“Walk the talk, and always aim for excellence,” is what Rudynah “Dynah” Entera Capone, a Cebuana participant of the LEAD LSU leadership program, always likes to say.
And that is exactly what she is doing.
The LEAD LSU, formerly known as “LEAD…EMERGE”, is a development program offered to high performing employees of the Louisiana State University with demonstrated great potential in becoming effective leaders.
The program aims to gather LSU’s emerging leaders and have them engage in a combination of individual and group experiential exercises and class projects that will enhance their level of knowledge, skills, and ability to become leaders who can inspire, influence and achieve results. The program is open to all employees but the final list of participants was created after a careful selection process.
Capone has a remarkable resume with 19 years of combined experience in public sector leadership, tri-media and public relations, marketing, strategic communications, and transportation safety program management. She is considered an instrumental figure in the framing of a successful regional safety coordinator role model, especially in a male-dominated transportation world and her skills, along with her trait of taking initiative, have allowed her to help more people.
Looking back, she shares her humble beginnings growing up in Cebu City, Philippines, in a big family of eight with her father having to work two jobs to make ends meet while her mother stayed home to take care of six kids. She didn’t have many toys but she was a happy kid enjoying homegrown Pinoy games such as bato lata, syatong, dampa, biko, Chinese garter and tubig tubig.
“We weren’t sheltered, but we had great memories of walking to school, going to church on Sundays, and having birthday cakes because Papa worked as a baker back then,” she shared. But she worked hard to achieve her dreams. She studied Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication Major in Broadcasting at the University of San Jose-Recoletos and graduated as Magna Cum Laude.
Capone has always been an achiever and she has been active in various fields other than the media. While working as a Press Release and Features Writer for local newspaper Sun Star Cebu for 4 years, she was also a professional emcee for events. She also served as a Project Coordinator of Cebu Visitors and Convention Bureau for a year. She established and managed Art Dynamics Cebu for 3 years where she piloted the Personality Development Avenue (PDA) program, which was an integrated confidence-building program in public speaking, modeling, dance and vocal music for attendees of ages ranging from 4-25 years old.
In early 2009, Capone moved to Louisiana to start a new life. She shared how it was difficult starting over in America. She was given an opportunity to interview for a legislative assistant position, but didn’t get the job. Instead, the employer recommended for her to work for South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC) because he thought she had so much potential that she deserved to start somewhere. There, she worked temporarily as a hurricane program survey reviewer and later as a full-time Regional Highway Safety Planner and Coalition Coordinator.
“It was interesting that I landed in this field because, first of all, I didn’t know how to drive when I first set foot in Louisiana. I would always take the jeepneys and cabs (even tartanilla) while I was in Cebu,” answered Capone when asked how she got into the transportation field. She also added that another reason why she found it interesting is because the field is dominated by engineers, mostly males. SDPC offered her the break she had been praying for in the six months of struggling to find work and she believed she had an opportunity to shine again.
Capone is great at what she does and all the skills she has acquired from her experiences has enabled her to become a professional regarded as an emerging leader at LSU. Working as a Safety Initiatives Manager at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center at the time, she was nominated by her boss and was picked to be among the 20 participants out of 65 nominees for the LEAD LSU 2018.
According to Capone, the LEAD program ran for six months, from January to August 2018. They met once a month and attended full-day sessions by different speakers who are experts on topics such as “Self-Awareness using Emergenetics”, “Developing and Executing Your Highest Priorities”, “Leading Teams”, “Developing Emotional Intelligence”, “Developing and Outward Mindset”, “Building Presentations”, and “Diversity and Inclusion.” On the last day, they finished with a campus cleanup as a legacy project and a graduation ceremony honoring all the LEAD fellows.
Capone described the program as “a rewarding but very humbling experience.” She was able to share her points of view as an immigrant and as a leader with a different cultural background. During the “Diversity and Inclusion” in particular, she shared her story about her immigration journey and perspectives about discrimination, including how she have been stereotyped by a few people (including people she was close with), saying that she was only there for the green card. She was also able to showcase her public speaking expertise during the “Building Presentations” session.
“I found the experience to be a reminder that we shouldn’t stop learning, and that we should always seek out opportunities to advance ourselves. That was why I was so adamant about finishing my MPA,” she stated. And she did.
After persevering having to take night classes and working full-time while taking care of a toddler son Enzo and being a wife to her high school teacher husband Drew for almost 3 years, she graduated last May 2019 and with a 4.0 GPA and earned her Master’s Degree, fulfilling her overdue dream.
Capone shared how after the program, other than gaining friendships with fellow leaders, she has also learned the skills of managing her emotions better and leading teams with an outward mindset and selfless attitude.
“Leaders must learn how to see others as people and not as objects. We should look after their needs and challenges, not just our own personal goals and aspirations,” she stated.
She expressed how she has become more embracive of leadership development and continuing education opportunities. She signed up as a member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD) which immediately gave her an opportunity to attend the national conference in Washington D.C., where Oprah Winfrey was a keynote speaker.
“Did you know it was my high school dream to see her in person? Voila, 22 years later, it became a reality through ATD. I also sought out ways to capitalize on the use of digital marketing technologies to produce great informational pieces. I have just signed up to undergo the Adobe Creative Design Certification program, which I’ll start attending next month,” she stated.
The LEAD leadership program also puts focus on personal development and Capone shares how it has helped her personal life.
“I have learned how to become less emotional when it comes to dealing with work issues and challenges. Leaders must be equipped with great emotional intelligence in order to manage people, resources and conflict more effectively,” she stated.
It has also encouraged her to take care of herself better and so she decided to change her lifestyle, including her diet and exercise plan. She started prepping her meals and signed up for kickboxing, which made her look and feel a lot healthier.
“I saw life as being just working and paying the bills. I used to be such a workaholic, so now I find ways to spend quality time with my family and giving myself a relaxing incentive for sanity’s sake. I have learned how to withdraw myself from toxic situations and choosing my own battles while handling professional and personal tasks,” she added.
The program has also strengthened her advocacy about communication being a critical element of leadership. Capone shared how one can be naturally charismatic and highly skilled but the lack of effective communication could challenge one’s stances in driving success.
It is important for leaders to communicate effectively in order to engage followers in an interactive manner so that influence can come naturally.
“Leadership is a fusion of relationships and processes. I see my fellow workers as collaborators, not as bosses or subordinates. Leadership isn’t just about your magnetic personality or social network. Neither is it about the title nor the tenure. It even goes beyond just eloquence and confidence in presenting your ideals and influencing others to work together toward the same goal. It’s about being determined to drive results, being compassionate with others, and being an advocate of a safe and inclusive work environment for everyone,” she added.
Capone stressed how important it is for leadership training programs such as this one to be conducted for “just like losing weight, to be an effective leader isn’t acquired overnight. It should be a lifestyle, a continuing process.”
Capone has recently just transitioned over to a new functional role as the Innovation and Technology Transfer Manager for the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) at the LTRC, where she is responsible for the development and implementation of LTAP’s
Communications Plan.
Capone is undoubtedly a role model for all Filipinos and all the work she has done has made her into someone that her fellow countrymen can be proud of and look up to.
Her advice to all those who wish to move up the ladder of success and be someone who can create change is to lead with humility, speak with tact, and act with kindness. One should seek out and take advantage of opportunities.
It’s important to learn from these and put them into practice. Like she always says, “Walk the talk, and always aim for excellence.”
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