EXECUTIVE STRATEGIST | Michele Davenport
STRADDLING Cultures, Identities, Roles and More
How about celebrating the straddle as an opening to thrive? What opportunities for growth are presented by showing up in more than one space?
R
ecently I had a conversation
hadn’t seen in a while. What Effia was
of family travel to her
A few days after returning to work, Effia
with an American client who recounted her experience
ancestral homeland of West Africa. For
this Culturs magazine issue dedicated to families, the story seemed fitting.
“Mommy, can we come back here?
This was so much fun,” her four-year-
old daughter asked when they returned home to northern California, USA.
Three generations of family had spent
a couple of weeks together celebrating
the completion of her parent’s retirement home in Ghana, Africa, which they
envisioned being a place where their children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren would come home to. In
struck by was this notion of straddling.
was confronted with a decision — to
continue to excel in the compliance area of her role as a lawyer for a company in
Silicon Valley (the epicenter of technology and innovation) or pivot to spend more time going deeper into an alternative
role. She checked in with herself and her values to come up with the answer. She
felt she had spent the last couple of years straddling the two roles, which wasn’t
unfamiliar given how much of her life and career had been spent straddling cultures,
roles, identities and more. How and when do you come home to yourself?
some instances this trip included meeting
Effia’s story is not unlike many of our
getting re-acquainted with cousins they
is it impacting you? For many of us we
relatives for the first time and others,
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Summer/Fall 2018 | www.CultursMag.com
own. What are you straddling, and how
spend a considerable amount of our lives this way:
Straddling Cultures: In our global
society, folks are often sitting in meetings from opposite ends of the world, and
technology allows us to connect with,
contribute to and learn from other cultures. This is such a gift.
Straddling Nationalities: All of us
come from somewhere. Our present-
day lives represent a confluence of that
place and the place we call home today.
Our lives become mosaics of all of these elements — our happiness, health and
success is often determined by how we connect pieces to create the whole.
Straddling Identities: Where do the personal and professional personae
intersect? If you’d love to show up as
