What Can Learning about Your Mother Teach you about Yourself?

Welcome to our episode of 'Reach Minds: Thoughts for Your Life's Journey' podcast. Today, we're diving deep into the powerful and often complex relationship between mothers and daughters. Our guest, Janet, shares her incredibly personal story, after the death of her father; in her mission of getting to know her mother better, a journey that unexpectedly opened a Pandora's Box of self-discovery. Through exploring her mother's experiences and the cultural expectations from Hong Kong shaped her upbringing, Janet began to unravel the threads of her own identity, leadership style, and those nagging feelings that have surfaced at stressful times in both her personal and professional life. 

About Janet Standing

Janet Lung Standing, Founder CEO of Janet Standing Consultancy Ltd.  Born in Hong Kong.  A seasoned global leader with over 30 years of business experience, held senior suppliers-facing roles at major corporations, including Mars and Danone, and most recently served as Chief Procurement Officer at Johnson Matthey, a market leader in sustainable technologies.  In January 2025, she founded her advisory practice to guide businesses with high growth ambition in how to become successful suppliers to the big corporates. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, she integrates these values into business practices, believing that success is built on strong relationships and collaboration. Janet holds a First-Class Honors degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London and has completed General management and Leadership programmes at IMD.  Outside of work, she enjoys making pottery. 

In this podcast, We Pose the Following Questions About Janet’s Journey with her Mother:

1. Janet, what sparked this journey for you? (Father’s dying wish, to not fight my mum – brutal awareness of my own mortality – I had a desire to build a good relationship with my mum) Be by her side to grief and get through the grief curve together.
2. Tell us a little about your mother? What do you admire about her? 
3. How spending deeper time with your mother opened the box further into your self- discovery? (I had discussion with her as woman to woman sharing in our experience and insights as women leaders).
4. How did cultural expectations that you carried influenced your own upbringing?
5. From your reflection, how has this “prior programming” have shown up in your corporate life and influenced your leadership style, how you behave at work?
6. What were the unexpected  discoveries you made through this journey with your mum?
7. What is the biggest takeaway you have from this experience?(power of truly knowing yourself !!)

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Leading by Alex Ferguson Transitions by William Bridges, The Choice by Edith Eger
• The Gift by Edith Eger, The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Living the Leadership Lifestyle by Ross Emerson Care to Dare by George Kohlrieser Websites: Facetofacetraining.com Cheetah-stories.com
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