Ideagen Global - Catalyze Magazine - May 2023

B Y I D E A G E N 

CATALYZE. 

May 2023 

Global 

Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 

Ideagen's Future 

Global Leaders 

Academy 

Ambassador Seleshi Bekele 

Ethiopian Ambassador to the 

United States


CATALYZE. 



Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld 

Author 

Sailing Upwind


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Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Rawle Andrews Jr. 

Executive Director 

American Psychiatric Association Foundation

Roslyn Docktor 

VP of Science & Technology Policy 

IBM 


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Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy


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Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Jean Accius 

President & CEO 

Creating Healthier Communities


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Accelerati0n 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Angie Carloss 

Head of Administration, 

Operations, & Outreach 

Limbitless Solutions


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Accelerati0n 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Mrudula Peddinti 

Branding Director 

Limbitless Solutions


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Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Sheri Hashemi 

Director of Engineering 

L3Harris


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Acceleration 

Edition 

PLUS 



Academy 

Sheryl Kline 

Executive Coach 

Founder & CEO 

The Zone Lab LLC

TABLE OF 

CONTENTS 

01 Ambassador Seleshi Bekele 

Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States on Ethiopia's 

commitments to the UN SDG's 

02 Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld 

Former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Author of 

"Sailing Upwind" 

03 

04 

05 

06 

07 

08 

Rawle Andrews Jr. Esq 

Executive Director of the American Psychiatric Association 

Foundation on the components of the First Step Campaign 

Roslyn Docktor 

Vice President of Science & Technology Policy at IBM on the future 

of Ai in the workforce 

Jean Accius 

CEO of Creating Healthier Communities on his organizations 

mission and their shareholders 

Limbitless Solutions 

Head of Administration, Operations, & Outreach, Angie Carloss & 

Mrudula Peddinti, Branding Director at Limbitless Solutions 

Sheri Hashemi 

Director of Engineering at L3Harris discussing leading teams 

through communication and collaboration 

Sheryl Kline 

Executive Coach & Founder of The Zone Lab LLC on traits of 

leaders and developing mental toughness

E T H I O P I A ' S C O M M I T M E N T T O T H E U N 

S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T G O A L S 

WITH ETHIOPIAN AMBASSADOR TO 

THE UNITED STATES, SELESHI BEKELE 

George Sifakis: You're familiar with the fact 

that in 2015, all 193 member states of the 

United Nations, including Ethiopia, voted yes; 

we agree on these 17 Global Goals. 17 Global 

Goals that today we are at the midterms of, not 

the US in midterms, the midterms leading up to 

achieve these goals. Secretary Guterres recently 

said, 'It's a steep hill we're climbing to help 

achieve these goals.' But yet, what is inspiring 

today is that Ethiopia is helping to lead the way 

in all the areas you talked about agriculture, 

health, etc, to achieve the goals. Please briefly 

tell us about what you see as that model for 

success in helping to achieve the global goals in 

Ethiopia. 

Ambassador Seleshi Bekele: Yes, 

incidentally, I was at the United Nations when 

the SDGs were designed in the Sustainable 

Development Department. I know about these; 

the 17 goals are well formulated. It is a 

succession of the Millennium development 

goals. It cuts across 17 goals, with 16 related to 

specific actions that must be accomplished, the 

17th on partnerships. 

Ambassador Bekele: Ethiopia has shown the way 

in several key areas. Number one, the overall 

growth of GDP and service sectors are increasing 

significantly. In poverty reduction, immense work 

is ongoing, especially in an agricultural area 

where a majority of people live in rural areas 

within the agriculture economy, which means you 

have to improve the production and productivity 

of agriculture. Our recent success, which really 

plays well to the SDGs, is the summer wheat 

production in which Ethiopia used to import 

wheat to the tune of about $1 billion a year. 

