Today’s episode offers two immediately applicable ideas from leadership educator, author, and speaker Raquel Oliveira: First, the power of naming your values so you can lead yourself through uncertainty with clarity. Second, the practice of creating intentional space—through rest, curiosity, or stillness—to reconnect with your purpose when life forces you to start again. Raquel’s insights give leaders a framework for navigating both everyday challenges and life’s most destabilizing moments. Raquel shares the five words that currently define her leadership approach—mindfulness, curiosity, love, community, and truth—and how each serves as an anchor when she faces complexity. She reflects on her childhood in Brazil, where limited resources but abundant community support taught her how belonging, creativity, and shared responsibility shape strong leaders. These early experiences became the foundation for how she works, teaches, and moves through the world today. Her career path—rooted in languages, literature, and instructional design—highlights how unexpected mentors, diverse learning environments, and exposure to new perspectives prepared her to meet unimaginable loss with grounded presence. In 2021, Raquel’s husband and son were among the victims of the Surfside condominium collapse in Florida. She recounts the moment she returned home to find her building gone, and the unexpected clarity of the first words she spoke that day—words that continue to guide her healing and her leadership. What followed could have led to disconnection, but Raquel chose a different path. She describes how accepting support from others shifted her understanding of community, how a one-year sabbatical helped her rebuild her identity, and why she spent months traveling the world asking strangers one question: How do you deal with death? Her reflections offer leaders a deeper understanding of resilience—not as endurance, but as the willingness to be changed by what happens. Raquel makes it clear that she shares her story not to compare suffering, but to remind others that every person’s hardest moment is worthy of empathy and acknowledgement. Her message is especially meaningful for leaders navigating grief, transition, or seasons of profound uncertainty. At the heart of her philosophy is a transformative leadership takeaway: you must be an active participant in your own life. Remaining in a place of victimhood removes your agency; choosing to engage, even imperfectly, restores your power. This shift is what enables clarity, resilience, and meaningful leadership to emerge. Tune in to learn how Raquel rebuilt purpose from loss, the practices that continue to ground her, and her invitation to lead yourself—and others—with intentionality, courage, and truth. Links & Resources: Follow Suken on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukenjain/ Email Suken at: suken@synergysyncsolutions.com Synergy Sync Solutions Website: https://www.synergysyncsolutions.com/ This episode was brought to you by Pivot Ball Change.
