KHD Consulting International

05/15/2026

It’s all Greek to me. 🏛️

I’ve just spent a week exploring Santorini, Paros, and Athens — and I’m returning with a fuller heart, a broader mind, and a few reflections on leading across cultures.

There is something profoundly humbling about immersing yourself in a place where you cannot read the signs, cannot speak the language, cannot even decode the alphabet. (And yes — despite a brief and ill-fated attempt at ancient Greek as a theology student in Finland many years ago, modern Greek remains beautifully opaque to me. That’s a story for another day.)

But humbling is not the same as disconnected. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Today at the Acropolis, our guide said something that stayed with me. He described how Greek mythology is largely a story of humans conquering nature — mastering it, subduing it, extracting from it. And it struck me how deeply that narrative is woven into Western thinking: the tendency to categorize, analyze, break things into parts. To win.

Contrast that with many Eastern traditions — where the relationship between humans and nature isn’t about conquest, but about harmony. Where the goal isn’t domination, but coexistence.

As a cross-cultural coach, I know this distinction intellectually. But standing at the foot of the Parthenon, hearing it told through the lens of mythology and millennia of history — it lands differently. It means something differently.
This is exactly why I believe global leaders need more than frameworks. They need lived experience. They need to stand somewhere unfamiliar and sit with not-knowing — whether that’s a language they can’t read or a worldview that challenges their own defaults.

Returning to work next week with new ideas, renewed creativity, and a reminder of why this work matters. 🌊

What cultural experience has most shaped how you lead?
globaldexterity executivecoaching internationalbusiness greece finland

03/31/2026

Back in art school. Portrait painting. First class yesterday. Not done yet. All the time in museums studying portraits by masters and how-to videos on my phone seems to have helped.

While I have a photo to work from, my inner eye is visualizing Greta Garbo.

Still a way to go. Most importantly, I truly enjoyed immersing myself in art again. Connecting with your creative self is important. I took a 19 month break from studying art. Sometimes we need a break from our craft to grow and move forward. The same applies to leadership skills and our everyday work.

04/13/2025

Har inte målat på ett par månader nu. Har inte haft energi. Istället har jag tittat på och lärt mig av andras alster. Förra veckoslutet tvättade jag misskötta penslar, organiserade målfärg och slängde bort gammalt. I dag skall jag försöka skissa något nytt. Målandet skall inte vara ett måste. Ett annat stressmoment. Men om det gått för länge utan att jag målat. Då fattas något i livet.

05/09/2024

just facilitated a conversation on how to successfully transition into a leadership role without overcommitting but instead creating partnerships. The three points I shared were:

1. Use Strategic Listening
2. Show empathy and expertise
3. Create Partnership and collaborate

The participants shared and discussed how to deal with difficult situations such as when one of the members of the team you are to lead had themselves hoped to be selected for the leadership role. How do you approach that relationship and create trust and collaboration?

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03/08/2024

Celebrating all women on by sharing the amazing story about . While this sailboat in the pic is frozen in ice, the one crewed by the Maidens on the Maiden Factor sailboat competing in the certainly in not. https://www.khdinternational.com/march-is-for-maidens-on-sailing-and-life-long-learning/

06/13/2023

Girl on the Beach is done. Oil on canvas. A depiction of the empty Covid 19 beaches on Cap Cod, Massachusetts during July 2020. The solitude meant much needed relief from pandemic-stress while it also heightened the feeling of loneliness. The girl is my daughter Serena. Huge thanks to my brilliant and kind art teacher

05/18/2023

05/04/2023

The Women at Work Report 2023 by Deloitte is here! Interesting read. Some good news - lower reported rates of (except among women from minority groups) and less experience of non-inclusive behaviors. Then again, experience of microaggressions are higher. Hybrid work is working well for some while it is becoming an unpredictable experience for others resulting in women leaving their jobs for lack of flexibility. However 35% report poor mental health and stress levels continue to increase. Menopause continues to be a challenge and most women suffer in silence. There is a still a lot left to do to close the gap between women's needs in work and life and what we experience. It's a mixed bag. Let's use this report to inspire and innovate for a better world of work.
https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/content/women-at-work-global-outlook.html

03/29/2023

Three beautifully inspiring conference days in San Diego.

03/20/2023

Today is International Day of Happiness! Wishing you today. Do something for yourself and for others to spread

A recent experience that brought me happiness was a yoga and meditation retreat in Costa Rica. A first for me. Reflections on , and from my experiences are below.

“Have you ever felt as your responsibilities are tying you down like the mooring ropes of a boat that keeps the vessel from recklessly floating out to sea? I have. Even if I proudly built my boat myself and mostly enjoy it and appreciate the mooring lines (In this case the boat symbolizes my life).

A month ago, I was at my life’s first yoga and meditation retreat in a secluded resort in the middle of a Costa Rican rainforest. It took me about a minute to decide to sign up, after seeing the announcement a few months ago.

The idea of the retreat, however, had lived in my dreams for about eight years. From around the time when I first learned about their existence from a coaching client who would attend retreats to recover from a demanding humanitarian job.

Eight years ago, my two children were tweens. My husband was wrapped in the demands of his career. I was trying to be the best I could in all my roles. Leaving them, my children, for a retreat, even if it would have been with reliable childcare felt impossible then. I was responsible. I had responsibilities. I was not free. I could travel to a conference, but not to a retreat. I am sure some of you can relate."

So, I found myself in Costa Rica in the middle of February..... read more below.
https://www.khdinternational.com/on-being-wild-and-free-at-a-yoga-and-meditation-retreat-in-costa-rica/

Situating myself, literally, on a yoga mat outside my comfort zone was my wild act of freedom. Sure, I had done some yoga poses and a few classes here and there, but four (4) hours of meditation and yoga a day for six days – seemed like a lot. What would I do? Would it be boring? What can you medi...