Podcast Summary: The Leadership Dance – Ep. 17: Redefining Asian American Leadership with Anna Mak

Introduction

In Episode 17 of The Leadership Dance, host Alissa Hsu Lynch engages in a profound conversation with Anna Mak, a trailblazing leader in the Pan Asian business community. Anna, the president and executive Chairperson of Ascend North America, shares her personal journey, insights on leadership, and the unique challenges faced by Asian Americans in the corporate world. This episode delves into Anna's upbringing, her extensive career at Deloitte, the founding of Ascend, and her commitment to fostering inclusive leadership.

Early Life and Cultural Influences

Anna Mak begins by reflecting on her childhood and the profound impact of her immigrant upbringing on her career and leadership style.

• Immigrant Beginnings: Anna recounts her family's move to the United States, arriving in San Francisco's Chinatown when she was six months old. Her parents' quest for a better life instilled in her a strong sense of independence and resilience.

  "I got on that Pan Am plane when I was six months old, with my parents as their first child, immigrating to the United States and landing right in San Francisco." [00:30]

• Cultural Identity and Naming: Anna explains the significance of her name, originally "Waiman" in Cantonese, reflecting her parents' aspirations for education as a pathway to success, despite their limited formal education.

  "My given name in Cantonese is Waiman. It actually is associated with being learned and education." [05:28]

• Family Values: Growing up in a principle-based household, Anna learned the importance of self-sufficiency and community engagement from a young age.

  "My parents really empowered me by creating that sense of deep independence." [05:00]

Career Journey at Deloitte

Anna shares her extensive 25-year career at Deloitte, highlighting the diverse roles and industries she has navigated within the organization.

• Diverse Roles: Starting in the accounting audit practice, Anna quickly transitioned to retail and later to life sciences, healthcare, and technology, demonstrating her adaptability and passion for learning.

  "I was able to have a chance to go from being very deep in a particular area to having a role that allowed me to be very broad." [13:30]

• Leadership and Mentorship: Anna credits mentors like Jack, who encouraged her to take risks, shaping her reputation as a leader capable of initiating and transforming new business ventures.

  "It set me on a completely different career trajectory. And it's led me to then having a reputation of being a person that you can go to to start new things or to transform different businesses." [15:30]

• Trailblazing Achievements: As the first Chinese American woman promoted to partner at Deloitte, Anna also serves on various advisory councils and boards, exemplifying her commitment to leadership and community service.

  "But I think that's inherent to me as a person and how I think and the personality, that model may not work for everyone else." [17:34]

Founding and Leading Ascend

Anna discusses the founding of Ascend North America and Ascend Pinnacle, highlighting their mission to support Pan Asian professionals across all career stages.

• Origins and Mission: Founded 20 years ago, Ascend was created to address the lack of a supportive community for Pan Asian professionals aiming for executive and board roles. The organization emphasizes inclusivity, career lifecycle support, and community-driven initiatives.

  "We set out to create an organization that solved for that, but also that focused on both receiving and giving." [22:42]

• Career Lifecycle Focus: Ascend aims to be a lifelong community for its members, from their first job to retirement, fostering continuous growth and mentorship.

  "The career life cycle vision was because we wanted to be an organization and a community that someone can be with for 50, 60 years of your life." [22:42]

• Research and Impact: Anna highlights Ascend's role in conducting pivotal research on Asian representation in the workplace, influencing best practices in corporate diversity and inclusion.

  "We are the go-to organization that companies and individuals often quote and look at of what's happening to Asians in the workplace." [26:20]

Challenges Faced by Asian Americans in the Workplace

Anna opens up about the stereotypes and systemic challenges that Asian Americans encounter in professional settings.

• Model Minority Myth: She critiques the "model minority" stereotype, which pigeonholes Asian Americans as uniformly successful and academically gifted, disregarding the diverse backgrounds and struggles within the community.

  "The stereotype is helpful, but sometimes quite harmful, that we're the model minority... we're good at math, all of that." [26:49]

• Visibility and Authenticity: Anna discusses the difficulties Asian Americans face in expressing vulnerability and authenticity at work, often feeling pressured to conform to Western norms of leadership and communication.