Now we have satisfied our needs and can export 

through an increase in production, an 

intensification of agriculture, the use of irrigation, 

and so on, producing not only once but three times 

a year. It increases the volume of the yield and the 

production volume. Production and productivity 

have increased, not only in wheat but also in other 

areas. For example, rice has been introduced into 

Ethiopia, and that is successful as well. We are 

increasing our coffee production to provide the 

most delicious coffee to the world. 

. 

CATALYZE MAGAZINE | 1

A M B A S S A D O R S E L E S H I 

B E K E L E C O N T I U E D 

George: The best coffee in the world. Yes, this 

is a fact. 

Ambassador Bekele: We have to also increase 

production productivity and deliver to the global 

market. Related to that, maintaining and 

protecting the environment as related to 

development goals and climate change. Life 

above water, underwater, as well as those 

ecosystems. We are doing extremely well there. 

If the world could do what we are doing in 

Ethiopia, I think we can reverse climate change. 

Every year, at least 5 billion new tree seedlings 

are planted. All the Ethiopians are involved. 

Over the last four years, we've planted 28 billion 

trees. 

George: 28 Billion? 

. 

Ambassador Bekele and other Global Acceleration 

Summit Speakers 

Ideagen CEO George Sifakis & Ethiopian 

Ambassador Seleshi Bekele 

Ambassador Bekele: Yes, 28 billion. It 

reverses degradation number one, it can 

sequester carbon, and it can be used as food 

because some of the production of the 

planted trees are agroforestry, which means 

fruits can be harvested and then can 

supplement society. Additionally, some are 

exported now, producing mango, avocado, 

even bananas, and these are really improving 

the production system. In the energy sector, 

in relation to the reform, we have almost a 

97.5% renewable energy rate. We are 

utilizing renewable energy largely from 

hydro but also from wind and solar. The 

world is struggling to reach 50% renewable, 

but ours is much higher, and it means the 

roots of climate change, mitigation, and 

sustainability are also doing very well. 


A M B A S S A D O R S E L E S H I B E K E L E 

F I N A L 

Ambassador Bekele: We have challenges because of climate change. Frequent droughts and 

floods are still remaining challenges, but for those, there are solutions. Adaptation solutions, for 

example, in drought-prone areas, we are embarking on climate-resilient wash, water supply, 

sanitation, and hygiene systems where we can dig deeply into the boreholes to take water and 

transmit it where it is needed. That deep well means it will not be easily affected by frequent 

droughts and annual variations. A long-term drought can affect it, but the vulnerability due to 

annual episodes can be overcome. For that, we need capital. We need good partnerships where 

advanced countries provide resources for developing economies to overcome and tackle the 

adaptation of climate change. We are moving on these issues. . 

Ideagen Africa Chair Dr. Solomon Hailemichael with 

Ambassador Bekele 

Ideagen CEO George Sifakis Interviews 



A D M I R A L J A M E S 

" S A N D Y " W I N N E F E L D 

A U T H O R , S A I L I N G U P W I N D 

Sailing Upwind 

George Sifakis: What inspired you to write 

Sailing Upwind? 

Admiral James Winnefeld: Well, I left the 

Navy in 2015, and as I left, my father told 

me, you need to gather all the information, 

all the things that you've done during your 

career because it's been an interesting 

career. Write it all down as an effort to 

maybe entertain a little bit, but mostly to try 

to help prepare another generation for their 

leadership roles. I somewhat reluctantly 

started writing one chapter at a time when 

I'd be flying somewhere on an airliner 

because I retired in 2015 and have been in 

business ever since, and that's really when it 

came together. It's a combination of memoir 

and presenting a leadership framework 

because I believe learning about leadership 

is about study, meaning reading. It's about 

observation. Observing other leaders, both 

good leaders and not-so-good leaders. Then 

actually running to the sound of the guns 

and doing leadership yourself. So I felt that 

in the process of learning, it's good to have 

a framework on which to hang your 

knowledge. 

