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Welcome to the final episode of the SHINE podcast for 2021. This podcast always focuses on the science, spiritual perspective and application of conscious, inclusive leadership, the recipe for high performing teams, and awareness practices that you can cultivate to be the kind of leader our world needs now. In this last episode of 2021 we are going out with fireworks. Our topic for today is purposeful leadership with my friend and colleague Leticia Van Splunteren. In this interview Leticia speaks vulnerably about how she navigated 2020 & 2021 as a CEO and mother, how she took on the priority of motherhood and well being first so that she could bring a strong, passionate and purpose to her leadership and life. She also shares some of the important mindsets and inner game tools she relies on to be a conscious inclusive leader at work and in the world. Lastly, there is a very special invitation that Leticia has for you. This interview has many valuable tips for you to bring your best and whole self to your life. Thank you for listening.
SHINE Links:
Leading from Wholeness Executive Coaching
Leading from Wholeness Learning and Development Resources
Shine: Ignite Your Inner Game to Lead Consciously at Work and in the World by Carley Hauck
The Imperfect Shownotes
0:01 Carley Hauck
Hi, welcome to the SHINE podcast. My name is Carley Hauck and I am your host. This podcast focuses on the science, spiritual perspective and application of conscious, inclusive leadership, the recipe for high performing teams, and awareness practices that you can cultivate to be the kind of leader our world needs now. I facilitate two to three episodes a month.
And before I tell you about our topic today, please go over to Apple podcasts, hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss any future episodes as we move into 2022 and if you love this episode, or any of our previous SHINE episodes, please write a positive review and share with folks. It helps so much. Thank you.
This is the last episode of the season, season five, the last episode of 2021 and we are going out with a big light fireworks. Our topic for today is purposeful leadership, with my friend and colleague Leticia Van Splunteren. In this interview Leticia speaks vulnerably with me about how she navigated 2020 as a CEO and mother, how she took on the priority of motherhood and well being first so that she could bring a strong, passionate and purpose to her leadership and life.
She also shares some of the important mindsets and inner game tools she relies on to be a conscious inclusive leader at work and in the world. Lastly, there is a very special invitation that Leticia has for you. So you want to definitely listen to the end of the episode.
Leticia is the CEO of Neptuno, USA. Neptuno is a worldwide telecommunications infrastructure with several patented tower designs of applied three dimensional technology to site surveys and tower mapping. This is a family owned business. And in the midst of the pandemic, so many small businesses had to close their doors, but this particular business was able to stay afloat and you’re gonna want to learn how they did that. The company has created telecom assets, virtual libraries, has helped develop telecom management software and is taking an active role in the Smart Cities movement. Leticia is an author, a mom, a sister, a wife, a CEO, a podcaster.
I have been so grateful to meet this amazing human, and I can’t wait to share her story of conscious inclusive leadership with you.
3:13 Carley Hauck
Hello, Leticia. I am so excited to have you on the SHINE podcast today. Thank you for joining.
3:21 Leticia Van Splunteren
Thank you, Carley . Thanks so much for having me.
3:23 Carley Hauck
You’re so welcome. Well, I wanted to start off with the question. What does conscious and inclusive leadership and business mean to you?
3:38 Leticia Van Splunteren
That’s a rich question. There’s so much there. But you know, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, conscious business. For me, being conscious means being present, being in the moment of what I do, but also doing what’s best for the greater good and doing things and engaging in things and in business that, you know, has a positive impact in the world. And, you know, being given everybody the same opportunities, not even noticing who is doing what, that to me is being inclusive.
4:16 Carley Hauck
Mm hmm. Wonderful answer and why is that important to you as a leader as a CEO yourself?
4:24 Leticia Van Splunteren
Well, you know, I currently work for the family business. I worked in it for 20 years now. So I think that when you work in the family business, it gives you a consciousness level that maybe harder to achieve when you work for a big corporation because the soul of the company, it’s almost like the soul of your family. And that’s how I see our company. So, you know, treating everybody with humanity, being compassionate, being generous in your work and in your company. That’s, you know, to me, it’s part of what we call consciousness because this creates ripple effects. And that’s why it’s important to me.
5:07 Carley Hauck
Right back care, the soul of the family. Yeah, I like some of the terms that you just used. And being that we’ve been in this pandemic, you know, world where so many of us are still working from home. Worldwide, it’s been over a year and a half now, what have been some of the bigger challenges for you, as a leader, as the CEO of this company? Love to hear.
