"Change is a part of life whether we choose it or not"
Sasha Laghonh believes passionately that every individual, team, and organization possesses the tools they need to thrive when they’re given the right direction. For nearly two decades she has worked with clients from all backgrounds and walks of life to connect them with their goals through meaningful action. Her mission in life is to show that no matter how complex or daunting the issues may be, they can drive change by approaching life with confidence and clarity.
As a holder of an MBA and a specialist in Organizational Behavior and Leadership, she thrives under pressure and understands how to make lasting connections. Through her work as a strategist, speaker, and author Sasha strives to make a real difference to every aspect of her clients’ goals. The end result is a holistic approach to evolving performance that’s delivered through a combination of unique insights, clear direction, and a definitive purpose. Sasha’s spiritual craft and ability to simplify the complex allows her to make a real difference to the thought processes and goal setting of clients around the world. Everything is then brought together to form a key group of tools for self improvement which are shared in-person and through digital media. Learn more at sashatalks.com.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for agreeing to this interview! Our readers would love to learn more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in your career?
Sasha Laghonh: I host business experience serving the B2B, B2C and C2C space. Having contributed to organizations that catered to several industries at the same time, I found my initial home working in account management and marketing. My career path steered me in new directions from thereon forward by working in established organizations and start ups.
Over time I decided to leverage my skills by creating a platform where I could share my business expertise as well as my spiritual calling. Sasha Talks is an evolving platform that provides different developmental tools to clients through custom solutions, including a channel that delivers entertaining and educational content. It is the only space in my career path that has permitted me to apply all of my skill sets while developing myself as a professional and person without constraints.
Can you share a quote that is important to you and how it has been relevant in your life?
Sasha Laghonh: For things to change, you have to change. – Jim Rohn
Change is a part of life whether we choose it or not. Living life is the only way to acquire a perspective. Experience is the greatest teacher of all. In order to manage changes, it’s important to allow ourselves to continue learning which helps us refine our life outlook and decision making skills. Becoming stagnant and mentally resistant over time results in ourselves becoming liabilities rather than assets to our environment and those around us.
Since you began your career, what has been the most interesting thing that has happened to you?
Sasha Laghonh: I’ve been able to contribute my skill sets in business spaces that I didn’t know existed until they came looking for me. Word of mouth travels fast. Once I received a surprise shout out by a peer in the industry during a live telecast on a major television network. This event directed a few curious minds to explore the world of Sasha Talks and its offerings. One should never be rigid in anticipating how good efforts get recognized and gain momentum. Focus on the work, the rest will follow in due time.
We all need some help along the way to success. It’s important not only to be grateful for that which you have achieved but also to acknowledge those who made it possible and contributed their own part in this journey of life! Is there someone who helped YOU succeed?
Sasha Laghonh: I would like to extend a ‘Thank You’ to Linda, my professional mentor that helped me refine my decision making skills early on in my career path. She was generous with her praise and steadfast with her tough love. According to her, she produced Rock Stars not Super Stars. Rock Stars are meant to rock the world with their abilities, not just stand there in the limelight. She was the most relatable human being I’ve met given her elite status in her professional world. Linda was the same person that hosted networking and mentoring events out of her home to help the talents develop their business skills. I feel privileged to benefit from her guidance and generosity since she was selective of people that were granted access to her life. We kept in touch throughout the years until her recent passing. Now Linda’s family honors her legacy of service.
Remote work has been on the rise for years now and it’s becoming more common than ever. With so many teams choosing to operate this way, we thought our readers might want some insight into what advantages there are in physically working alongside your colleagues every day – especially if you’re new or haven’t experienced them yet?
Sasha Laghonh: Remote work can be a blessing or otherwise if one isn’t disciplined with their time management, communication and organizational skills. The latter skills are heavily valued not only in the workplace but life overall. Remote work removes a layer of masking one’s ability to perform their job well because employees are evaluated by what they produce and the quality of their deliverables.
Most roles are situated in team based settings where everyone’s contribution is dependent upon one another’s progress. People are holding one another accountable for their overall success. Contingent upon the wide variety of roles, some demand constant timely follow ups while others in individual contributor roles entail limited social engagement. The mission and operations of most businesses didn’t change much from physical office to remote settings.
Perhaps the guidelines for how employees are evaluated was adjusted to accommodate the negotiable and non-negotiable performance objectives. The work doesn’t get easier or harder if it’s in the office or not. If one is able to manage themselves well, then they can manage others (including work) well. Sometimes people take advantage of the live office environment by relying on the optics that they’re working when in fact people are wasting time and resources.
There are companies producing work which demands face to face collaboration due to the sensitive nature of work where it’s better to conduct business within structured confines rather than the remote world. It comes down to educating oneself how to navigate the remote environment, communicating expectations (also setting boundaries) and holding oneself accountable for the deliverables. Pay attention and speak up. It’s very easy to ‘get lost’ in the remote world.
What challenges come up when team members aren’t in the same room?
Sasha Laghonh: The challenges are dictated by the type of relationships these members host when in the same room. What are their individual personalities and communicate skills like? Were they working well together in person before they transitioned to the remote world? Some communication variables from questions to conflict management need to be addressed with more tact in a remote world because words can easily get lost in translation fast when tone and energy of the person is distant compared to in-person.
The video option can bridge most gaps but it’s still not the same as sharing human experiences and human reactions face to face. Sharing a live human space is different than sharing a live video screenshot. There’s still a segment of communication that isn’t recognized from a distance. This doesn’t mean the remote world hasn’t developed virtual teams that produce great work. This can be done through developing a business strategy that encourages members to follow protocol and honor their part of the deal.
Let’s talk about how to overcome each of the challenges you’ve faced. What are five key things that will help communicate with your team, even if it is not in person?