"Sailing Upwind," by Admiral James 

"Sandy" Winnefeld 

Admiral Winnefeld: I've 

developed a framework of five 

anchors, which are leading 

yourself, leading people, leading 

organizations, leading execution, 

and leading change. Those appear 

as vignettes throughout the book in 

every third chapter. It was a great 

joy to write, and I'm very pleased 

that it seems to be fairly popular at 

the moment. But more importantly, 

I want to be able to give younger 

generations, as my father pointed 

out, something to hang their 

knowledge on as they grow and 

learn in this lifelong journey of 

learning about leadership. 


S A I L I N G U P W I N D 

C O N T I N U E D 

George: That's right; a lifelong journey of leadership. I believe, and I'm sure you do 

as well, as you've mentioned your dad already in this interview; we all stand on the 

shoulders of giants. Who are some of those giants and leaders you've looked up to in 

your life that have truly helped shape the man you are today? 

Admiral Winnefeld: Well, as you alluded, I'd start with my father, who was a 

towering example of integrity and service, two things that he believed in very 

deeply. As a kid, you hear that and don't necessarily understand it. But if you hear 

it often enough and start to think about it, you say, okay, there's something to this 

integrity and service piece. Then I would say throughout my career, there are a 

host of people you've never heard of, but I learned from every single one of them. 

Mostly really good leaders, and some not-so-good leaders, but you can learn from 

both. 

One I would point out in particular, I had a wonderful opportunity to serve for one 

year as Colin Powell's aide de camp when he was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs 

of Staff, and that was about enough time because you don't want to be an aide too 

long. But what a fantastic learning opportunity from a truly thoughtful, generous, 

and strategic thinker; just a very impressive human being. I learned a lot about 

leadership from him. One of the most profound things he ever told me was very 

simple. We were riding in the car one day, and he said, 'You know, Sandy, the 

essence of leading people is holding them to the highest possible standards while 

you take the best possible care of them.' And that seems so simple, but when you 

think about it, it's very profound. And if you do one and not the other, it doesn't 

work. But if you do both of them at the same time, it's magic. That's stuck with 

me for a long time. 


I D E A G E N G L O B A L 

P R E S E N T S 

2023 

GLOBAL 

ACCELERATION 

SUMMIT 

A S S E S S I N G T H E P R O G R E S S O F T H E U N 

S D G ' S A T T H E M I D W A Y P O I N T T O 2 0 2 3 

H O S T E D A T T H E E M B A S S Y O F E T H I O P I A 

N O W S T R E A M I N G O N I D E A G E N 

Ideagenglobal.com | Presented Globally by 


THE THREE COMP0NENTS OF 

THE FIRST STEP CAMPAIGN 

WITH RAWLE ANDREWS JR., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION 

George Sifakis interviews Rawle Andrews Jr. 

George Sifakis: How do you balance the short-term with the long-term to help 

achieve the ultimate goal? 

Rawle Andrews Jr: It's in the components of the First step Campaign, and I have 

to say it's funny because there is more than one component to the first step. The 

three steps or components of The First Step are awareness, behavior, and attitude. 

When we talk about awareness, we're not just talking about being aware that 

mental health matters or that mental health care works. What we're talking about 

is depression, anxiety, and PTSD. These are treatable conditions, just like 

diabetes, so we're going to spend time in the first component just talking about 

treatability. 


THE THREE COMP0NENTS OF THE 

FIRST STEP CAMPAIGN CONTINUED 

Rawle: When we get to component two, we're talking about behavior. Now that you 

know it's treatable, what we're saying is, talk to any healthcare provider that you trust, 

and that might include non-medical doctors. It could be just a nurse who's in your family 

that could help put you on a journey. It might be a faith leader that helps put you on the 

journey to get you connected to a healthcare provider. Lastly, when it comes to attitude, 

we hope the conclusion or the capstone of this campaign is 'There is no health without 

mental health.' Period. Full stop. 

George: There is no health without mental health. What an incredibly powerful statement. 

You've got volunteers, you've got individual citizens, you've got all these key components that 

play such a vital role within your organization. How can these volunteers and individual 

citizens help move the needle to achieve your goal? 

