
Ei x Shell: Emotional Inclusion In Action
01/26/23 • 53 min
Lyn Lee
Lynn is the first global Asian female Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer to execute her job out of Asia for Shell. In terms of DE&I, Shell has a bold goal to become one of the most diverse and inclusive organizations in the world. With 20 years and counting at Shell, Lyn champions the DE&I priorities, focusing very much on accelerating the progress of gender balance in senior leadership and stem roles, ethnicity and local national representation.
Lyn is passionate and committed to driving workplace inclusion of people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and promoting care and destigmatizing mental illness. She represents Shell as a company which embraces a diverse global workforce to build a strong culture of inclusion, respect and high performance.
Insights from this episode:
- DE&I
- Differentiation of Emotional Inclusion and Psychological Safety
- Stories and human connection
- Mental Illness and seeking professional help
- Respect and empathy
- Emotionally inclusive leadership
- Mental health illnesses and medical care and treatment
- Leadership tips
- Shell’s “I’m Not OK” initiative (to promote open and honest conversations about mental health)
Quotes from the show:
- “Inclusion, I think for me it’s really feeling that you are part of that ecosystem, that when I go to work I know that I will be supported. It’s about knowing that I’ll be valued for my contributions and that I’ll be valued for the person that I am. So when I go to work I feel safe. And being able to be myself, I can thrive.” - Lyn Lee
- “Emotional inclusion for me would mean that no matter who I am that day, whether I'm having a good or bad time, that I can feel almost that the people that I work with have my back.” - Lyn Lee
- “Psychological safety is really being in an arena that allows you to be safe whilst Emotional inclusion really is about the ability to bring your full self at work with the emotionality component that we all have ingrained within all of us.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “All of us have a story and when we share that, we connect people because we all have at some fundamental level, we all need that connection; the ability to hear other people’s stories so that it gives us a voice as well to tell our stories.” - Lyn Lee
- “People really need to hear that navigating or going through difficulty is not an end-all and be-all and that we can survive it all, and we can also still be able to have a career.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “You have all these vented emotions that you are carrying, worries that you are carrying, and all of these add to an emotional burden and that burden is heavy. It’s heavy unless you share it, unless someone is able to give you feedback. And that’s actually what’s needed in a major crisis like that in terms of dealing with mental health challenges.” - Lyn Lee
- “Company leadership plays such an important role in creating an environment where employees have the chance to take time off to care for themselves and where worker well-being is really emphasized.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “For companies to truly put mental health at the centerfold of their agendas, really understanding the full scope of our employees’ humanity both the physical and the mental, and really looking at insurances too or allocated budget, to care for our employees mental welfare because as we know mind and body are so interconnected.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “The first thing that is the most difficult is having the ability to talk about this [mental health]. This is the most important. This is the start to recovery, the start to being better, the start to gaining back yourself.” - Lyn Lee
Stay connected:
Lyn Lee
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyn-lee-981ba03/
Emotional inclusion
https://www.emotionalinclusion.com/
https://www.instagram.com/emotional_inclusion/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/emotional-inclusion/
Lyn Lee
Lynn is the first global Asian female Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer to execute her job out of Asia for Shell. In terms of DE&I, Shell has a bold goal to become one of the most diverse and inclusive organizations in the world. With 20 years and counting at Shell, Lyn champions the DE&I priorities, focusing very much on accelerating the progress of gender balance in senior leadership and stem roles, ethnicity and local national representation.
Lyn is passionate and committed to driving workplace inclusion of people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and promoting care and destigmatizing mental illness. She represents Shell as a company which embraces a diverse global workforce to build a strong culture of inclusion, respect and high performance.
Insights from this episode:
- DE&I
- Differentiation of Emotional Inclusion and Psychological Safety
- Stories and human connection
- Mental Illness and seeking professional help
- Respect and empathy
- Emotionally inclusive leadership
- Mental health illnesses and medical care and treatment
- Leadership tips
- Shell’s “I’m Not OK” initiative (to promote open and honest conversations about mental health)
Quotes from the show:
- “Inclusion, I think for me it’s really feeling that you are part of that ecosystem, that when I go to work I know that I will be supported. It’s about knowing that I’ll be valued for my contributions and that I’ll be valued for the person that I am. So when I go to work I feel safe. And being able to be myself, I can thrive.” - Lyn Lee
- “Emotional inclusion for me would mean that no matter who I am that day, whether I'm having a good or bad time, that I can feel almost that the people that I work with have my back.” - Lyn Lee
- “Psychological safety is really being in an arena that allows you to be safe whilst Emotional inclusion really is about the ability to bring your full self at work with the emotionality component that we all have ingrained within all of us.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “All of us have a story and when we share that, we connect people because we all have at some fundamental level, we all need that connection; the ability to hear other people’s stories so that it gives us a voice as well to tell our stories.” - Lyn Lee
- “People really need to hear that navigating or going through difficulty is not an end-all and be-all and that we can survive it all, and we can also still be able to have a career.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “You have all these vented emotions that you are carrying, worries that you are carrying, and all of these add to an emotional burden and that burden is heavy. It’s heavy unless you share it, unless someone is able to give you feedback. And that’s actually what’s needed in a major crisis like that in terms of dealing with mental health challenges.” - Lyn Lee
- “Company leadership plays such an important role in creating an environment where employees have the chance to take time off to care for themselves and where worker well-being is really emphasized.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “For companies to truly put mental health at the centerfold of their agendas, really understanding the full scope of our employees’ humanity both the physical and the mental, and really looking at insurances too or allocated budget, to care for our employees mental welfare because as we know mind and body are so interconnected.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “The first thing that is the most difficult is having the ability to talk about this [mental health]. This is the most important. This is the start to recovery, the start to being better, the start to gaining back yourself.” - Lyn Lee
Stay connected:
Lyn Lee
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyn-lee-981ba03/
Emotional inclusion
https://www.emotionalinclusion.com/
https://www.instagram.com/emotional_inclusion/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/emotional-inclusion/
Previous Episode

Ei x AXA : Mental Health & Insurances with Gordon Watson
Gordon Watson
He is the CEO for AXA Asia, an experienced and energetic leader with a strong track record of delivering results. He is also a member of the group’s management committee. Gordon’s career in the insurance industry spans more than 30 years, including as regional CEO for AIA, as well as leading the group’s corporate solutions, partnership distribution, and AIA Vitality businesses from 2011 to 2017; he was also regional president for AIG Life in Japan and Korea from 2008 to 2010. He has held many key senior roles based out of London, New York, Nairobi, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong. Gordon holds an MBA from the University of Hull in the UK and is a fellow of the UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute and the Society of Marketing. He is also the founding chair of Shared Value Project (SVP) in Hong Kong, where he works with private companies to tackle social issues.
