What does it take to become visible when you’ve been taught to stay in the background? In this Accentuate! podcast conversation, Rhonda Gardner welcomes Sheena Yap Chan, Founder of the Human Readiness Movement, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and TEDx speaker, to explore identity, confidence, and the courage to speak up.
Born in the Philippines and raised in Canada, Sheena reflects on growing up without seeing herself represented in the media, questioning cultural expectations, and learning to embrace her appearance and heritage. She shares how early experiences and other people’s assumptions influenced her choices—and what helped her begin to recognize her own possibilities.
The conversation also examines the workplace conditions that help people contribute and advance. Sheena discusses stereotypes about Asian women, why hard work alone may not lead to recognition, and the importance of connecting mentorship with sponsorship and leadership opportunities. Through her VISIBLE Framework, she explores voice, identity, spotlight, inner work, belief, leverage, and elevation—including bringing others with us as we grow.
We consider how personal confidence and supportive environments can help immigrants and other professionals share their perspectives, pursue opportunities, and lead. Sheena’s encouragement is practical: we don’t need to have everything figured out before taking the first step.
Transcript: Accentuate! Podcast
Host: Rhonda Gardner
Guest: Sheena Yap Chan, Founder of the Human Readiness Movement, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, and TEDx Speaker
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
Growing up between cultures
Rhonda: Well, good day everyone. Welcome to the Accentuate! Podcast where we amplify the voices of immigrants and refugees and explore how their experiences shape workplaces, communities and leadership. I'm your host, Rhonda Gardner, an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago now living in the United States. Today, I'm very honored to welcome Sheena Yap Chan. She's a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and creator of the VISIBLE Framework. She helps organizations develop their employees so they can fully show up, speak up, and lead. Sheena, thank you so much for being here.
Sheena: Thank you so much for having me.
Rhonda: Okay, so to begin with, would you briefly introduce yourself and tell us a little about your personal background and where your journey began?
Sheena: Yeah, for sure. So I was born in the Philippines. I actually moved to Canada when I was seven and have been living there since. All the work that I've done really started from my upbringing, living in Canada, even though Toronto was a very multicultural city, it wasn't really represented in the media. I always felt ashamed of who I was, my culture, how I look, wanting to have blonde hair and blue eyes, to feel accepted, to feel beautiful. And it wasn't until my 20s when I really embraced who I was. And kind of like what you're doing with the podcast, you know, I really wanted to create a platform where I can share Asian women's stories, especially because sometimes we're seen as quiet, submissive, obedient.
Sheena: I wanted to dismantle that. I wanted to showcase powerful stories where there's people making, having eight figure businesses and, you know, doing what they love and picking a different career and, you know, just going against the grain. And so I started my podcast called The Tower of self-confidence, where I've interviewed over 800 Asian women on that topic. I've gone to write two books for Wiley, which I never thought would ever happen. And I'm doing speaking and also doing workshops with the VISIBLE Framework and also creating a speaker community because I know there's a lot of people out there who want to speak.
Sheena: It's funny because I literally created this community. It's a free community. I literally created it like on a Thursday and five days now from it. So 5 days later, it's gotten like 640 members. And it was just like wild because I was like, I was happy if I got five people in it. But I'm really grateful. You know, people don't realize how important community is, especially if you're doing something on your own. You can get very lonely. And sometimes we just need a place where we can just talk, share. our frustrations, understand, because especially as an entrepreneur, you understand those frustrations.
Sheena: And just like, know you're not alone in this journey. So yeah.
Rhonda: Thank you so much for that. So I want to unpack some of what you said.
Learning to embrace her identity
Rhonda: And I've read some of your book, The Tao of Self-Confidence, and I'm still going through it. But one of the things you said earlier, and you said in your book as well, you struggled with your identity in terms of, you wanted blonde hair, blue eyes. What were some of the major sort of milestones in your journey that led from not appreciating who you were to embracing your unique look as a Filipina Asian woman?
Sheena: Yeah, that's a great question. It's so funny. Like it really came down to like, back in my 20s, I decided to dye my hair blonde. And to upkeep that isn't cheap. So I was like, I need to stop doing this. Like, retouching your roots was like $80 a pop and like.
Rhonda: How many damages your hair too?
Sheena: That's a lot of money. I mean, it's still a lot of money, but back in the day, that was a lot of money. So I decided to dye my hair back to my original hair color. And it wasn't until like when that came out, I really finally accepted who I was. I was like, this is me. I have very dark brown hair. I have like, this is how I look, this is who I am, and I'm just going to embrace it. So what started as like me trying to save some money really helped me embrace who I was and embrace my own culture.