  "Many of us come from backgrounds where that's not the norm. So how do we bridge and close those gaps?" [26:49]

• Geopolitical Impacts: She points out how geopolitical tensions can adversely affect perceptions of Asian Americans, adding an extra layer of complexity to their professional lives.

  "Historical views of Asia, US geopolitical dynamics completely impact our community and how people perceive us." [26:49]

Balancing Career and Personal Life

Anna shares her personal experiences as a working mother, navigating the challenges of balancing a demanding career with family responsibilities.

• Parenting and Career: She reflects on societal pressures to maintain a "perfect" life and how embracing vulnerability has been crucial in her leadership journey.

  "It wasn't until later in my career that I learned it was okay to be vulnerable... it's okay to ask for help from others." [00:01]

• Resilience Through Personal Struggles: Anna recounts managing a difficult divorce and miscarriages while maintaining her professional role, highlighting the importance of support systems and self-compassion.

  "I was literally that swan that underneath was just paddling like crazy. And no one saw that." [37:59]

• Empathy in Leadership: Her experiences have deepened her empathy and informed her approach to leading diverse teams with understanding and compassion.

  "It allows me to have a lot of empathy for others who are different than me." [36:55]

Leadership Insights and Advice

In the concluding part of the episode, Anna imparts valuable advice gleaned from her extensive experience in leadership and community building.

• Be Generous with Your Capital: Anna encourages leaders to generously share their resources, whether financial, intellectual, or emotional, to uplift others.

  "Be very generous of it. Don't be stingy about it." [40:21]

• Create Your Own Success Compass: She emphasizes the importance of defining personal success metrics rather than adhering to societal expectations.

  "Leadership is a very bespoke, customized journey and where that compass is and the direction of that is going to be different for every person." [40:21]

• Allow Yourself to Wander: Anna advocates for embracing the journey of professional growth, allowing for exploration and adaptability.

  "Allow yourself to wander. It's a journey." [40:21]

• Set High Bars and Develop Others: She advises setting ambitious goals while fostering the growth and success of those around you.

  "Set a high bar, but make sure you're doing your work to bring people along." [40:21]

• Embrace an "And" Mindset: Anna highlights the importance of balancing different aspects of life and leadership, fostering empathy and collaborative success over binary thinking.

  "It's an embrace and adopt this and that mindset is not an either or." [40:21]

Conclusion

Alissa Lynch wraps up the episode by applauding Anna Mak's contributions and leadership, emphasizing the transformative impact of her work on the Pan Asian professional community and beyond.

"It's been so wonderful to learn about your journey, the incredible impact you're having on so many people and communities, and just to learn about your Leadership dance." [43:04]

Anna Mak's insights provide a compelling narrative on redefining leadership within the Asian American community, advocating for authenticity, resilience, and inclusive growth. Her story serves as an inspiration for aspiring leaders to navigate their careers with purpose and empathy.

Key Takeaways

• Embrace Vulnerability: Sharing personal struggles can foster deeper connections and enhance leadership effectiveness.

• Challenge Stereotypes: Recognize and address the limitations imposed by stereotypes like the "model minority" myth.

• Continuous Learning: A diverse career path can lead to comprehensive growth and unique leadership opportunities.

• Community and Mentorship: Building and participating in supportive networks like Ascend can propel personal and communal success.

• Balanced Success: Defining personal metrics for success and maintaining work-life balance are crucial for sustained fulfillment.

Notable Quotes

1. "It wasn't until later in my career that I learned it was okay to be vulnerable." — Anna Mak [00:01]
2. "We set out to create an organization that solved for that, but also that focused on both receiving and giving." — Anna Mak [22:42]
3. "The stereotype is helpful, but sometimes quite harmful, that we're the model minority." — Anna Mak [26:49]
4. "Leadership is a very bespoke, customized journey and where that compass is and the direction of that is going to be different for every person." — Anna Mak [40:21]

This episode of The Leadership Dance offers a nuanced exploration of Asian American leadership through Anna Mak's experiences, providing listeners with actionable insights and inspiring stories of perseverance and community building.