Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast
Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast: where culture, communication, and context meet at work. Discover what cultural influences have formed the careers of noteworthy leaders in a variety of professions, by exploring the groups that shaped who they are today. Learn about the collective context and experiences that affect their worldview, leadership style, workplace communication and behaviour.
Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast
Martha Gleason – Your Voice is Your Power
Martha’s Bio:
Martha Gleason has a singing and performance degree from UCLA and is a national scholarship winner with the American Music and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Currently, she works with women leaders to find their voice so that they can speak powerfully and confidently by teaching strategic performance strategies for video and in-person presentations.
Episode Highlights:
As a child, Martha dreamed of becoming a singer and performer. At 21, she chose to go on Semester at Sea. They went to 13 different countries, many in the Far East. This semester brought about a paradigm shift from being self-focused, achieving, winning, and competing to expanding her consciousness of including other people’s realities.
Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marthagleasonvoice
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marthagleasonvoice
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthagleasonvoice/
Quotes:
“Your voice is your calling card. How you show up with your voice determines whether people can hear your message or whether they’re going to tune you out.”
“When you find your voice, you are becoming an athlete. You need to be strong in your body and mind.”
Take Aways:
Childhood Incidents:
Martha vividly recalls when her parents had a divorce. Without the tools available today, Martha watched her mother sink into depression and form an addiction to opioids. Her mother was supportive and loving, but would sometimes disappear.
Music became Martha’s escape plan. She had a teacher who mentored and trained her in her studio. Life took a more positive turn for Martha after enrolling in UCLA. Awards started coming in and she started to see her potential, which is when her healing began.
Influential Groups:
Martha feels privileged to have been born into a family that has 32 ministers (her father among them) and had an expansive approach to spirituality. She recalls attending her grandmother’s memorial on the East Coast. At the altar was a Buddhist priest, a Sikh, as well as a Christian minister, which could only be explained by the fact that her grandmother had lived in China, learned Mandarin and experienced different religions.
Currently, Martha belongs to a performing group called Portsmouth Pro Musica. She is also a part of the Ananda movement, a global movement focusing on Kriya Yoga and self-realization teachings.
Temperament and Personality:
Martha believes she was born a joyful person. Over the years, as an entrepreneur, she has added being practical and strategic for the sake of her business.
Cultural Epiphanies:
Martha recalls being in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens in Egypt, during her tenure with Semester at Sea. They slept in no-frills accommodations that lacked windows, bedding, or even any beds at all. With no other choices available, they slept on the floor. The following morning, Martha went to the village to get food. She met women who were covered in head-to-toe black clothing called burkas and Martha imagined that must’ve felt like living in a cage.
Thriving Moments:
Martha enjoys working with clients who bring their full selves to every session and are receptive to coaching. She believes finding your voice involves curiosity and openness.
Soapbox Moment:
If you’d like to have a session with Martha, she invites you to visit her website. Fill in the contact form and she will be in touch with you.
Tagline: Your voice is your vibration. Find it!