Rhonda: I love that.
Questioning cultural expectations
Rhonda: So while learning to embrace your identity, you've also questioned some cultural expectations of Asian women. What expectations have you had to reconsider? And how have you navigated that with your community, especially the people you love, your family?
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, it was hard because especially like we've always been told to never make any noise, stay in the background, do as you're told. To show up, it was really hard. I had to unlearn a lot of things so I could show up the way I show up now. being able to put myself out there, promoting myself, sharing what I do. I mean, it's not easy being on video, doing talks like this, like we're not taught to be visible. We're taught to be in the background. So I had to like really work on myself and learn that to show up.
Sheena: And then also like learning to heal through our trauma is the reason why I wrote the top self-confidence because in our culture, we're not taught to talk about our trauma. In fact, we're just taught to you know, not say anything, keep it to ourselves and pretend it never happened. And of course it happened and it's going to show up. It's going to trigger us. And instead of hiding it or keeping it under the rug, it's important to be aware of it and find ways to heal from it, especially when you're building confidence.
Sheena: Like you're going to have to work on that because A lot of people will ask me like how to build confidence, but really for me, it's asking them what's really stopping you from moving forward, right? And when we can figure that out, that's when we can really push forward and take action. Because all the strategy in the world that we learn is not gonna matter until you really like work on yourself, doing the inner work, being able to work through your trauma, work through the issues that's holding you back. that's 80% of the work.
Sheena: And once you're able to do that, like the 20% of taking action strategy will be a lot easier because now that you have what it takes, you're capable, you have the potential, and you're just going to do it regardless of the circumstances. Like confidence isn't about knowing everything. It's just learning to just take that first step to whatever that may look like. And sometimes the hardest step is the first step. in any journey. It's never easy. I get it. I've been there. There's days where I would resist, hold back, think, can I do this?
Sheena: And I'm just like, I just need to take that first step. And once you take that first step, you take another one and another one until you get there. So, you know, there's still, I mean, if you, we can go on all day about this, but I mean, here's some of the things I've dealt with and I've learned to overcome for sure.
Building confidence through practice
Rhonda: What is one thing in particular that stands out in your mind that you did to build your confidence? Because you mentioned unlearning, and I think that's a big part of it, right? Unlearning some things, but also identifying things in yourself that needs addressing. So it's not just putting confidence on. It's like you have to get something out so the confidence could sort of rise up. So any tips in terms of something in particular you did?
Sheena: I think learning to be our own best friend. We can be our own worst critic, right? We love to just focus on the good parts of us and ignore the bad things. And so we have to learn to give unconditional love to ourselves. Because if not, how do we expect other people to give us the same love if we can't even give that to ourselves? So we really have to treat ourselves like our own best friend, be our biggest cheerleader, learn to love the good, bad, the ugly parts of you, because it's part of who you are, nobody's perfect.
Sheena: Perfection is an illusion, you know, like you see a photo of a model in a fashion magazine and you think, oh, she's perfect, but you don't even realize how heavily edited that photo is, right? It's this misconception. Or even like, you know, being from the Philippines, like Whitening creams are very prevalent here. you're on the highway and there's a big billboard of someone promoting like a snail white soap or cream or lotion, all because we've been taught that fair skin is beautiful, when really what we should be telling is everybody's beautiful in their own skin.
Sheena: It doesn't matter what shade it is. But, and I know it's not just in Philippines, it's all over Asia, worldwide. I mean, whitening creams is like a multi-million dollar industry that preys on women's insecurities. So those beauty standards as well can take a toll on us because we feel like we have to look a certain way or be a certain way to feel accepted when really it shouldn't be that way.
Rhonda: Thanks for that. So obviously every journey includes obstacles.
Navigating barriers as an immigrant professional
Rhonda: Have there been challenges you faced as an immigrant professional in Canada that shaped you as a leader or as a person right now?
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, I remember when I had my office job, I was wanting to find a new job because I just wanted something different and something new. And I remember telling an old colleague about that, like saying, I'm going to look for another job. I just want to do something different. It was funny because he told me, he's like, why would you look for another job? Like you make more than enough as a woman already. And unfortunately, I believed him at the time. I didn't have personal development or things like that.