5:40 Leticia Van Splunteren
Yeah, well, it definitely has been challenging. I joked around with my friends. And they know, I’m not someone that overwhelms easily. But I remember at the very beginning of the pandemic, I was very, very overwhelmed. And mostly, I have still young kids, 11, and seven. And so to have to manage, you know, the company and the impact you will have in the company, and we’re in the telecommunications industry. So that’s something that I think by now, we can all agree if we hadn’t had the infrastructure and the networks, and I’m not going to get very technical, but everybody can relate. If we couldn’t have that Zoom session open for our kids and for work, we would have lived through a very different pandemic. So the telecommunications workforce was deemed essential for the very first time in March last year, which I consider we’ve always been an essential workforce.
But this really made the point. And that means also that in terms of our companies, companies providing telecommunications in general, you know, we were under a lot of stress to deliver, you know, the services and infrastructure that can keep the world connected. And so that poses a lot of challenges. And then, of course, making sure that your employees understood, at least our employees understood that to us safety was first and we weren’t going to get anybody in harm’s way. And so we have a lot of international traveling for our crews that do work abroad. So of course, we had projects that stopped people not being able to travel. So it was hard. But I think just going, as I say back to basics, and making sure that everybody knew that the basics to us was being healthy, keeping everybody safe, and doing whatever we could do with the resources and situation we were given. So I was trying to do that both at work, and in my personal life. And but yeah, it was very challenging.
7:48 Carley Hauck
And so, you know, it sounds like what was most difficult was just the feelings of overwhelm, and not potentially knowing how to navigate this very uncertain, complex, ambiguous time. And was there anything more specifically that like, maybe you could even point to that has been more challenging for you to navigate in 2021.
8:17 Leticia Van Splunteren
During this year, well, in 2020, just in case I wasn’t specific enough, mostly was put in also the kids in front, everything else, because you understood that once they couldn’t go back to school, they were at the biggest, you know, we had the biggest uncertainty there and they had to adapt. I had a six year old at the time that had to learn to use the Zoom, and the computer and they had sessions, and you had to be on top of that. Otherwise, you couldn’t get them through the school day. Although that was very challenging. And as a CEO, of course, I was staying late and doing everything I could for the company as well. But I had to consciously say, the most important role right now that I have is as a mom. I really felt that and I felt of course communicating with the teams and the company, you know, but the human aspect definitely was the biggest one in 2021. Because we transitioned, you know, the school, the kids slowly returned to school, we got into different patterns and rhythm and pace. I could focus more on the company again, and then started moving because we have as you know, you know, a few months there that compared to our normal pace, it was extremely slow. So you could really kind of pick and choose where you were going to put the attention because we were on emergency mode and this year has been more about okay, now you have different components of how your business did and of course not many businesses achieved their goals or executed their business plans as designed. So it’s been a lot of pivoting and just being creative into how to tackle post pandemic world scenario.
10:04 Carley Hauck
Thank you. So what I heard was that in 2020, you know, being a mom was the first priority for you. And as a woman leader, you probably know that in 2020, we had such a huge number, almost 3 million women that had to leave the workforce. Many that were in leadership positions like yourself, because they couldn’t navigate work at home, because of the experience, you were just sharing of really needing to make the family and the children that priority. And we need to have women at the top to really create more equity and to make sure that all voices are being heard, and very important decisions for our workplace in our world. And so what allowed you to really be able to straddle both of those in the midst of 2020, that you were able to continue to lead in the way that you were, but you were also able to prioritize motherhood and your children?
11:14 Leticia Van Splunteren
Well, that’s an excellent question. And it’s kind of a sad answer that I’m going to give. But the truth is, that’s where owning your own business makes a difference, you’re not going to get fired by doing what you feel is right, the company’s gonna take a hit for sure, because you are not, you know, going at the same pace. But at the same time, I think leaders and managers, sometimes they hold very unrealistic expectations. So I think last year, a lot of leaders that thought the business was going to grow substantially unless you sold, you know, hand sanitizer, or anything that is related to COVID is extremely hard.
