“That’s what a monk’s life taught me to do; it taught me to see things holistically.”

In this podcast, Amarantho Maurice Robey shares his journey from IT engineer to Buddhist Monk to Executive Coach and Speaker. He talks about his experiences along the way and the healing power of connection — with breath, with the natural world, and with each other.

"Of all the things I’ve witnessed as a doctor, in all my career, this is one of the most moving things. To see someone actually be so generous, so someone’s suffering becomes someone else’s treatment."

Dr. George Yu is a pulmonologist and sleep specialist. In this podcast he talks to Ashwin about his experience with two COVID-19 patients; trying to save one using a plasma donation from the other. He describes an effort that included him reaching out to every relevant contact in his network and building the Conquer COVID Together initiative. Their aim is to collect convalescent plasma to help fight COVID-19 in its early stages. Dr. Yu is keen to point out that conquering COVID-19 is only possible as a collective effort. He says, “We just need to spread the word that we can do it together.”

"For us it was, look at a person with disabilities and think of a mechanism with which we can reach them. When you have a disability, you have different ways of doing things."

Shiva Jayagopal and Akila Sankar are the husband and wife team who run the WinVinaya Foundation. It is an organization dedicated to providing free training and placement assistance to differently abled candidates to help them lead a life with dignity. 

In this podcast they describe the challenges faced by people with disabilities and the adaptive ways they learn. They explain the many methods of learning they employ and the different ways we all learn in life, no matter our abilities.

“I feel like these small acts of kindness can change the world, but it can also change each and every individual that engages.”

Amita Roy Shah is an author, professor and educator. In this podcast she discusses breaking cultural stereotypes, encouraging children to perform small acts of kindness, and the happiness hacks we should all adopt.

“Just seize the positives and go forward.”

Despite being a casualty of COVID-19 layoffs, Andy Dockerty is a deeply positive human being. Realizing he wasn’t alone in his new normal, Andy took to LinkedIn to share a message of positivity. Here he talks about his experiences in childhood, the military, and his career that have shaped his character into one of robustness and resilience.

"I’m out there telling everybody how great life is going to be if they buy my policy … and it’s just not in me to disappear when the promise needs to be kept."

Curt Carlson, Senior Vice President at Trawick International, is this week’s undercover leader. Curt is that rare thing, an honorable salesman with an amazing customer service ethic. In this podcast he shares his story and his belief that the human touch is everything in sales.

“The only one quality that we need to be human beings is to be kind.”

Rana Pratap Bhattacharya is a software engineer in Pune, but he is also a man who lives a life of example. From animal activism to saving a woman under threat of sexual assault to delivering groceries and medicine to the elderly under COVID-19 lockdown, Rana is intent on helping the weak, the vulnerable, and the silent. You can hear his story here.

If you want to support Rana’s initiative to help stray and wounded animals, you can make a donation here: https://www.gofundme.com/create/campaign-is-ready/help-rana-buy-an-ambulance-for-saving-stray-dogs

You see leaders everywhere: heads of state, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, sports team captains, platoon commanders, religious heads. But have you ever thought about the hundreds and thousands of leaders that never make the headlines? People who lead every single day of their lives through their deeds and character, but who are they? The kindergarten teacher who buys an extra pencil set for each of her students from her shoestring budget because the school supply falls short. An airline captain who gets pizzas for his passengers because the flight is stranded on the tarmac due to inclement weather. The chances are you and I may even meet these people in our lives but often fail to recognize or acknowledge them because, hey, life is just so busy. In the Undercover Leaders podcast, we will showcase the human beings who do the extraordinary every single day, yet without recognition. We will dig deep into why they do what they do and explore how they stay motivated. Together we will learn from these unsung leaders and perhaps take our own steps towards making the world a better place.