Sheena: And I just believed him and I stayed like way longer than I needed to be. And so, you know, sometimes we're told certain things, but just because someone thinks you can't do it doesn't mean it's your truth. That's just one person's opinion. And I wish I knew that back then. I didn't know any better. I wish sometimes in the schools they taught personal development, even in college and universities. Yes, it's important to learn the subject that you're studying, but it's also important to teach students how to put themselves out there, go through rejection, the importance of resilience, because those are what they really need.
Sheena: to step into the real world. And if I had those skills, maybe things would be a little bit different, right? Because school is supposed to prepare you for real life, but how are you going to live a real life when you're just writing dissertations, right? Like constantly studying and it's like, okay, how do you apply everything that you studied, right? Like students have a hard time putting themselves out there because they don't have the skills to learn and apply for a job or go through rejection or apply from job after job after job to get to where they are, right?
Sheena: Nobody teaches them these things. Some of them are just like, well, I have my MBA, I'll be fine. And it's like, that doesn't really guarantee you anything, unfortunately, right? Like school does not guarantee you a job, right? It's the actions you take. And so, you know, if I had the proper personal development work, things would have been different. But we're here today because our stories matter. We need to share our stories. We need to show them, this is what happened to me. I don't want the same thing happening to you. There's always a better way of doing things.
Rhonda: So what was your aha moment when you said, no, I need to leave this job? What was that pivotal moment that made you make that decision?
Sheena: Well, my aunt passed away from a horrific accident about 14, 15 years ago. And I think that was a big like aha moment because she was able to do everything she wanted to do. Like she lived a pretty fulfilled life, even though people were like, you know, you're too old to be doing that. Why are you doing that? She never, it never bothered her. She just did whatever she wanted. But unfortunately, she passed away. And it made me realize like, oh my goodness, like, if I die tomorrow, I have nothing to live, I have nothing to show for.
Sheena: Like, I didn't do anything that I ever wanted. And I think that was the first part, like really just planting that seed and then figuring out how I can get out of it. I was able to do it, of course, but I was able to do everything that I've ever wanted and more. And I'm really grateful for that. Like, honestly, if I was gone tomorrow, like I have no regrets. And it's good and bad. You know, it's good that I don't live life full of regrets. But at the same time, when you've accomplished everything, you're like, what do I do now?
Sheena: Like, then you have no meaning in your life because you've already done it. And sometimes it took a lot out of me to like find something. And I think for me, like speaking and sharing, talking to people about speaking and helping them get like speaking engagements and helping them just build their confidence to go on stage or help them even just learn to apply for something. That really lights me up, because for me, we definitely need more diverse voices, different perspectives, definitely more women on stages. And, you know, in order for that to change, like, it has to start with ourselves.
Sheena: And it's not easy, but it's also very fulfilling, like, to get people to tell me how much, you know, what I tell them resonated with them. And, you know, it's like, They're like, because of you, I did this, or because, I heard you, I bought your book and I loved everything that you written on it. And especially in the world where AI has been such a big, big topic, people are wanting more human connection and. going to in-person events or even having virtual events, like IRL will be the new luxury, right?
Sheena: Yes. And more and more events are happening because they understand that people are craving human connection, human interaction. And it's proof, right? Like I literally started a community five days ago and it's gotten 640 members in like 5 days. And I'm like, wow, like this is wild. Like I just see my phone going off, like all these requests and It was like, and I had no real strategy other than creating it and putting it out there. And sometimes that's all we just need to do, right? Just taking that action. You can figure out what worked, what didn't work.
Sheena: You can course correct as you go. And that's how we really get results. Imagine if I was still thinking about it, you know? I was still like, should I do it? Shouldn't I do it? Then I wouldn't have that result. So that's also confidence, right? Like we don't have to know every single thing. Like you just, have to take action, take imperfect action, like be okay to make mistakes because sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest opportunities. That's where we can figure out how we can solve a person's problem. Like, you know, we have to go through that struggle because we need to understand the struggle.
Sheena: And once we have the solution for it, we can provide it and show them why this is a solution because you understand what they've been through, the heartache, the pain that they have. And then you can be the one that gives them that solution.
Rhonda: I love that. Thank you for sharing that.
Sheena: No worries.
What she learned from interviewing Asian women
Rhonda: So I know you, in your podcast, you mentioned you spoke to over 700 Asian women and that was part of the process. What do Asian women need most to advance professionally? beyond the stereotypical expectations of them? What do they need from themselves and what do they need from organizations?
