I empower leaders to create meaningful connections that heal divides and awaken hope in our shared humanity.
Hi, I’m Erica.
People are complex. Emotions are messy. Human relationships are hard. Period.
The problem is, most of us spent many more hours being taught how to drive a car than how to navigate the rocky terrain of emotions and relationship dynamics.
And we—and our world—are suffering for it.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
What we needed to learn in school and life. But didn’t.
I empower leaders and MBA students at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business to build–and repair–meaningful and emotionally connected relationships… across divides from misunderstandings, differences, race, gender, and other social identity and power dynamics.
Join me in my vision to grow a force of inspiring and conscious leaders who interrupt and transform disconnection and inequities, heal divides in our diverse and uncertain world, and awaken shared humanity and interconnection with all of life.
“Erica Peng’s curriculum and coaching are truly life-changing. I marveled that if I had received this kind of training when I was in business school back in the 1980s, my own path to conscious leadership would have been so much more accelerated.”
The first step: Calm your reactivity.
Why? Because physiological or emotional reactivity can sweep you up in impulsive and damaging behavior–and undermine your purpose and capacity to connect.
“Notice and Name has been a very powerful practice in my daily life. When I find myself having a physiological or emotional reaction, I now first acknowledge what’s happening in real-time vs. post-fact which helps me de-escalate before the feelings/thoughts intensify and spiral.”
Sign up for a free Notice and Name Practice Guide
A simple and powerful building block for meaningful connection.
And the neuroscience about why this practice works!
The neuroscience of disconnection and connection
Growing up, I was the only Chinese kid until 7th grade. Here’s my story about how I convinced myself I was White and Jewish in an unconscious attempt to calm my reactivity–distress and anxiety–from being the only one who was different.
I spent three decades transforming shame and self-hate into inspired purpose and meaningful, connected relationships anchored in self-worth. I’ve been compelled to share approaches that have been most transformative for me, to support others on a path to empowered, grounded, and conscious leadership.
The second step: Apply mindful awareness to interpersonal interactions. This requires a whole other level of practice.
In four years, I’ve taught
my course,
“Interpersonal Skills and Embodied Leadership”
at
the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business to 450 MBA students in 18 cohorts.
It is one of the most popular of all MBA courses.
My coaching and teaching are based on Designed For Connection℠, a neuroscience-based methodology I developed, that guides leaders to transform how they connect with themselves and others.
Through individual and interpersonal PRACTICE.
My work draws on over a decade helping leaders and MBA students develop emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and University of San Francisco School of Law.
“I give credit to the class for helping me remove the cloud of judgement I used to have with people on first impression. I have come to develop a great amount of respect for others and an appreciation of each person’s journey from which I can learn a lot.”
“Erica’s course offered us both the toolkit and container to practice empathetic listening skills and authentic leadership. This is particularly important during this chaotic time when we need to build the emotional capacity to sustain ourselves inside when everything else is falling apart.”
“The class was the most transformative educational experience I have ever had. I experienced inspiration, human connection, and “whole-ness” for the first time. I now have a need and desire to find ways to integrate this into my every day life.”
Live Interactive Zoom Course
Each year leaders I’ve worked with ask how they can share what they’ve learned with others. I’m excited to offer this online course to share what I teach more widely with you!
The Foundation Course
Break Free from Internal Barriers
Build and Deepen Meaningful Connection
Five Tuesdays, July 7–August 4, 2020
Free drop-in previews! June 23, 27, 30
One-on-One Coaching
If you’re a leader, influencer, co-founder,
or part of a leadership team, I can partner with you to help you build skills, awareness, and capacity to navigate a new and changing landscape of heightened emotions and complex dynamics involving social identity, power, and individual and collective trauma.
In a spirit of learning and discovery!
Designed For Connection℠
Designed For Connection℠ is a neuroscience-based approach for leadership development I created to empower leaders with essential skills and awareness for building–and repairing–meaningful connection while navigating the complexities of our diverse, dynamic, and uncertain world.
What sets Designed For Connection apart from other approaches to leadership development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts?
Copyright © 2020 Erica Peng
Discover More
Blog
Waves of anxiety dissolve overnight
Videos
Erica interviews Sadhguru at Berkeley Haas
Courses
Learn about the live interactive Zoom course