So there’s two options, you can either keep working extremely hard and almost inefficiently, because expecting a certain type of result is almost very unrealistic. Or you say, Yes, we’re going to take a hit. This is what I can expect out of this situation, but I’m going to put my attention into, you know, what I think deserves it more. So when you own your own company, you get the benefit to make those decisions. If you work for the same corporate American, you have a boss or a type of leadership that doesn’t understand that. That’s very difficult to do. And that’s unfortunately, why we lost so much ground. And I say we because I’m a big diversity and inclusion advocate. That, you know, it is very sad to see that when it boils down and you have to choose between family and work, I think it is just, you know, human nature, especially for the mother that eats you know, the nurturer eats. You know, this is no secret when one of the two in a couple has to take and make a sacrifice on behalf of the kids. I would say there’s extraordinary men out there, but it’s usually the woman that’s gonna make the sacrifice.
13:08 Carley Hauck
Nope, Agreed. Agreed. Thank you. So, in 2021, I heard you say that it’s, it’s been a little easier to navigate, because you’re not in emergency mode. And yet, I know that there are likely qualities and skills that you possess on the inside what we often refer to as the inner game skills on this podcast, since that’s been a big part of the book that I wrote and came out this year SHINE and also is a larger part of the body of work that I’ve been bringing to leaders and companies. But the inner game really directs our outer game.
And so what were some of the internal resources, quality skills that supported you to be the kind of leader mom and person you want to be in these times?
14:05 Leticia Van Splunteren
That’s a great question. And I’ll take a moment to say I’ve read your book. And I think it’s fantastic. You did a great, great job there. There’s so many important points that I enjoyed and resonated with me in your book.
14:25 Carley Hauck
Thank you.
14:27 Leticia Van Splunteren
Yeah. And so one of the things and I know you’re a meditator, I have to say in terms of inner game, I think the ingredients have been there in me, I’ve been on a personal growth path for quite so many years now. And I’m an avid reader, I’m always reading a book and it’s usually about self development. But meditation is something I had been, you know, romancing with for a long time. And I have to say, I owe it to the pandemic that provided me with a more, let’s say, a predictable schedule because I travel a lot for work.
And so by being home all the time I could really fit it in, and it was my lifeline to find a, you know, 15 minutes to meditate. And it really helped me put my mind at peace, trust in the situation because as, as we say, it’s very, very scary to go through what we went through all of us went through last year not knowing, you know, what’s gonna happen and what the, you know, the well being of our families, etc. So I guess I use meditation a lot to kind of channel all the things that were important to me and get to that realization of, you know, we’re gonna be okay, we have food, we are at home, we are lucky to be together. And so just keeping the focus into what’s important was very key to me. And everything else, you know, the company, the projects that are not happening, the money you’re not making, you know, that’s the outer game, as you say, in your book, that sold things you can, you know, live without, but the most basic needs were being covered. So I tried to focus on those. And we were in a lucky position that both my husband and I were, you know, able to work from home.
And, you know, I have a lot of sympathy for those people whose job depends on being out and about. And, you know, we paid our nanny for the entire time that the pandemic happened without her having to come because they say, you know, we still have a job, it’s not like we lost our jobs. So to take away that income from her because she’s not coming to work. And she’s not guilty that she cannot come to work, I just didn’t feel good with that. And so it was hard, because no one likes to pay money, when you’re not receiving the service, I was cooking, cleaning, I was having all the extra work, but just, you know, doing with what makes you feel good in your heart that I think is the key to the to my own inner game, if there’s something that, you know, if I do it, and it creates those bad butterflies, what I call in my heart in my stomach, then I know I’m not aligned with my inner game.
17:08 Carley Hauck
Hmm, wonderful answer, I loved hearing that. So really cultivating more self awareness and presence through your meditation practice, that sounds like there was a deeper motivation to do during this time, but also, because you didn’t have to get on a plane and travel as much. So there was more regularity in your schedule, to be able to really say this is important. And that enabled you to stay in the moment to stay in gratitude. And to be able to pivot and shift as things always are changing, but in this time, maybe changing more quickly than what we’re accustomed to.
And then I also heard that what also came through was the inner game of love. So really cultivating, you know, being loving and caring towards yourself, which then extends outward to everyone that you engage with, and unique and Leticia you and I’ve only known each other for a little while, but your care and your warmth, and your heart really comes through. And I felt that immediately when we connected. And I said she’s got an inner game of love going on here.