Sheena: I mean, sometimes, again, it's important to dismantle the negative stereotypes we still go through. You know, sometimes we're still seen as quiet, submissive, obedient. So like, you know, and I've spoken to a lot of Asian women professionals. So like sometimes when they say something, it's like a shock for some people because they just assume we're quiet, we don't make too much trouble. So even if we say something, it's like now we're seen as a troublemaker when really we're just sharing our ideas, voicing our opinions. It's important to create like a safe working environment, right?
Sheena: Not just for Asian women, but for all women or for all people, right? Because if you don't have that safety in the workplace, like how do you expect your employees to work better, have better productivity. Because if you don't have the better productivity, then your revenue goes down, the profit margins go down. So it's all, like part of the circle or part of the wheel or whatever you say. And so for me, creating safe spaces is important, where they can also share what they're going through and encouraging them to be in leadership positions, right?
Sheena: Just because they don't see that potential, like, you help them see what's possible or even help them get into those leadership positions. Because I hear a lot of women who get mentorship and they have no idea what to do after the mentorship. It's like, I got the skills. What do I do now? It's like, sponsorship is also just as important, helping them be placed in those leadership positions or else again, it becomes wasted effort, right? Like they have the skills, but then it's still the same picture. And also like, we still go through a lot of toxic work cultures, right?
Sheena: Like bro culture, all those things. Like it's important to bring those up and really find a solution for it. Like saying you'll fix it is different from doing it, right? You can have the right saying, the right words, but if your actions don't match what you say, then again, it becomes wasted effort. So also doing the inner work is important, right? workplaces need to have personal development because again, if they're not in the right mindset, they're not going to be able to produce at their best. In fact, in my book, Bridging the Confidence Gap, there was a stat that I mentioned that only 9% of the workforce live up to their full potential in the workplace.
Sheena: So it's very small. So imagine the 91% who don't work up to their full potential. And if they did, like, just imagine what that productivity would like and of course, what would the profit and revenue look like, right? Because companies want to make money, which is fine because that's what they do, right? They make money. And so, you know, we want to create win-win situations for everyone. And for me, personal development is also important. And also getting out of their own way, be able to show up. we've always been taught that working hard, like if we work hard, the results speak for themselves, but that's not true.
Sheena: Sometimes working hard is just seen as working hard. Like working hard is not equivalent to leadership potential. So we have to show up, we have to be in those spaces, we have to be in the right rooms where those decisions are made to get to the opportunities as well. So yeah.
Rhonda: I'm curious, when you had those interviews, did you find a lot of the women wanted to be in leadership roles, but they just didn't know how to navigate the space or how to speak up? What did you find? I'm just curious.
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, how we're brought up is different. We're taught, especially for women, we're taught to be the perfect daughter, wife, sister. So we always had to show up a certain way. And how we view strength has been different. It's like strength is taking in everything and not saying it a word. And that's actually not strength, right? That's how we have trauma and like go through all these feelings. Like we need to let those things out. We're also taught not to brag, not to put ourselves out, put ourselves out there. So visibility is really hard.
Sheena: And I've spoken to a lot of women or like women in my community who say like showing up is the hardest thing to do. You know, especially as women, we're not taught to promote ourselves. We're taught that self-promotion is tacky and not ladylike, but I think we decided that. For me, especially if you're in business for yourself, you've got to put yourself out there. You've got to promote your products and services. Because if you're not, you're also doing a disservice to the clients that are meant to work with you. So yeah.
What inclusion looks like
Rhonda: So the word inclusion is used often, but it can mean different things to different people. From your perspective, what does inclusion look like for Asian immigrants or refugees?
Sheena: I mean, for me, it's like it doesn't matter what skin color, culture we come from. It's about just being able to live cohesively as one. That's one of the reasons why I love Toronto, because growing up there, it was very multicultural. You can get every cuisine in the world. you can have Trinidadian food, you can have Chinese food, you can have European, like, and food is our love language. So, you know, we love, like, we love trying different things, especially like Caribbean food, like there's so many different patty places and rotis and all that stuff.
Sheena: And like my family and I love eating that. So, you know, being able to discover that and be able to connect through just food, right? food can be the language for everybody. if you come to Toronto in the summer, there's like food festivals from different cultures and being able to learn from it is great and also trying it out as well. And even in the summer, they have a huge Caribbean festival parade that everybody comes to. So for me, inclusion is more just like being able to live cohesively as one, regardless of our gender or our cultural background, because in the end, we all bleed the same color.
Sheena: So that for me is what inclusion is. I know sometimes it's taking it to a different context. Sometimes people think what they're doing is inclusion can actually be the total opposite. So, it's just keeping it simple. Like for me, like Toronto was a great example of that, being able to connect with one another, learn from one another, respect each other's cultures, respect each other's views, you know, not dissing, not like, you know, saying, well, that doesn't make sense, but more like, oh, why do you do that? Like, I want to know.