Sasha Laghonh: Set clear expectations for what is expected of each member. Whether these expectations are measurable or not, refrain from setting ambiguous guidelines that invite more questions rather than deliver answers. You are setting yourself and others up for success. Keep the expectations sensible and achievable when it comes to communication guidelines. When working with deadlines, state the deadline in all messages. Do not assume people know, or they’ll remember to do their part. Many people are multitasking with their deliverables that it’s easy to forget. Better to over communicate in this context than remain silent. Refine the guidelines after assessing outcomes over a period of several weeks.
Set boundaries. If everyone has a varying schedule, communicate it to others. Remote work doesn’t mean anyone can be interrupted at any time to answer questions. It’s not any different than working in a live office environment. Communicate the working hours and make sure the working calendar reflects that so a member is only contacted under special circumstances outside of those hours. People are busy taking care of themselves, their families and also honoring other commitments. Avoid taking people for granted.
When a member observes or suspects there’s an operational concern, ask questions and let other members know. It’s better to recognize a problem and address it immediately rather than gloss over it. Do not believe that remote problems go away on their own. They don’t. Again, this is not any different than working in a live office environment.
Manage your work performance. Keep track of what you’re working on and track these deliverables. If you need guidance, schedule a meeting with a peer or manager to work through these inquiries. The goal is not to be caught off guard during a performance review because the working conditions have shifted due to environmental or managerial decisions. In the remote world, your work can only speak for itself. Sometimes effort gets discounted in these situations because communication and proactive measures take a back seat. Speak up by remaining mindful of all communications. Do not spam people with requests until an answer is received. You are one of many working through these changes during uncertain times. Be patient with yourself and others.
Make time to check in with your peers. If the workplace is hosting virtual events from team-building social hours to monthly breakfasts, take advantage of connecting with peers that are outside of your circle. It was easier to run into them in an office setting en route to the bathroom or crossing paths with them in the kitchen. Now you may be left wondering who’s still working at the organization. This also goes for employees who lack a cadence for meeting with their managers for one on one regular sessions. The bottom line is engagement. It’s the only way you’ll know what is going on, how you’re performing and what changes are happening in the workplace.
Have you ever had problems communicating with your coworkers because they work from home? And is it easier for them to transition into an internet-only workplace since that’s what most companies do nowadays?
Sasha Laghonh: Fortunately, I’ve been familiar with remote work tracing back to 2001. I’ve invested heavily in remote work during the past nine years on regular basis in partnership with international teams to honor professional collaborations. I can’t think of anything significant that required attention. My friendly guidance is to clearly communicate deadlines when working with global time zones because not everyone is experienced working with foreign countries and their respective business hours. Time zones matter when coordinating live calls, events and engagements.
Remain flexible with timing and maintain a perspective when the desired days aren’t an option because it’s a holiday in another territory. As for transitioning to a remote space, it works well when people are able to plan ahead of time how to avoid interruptions and noises in their personal work spaces. Make sure to invest in quality internet, hubspots and tools that set you up for success. Remember working remote still demands us to take care of ourselves and our health. Learn to integrate a balance between work and managing a personal space.
What do you think is the most important thing a business can offer its customers in this day and age? As technology evolves, so too does how we communicate with our clients. Have you noticed any changes in the way you communicate with your clients?
Sasha Laghonh: Businesses still need to offer their clients attention and responsiveness to continue developing healthy outcomes. Most places that I’ve engaged and observed are still maintaining human ties by connecting with clients face to face when opportunity permits itself. When lock downs were active, companies had administered policies banning employees from any form of business travel. During those moments, much of the human interaction was virtual through coordinating live breakfasts and lunches to maintain a thread of connection. Now people have resumed to nurturing their relationships with clients to the degree all parties feel comfortable.
Imagine if you could design a tool to help your business run more smoothly and communicate better with customers or prospects. What would it be like?
Sasha Laghonh: I think there are enough tools in place to assist clients with connecting with the platform. We already have live chat, speakpipe, video voicemails and traditional methods in place. More options doesn’t increase communication nor the quality of communication. This is why I adhere to the direct response forms and emails for immediate engagement. Other methods still exists.
I personally prefer to invest in channels where audiences feel comfortable by actually contacting me through their preferred portals. The audience votes for this through their actions. Also I don’t believe being readily available 24/7 impacts the operations of Sasha Talks because it already accommodates many global time zones. Technology is a great tool to connect people. We need to be careful of not allowing these conveniences from diminishing the quality of our interactions. I’m not interested in diluting the value of our messages by expanding upon more communication channels at this moment in time. There’s wisdom in keeping communications at a healthy level before it starts to turn into noise.
As humans, we naturally crave belonging and the feeling of being part a group. This is especially true when it comes to our relationships with each other as well as those who lead us: parents, teachers etc… What can you do on your own time that will help foster this sense or team cohesion?
Sasha Laghonh: I believe conducting a healthy self-check in terms of communication and emotions is a healthy thing. Ask yourself if you’ve shared your appreciation and thoughts that need attention with those around you? Are you articulate in your communication – do you say what you mean and mean what you say?
When we aren’t articulate, this breeds a seed of frustration within us that can grow over time leading us to think that we’re not being heard. Communication goes both ways, pay attention. How we communicate has influence over how we feel and perceive situations around us. It’s important to audit our thoughts, feelings and communications to ensure we’re moving forward rather than entrapping ourselves in mental spaces leading us to create mental battles that don’t exist in reality.
It’s human nature to fight battles as a reflex. Prevent circumstances that enable one to fight mental battles that don’t exist. When we take care of ourselves, we can take better care of others.
If you could start a movement that would help a lot of people, what would that be?
Sasha Laghonh: To do one kind thing for ourselves and do two kind things for a stranger.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Sasha Laghonh for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
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