18:28 Leticia Van Splunteren
Thank you Carley, I’m happy to hear that. Because you know, it’s that and I and I cannot take credit because it’s not something I purposely do. But I think yes, that if you nurture yourself it is very hard to do, because you almost feel a little bit selfish, and a little bit guilty of should I be doing something else, something more productive, you know, productive in the way that the world measures it. And when you work in your inner game, it’s almost like you don’t measure it until you hear a nice comment, like the one you just gave me that if that if that, you know, shines through, then I say okay, then I invested in something that now it’s been measured somehow she feels a lot. I feel good about it. But you know, in most cases, you don’t get measured on that. And that’s the hard part.
19:17 Carley Hauck
Well, and I think that’s what’s also shifting in corporate culture, and we can talk you know more about this, but the real skills, which in some terms have been called the soft skills, but are really the ways that we lead and collaborate and find, you know, effective communication to innovate to find resolution. Those are not technical skills, you can’t necessarily measure them, you know, and, and they do directly lead to business outcomes and organizational goals. And because business is all about relationships, if you don’t have that strong inner game, you’re not smart.
fording a more human centered workforce that is going to be able to really navigate difficult times, like what we’re going through.
And so, I mean, I am personally and professionally, maybe a little biased, but I’ve just seen it again. And again, those are the skills that really matter at the end of the day. And but I hear you that, historically, it’s been about what we’re doing versus how we’re being.
20:31 Leticia Van Splunteren
Yeah, absolutely, couldn’t agree more.
20:35 Carley Hauck
Mm hmm. Well, talking about another inner game skill that is often spoken to in the podcast and with many leaders, is the inner game of authenticity. So when we are really cultivating what matters to us, what’s really true, and then we’re able to bring that out into our actions into our words, I know that authenticity is a big value of yours. And it’s something also that I’ve noticed about you right from our first conversation. So how do you step in the arena first, so to speak, you know, get vulnerable, be more authentic? And how does that support you to lead your team and especially in the midst of healthy or healthy conflict, but some people might just say, conflict, but, but I believe that conflict can be healthy. So that was kind of a big question. But how would you answer that?
21:35 Leticia Van Splunteren
Well, I think that, for whatever reason, being authentic is always a little bit misunderstood. You know, especially if you’re a woman, it’s especially felt like weakness, but also for men, I think when they’re authentic, they’re perceived as a little bit soft. So I think that’s something that needs to change. And that’s a shift that I’m hoping that it’s also starting to happen.
But my approach has always been, you know, being authentic, I don’t know if it’s 17 years of all girls Catholic school there, add something to the women, but, but just, you know, I was also raised with that, you know, just be upfront, and show who you are. And what I’ve learned is when you are authentic, and also vulnerable. So when you say how it is, people get surprised, because they are not expecting you to say listen, you know, business is not good. I need help. And then you get a very different response that when you put, you know, a strong, you know, facade, saying, oh, everything’s good, we’re doing this, and we’re doing that. And yeah, you can, you can have that and do it. But then you don’t realize you’re doing yourself a disservice. Because if you’re having challenges, no one’s gonna connect with your challenges and offer help.
So I lead like that. So I show that vulnerability, I show my team that, you know, I also get issues, I also get problems. I don’t expect others to do something that I don’t do. For example, for example, you know, I know a lot of leaders and bosses, you know, a very particular kind of boss micromanager. He doesn’t like it or she doesn’t like it when she isn’t here, so he has a doctor’s appointment, or he has these and they had to leave the office. And I say, don’t you have a doctor’s appointment from time to time, and they give you a time in a day that it’s in the middle of the day.
And I think we don’t put on each other’s shoes often enough. And so I tried to lead from that perspective and be authentic also to myself, like, really, if that was me in that situation? Why would I expect, you know, from it. And so that has taken me down a good path, because I find that people are more authentic with me in return. And they open up about things and sometimes, you know, I say I get to hear things and stories that I know that are not shared, you know, with many people, and sometimes man, those around me are surprised by how they tell you that? Or why did they share that with you? And I say because I also share, you know what I’m going through and I was also open.
And so I think that being authentic is really a great quality and, and you practice Be generous with your authenticity first, and you’ll see that it’s gonna return back somehow to you.
24:26 Carley Hauck
I completely agree. And, you know, one of the other things that I’ve been learning about authenticity and speaking our truth is there’s actually a couple distinctions. So authenticity is really just knowing the truth of who you are, what really matters and conveying that. And then there’s transparency and transparency is just allowing people to really hear and see all the details. It’s not leaving anything out. And then vulnerability is that personal quality that you’re
bringing in of- I need support right now, or, you know, just allowing your feelings to come through in the authenticity.
