Hello. My name is Eriko Imaizumi. Based in New Jersey, about an hour from Manhattan, I provide executive coaching and corporate training for executives and managers working at the U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese companies.
It has now been an incredible 36 years since I came to the United States. I began my career at American securities firms, working in both Japan and New York. I have seen both the front lines and the behind-the-scenes workings of the stock market.
However, I could never shake a sense of discomfort about my work in the securities industry. The money was good, the environment was glamorous, and I was right at the center of the economy. I could hear the news before anyone else and watch stock prices rise and fall in response. It was certainly an exciting place to work, but it felt to me like a bubble floating on the deep ocean of the economy. I wondered whether something was wrong with being able to make money so easily. I worked with the feeling that unless I moved closer to where the real economy operated, I would eventually pay the price.
Still carrying those feelings, and without really knowing what I was doing, I recklessly started a company on my own in New York in 2012.
Since then, I have worked with more than 70 executives and managers through coaching. Throughout that time, there is one question I have continued to consider: What does leadership mean for Japanese people?
As I raised my children in America, I became interested in the attitudes of American educators. After all, in America, leadership is taught starting in kindergarten. It is a world where everyone considers themselves a leader.
Leadership is not about imitating someone else’s methods or forcing yourself into a predetermined mold. It is about expressing what lies within each person in their own way. You do not have to carry everything on your shoulders alone. If you lack a particular strength, you can entrust that responsibility to someone who has it. And by drawing out other people’s ideas and potential through dialogue, leadership can become more natural, gentle, and simple. That is what I believe.
Writing a book has been a dream of mine for many years. It is not simply something I hope might happen someday, but something I am determined to accomplish during my lifetime. Recently, restarting my leadership training programs inspired me to give proper shape to the thoughts and ideas I have been developing and collecting over the years. So I have decided to begin putting them into words here, little by little.
In particular, I hope to share an approach to leadership with younger generations aspiring to become leaders and with women working in Japan—one that allows them to develop themselves at their own pace.
From now on, I will gradually share the insights I have gained through my training and coaching work. I hope you will join me on this journey.