Rawle: I want them to start with our end in mind, 'There is no health without mental health.' 

Then help steer folks in their own communities to the resources we're unveiling and building in 

the First Step campaign. I think the other thing we have to do is just like when we board an 

airplane and the first thing they say is, if you're on the plane with somebody else, put your 

mask on first and then help others. What we want to do and what you and I have to model is, if 

people don't see Rawle and George taking the first step, why should they? So what we're going 

to do is create a pledge card program, and we're not going to ask people how they took the first 

step, but we're going to have tens of thousands, if not millions, of people signing electronic 

cards that say, 'I took the first step.' We're going to work with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, 

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts saying, 'We took the first step.' 

We just signed an MOU with an organization called Athletes for Hope, and Athletes for Hope 

was founded by Muhammad Ali, Mia Hamm, and Andre Agassi. We're working on college 

campuses right now with student-athletes trying to make it work around the demands in 

performance, anxiety, performance in the classroom, NIL deals, all these things, plus life. 

What athletes are telling us is for them to take the first step, you have to stop seeing us as 

heroes and start seeing us as human beings. It's all about reevaluating and reexamining our 

humanity. You're a human being. I'm a human being. How come we're not acting like it? Let's 

act like human beings, and we'll get better health outcomes because of it. 


HARNESSING AI IN THE WORKFORCE 

AND CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE 

WITH ROSLYN DOCKTOR, VP OF SCIENCE 

& TECHNOLOGY POLICY AT IBM 

George Sifakis: Shifting gears a bit to AI 

and the prospect, the potential of job 

losses, what would you say to those that 

say there will be a lot of lost jobs because 

of AI? 

Roslyn Docktor: I would say what our 

customers say. We work with a company 

in Pittsburgh that is a food chain. And 

they saved 2000 man-hours in one year by 

using AI to automate sales and 

administrative back-office processes 

Roslyn Docktor, IBM 

The same people who used to spend 2000 times doing manual labor that 

wasn't increasing the brand or helping them get closer to the customer 

can now go out in the field. Now they get to visit their regional offices, 

their restaurants, where their customers are, and get feedback driving 

innovation for their menu. What I can do is help tailor and customize 

experiences so that we all can benefit and be part of the AI as opposed to 

AI taking over jobs. What we say is AI won't replace your job, but those 

who know and can benefit from AI will be the job leaders of the future. If 

you don't know AI, you might lose your job, but not because of AI. 


ROSLYN DOCKTOR CONTINUED 

George: Incredible, and I'd like to take it to the next level. We're sitting, as I 

mentioned, at the Embassy of Ethiopia here in Washington, DC, 

technically on foreign soil. When you think about the digital divide, which 

AI and other forms of technology could accelerate, how do you feel about 

that? What does the future look like, how do we bridge that gap, and where 

are we going? 

Roslyn: I actually see AI as a great tool to help democratize data. I see it as 

a tool to help bridge the divide, not further accentuate it. We do have to 

worry about bias and ensure that the data we use does not perpetuate 

historical systemic racism, and there's a lot of work going on in that space. 

IBM has free tools people can use, like AI 360, to make sure that you 

eliminate bias and know about it in advance. But when you look at a 

country like Ethiopia or across the globe, and it's an honor to be sitting 

here in the embassy today, there are so many opportunities that AI can 

provide to democratize access. 

George Sifakis & Roslyn Docktor 

George Sifakis interviews Roslyn Docktor 


ROSLYN DOCKTOR FINAL 

Roslyn: What I can do is give the data and the insight to help countries 

know where to prioritize work. What is working? Let me give an 

example. In the healthcare space, cancer is a disease that affects too 

many of us and takes lives way too prematurely. Most clinical trials are 

represented by a single ethnicity. We don't have enough people doing 

clinical trials. If you use AI, and we at IBM have shown this, to select 

and help get more people into clinical trials, you can increase the 

diversity and number of people participating. That is just about one 

example of how AI can help democratize access and have results that 

benefit more humans. 


