Episode 182: Saying YES to unpredictable workshop experiences that open up extraordinary opportunities with Khoury N Ashooh
This week, I’m delighted to bring you an interview with my guest, who took up an amazing opportunity, that opened up insane learning and facilitation opportunities.
The example that he shares in the episode of SAYING YES is so encouraging, and I hope that after you listen, anything you’ve been unsure about, not sure that you’re really ready - well, I’d say, jump in! Give it a go!
My guest today is Khoury N Ashooh , the founder of Andina Advisory.
Khoury is a bilingual executive - and he’ll share that language is what provided some of the amazing opportunities he shares on today’s show.
During his university studies, he moved to Mexico to learn Spanish and to live the USA-Mexico relationship from a different perspective. This experience awakened an attraction to difference and change, a belief in the power of relationships and humane instincts, and a passion for Latin America and the world—all of which has shaped who Khoury is today and his contributions to clients.
Khoury moved to Santiago, Chile, in 2018. In addition to his work with clients across the region, he has been a mentor for Promociona Chile and is a member of Job4Women, both organizations seeking to increase the participation of women in senior roles and in the workforce in general. He is currently a member of the World Economic Forum’s Mining & Metals Future of Work Taskforce.
His career in facilitation began through the colleagues he started to work with in the global consulting firm he joined just three years after undergrad, doing executive assessment and executive development work.
He went into a double career transition, first into a Chilean copper mining company as a senior HR leadership team looking after organizational effectiveness. After two years in the company, he founded his own consulting firm in Chile.
Khoury travelled in 15 countries on six continents working across cultures, partnering with leaders and teams to bring change in organizations.
About today’s guest: Khoury N. Ashooh
Khoury N Ashooh is a bilingual executive, the founder of Andina Advisory. Originally from New Hampshire, over that period in his life, he described it as “just kept moving south.” He started with moving south to Davidson College in North Carolina, lived in Atlanta for 13 years, and eventually moved further south to the bottom of South America.
His career in facilitation began through the colleagues he started to work within the global consulting firm he joined just three years after undergrad, doing executive assessment and executive development work.
He went into a double career transition, first into a Chilean copper mining company as a senior HR leadership team looking after organizational effectiveness. After two years in the company, he founded his own consulting firm in Chile.
Khoury travelled in 15 countries on six continents working across cultures, partnering with leaders and teams to bring change in organizations.
In this episode you will learn:
How to adapt from being an external consultant, to working in a leadership team inside an organization
How to accept, then work with with unpredictable opportunities that open up the doors to new experiences
How learning a new language can differentiate you, and help you get those opportunities
The importance of being attentive, and being a great observer in your workshops
Using breaks to process what has transpired in facilitation.
Here are some sample questions I asked Khoury during the interview:
How did you find your career in facilitation?
Can you share, maybe a story of when you actually travelled to your first international location?
Did you do any sort of courses or did you have any role models within your organization that was telling you this is how you run a workshop?
What do you find that seems to work in terms of behavior change with an individual?
How do you get ready then for, let’s say you’ve got a one or two-day event?
Resources
Quotes:
“Try not to be something that you’re not.”
“So the perspective and the change in mindset is so critical.”
“You can set a goal that can be achieved through any variety of mechanisms.”
“I just feel like awareness, the concept of awareness is so important.”
Watch the episode now!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 14 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.