And so for me having those three distinctions supports me to understand, is this a time to be vulnerable? Is this a time to be transparent? Is this a time to be authentic? Or is it time for all three?
25:23 Leticia Van Splunteren
That’s why you’re the expert. I love that, you know, that this? That distinction is very powerful. Absolutely. And yeah, you know, those of us who are not like you have Masters on the subject. You know, you do it intuitively, you know, that, you know, in business, also, there’s a time to be vulnerable, but there’s also time to bluff a little bit. And learning to deal with that, I think it’s important.
And, you know, if we go back to healthy conflict, and in the team environment, I would have, to my answer that, you know, when I put when I’ve been transparent, I think that’s where this distinction becomes important. When you let the person know, what you’re going through in the decision, your decision making, trail of thought, and I something I’ve done many, many times is say, you know, if I have to say with someone, and I’ve had great relationships with all my team members throughout my career, and I say, Listen, on the personal level, I consider you a friend, if that has evolved into a friendship with with a colleague, I consider you a friend, and nothing will, I will say in this conversation will affect that, you know, will affect the fact that I consider you a dear friend, and we have a relationship outside the office, and I love to keep that intact.
Now on the you know, professionally, there are certain expectations from the work we are doing. And you know, and then I will go into what maybe I’m not happy about or anything that will create that conflict that we’re discussing, but I usually try to create a positive ground where the person feels safe, that the different interactions that we have are not going to be affected by this one conversation.
27:06 Carley Hauck
Well, that’s a really helpful example. And then there might even be a piece of vulnerability that you add in there, too, depending on the circumstance, depending on the situation.
All right, well, let’s talk about boundaries. You know, being that, again, you’re navigating a lot, you’re holding a lot from the role of mother to CEO, to wife, and then you also have this podcast. And you’re also going to be offering up this incredible experience in Italy in April that we’ll share a little bit more about. How are you able to put all of those in buckets, and have time for yourself? And for the things that matter?
27:57 Leticia Van Splunteren
You know, Carley, I think that’s a question I get asked the most all the time, but not only in podcasts, like by my friends is like how on earth? Are you doing all this? And it’s funny, because, you know, I, I think I’m very realistic, one of the things is, in terms of what boundaries I set families first. And you know, I been a mother, I think it’s the biggest job that anybody, I parent, any job that anybody can have, because you realize that you are raising someone else that that is going to be, you know, the is going to model basically, who you are and who you and your spouse or your partner are in terms of bringing this world to this child to the world, and how they show up in the world. So I consider that my biggest responsibility.
And but, you know, I had a great example at home because my father and the company he founded 50 years ago. So I was always, you know, in an intrapreneurship environment, and my dad is a great father, and he’s 87. And he still works every single day of his life. So he’s still my boss. And, but he gave us the best example in terms of boundaries. And when he would come home from the office, you know, work talk was forbidden. And it was very little, you know, almost no workout. And he say, well, in those times it was easier because it was only me, but now, me, my two siblings, my sister in law, and my dad all work in the same company. So imagine our Christmas events or holidays are usually interesting. But you know, we are all very respectful of that. We all know that we work together and it’s very easy to, you know, at a family event to talk about work. And we make a conscious effort and that’s where the whole mindfulness and being present and, and you know, you know, be 100% where you are, if I’m in the office, I’m 100% here, if I’m at home, I’m 100% here.
And, you know, I was always very good with my email, even over the weekend since I became a mom, people that interact with me, they know, you know, I’m trying not to check email on the weekend, because otherwise my mind cannot be with my family 100%. And so, you know, you establish the boundaries that you think are important to you. And so for me, families, number one, of course, the business is important, but I always tried to put those first and then I don’t take on things I know I cannot fulfill. I’m super realistic with that, like, there’s initiatives that I love. And I know I will get to at some point, my book was one of those that you know, I always wanted to write a book but I knew I didn’t have the time and then the right opportunity came and it got done.
And then I feel sometimes people are not realistic with their own time. And what they can tackle and setting up having a structure where you say, Okay, I’m going to delegate this delegate that and then you could really come fit so much more by delegating, but also by being honest with what you can tackle and what you cannot tackle.
