We recently connected with Rebecca Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Rebecca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I believe changing the education system is a process, not an event.
What if we simply started by shifting how we engage students?
I don’t ask students, “What do you want to be (when you grow up)?”
Instead, I say, “Tell me about who you are, right now. What’s interesting to you? How are you wired?”

Students today can expect to work at companies that have yet to be formed, in jobs that don’t yet exist. When they stay in the moment, they can talk about a subject they know best – their present interests – even as they’re open to opportunities ahead.

When we focus on who students are right now, then we (educators, employers, parents, mentors) can better address their needs.
My perspective comes from working in education – directing career services at a university, teaching in a graduate education program, leading internships at a new high school, facilitating employee workshops for a college extension program, and serving as founding trustee for a charter school board.
I am also blessed by my favorite educational experience – raising my only son, Ezra, who is a thoughtful, inspiring leader in his career.

A recent story? I met a radiology technician for a medical exam. She was so encouraging, while I was nervous. When I thanked her, I asked how she learned about doing x-rays. She answered, “I used to sit at the front desk, and I always wondered what happened back here. One day, at lunch, I asked a nurse to show me the exam room. When I saw the equipment and learned about the x-rays, I said, I can do this.”
The course of her life changed during that lunch break. What I appreciate is this approach doesn’t take policy changes or increased funding.

It takes each of us – next time you meet a student (your niece, your coworker’s son, the barista at your favorite cafe) – extending this invitation.
“Tell me about you, right now.”
Then listen, and enjoy the conversation.

Rebecca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

One of my mentors calls me “an organizational whisperer.”

My consulting practice, Above & Beyond Productions, focuses on leadership development, organizational strategy, and community relations. I partner with nonprofit executives, corporate teams, professional associations, and small businesses to solve challenges during their times of transformation. A leader departed, increased funding arrived, the market is shifting, a program is launching or sunsetting.

Behind the scenes, I may interview key stakeholders, convene community partners, advise on plans for strategy or communication, research ways for an organization or a team to be more effective. I use the metaphor of a theatre “production.” I think of my work with clients as an iterative process involving scripts, casting, rehearsals, tickets, and reviews. We engage the right people, leverage their best talents, agree on the way forward, and align to a common vision. Then the curtains go up, and the show happens. After the applause, we start the next “production.”

This “production” metaphor is my lived experience.
I moved eight times before turning 17 and landing in San Diego. Women who look like me, who were raised like me, did not always end up in prominent roles. So I often designed my own opportunities, partnering with leaders who believed in me, to influence my community in the business, nonprofit, and academic sectors. With engineers at Qualcomm and students at High Tech High. As vice president at San Diego Workforce Partnership and board member at United Way of San Diego County. As an Art Commissioner with the City of San Diego and the Performance Curator for TEDxSanDiego.

While based in California, I’ve worked with clients in Texas, Massachusetts, and Michigan. I’m open to doing more work in other cities.

The intention and energy of running my own business allows me to pursue an emerging interest – community art installations! This year, I produced my first photography exhibit, “Butcher Baker Candlestick Maker,” which celebrated artisan business owners who are butchers, bakers, and candlemakers in our region. The exhibit was hosted for six weeks by the University of California, San Diego, in their fantastic downtown gallery.
My dear friend, Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, wrote about my exhibit on LinkedIn. “You cannot look at the photographs and leave without feeling the love, joy, and pride in every picture and profession, and you will truly catch a glimpse of how Rebecca tends to see the world around her—as a beautiful, unique, and joyful tapestry of stories, waiting to be shared.”

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Great question!
First, let’s do the numbers.
90% of my clients over the past three years of my consulting practice are former employers, students, and/or employees of mine. We work at “the speed of trust.”

I keep in touch through walking meetings, taking associates to monthly events like Creative Mornings, sending handwritten note cards. I am constantly asking, “How can I support you?” Their responses range from “could you advise me about serving on a nonprofit board?” to “please pray for my dad, who’s in the hospital.” Most of my work happens behind the scenes, so my approach to new clients is similar.

Take care of people behind the scenes.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I read a recent NPR story by Andee Tagle about mental health issues facing Asian Americans. Worrying about what elders think. Feeling like you can’t be yourself. Pressure to be perfect. Not saying “no” to family.

A childhood lesson for me was that the professions of doctor, lawyer, engineer, or accountant (in that order) were the only acceptable careers.
I definitely unlearned that lesson.

I do realize my immigrant parents from the Philippines who couldn’t blend in, due to their accent or color, wanted their children to pursue careers deemed to be profitable, secure, and prestigious.

As a child, I escaped into books. When I could begin to think about my own career, I wanted to tell stories, tell other people’s stories, then inspire people to transform their stories. By making a commitment to my “why” – my purpose for working – I could learn unfamiliar behavior that wasn’t modeled in my family. I could learn to speak up. I could learn to ask questions, often questions that elicited difficult responses. I could learn to be direct.

Along the way, I had awesome mentors teach me the nuances of communicating – leading a staff meeting, giving a sales presentation, even hosting a TV series called “Career Advantage” (which I did for PBS after graduate school).

Now I teach other people to speak up, be direct, ask questions – so they can transform their stories. They can be the (imperfect, yet relevant and caring) leaders, parents, volunteers, and friends they want to be. We agree that saying “no” allows us to offer “the best yes,” and that being ourselves is a precious gift we can present to the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abovebeyondproductions.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccasmithworks/

Image Credits

TJ Carter Photography