Living The Values You Lead With Even When It's Messy

What does it mean to live the values you lead with, especially when it gets messy or no one’s watching?In this episode of Lime, Listen & Learn: The People Leadership Lounge, host Abbiola Ballah is in conversation with Dr. Ruth Diaz naming this question many leaders avoid.This isn’t a panel. We’re not here for perfect soundbites. This is a lime, a Trinidadian term that means to hang out, connect, and vibe.Abbiola and Ruth reflect on what happens when the values you name at work are tested in real life. With family. With friends. In community spaces that do not come with policies, titles, or applause. The conversation explores courage, accountability, and emotional awareness, inviting leaders to consider what it really looks like to live their values in the places that feel most personal and complex.We are not here to offer tidy answers. We are here to sit with the messiness.Grab your snacks and a drink. Come lime with us!This Conversation Touches On:Living leadership values beyond the workplaceNavigating discomfort in personal and professional spacesMoving beyond performative allyshipEmotional fluency and recognizing harmAccountability as a long term leadership practiceAbout Our GuestDr. Ruth Diaz (she/they) champions decency, like-mindedness, and holistic values in cross-functional teams and communities. Her work is recognized industry-wide for fostering diversity and belonging in VR culture. As an environmental storyteller, Ruth has created numerous captivating VR experiences, some of which are now owned by companies like Meta. Ruth is an innovator on conflict resiliency in XR. She is developing restorative justice XR tools based on her Deepen, Orient, Transform (DOT) model of conflict.Learn more about Ruth’s work here:Website | LinkedInAbout Our HostAbbiola Ballah (she/her) is a people leadership consultant, coach, and facilitator who supports directors & managers navigating the human side of leadership. She is the Founder of Phern Education Studios and the creator of the CLEARER Conversations™ Experience, a signature leadership program designed to help people leaders approach hard conversations with care, discernment, and intention.With over 20 years of experience in leadership development, program design, and organizational learning, Abbiola partners with organizations across the health, education, philanthropy, and nonprofit sectors to design and facilitate people-centered leadership experiences that improve communication, support managers & directors through team dynamics, and rebuild trust. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, she brings a global perspective shaped by long-term, cross-cultural work with leaders and organizations.Learn more about Abbiola's work here:Website | LinkedIn | Instagram