Ideagen Thanks the Embassy of Ethiopia 

For Hosting The Global Acceleration 

Summit! 


THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS FOR CREATING 

HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES 

JEAN ACCIUS 

PRESIDENT & CEO 

CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES 

George Sifakis: Who are your 

key stakeholders at Creating 

Healthier Communities? 

Jean Accius: That is another 

excellent question. Our key 

stakeholders are the communities 

that have permitted us to join 

them in creating healthier 

communities. It is the businesses 

that are anchored institutions. It 

is the health systems that are 

anchored institutions. It is the 

community health centers; it is 

the nonprofit organizations in the 

local communities that are trying 

each and every day to create an 

ecosystem where everyone can 

have an opportunity to live a 

longer, healthier, more 

productive life. If I tell you, 

George, that we see a huge gap, 

both in terms of exactly how long 

people live and how healthy 

those additional years are 

Jean Accius: CEO, Creating Healthier 

Communities 

Jean: That is a global trend. It's 

one thing to see life expectancy 

increase in some countries, we've 

seen a decline in the US by two 

years, but it's one thing to see life 

expectancy increase. However, 

the question is, what is the 

quality of those additional years? 

It doesn't matter if you're in the 

United States or if you are in 

another country. There is this 

gap, this gap that impacts 

government, communities, and 

businesses. That is something 

we're working very closely with 

communities in the driver's seat 

to solve. 


THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS FOR CREATING 

HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES PT. 2 

George: And this is a communityby-community 

initiative, right? 

Not every community is the same. 

Jean: That's exactly right. 

George: But would it also be 

true that a lot of the lessons 

learned are shared and then can 

be applied? 

Jean Accius & George Sifakis 

Jean: That is exactly right. Every community has its composition. And 

what we like to say at Creating Healthier Communities is that we need to 

be invited in, and then we want to co-create solutions with communities to 

solve their problems. And the ROI for us is, are these communities better 

off solving their own problems as a result of our engagement? Our 

businesses, nonprofits, health systems, and other community organizations 

coming together in a collective fashion to identify, what are the 

opportunities to close those social drivers of health, and what are the 

economic implications of not doing so. It's taking those lessons from each 

community and being able to bring those ideas, solutions, practices, and 

models to scale. 

Jean Accius & Rawle Andrews Jr. 

George & Adriana Sifkakis with Jean, Rawle, & 

Solomon 


Director of Product Marketing at Microsoft, 

Grace Clack, outlines the progress made from 

Microsoft's sustainability journey and the 

lessons learned to improve in 2023. 

 

By utilizing data to understand the impacts of 

their initiatives and developing partnerships 

with like-minded organizations, Microsoft's 

sustainability commitments are generating 

impact within communities and creating 

competitive advantages. 

Grace Clack 

Director of Product Marketing 

Microsoft 

To read Grace's full blog post, click the link below! 


LIMBITLESS SOLUTIONS MISSION & 

IMPACT 

FEATURING MRUDULA PEDDINTI, BRANDING DIRECTOR, & ANGIE CARLOSS 

HEAD OF ADMINISTRATION, OPERATIONS, & OUTREACH AT LIMBITLESS 

SOLUTIONS 

George Sifakis: What is it that Limbitless Solutions 

does, and what is your mission? 

Mrudula Peddinti: Limbitless Solutions is a nonprofit 

based out of the University of Central Florida, which 

we'll talk about more later on, and we create accessible 

technology. The core of our mission is about 

empowering individuals with accessible technology, 

whether by creating the technology to make their lives 

easier or just giving them access to the technology in 

the first place through reducing costs or partnerships. 