Sheena: I'm just genuinely curious. So yeah, that for me is the inclusion.
Rhonda: Thank you.
Historical trauma and confidence
Rhonda: You discuss historical trauma in your work, especially your book, The Tao of Self-Confidence. For listeners unfamiliar with that idea, how do you understand it and how can it impact confidence and experiences at work?
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, trauma is like situations in your life where it's hurt your confidence or it's, hurt how you see things in the world. So for me, one of the trauma that I've lived with was in the Philippines. I failed kindergarten for coloring outside the lines of a photo. And I know that sounds wild, but it happened, you know? I was given a photo to color, couldn't color within the lines, was coloring all over the place. And the teacher gave me a brand new photo to color. It was the same result.
Sheena: And because of that, I failed kindergarten, moved to another school, and redo kindergarten all over again. But at five years old, I didn't know that. I'm just a child at that time. But I didn't realize how that one moment in life really affected me in my adult life. Like every time I wanted to start something, I hesitated or I just assumed that, oh, I'm a fail. It's going to fail. Why would I even bother? And it wasn't until I went to a personal development seminar where the person facilitating helped me see that.
Sheena: I was like, oh my goodness, this is why I'm feeling this way because of that time in kindergarten. So when something bad happens in our lives too, our brain protects us. So for me, my brain was probably saying, remember that time when you were five years old and you failed kindergarten? I don't want that to happen to you ever again, even though that happened 20, 30 years later. Also, our families go through trauma, our parents, grandparents. And especially when they immigrate to a new country, like they went through a lot. And if they don't do the proper work to heal from it, then their trauma gets passed on to us.
Sheena: Like intergenerational trauma is very prevalent. So not only are we carrying our own traumas, our own bad situations that we had to go through, we're also carrying theirs, not being aware of it. So trauma plays a huge role because if we don't work through it, then how are we supposed to move forward? How can we show up as the best person we could possibly be when something still holds us back.
The VISIBLE Framework
Rhonda: For an immigrant or refugee professional who performs well but who feels overlooked or is hesitant to speak up, how does your VISIBLE Framework help them be seen or heard?
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, the VISIBLE Framework is based on seven pillars as part of how human readiness is developed and human readiness is really the importance of trusting, recognizing, acting on your capability and potential. Because we all have potential, we all have capability, but if we don't act on it, nothing happens. It becomes wasted effort. Potential is useless if you don't use it. It's just like knowledge, right? A lot of people say knowledge is power, but I believe applied knowledge is power because you can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don't apply it, again, it becomes wasted effort.
Sheena: So the VISIBLE Framework is based on seven pillars and it's all derived from the word visible. So like V is for voice, speak up, because there's a lot of professionals who are afraid to speak up. I is for identity, you know, bring the value, know your identity, know what you stand for. You have, you know, we all have different perspectives, different experiences. We're there for a reason. S is for spotlight, like be in front of those spaces where the decisions are made, right? a lot of us have been told, again, if you work hard, the results speak for themselves, but that's not the case.
Sheena: And if you want your work to be seen, you got to be in that spotlight, as scary as it is. I is for inner work. Like I mentioned, you got to work on yourself. 80% of this is through the inner work, you know, asking, why do you hesitate speaking up in a meeting? Was there something traumatic in your life that stopped you from doing that? So we have to work on our personal development every single day to get to where we are, to get to become a better version of yourself. B is belief.
Sheena: You got to trust yourself. You got to trust your instincts. You got to trust your gut, your intuition. Know that every step you take is going to get there, right? Because if you don't have the belief in yourself, you're not going to go out there and take the first step. And we don't have to know every single thing. We just know we can do it. We'll figure it out as we go. So having that self-trust is important. L is leverage. Like you don't have to do this alone. You have networks, tools, resources to get to your result a lot faster.
Sheena: So utilize that and ease elevation as you level up in your own career or business, you know, bring others with you. That's how we build leaders, by bringing others with us, not by doing it by ourselves. Like no one's in front or back. We all walk together side by side.
Rhonda: I love it. I love it. Have a lot of companies been adopting it? What sort of result have you been seeing through it? I really do like it. It's very thorough because it's external but also internal and I really like that.