31:25 Carley Hauck
Fabulous. And so wonderful to hear about the family run business and the components of that, and the people involved, because so many small businesses had to, you know, close their doors in the midst of the pandemic. And then we have these big monopolies like Walmart, and Costco and Amazon, and, you know, that have just really taken on so much more power, because the small business just couldn’t compete. And so I’m feeling really happy to hear that Neptuno has continued to really thrive.
And I would also imagine that there’s maybe a little bit more camaraderie in working with the family, you know, of saying, hey, this just came up personally, can you take this right? Where I wonder if that’s a little bit easier in the context of a family business, versus a non-family business?
32:25 Leticia Van Splunteren
Absolutely. And I think that’s how we should all run our business because it goes back to my point to the doctor’s appointment, right? If it’s your brother or your sister that has an important appointment, you want them to be good, you want to give them peace of mind to go to that appointment and not having to think about work. And the you know, I work for corporate America, my share of the years and thank God that I work for a very good company, Canadian, Nortel and I also work at Merrill Lynch, but you see how we dehumanize work, and it shouldn’t be separate.
Work is a huge part of who we are. We spend most of our days in our offices, and it’s not separate from our lives. And so I think COVID has allowed us to see that, that we can still be very efficient, we can still run our businesses and do our jobs, you know, sometimes by not being in an office just by being home. I think that’s part of what the great resignation is, is that people realize that they can have a different life and that they were going through the motions in having traditional jobs, but they were not happy at the end of the day.
33:34 Carley Hauck
Definitely, yes, we bring our whole selves to work and to home no matter what and I think it’s become definitely something that we can’t pretend isn’t happening and hasn’t always happened.
33:50 Leticia Van Splunteren
It’s been so challenging, you know, to your point that you know that we are thriving we are thank God and we you know, by we have had to do so many pivots and even my father says he pains me to see what you guys are going through because in his time integrity, your worth, not lying to a customer to get business those were were qualities that were appreciated by the customers. And now we are living unfortunately in a time that the customer wants you to tell them what they want to hear. And there’s people out there that will tell them anything just to get a purchase order even knowing it’s a lie but you know when you work for the family business, I cannot lie. I always tell people I have 50 years of my father’s legacy on our shoulders.
34:40 Carley Hauck
Yeah, the brand reputation, yeah, wonderful.
34:45 Leticia Van Splunteren
I will destroy you much more than you’re just a project or a bad deal if I did that. But then you know, to the point of something my husband always tells me he’s a very philosophical guy. He says How is good gonna win when evil plays by different rules? And we’ve been in that position so many times where you, you know, you know that the customer is being lied to is not being treated fairly, it’s because you lose the deal, because the others don’t play fair. So you have to make a commitment, who do you want to be as a company and as a person?
35:25 Carley Hauck
Definitely, I really appreciate that example. So Neptuno is this family business that you are the CEO of? It’s in the telecommunications industry. And tell me why this is so important right now, as we have 5G, and what are the obstacles around having this worldwide network where we’re just able to really connect with one another? And then what are also the possibilities?
35:57 Leticia Van Splunteren
I thank you for that question. Currently, because you know, I’ve done many podcasts, initially, it’s all technology driven, or all, you know, self development, kind of this kind of conversation. And it’s so important to intersect our worlds and to share with each other what we all do, because it’s all definitely intertwined.
So our company started building the telecom towers that you see by the road, so be the big tower towers that really enable the first cell phone calls. So I’m very proud that, you know, throughout the 50 years, we’ve installed over 10,000, in the Americas, many, many of them are in the islands, where they were the first, you know, tower and means of communication for small towns, so to see, you know, someone being able to call home because now they have a tower, and they have the infrastructure available to make that phone call has always been something I’ve been very proud of.
And I think that unfortunately, we have lost respect for what’s behind our cell phones. There’s so many people and so much technology that goes behind being able to make that phone call, or to stay connected or to do WhatsApp. So that’s just to say, you know, that I’m very passionate about raising awareness about what the telecom industry does, because he has become a commodity in a way.
And is there something everybody has these days is a cell phone is a smartphone. And so the 5G, what is this? Why is it important? You know, when when the first technology that enable that cellular phone call came about was very revolutionary, right, we get the opportunity to do a phone call from the car for the very first time, 5G, you know, all the technologies in between one G while the what is called Zero G, or one G. And then 5G, you know, has brought us a step closer, where you couldn’t text, you know, that 2G technology gave you that, and then you couldn’t stream 4G technology gave you that. So there’s a lot of, you know, progress that we made.
