The Intersection of Leadership, Business, Culture, and Spirituality" with Eboni Adams Monk. It explores similar themes—like authentic leadership, navigating complexity, and creating inclusive spaces—but adds a powerful lens of purpose and spiritual alignment. Both episodes offer insight into what it really takes to lead with intention in today’s diverse, fast-changing world. Don’t miss it.

Om Podcasten

Welcome to the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast, a beacon illuminating the paths and possibilities of thought leadership. With your guides, Peter Winick and Bill Sherman, we will embark on a journey into a captivating world where ideas converge with strategy and insight. Where will thought leadership take you? In each episode, we engage with thought leaders from diverse backgrounds. Whether it’s professional keynote speaking, writing your own thought leadership book, investigating the niche expertise of specialized consultants, or crossing mental swords with distinguished academics, our guests collectively paint a vivid mosaic of thought leadership's multifaceted potential. Through nuanced perspectives and rich experience, our talented co-hosts aim to offer you views of the ways independent thought leaders navigate success, elevate talent, and change company culture – while simultaneously examining how organizations harness the power of thought leadership to catalyze innovation and nurture sustainable growth. Peter Winick is your guide through the realm of independent thought leadership. For the past two decades, he has helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products. Peter is the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. His clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds and specialties. They include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers’ Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business. With a keen eye for detail, he delves into the intricacies of crafting personal brands, fostering genuine engagement with audiences, and expertly monetizing one's expertise. From the artistry of crafting keynote speeches that resonate with audiences to the strategic deployment of bestselling books as conduits for inspiration and insight, Peter's guests offer a treasure trove of strategies for creating value and impact and driving revenue through thought leadership. Bill Sherman specializes in the exploration of organizational thought leadership. He examines how companies conceive, curate, and deploy thought leadership initiatives, and how those initiatives benefit the orgs and the people who work within them. Bill listens to the stories and advice of industry leaders and their triumphs within the competitive business landscape. Whether through the dissemination of white papers that shape industry discourse, webinars that educate and engage, or insightful executive blogs that offer thought leadership at the highest echelons of corporate governance, Bill's guests provide illuminating perspectives on the evolution of organizational thought leadership and its pivotal role in shaping industry paradigms and perceptions. Bill concentrates on organizational consulting and business expertise, investigating organizational thought leadership and its effects, from instructional design and learning product development to marketing strategy and execution, to organizational development and transformational consulting. He enjoys working with business leaders, speakers, authors, academics, and other consultants, connecting their ideas organizational platforms and enterprise-ready product development. As the series unfolds, Peter and Bill will lead us through a nuanced exploration of the latest trends and advancements in thought leadership. From the transformative impact of technology on communication and collaboration to the evolving preferences of consumers in an increasingly digital marketplace, they will dissect the shifting landscape with precision and insight. Moreover, they will shine a spotlight on emerging modalities that are reshaping the contours of thought leadership, from the ascendance of virtual events as a cornerstone of engagement to the growing influence of social media platforms as conduits for thought dissemination and audience interaction. Through their discerning analysis, they will reveal how thought leaders can adeptly harness these trends to amplify their reach, captivate new audiences, and maximize their influence in an ever-evolving business environment. Whether you find yourself at the height of your career as a seasoned thought leader, or whether you stand at the threshold of possibility as an aspiring entrepreneur, the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast offers an enriching voyage of discovery. Join us as we unravel the enigmatic secrets to success in the vibrant realm of thought leadership, where ideas have the power to shape perceptions, drive change, and inspire action. Together, let us explore how you, too, can engineer value, evoke impact, and cultivate revenue through the sheer power of your ideas and expertise. Welcome aboard.