Blue Sky: Shawn Richards interviews Marguerita Cheng, CFP® Pro about “Understanding Different Communication Styles”
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Shawn Richards: Welcome to the team engagement podcast where leaders of teams share their insights. We discussed five questions in about 10 minutes. And I’m very pleased to introduce our guest today. This is Marguerita Cheng. She is the CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. And Marguerita, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. What else would you like the people to know about Blue Ocean Global Wealth?
Marguerita Cheng: Well, thank you so much for having me. I think what I would love people to know about Blue Ocean Global Wealth is we actually start with planning first, that’s really important. Because all too often it’s really hard for people to get answers to their questions. The first questions people will ask is, what’s the size of your portfolio? That’s not the case here. I don’t want your money unless we talk about planning first. So I think that’s really important.
Shawn: That is a great approach. I appreciate that. As one who has talked to a lot of wealth advisors, it is nice to have someone that’s more interested in the education part of it than just the let me have your money. So that is fantastic. All right. Well, let’s jump right to the questions. Our first question, share with the audience a success story of collaboration within a team.
Rita: Sure, I think, collaboration with the team, you know, it’s not just about tasks, but it is really about understanding learning styles and personality style. So I can share a success story with a volunteer team. Because this is actually even more challenging, because people are well intentioned, and you can’t fire volunteers. What I did, this is before the pandemic is I took the time to look at the volunteer board. And I scheduled either phone meetings, zoom meetings, or in person coffee, with the 12, board members, and committee members. And I tried to make a time that was most appropriate for their situation. And I asked them to prioritize what they were interested in what tasks they’d like to do. This is not about being a people pleaser, but this is truly about finding the right person, the right seat and the right bus. And what was so beneficial about this exercise is by the time we had our strategic meeting, everyone was very comfortable with knowing what their position would be in, it wasn’t a situation strategic meaning where we had to lose precious time, on tasks, we really couldn’t be more strategic. So that is the success story, taking the time to get to know people’s interests.
Shawn: That is a great story. And thank you for sharing that. And for highlighting the fact that everybody’s a little bit different. And we all bring a little bit something different to the table. And I really respect the fact that you took the effort and the time to get to know people. So that was a that’s a great story. Thank you for sharing that. I hear from other leaders of teams, that it can be a challenge to measure engagement. Tell me your thoughts.
Rita: There’s some truth; this, this goes back to the success story that I was sharing. Some people may not feel comfortable speaking up in meetings, it might not be so much because they’re shy, there could be a supervisor there or supervisors, friends. And engagement doesn’t necessarily mean how many people answer your question, but you can learn about engagement from people’s body language, right? So I think it’s important to understand that there’s going to be different communication styles, leadership styles, and also decision making, just because someone doesn’t make a decision right then and there does not mean they’re indecisive.
Shawn: Great comments. And again, it goes back to this idea that everybody’s a little bit different. And so you are obviously very skilled at doing just that–learning how to identify people and looking at them, how they like to approach things. That’s, that’s a great comment. Question number three, what would you consider an essential characteristic of a confident leader?
Rita: I loved this question so much. And I’m going to say humility, humility, to admit maybe you don’t know something, humility to admit maybe you made a mistake and with humility, there’s also candor and vulnerability. But I think humility, just being humble.
Shawn: Oh, that’s a great answer. Thank you for sharing that, that I could not agree more. It takes a lot of humility to be humble, but it is so important in the role of a leader. Great comment. Question number four, is there a person that you would like to recognize or maybe give a shout out to that has made a difference in your life?
Rita: Um, I’ve had I’ve been blessed with several mentors. And so I think there’s a lot of myths about mentorship that they need to be formal or that you can only have one. So I would say my mentors are because they took the time to take an interest in me you And I really appreciate that. So one of them would be Dennis Skirts. He is an alum from a university. And he’s also a brother of Alpha Phi Omega. And he, you know, took an interest in my career and helping me early on. I appreciate that. And another mentor, I would say would be Gary Altman, he actually invited me to serve on the board of directors. You know, when I mentioned a success story, it was the board of directors for that organization. So I definitely wanted to give a shout out to those two leaders.
Shawn: Well, thank you for recognizing both of them. And I agree that it’s it’s such an important part of our any of our growth and development, to have good mentors that can help you along the way. That great comments. All right, our last question, tell us about your first job.
Rita: Oh, my goodness, why would have to seek my first job was probably a little bit informal. I mean, it was the eldest of three girls. So I have younger siblings, it would be babysitting and tutoring. So helping neighborhood kids babysitting them, and then you know, as their needs evolved, you’re helping them with their homework. That would be my first informal job.
Shawn: Oh, that is great. Were you advising them with their finances at such a young age yet? Or is that later?
Rita: Well, you know what, that is kind of funny because the same neighborhood kids I’m a little bit squeamish when it comes to bugs. And I had to do an insect collection. So I knew I had entrepreneurial characteristics then. So what I did is I engage the neighborhood kids and I paid them to collect my bugs. And I rewarded them with candy.
Shawn: I love that story. So yeah, you definitely had an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. I love that!
Rita: Because I’m, I’m a little bit squeamish, because this is when I we moved from New York to Texas, and there were scorpions, right? I had never seen a scorpion. I had never seen a scorpion before. And I was supposed to do this bug collection. And make no mistake, I still did the bug collection, you know, the display. It’s just I was a little bit squeamish. So I asked the neighborhood kids to help me collect the bugs and I compensated and that also gave him candy.
Shawn: Oh, that is awesome. I love that story. Because it also shows that you relied on their strengths just like you’ve been talking to him. Even at a young age, you’re like, hey, that’s not one of my strengths. Let’s find some other people that do. I love that story. Margarita. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. How can people find you?
Rita: So website, BlueOceanGlobalWealth.com. And then on social media, LinkedIn, I’m Marguerita Cheng, M A R G U E R I T A; last name, Cheng, C H E N G, and then Twitter at Blue Ocean GW.
Shawn: Fantastic. This is Shawn Richards with the team engagement podcast where leaders of teams share their insights. For more ideas, you can go to TeamEngagementPodcast.com. Once again. That’s TeamEngagementPodcast.com. We also encourage you to subscribe to the podcast as well as the YouTube channel. Thank you so much for joining us today. Have a great day.