5G, what it’s gonna give us is almost like that real time ability to do things like robotics. We couldn’t do robotics, you know, for the longest time, and now, this is the technology that is gonna enable that. And it’s always basically always connected. Streaming. You know, it’s very exciting. And I will take three hours to explain it, but I’m very, very lucky to be in this industry and be enabling that communication.
38:45 Carley Hauck
Well, thank you, because it just taught me a lot about that industry, because it’s not one that I have supported, and the companies and leaders, so thank you for sharing that. And thank you for being in service.
39:02 Leticia Van Splunteren
Thank you. And we are in a workforce shortage. So if anybody you know is interested, this is the perfect time. It’s a very exciting industry to join in.
39:10 Carley Hauck
Hmm. Well, we will leave links to how folks can get in touch with you after the podcast. So awesome. People that are interested, reach out to Leticia.
So I want to move us into this incredible new venture and experience that you clearly have been thinking about visioning for a while, where you’re bringing leaders together for an incredible, transformational time, at the beginning of April, in Sicily, Italy. And I feel grateful and delighted that you have invited me to come and support the facilitation in co-creation of this event, and what inspired you to want to bring folks together in this way at this time.
39:57 Leticia Van Splunteren
Thank you, Carley . And we’re so excited that you’re joining us. That’s really one of the best things of the whole Back to Basics experience. But what inspired me is, three years ago, I started a podcast called Back to Basics, Reconnecting to the Essence of You, moved by the intuition that, you know, while I enabled telecommunications and coming in connections in what I do, I also realized we are losing human connection, we are not talking to each other, we’re not having enough inspiring conversations such as this one.
And so I started the podcast as a side gig. And, you know, you’ve been on it. So I’m very honored as well. But you know, it just has spun off into all these opportunities and interesting people. And so my husband and I had the idea- what if we do something in a place that will be so beautiful, but also will create like a cohort of, you know, people that are open to just go through a transformational experience.
And so we decide the the whole week, which will happen April 2 to the eighth in Sicily, where my parents are from, and it’s, you know, in the town, my dad’s down, we’re going to have a beautiful castle, all to ourselves, which is our boutique hotel owned by very good friends. And we will have, you know, daily sessions facilitated by you. And by professor, Paul McGee, who’s going to be a special speaker for two days.
And we’ll talk about you know, all things that we’re talking here, you know, your book is going to be, you know, base basis will serve as a great basis of conversations. And also, we realize that people want to have fun, people want to explore other places. And so we’re gonna have some beautiful, beautiful day tours to the city of Armenian, Siracusa and Noto. We have three world UNESCO World Heritage towns that will will visit but we are embedding you know, the program, the program that you will facilitate, into these experiences so that it’s not like we’re going to be, you know, in a classroom all day we’re going to be experiencing and that’s why, you know, being embodied, yes, yes. That’s why it’s called the Back to Basics experience, because life doesn’t happen. In a classroom. In a conference room, life happens while you’re talking while you’re having a great meal. Why not have a great Prosecco, you know, I want it to be, you know, more real to what we go through in our daily lives.
42:41 Carley Hauck
Wonderful. Well, for those of you that are listening, and you’re thinking Sicily in April, and being with other leaders and learning and growing and connecting, and learning how to bring our best to work in the world. We would love to have you and there will be links in the show notes on how you can come and join us.
43:08 Leticia Van Splunteren
I love it. Yeah, the whole purpose is to have inspired connections, just as what I feel I’m having with you right now and inspired connection. That’s really what we are envisioning in this one week to be inspired connections in the most beautiful place you can imagine.
43:22 Carley Hauck
Can’t wait
43:23 Leticia Van Splunteren
Me either. So I hope that your audience gets excited to look it up. And we still have a few rooms left. So I encourage everybody to just check it out.
43:37 Carley Hauck
Yeah. Well, Leticia, I’m loving this conversation. And I could talk to you all day. And I’ll get an opportunity to do that when we’re in Italy. But for now, as we wrap up, I have two last questions for you. Because you are the last interview and guest of 2021. And because we are at the end of the year, I always love the ritual of letting go and bringing in and in my experience, when we let something go, we really give room for the new.