Mrudula Peddinti 

Angie Carloss 

Mrudula: The main area we focus on for our 

technology is children, who often struggle most 

getting access to these types of devices. Not only do 

we talk about access and cost, but also 

customization. As you can see here, the children get 

to customize what the prosthetic looks like. It's an 

extension of their identity, and that's how we like to 

discuss it. Oftentimes, people don't think about 

how this helps them form their identity in a society 

that tells them they are not enough because of their 

limb difference. 


LIMBITLESS SOLUTIONS MISSION & IMPACT 

CONTINUED 

Mrudula: That's the broader goal for us through our other initiatives. In our 

undergraduate student program and K through 12 outreach, we educate 

people on changing the stigma around disability and limb differences. There's 

nothing wrong with you if you have a disability or a limb difference, you are 

just as important as anyone else in the room, and you have just as much of an 

important voice to contribute to society that way. 

George: How powerful is that? Would you kindly share a specific success 

story from Limbitless that has stuck with you? 

Angie Carloss: For me, it's empowerment. We have met so many bionic kids 

and seen how it's changed their outlook. I had one girl, and we were taking 

pictures of her, and she walked over and said, 'Well what do the pretty girls 

do?' And she was absolutely beautiful and perfect before she ever got a bionic 

arm, but for her, it unlocked her ability to see her own beauty. And that 

empowerment is why we do what we do. 

Mrudula & Angie presenting their bionic arm to 


Rawle Andrews Jr & Jean Accius 

observing Limbitless's bionic arm 


LIMBITLESS SOLUTIONS MISSION & IMPACT 

FINAL 

George: You know, that's incredible. And so, what are some of the future 

goals for Limbitless Solutions that you're particularly excited about? 

Mrudula: As we mentioned earlier, FDA approval is a big goal of ours 

because when we get this device approved, that unlocks the doors holding us 

back from making this device accessible to even more children across the 

entire country. Additionally, partnerships like this platform unlock us to get 

this even further across the globe to children who need access to devices in 

general, especially those who've suffered trauma like that in war zones and 

other vulnerable areas. That's our far future goal, and it starts here. To get 

more hospital partnerships, which is how we give the arm out, to get the data 

that we need to get the device approved, and to get hospitals and doctors 

involved to give this technology to the children that need it across the 

country. 


LEADING TEAMS THROUGH 

COMMUNICATION & 

COLLABORTION 

SHERI HASHEMI 

DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, L3HARRIS 

George Sifakis: How do you lead your team 

to remain competitive, at minimum, when it 

comes to communications technology? 

Sheri Hashemi: I think it's empowerment. I 

think it's honing in on the value of 

individuals. We all want to be valued. We all 

have our values which we contribute to 

teams. I think being able to refine and hone 

in on the values of individuals and then being 

able to build off of that and empower them. I 

think the biggest piece is your voice and 

being able to speak up. To create spaces 

where individuals feel comfortable. Say you 

have ten people, you're going to have 1 or 2 

people who are always going to speak up, 

and that's great, we need their voice, but there 

are some folks at the table who may or may 

not speak up. 

Sheri: You want to create an 

environment where they feel 

comfortable, empowered, and excited 

about hearing what there is to say. 

There are always those who probably 

won't ever speak up at the table, but I 

think figuring out how to get all ten 

voices and create that open 

environment is crucial. Getting every 

single voice because there's value in 

what they have to say. 

George Sifakis interviews Sheri Hashemi 


LEADING TEAMS THROUGH 

COMMUNICATION & 

COLLABORTION PT. 2 

George: That's right. And so collaboration, you are an expert communicator, and you 

believe in collaboration. How important is collaboration in your work? 

Sheri: It's critical. It's a cornerstone. There are complex systems, whether it be a school 

project, a work project, or even a community project. There are complex systems, and if 

you don't have that level of collaboration, you're going to be very limited in your data set. 

To strengthen your outcome and results, you need to have all the data and inputs 

available. Having collaboration ensures that you get a complete set of information to 

achieve your end goals and get the results you're after. I think that's how we start seeing 

the takeaways to show progress toward meeting 2030. 


Join Ideagen and Summer Discovery July 23 to 

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Academy! 

