Angie Weinberger’s Latest Song and The Global Rockstar Album

by Anne-Kristelle Carrier

Dear guests, dear team, Angie, good afternoon!

I am truly honored to have worked with Angie’s team on this unique project and to be here for this long-awaited Global Rockstar Album book launch. Angela Weinberger is a true visionary and leader in Global Mobility and has dedicated her career until now to changing things for the better in the corporate world: bringing the Human Touch back into mobility, integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices, and wrapping it all up, changing the narrative of what a good leader is.

I met Angie back in 2010 at an Expat Partner event she hosted. She made such an impression on me back then: she already gave that leader vibe. Angie radiated this confidence in her expertise, in herself. And even if I hadn’t put my finger on it back then, she made that impression on me because I had perceived her human, caring side. She clearly wasn’t helping people just because she was paid to; she sincerely had to help people at heart.

That is why Angie is a rock star, somewhat of a rebel, like writer, philosophy professor, and political and feminist activist Angela Davis, whom she was named after. Davis once said: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” That is precisely what Angie does every day.

But Angie is undoubtedly inspired by many women who have radically transformed the world, each in their own domain, in their own way, sharing their wisdom with humanity.

Like Angie, Audre Lord, a Black American queer feminist prolific writer and mother of modern intersectional feminism, knew how important it was to care for oneself. She wrote: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Talk about radical thinking! Angela Weinberger also insists in her blog, during the retreats she offers, in her new book, The Global Rockstar Album, everywhere she goes that we need to take care of our health and our well-being if we are to be able to work and who knows, change the world!

Mental health is also a crucial part of self-care. When gymnastic superstar Simone Biles announced during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that she was leaving to focus on her mental health, she did what Angie preaches in her chapter Role-Model Failure: we need to stand up against the fear-culture, the pressure. Mental health is non-negotiable; it should be everyone’s priority. 

You know how they say great minds think alike? In this apocryphal anecdote, Margaret Mead is believed to have said that the first sign of civilization is not, as we would have expected her to say, buildings, cities, or writing, but, as she said, a healed femur. That someone, thousands of years ago, would have survived thanks to the help, care, and support of family or community was, to her, the real sign of civilization. Caring for each other as a community is another value Angie cherishes greatly. And whether Margaret Mead really thought that was the cornerstone of civilization or not, Angie KNOWS it to be the cornerstone of a great team! 

Malala Youssafzai, for her part, fought for education and justice for girls and women in Pakistan and all over the world despite adversity and fear. I am sure Angela adheres to this famous quote of hers: “I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through not only educating our minds but our hearts and our souls.” 

Shireen ‘Ebadi, an Iranian Human rights advocate, spoke at the Zermatt Summit in 2011 on Servant Leadership and said, “It is about time that “humanity” entered Globalization in all its aspects.” Talk about bringing a human touch!

And you might not have known, but Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, just like Angela, knew the value of Simon Sinek’s concept of the Golden Circle. She said: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” Angie knows that is how great leaders inspire action, the why: your cause. But I wouldn’t dare spoil the book too much; you can read more in the Global Rockstar Album! 😉

When I met Angie in 2010, I think the great impression she gave me as a leader, and as a human, was due to her empathy. Jacinda Ardern once said in an interview that one of the criticisms she had faced over the years was that she is not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because she’s empathetic, which means she’s weak. She said: “I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.” And I feel that is exactly what Rockstar Angie does too; it’s what she does best: she rebels against this traditional leadership model to be her true self, an empathetic servant leader like this amazing lineage of strong, smart, and caring women.

Some rebels, like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian feminist and anti-racism writer, change the world because they don’t like and won’t accept the status quo.  She said, “I am a person who believes in asking questions, in not conforming for the sake of conforming. I am deeply dissatisfied – about so many things, about injustice, about the way the world works – and in some ways, my dissatisfaction drives my storytelling.” I think this is the why to Angie’s golden circle.

Angie practices what she preaches. That is how she inspires change, like Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, Jacinda Ardern, and all those brave women. Bringing the world one more example of what a true leader is. Her book condenses all her knowledge and wisdom and distillates it into 21 clear, simple, and inspirational verses. I trust Angela’s work will profoundly impact how we see leaders and how they are trained so we can all strive for a better, more humane workplace.

Angie has been simmering this book for quite a while now – some things are worth waiting for, they say, right!? I know she can’t wait to present it to you and explain why she embarked on this journey. So I will give her the floor to do just that.

Impressions from the Launch Party in Zurich

Anne-Kristelle Carrier has been supplying her inclusive editing and project management skills to Global People Transitions GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland, from April 2021 to September 2023. Global People Transitions is a career coaching and Global Mobility consulting company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company was founded in 2012.  Mrs. Carrier delivered her services to and reported to the Managing Director and Founder, Angela Weinberger. She is our Inclusive Content Editor and works with us as a freelancer. She also edited The Global Rockstar Album. She is currently looking for new projects. You can contact her via anne@globalpeopletransitions.com.

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