And the letting go could be a person that’s not serving you. Right. It could be a client, it could be a pattern or a narrative that you have that’s keeping you stuck. It could be an unhealthy habit, you know, anything that you’re thinking, you know, I don’t want to bring this with me into 2022 because it’s keeping me stuck in some way. And then what is it that you’re calling in that you’re bringing in it’s going to replace that? I feel so curious to hear.
44:46 Leticia Van Splunteren
Okay, well, that’s a yeah, it’s a good question. So what I want to leave out it’s something I’ve been working for since the beginning of the year. It’s, you know, I realized somehow human beings we got wired in to having to create a story to everything that happens to us. And I’m very good at that. So let’s say a customer doesn’t respond to an email, and I’m already thinking they’re not gonna buy from me, they’re talking to my competitor. And I just create this narrative. And the story in my head that I realize, you know, is fantasy is science fiction, because it’s my head, saying something that he may or may not be. But he creates so much suffering for me when I create these stories that are just things that I’m imagining. And so what I’m leaving out is that need to attach a story to something that happened. And just to accept the fact of what happened for what it is, is just the customer didn’t respond to the email, and just let it be.
48:47 Carley Hauck
I love that just yeah, just just staying with what is. Oh, so this just happened? Got it. Okay, letting go until more information comes in.
48:50 Leticia Van Splunteren
Yeah, exactly, exactly. And so then with that, what I bring into it is just hope and a deep trust that whatever just happened happened for the greater good.
And just to sit in that deep trust that, you know, and I don’t have to know the explanation, I don’t have to know why. You know, I think that’s why the biggest way of saying it is I don’t have to know the why of things and why this happened. And what’s the purpose of these and really creates a lot of suffering. And I’ve been practicing it as we enter the new year. And it’s really liberating to just let it be.
46:35 Carley Hauck
And I also want to acknowledge that that’s not always so easy.
46:39 Leticia Van Splunteren
No it’s not that’s why I said I’ve been working on it for a long time. It’s not something that I’ve just taken because it takes practice.
46:47 Carley Hauck
It does. It does. I think that I’m going to join you in that. Let’s be accountability buddies. I love it.
46:54 Leticia Van Splunteren
Let’s do it.
46:56 Carley Hauck
Okay, well, we have had such an incredible conversation. You’ve left me and everyone with so many wonderful, real tips from your own experience. And I’m just really thankful for you taking time today with me and the SHINE podcast. Is there anything you’d like to leave before we end?
47:15 Leticia Van Splunteren
Just, you know, gratitude, Carley, for giving me the space to share my thoughts with you. I know, I mean, I’m a follower. I am a subscriber of your podcast. And I know you have very, very high caliber individuals in this podcast. So I’m very humbled that you asked me to join and I’m humbled that you are co creating Back to Basics with with us. So I’m just very grateful to have met you this year.
47:40 Carley Hauck
Ah, likewise, I’m very excited to continue this journey with you. And you’re such a beautiful embodiment of so many of the other leaders. So you’re, you’re, you know, totally in line with everyone else that I’ve interviewed. So thank you again.
48:00 Leticia Van Splunteren
Well, thank you for that. And you know, best of luck to anybody listening since I’m the last episode, let’s make 2022 a great year and you know, there’s going to be ups and there’s going to be down, that’s a certainty to expect that everything is only up, it’s unrealistic. So let’s just make the best of what comes our way.
48:19 Carley Hauck
Definitely. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Leticia for your time and for your commitment to being a conscious inclusive leader.
If you have questions or want to connect with Leticia her LinkedIn handle and other links will be available for you in the show notes. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends, family or colleagues. We’re all in this together. And the more that you share, the more that we can support one another.
And as we spoke about this incredible experience in Sicily, Italy, April 2 through eighth, we would love to have you join us. And you can go to the link in the show notes. Or you can also go to leticialatino.com/backtobasics–experience. You can reach out to Leticia or I to learn more information about this incredible week of transformation connection purpose.
If you have any questions, comments or topics that you would like me to address on the podcast, email me at support@carleyhauck.com. As always, I love hearing from you. Thank you so much for tuning in and being part of this community. What a year and I have incredible speakers and interviews lined up starting at the beginning of 2022. You do not want to miss out so if you have not, hit the subscribe button, go and subscribe to the shine podcast. Be safe, be healthy. Take time to nurture your well being, reflect and let go.
And until we meet again in 2022 to be the light and shine the light my friend.
