Ms Isabel Vadivu Govind

Please share your belief(s) in the subject matter(s) you are facilitating in a few sentences.

Empathy is a game-changer and our advantage over artificial intelligence. It is needed for inspiring leadership, positive and inclusive workplace culture, collective well-being, impactful innovation, and memorable customer service.

What inspires you to do what you do now?

I witness incredible pain and potential in the world. If people cultivated socio-emotional intelligence, inclusivity, resilience and true wellbeing; if we had more leaders who served the greater good; if the workplace was a space for us to become better versions of ourselves and do work that truly benefits others, then we would live in a very different world. My work, which covers such ground, is about creating this different world.

Please share a memorable experience/ takeaways you have had from our workshops

At the end of one run, one participant passionately exclaimed to his colleagues, "Have we become zombies?!" He was attesting to the importance of being fully alive, in touch with our humanity and living out qualities like empathy.

Another participant re-shared an anecdote from her colleague. Some children were playing in the train and commuters looked irritated. One of them went up to the father and expressed his unhappiness. The father said he was grateful the children could still play as they were just returning from their mother's funeral. We may never know someone's story and hidden burdens. The participant who shared this with us affirmed the importance of extending empathy and grace to our fellow human beings. 

If you are not a facilitator, you will be…..

working for a more just, joyful, peaceful and sustainable world in whatever other way I can.