Future Global Leaders Academy 

Presented by Ideagen® 

Hosted at Barnard, Columbia University in New York City, The 

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established in 2015 

Visit the Summer Discovery course page below to learn more 


G L O B A L 

Traits of Leaders & 

Developing Mental 

Toughness 

Sheryl Kline 

Executive Coach, Founder 

The Zone Lab LLC 

George Sifakis: You've interviewed, you've worked with, you've helped mentor and 

coach so many leaders, so many female leaders. What are those key traits that you've seen 

time and time again that make for a very successful leader? 

Sheryl Kline: Well, that question is twofold. One is that these leaders care very deeply 

about their people. They are aware of the bottom line, but they care very deeply about 

their people. One thing that I have noticed also is that they're already confident. They're 

already amazing leaders. They've been in business for 20, 25 years. But something 

incredibly challenging that I have noticed consistently is sometimes they're not being 

heard, valued, or respected enough by their leadership and board. That's why my business 

has taken a little bit of a 90-degree turn and why I've been studying the last 2 to 3 years of 

FBI hostage negotiations, so I make sure they are prepared and that they are being heard, 

valued, respected, even more, and that they can lead their leaders and lead their board to 

do the right thing. 

George: It takes a certain level of mental toughness to succeed in business or anything 

challenging. You need to develop that level of mental toughness where you stay focused 

and don't get thrown off or taken off the mark you're seeking to achieve. How do you even 

begin to develop that mental toughness? 


T R A I T S O F L E A D E R S & D E V E L O P I N G 

M E N T A L T O U G H N E S S 

Sheryl: That's an interesting question because a lot of times, people will assume that 

other people are mentally tough, and sometimes this gets tied into confidence as well, but 

there are tools. There's a proven process that's a little bit beyond the scope of our 

conversation today, and if anyone wants more details, I'm glad to share, but there's a 

proven process that takes into consideration how to help individuals become emotionally 

agile. It also has to do with monitoring what is going on in your mind because whenever 

you're in any type of crucial conversation or negotiation, which most things are 

negotiations these days, whatever you're thinking in your mind comes out of your mouth. 

In other words, it comes out in terms of your tone, gestures, and the cadence of your 

words. 

Mental toughness is something that is learned, and people can follow a proven process to 

create it, but they also have to have experiences of success. They have to know how to, I 

like to say, and I love the word you have in the name of your magazine, 'Catalyze.' I need 

to know how to catalyze quote-unquote failures, learn from them, and build a mental 

toughness muscle based on experiences and a proven process. 

*To contact Sheryl or to get on the waitlist for her upcoming enterprise program, Fearless 

Female Leadership: A revolution for the return of feminine power and influence, please contact 

info@sherylkline.com.* 



Editor's Note 

Dear Friends and Colleagues, as we approach Summer 2023, 

there are numerous positive trends and advancements to be 

optimistic about. From breakthroughs in technology to 

inspiring advancements in sustainability, it's an exciting time. 

We are seeing communities come together in new ways with a 

renewed focus on changing the world. The world continues to 

evolve, with AI and virtual experiences becoming increasingly 

accessible and diverse, including the latest from ChatGPT and 

OpenAI. 

As we move into Summer, it's important to celebrate these 

advancements and continue to strive toward a brighter future. 

At Catalyze Magazine by Ideagen Global, we are thrilled to be 

a part of this positive movement and can't wait to share all the 

exciting developments with our readers for 2023 and into 2024! 

GEORGE SIFAKIS 

GEORGE SIFAKIS 

Editor-in-Chief & CEO 

-Ideagen 

CATALYZE MAGAZINE | 25 

DANIEL KERNS 

Senior Editor 

ALEXA SIFAKIS 

Publication Co-Editor 

Pictured Top to Bottom 

George Sifakis & Rawle Andrews Jr. 

Craig Cookson, ACC 

Nasdaq Board Times Square

Ideagen Global - Catalyze Magazine - May 2023

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