Contributions from Priscila Nagalli and Paloma Bentes

The Camino de Santiago or the Way of Saint James is an ancient pilgrimage route dating back to the 9th century to Santiago, Spain. It is believed that St. James is buried in the Cathedral of Santiago. You can start walking in France, Portugal, or Spain. The total route is over 800 km. We did 115 km (72 miles) starting in Sarria and ending in Santiago. It was an enriching cultural and spiritual experience to travel the countryside by foot.

My friend and co-worker, Priscila, asked me to join her and a friend on the journey. Before the trip, Priscila had mentioned the concept of “we” versus “me.” As we walked, we experienced this concept as we felt our energies form a community of “us.” I also saw this sense of community in the other groups walking – embracing the idea that together is better.

Each year, I embrace living life holistically and in a way in which I show up fully in all scenarios. In this piece, the concept of “we” is inspired by our journey walking the countryside of Spain. These lessons can be applied personally and professionally.

1.      Diversity of Ideas – Discussions with others can broaden your horizon. Priscila elevated our trip by sharing her knowledge of highly recommended accommodations and restaurants. Paloma enhanced our daily walking by reminding us to take time to pace ourselves and enjoy the journey. I suggested we do daily foot massage and yoga to support our bodies during our rigorous journey. I was thankful, as these suggestions contributed to my being able to complete the walk. Paloma was grateful that yoga and massage allowed her knee pain to subside.

Culture Infusion – Survey Your Team Regularly: At Actualize, we thrive when we obtain feedback and survey our people often. Recently, we surveyed our team to check in on a challenging project. The results showed us that our team wanted more dedicated client-specific support, and they made suggestions on how we could meet their needs. We immediately set up dedicated times and personnel to support their request.

2.      Focus on Your Strengths – As we traveled, the three of us innately took on a role that suited us best. Priscila was our leader, organizing and guiding us each day. Paloma had the fortitude of a warrior, powering through multiple sicknesses and injuries, showing us how will can guide the way. I was the caregiver tending to blister care, teaching daily yoga, and sharing natural remedies for our ailments.

Culture Infusion – Goal Setting: We counsel our team on aligning their goals to their aspirations and what lights them up. As we focus on what we love, work and life flow more easily.

3.      Sense of Community – When you are walking the Camino and witness the success and determination of others, their energy pulls you forward. When you feel you cannot take another step, you see other walkers and cyclists in the distance achieving a common goal. Being part of this larger community is a powerful force that propels you to continue.

Culture Infusion – Focus on People: We genuinely care about our people and building teams that work together. We have Google email groups where we can ask questions. Our people come together to support one another and share a common goal. It is beautiful to witness the support towards resolution.

4.      Build Bonds – When you share in a challenge such as the Camino, you build bonds and memories you will never forget. As each of us needed a boost, the others would support and lift our vibe. When my feet broke out in a heat rash and blisters, Priscila and Paloma helped put cold compresses on them and got medicine from the pharmacy. If I did not have them, I might have wanted to give up, but I kept moving forward to foster our team bond and to complete the journey together.

Culture Infusion – Foster Team Connection: We love to have social and cause-related events to build our team bonds outside of work. We have an upcoming event in which we will help homeless people learn how to interview for jobs. Priscila and I discussed expanding our team building experience with additional activities and work opportunities before and after our time of giving back to the community. Supporting our community has always been a big part of our culture at Actualize Consulting. Now, with the strength of deep connection I experienced on the Camino, I feel we will do even more meaningful work.

Time Magazine’s piece on Blue Zones supports that we live longer and healthier lives if we are focused on community and healthy lifestyles. Many times, I find myself thinking or saying I can do this alone. After walking the Camino with friends and having time to contemplate life, I now more than ever believe that together is better. Life is richer with experiences and moments of sharing.

What are you trying to accomplish on your own? Who can you share your ideas, struggles, or solutions with today? ​

Fruits, vegetables, flowers, nuts, and gratitude are the centerpiece of our tables, hearts, and minds as we enter Thanksgiving week. As a company we decided to embrace a month-long focus on gratitude by implementing our “Moving with Gratitude” wellness challenge.

