Dana Gallagher

Blogger, Change agent, Concerned citizen, Consultant, Foodie, Global soul, World traveler

Bio Dana Gallagher has over 15 years experience as an executive coach, management trainer, and Organizational Development consultant. Her special interest is in balancing and leveraging the best of East/West cultural and business practices. Dana has worked in a variety of industries and settings, including nonprofit organizations, start-up companies, and multinational headquarters. Although most of her work is done in medicine and health care, she also works in the arts and in commerce. Dana is based in Carmel CA, and has trained and worked extensively in Asia and Europe. She thinks of herself as a “global citizen” and deeply values the experiences and perspectives of colleagues and friends around the world. Dana is a graduate of the executive coaching program at Hudson Institute (Santa Barbara USA), and has completed residential training programs in Conflict Mediation and Change Management in Scotland, Greece, and Australia. She is the Dean and Academic Director for the Academy of the Japan HR Society in Tokyo. In addition, she holds a Masters in Public Health from UCLA and is a licensed Physician Assistant.

breathing new life into the world, especially by acknowledging and integrating polarities in people and organizations. I'm fascinated with moving from "either/or" to "both/and" thinking and dreaming!

Let's dissolve "either/or" thinking and learn how to embrace the "both/and" in organizational life. Having worked extensively in Asia and the US, I've seen firsthand how the East and West tend to inhabit polar realities (and mesh poorly as a result.) Some of these polarities include process vs outcome orientation, group vs individual supremacy, immediate gratification vs taking the long view, and humility vs hubris. Since life unfolds on a continuum, strictly adhering to any polarity doesn't "work" for us as individuals, organizations, or nations. With the unprecedented challenges this world faces, I propose that we actively begin teaching people and organizations how to interact and problem solve using the more fluid and holistic context one learns by managing polarities. If we could teach people how to discern context, understand what is needed (vs what they habitually do) and then communicate and act, borrowing the best from East and West perspectives, we might build a new world.

Executive Coaching & Consulting, Follow to Lead, Leadership Development & Coaching, Organizational Development and Change Management

Singing and dancing in a highly spirited fashion!