Sheena: Yeah, and you need to have both. I mean, I've gotten great feedback. People have told me how the kids that I have helped them out in the workplace or I had a woman who told me that, after hearing my talk, like she finally applied for a speaking engagement and got it. And there was no strategy. It's more like, okay, I think I could do this. I'm just going to go for it, right? Or I had another woman who read my book and she finally applied for an interview for her dream job because she finally realized like, I can apply for it.
Sheena: Like there's nothing wrong with applying for it. So she applied for it, got the first interview, then got the second interview, and now it finally works at her dream job. So for me, that's a big, you know, that's a big deal because it's not, it wasn't, there's no strategy behind it. It's more like they finally saw their capability and their potential and they finally acted on it, right? They finally went for it and then it got them a result.
Encouragement and workplace change
Rhonda: Okay, yeah.
Encouragement and workplace change
Rhonda: How can a leader recognize when someone needs encouragement to speak up and when the workplace itself needs to change?
Sheena: That's a good one. You know, not everyone's at the same stage. That leader might recognize it, but if the other person is not willing to learn or level up, then it's also like it's hard to show somebody or encourage somebody. So sometimes you have to lead by example and just kind of plant the seeds. little bit, right? You don't have to go 0 to 100, just go from zero to one, one to two, slowly build that so that they get it, and then you get a better result.
Rhonda: I like that, because what you're saying really is the person has to be in a place where they want it for them to actually be able to help them.
Sheena: Because not everyone wants help. Not everyone wants to be saved. We don't know what that person is going through. But we can be there for them. We can slowly plant those seeds. And maybe by planting those seeds, they're like, oh, you know what? I remember so-and-so saying this. I'm going to check that out.
Rhonda: So you have a new book out, Bridging the Confidence Gap, How Empowered Women change the world. Tell us a little about it and the circumstances that led you to write it.
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, it's a leadership book, the importance of showing up and being a leader. I cite different examples, have talked about the importance of like self-promotion, talking about imposter syndrome and how that affects us, the biases women still go through. Part of the reason why I wrote this book was because the World Economic Forum mentioned that total gender parity would be achieved at the earliest in the year 2154. And unfortunately, that's when I wrote the book. So now it's delayed four more years. And I don't think anybody wants to wait that long.
Sheena: When you think about it, that's like 5 generations before we could possibly see it. That's not even like, you know, that's not even, it's just a prediction. But again, no one wants to wait that long. And so for me, I wrote this book to help others realize their potential, to help them see like, if they can do it, you can do it. There's no real difference. They just finally realized in their own capability and just went for it.
Rhonda: Thank you.
Where listeners can connect
Rhonda: Where can listeners connect with you and learn more about your books and work?
Sheena: Yeah, they can check out my books on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or any book retailers worldwide. They can check out my social media, like through, they can add me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok. You can check out my website, sheenayapchan.com. I'll have like the free, I have a free tool, a free VISIBLE Framework toolkit that you can download. You can also check out my podcast, The Tao of Self-Confidence on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. But if you forget anything that I mentioned, Just Google, my name is Sheena Yap Chan, because I'm the only Sheena Yap Chan on the internet.
Rhonda: Okay, sounds good.
What comes next
Rhonda: So in closing, what's next for you? You've accomplished A lot. What's next on your radar to conquer?
Sheena: Yeah, I mean, again, like I started the speaking community, just kind of being able to help them, also help them see their potential, go for those speaking engagements, help them utilize it to build their business or career. and have fun with it, being able to do it together. So excited about that. Also a little nervous, but it's good to be nervous. It's okay to be nervous. I think we won't have it all figured out, but we can figure it out as we go.
Rhonda: Okay, what's... What are your parting words to the Accentuate listeners? You know what we're about. It's about amplifying the voices of immigrants and refugees to thrive in the workplace. Any parting words?
Sheena: I mean, representation is really important. It's the sole reason why I do the work that I do. I didn't grow up with any. And I'm sure there's a lot of people out there who are frustrated with it as well. I mean, if you want representation, it really has to start with yourself. This kind of work is not easy. It really isn't. But it's also worth it to change how we're viewed in different parts of the world, to change the course of history. So be OK to show up. Be OK in that spotlight.
Sheena: Be visible.
Rhonda: Sheena, thank you so much for sharing your story. Your journey is a reminder that leadership is shaped not only by expertise, but also by resilience. sometimes coloring outside of the lines, and a commitment to serving and improving the lives of others. Thank you for joining us on the Accentuate! Podcast. If today's conversation resonated with you, please share this episode and help us continue amplifying the voices of immigrants and refugees in the workplace. Until next time, thank you for listening.