Insights from this episode:
- Mental health visibility
- Ethisphere Institute & One Mind
- Mental health Index of best practices for companies’ self assessment
- Creating mental health culture in companies
- Leaders’ role and responsibility in mental health company practices
- Sustainability of mental health practices in companies
- Inclusion of mental health in Insurances
Quotes from the show:
- “Each person, to be all you can be in a company needs to come in, needs to bring the best of themselves to work and be able to thrive there.” - Gordon Watson
- “For me as a CEO, we want high performance, but people need to come in and they need to feel comfortable that they can thrive.” - Gordon Watson
- “If you really get mental health culture right, it should be robust and strong enough for everyone.” - Gordon Watson
- “How can we create an overall robust mental health culture that really allows employees to bring the best of themselves to work everyday no matter who they are and really have a meritocracy and a team that supports each other?” - Gordon Watson
- “We really have the moral obligation to look beyond and exercise deep awareness in that realm because a lot can be hidden behind a smile.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “Emotional inclusion, it’s really all about the doing because inclusion is an action.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “There is such a stigma behind mental health but we need to be walking our talk in making ripples of change and allowing there to be a work landscape for the generations to come where they can truly bring their full selves at work.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “Unless we see employee mental well-being through a medical lens, it cannot be sustainable.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “If you look after the mental health of your employees it’s going to affect your business in a very positive way; morale, engagement, etc.” - Gordon Watson
Stay connected:
Gordon Watson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordontwatson/
Emotional inclusion
https://www.emotionalinclusion.com/
Next Episode

Ei x Alignment with Hortense Le Gentil
Hortense Le Gentil
Hortense is a global executive leadership coach and the author of the widely applauded “Aligned: Connecting Your True Self with the Leader You’re Meant to Be.” She works with CEOs and other senior executives around the world to help them lead with authenticity and close the gap between the leader they are and the leader they want to be. She is a certified Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder CenteredTM coach and part of MG100 Coaches. Hortense’s executive coaching is informed by her 30 years in business, working across a number of industries—including media consulting, advertising, and entrepreneurship. She has been working on and delivering executive leadership programs at various Fortune 500 companies and for CEO Perspectives. She is ranked #5 on the Global Gurus list by World Management Global Gurus and was a 2021 nominee of the Thinkers 50 Coaching and Mentoring Awards. She is a contributor to Harvard Business Review and ThriveGlobal.com. Her thought-leadership has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Inc. and Business Insider.
Insights from this episode:
- Workplace cultural differences
- Being aligned and connected with oneself
- Different roles as a leader
- Fears within the workplace
- Limitations and mind traps
- Improving connection with your team
- Leadership vs Management
Quotes from the show:
- “How you can get aligned is to take the time to reflect, and to think about what is important for you; what drives you, what gives you energy, how you want to be remembered as a leader.” - Hortense Le Gentil
- “We have gained the awareness that breathing more humanity within our workplace is direly needed, and that has of course shifted how leaders themselves lead as a consequence.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “The concept of alignment and unlocking yourself is really to free yourself from what’s holding you back to be who you are and the leader you really can be.” - Hortense Le Gentil
- “Emotions are really the gateway to each other’s humanness in so many ways.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “In fact emotion, empathy, it’s really the way to connect with people.” - Hortense Le Gentil
- “Showcasing our humanness, our emotional realms if you will, doesn’t mean being on full display talking about and verbalizing every single emotion. But it’s about showing up as our true authentic selves and saying “It’s okay to be human. It’s safe to be human.” - Mollie Jean De Dieu
- “Everything begins with you. With your emotions, with who you are, who you want to be, how you want to show up, how you want to be remembered.” - Hortense Le Gentil
Stay connected:
Hortense Le Gentil
Emotional inclusion
https://www.emotionalinclusion.com/
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