We asked our leaders why they were grateful for the Actualize team. Here is what they had to say:
Geran Combs: I'm grateful for the openness of or firm that allows anyone to express an idea or concern freely and know it will be heard.  

Priscila Nagalli: I am grateful for the team we have, this pool of individuals that brings strong technical, but also an incredible sense of commitment and team work to the table. Thank you everyone for making this company so unique.

Matt Seu: I am grateful for our Actualize team because our team makes me better as a person and that carries over to my clients and what I can offer them.

Kerry Wekelo
I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to use the Actualize team as the sounding board for creating and maintaining a thriving organizational culture. Our team’s openness allows the platform to give back daily and spread to other firms how focusing on your people first equals success.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude can increase your personal happiness and shift your perception of how you see and interact with the world around you. At work, we focus on our people’s success with Star Player Awards for a job well done, sending out personal thank you notes and get well soon cards. We want our people to know we care about them at a personal level.

As you prepare your home for Thanksgiving and fill your cornucopia with abundance, take a moment to pause, and pivot to a positive thankful thought. In our family, each person writes down who or what they are grateful for on a slip of paper and places it into the basket. Before we enjoy our Thanksgiving meal, each family member pulls a gratitude note from the basket and reads aloud. It is beautiful way to share in gratitude and fun as we are trying to guess who said what.
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Happy Thanksgiving!  

How many times have you wished you could take a short cut or read “CliffsNotes” to achieve results? The reality is as leaders, parents, and seekers we spend much of our time collecting information that can transform our lives, but stall when it comes to implementation.

I spent years creating a holistic balanced life that supported me as both a parent and leader. During this trial and error period, I kept my own version of CliffsNotes as I applied mindfulness techniques to life and work. I witnessed our organization’s turnover rates decrease from 33% to under 1% by revamping our goal and review processes and implementing 9 actionable principles. Experiencing this success motivated me to expand my notes into a book and program, Culture Infusion: 9 Principles to Create and Maintain an Organizational Culture to help others.

Inspired by Cliff Hillegass the creator of CliffsNotes, in the video below, I share my condensed version on how the 9 Principles of Culture Infusion can be your starting point to identifying potential enhancements in your firm.

If you would like to explore, understand, and encounter new ways to review your organizational structure, I am happy to assist you. We can start with a simple employee survey or assessment. Contact me today for more information. ​

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1.   My great-grandfather Cecil Stowers. His passion for educating children left the legacy of the Cecil B. Stowers Elementary School in Anaheim, CA. I was blessed to have spent summers under his guidance through high school.

He taught me to respect everyone. Walking by his side I witnessed him thanking every person he encountered at each establishment. Each person as important as the last; none labeled as less than or more integral than another. I saw his gratitude towards teamwork as he discussed how each person is necessary on a team.

He took me to the library. I cherished our quiet time at the library where we read together. What made it special was that he never told me I had to read, we just did. He truly led by example.

He gave me the gift of confidence. I believed in myself because he believed in me and asked me about my dreams and passions. He demonstrated this with effective listening. He was fully present, asked me sincere questions, and asked how he can support me to achieve my goals.

2.   My 8th grade basketball coach. He shared his journey on how he had to work hard to be his best and in turn, I dug in deeper to reach my highest potential. We experienced teamwork and the importance of coming together with plays. To this day, the shot I took in one of those plays, I make with ease. With our dedication, we won the 8th grade championship as the underdogs with our short, yet scrappy team (I am 42 in the picture). I lived the importance of playing to each team member’s strengths. 

As he was giving out awards, he spoke of a natural leader who inspired and lifted each of the team members up. I thought to myself, I want to be that person. As he called my name, I was in shock, yet felt responsible to continue being that person he described. From that day forward, I have been passionate about lifting others up to see their best qualities as he saw something I did not see in myself. I felt the value of being appreciated.

​Recently I shared about how to allow your teams to totally unplug. Watch my video on my vacation confession of how I was not following my own advice nor was I sharing it with the entire team.

Now others are giving themselves the gift of a clean inbox upon return from vacation.