Taking Time to Enjoy the View at Global Network Week
On a weeklong exchange in Sydney, Australia, Janine Jelks-Seale ’27 learned how leaders can apply perspective in moments of tension at work.
One lesson that kept resurfacing throughout Global Network Week in Sydney, Australia, was deceptively simple: Take time to enjoy the view.
Earlier in my Yale SOM EMBA journey, I completed a character assessment and learned that my top strength was “perspective.” At the time, I appreciated the result, but I did not fully appreciate how often that theme would reappear throughout my EMBA experience. During Global Network Week, hosted by the University of New South Wales Business School, I found myself returning to that idea again and again. Whether it was walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunrise, enjoying a behind-the-scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House, overlooking Bondi Beach, or reflecting after a company visit, I was reminded that perspective is not only about what we see. It is about how we interpret and learn from our observations.
The academic centerpiece of the week was the Crisis and Issues Leadership course taught by Ben Pronk. A former Australian Special Forces officer, Ben brought an authenticity and practicality to the classroom that immediately resonated with me. One framework that particularly stood out was the Cynefin Framework, which emphasizes that before deciding how to act, leaders must first understand the nature of the environment in which they are operating. Some situations are predictable and have established solutions; others are complex, ambiguous, and constantly evolving. The framework reinforced an important lesson: Effective leadership is not always about having the answer. Often, it involves developing the situational awareness, judgment, and adaptability needed to navigate uncertainty. In many ways, the framework felt like a leadership application of perspective. Strong leaders know when to zoom in on the immediate problem and when to step back and understand the broader context before acting.
The course also reinforced themes that have surfaced throughout my SOM journey: resilience, self-care, perspective, and gratitude. Ben’s book The Resilience Shield provided a useful reminder that resilience is not simply about enduring challenges. It is built through intentional attention to our physical, mental, social, and purpose-driven well-being. While these ideas were not entirely new to me, I found it valuable to revisit them through the lens of leadership under pressure and organizational crisis. Our discussions reinforced that resilience is not built in the middle of a crisis. It is developed through the habits, relationships, and mindset developed before uncertainty arises.
What surprised me most was how quickly we were asked to put our learning into practice. The media training simulation we worked on during the course exceeded my expectations, feeling remarkably real for a classroom exercise. After learning principles for communicating during a crisis, we were immediately placed in the hot seat and challenged to apply them under pressure. There was little time to overthink. The exercise required us to process new information, make decisions, maintain credibility, and communicate clearly while fielding difficult and unexpected questions. It occupied that perfect space between discomfort and growth: As I worked, the feeling of “I’m not ready for this” gradually gave way to “I can do this.” By the end, I felt more capable and confident than I would have believed only hours earlier. It was one of the most memorable examples of experiential learning that I have encountered in the EMBA program.
The experience also connected with lessons from an earlier EMBA workshop I attended, Laurie Santos’s Science of Happiness: Strategies for Feeling Better in Challenging Times. One of her central messages is that experiences create more lasting happiness than possessions, and that meaningful social connections are among the strongest predictors of well-being. Global Network Week brought those ideas to life.
The relationships I developed with fellow executive MBA students from around the world were perhaps the most meaningful part of the experience. Some of the most memorable moments happened during coffee breaks, group dinners, and bus rides. In just a few days, friendships formed that felt surprisingly genuine. My global network has expanded in a very real way. I now have invitations to visit classmates in countries around the world, and I have enthusiastically extended the same invitation in return.
The experience also reinforced something unique about SOM’s EMBA community. Global Network Week builds connections on three levels: with EMBAs from partner schools, with faculty and industry experts, and with your own classmates. We joked that we had the opportunity to meet “Vacation Donovan,” a version of a classmate that does not always emerge during the intense cadence of academic weekends. Seeing my cohort proudly wearing our custom t-shirts, carrying a Yale flag, and sharing authentic joy reminded me how special this community has become. It also reminded me that some of the deepest relationships are formed outside the classroom, where conversations can continue at a different pace and people have the opportunity to share more of themselves.
Another unexpected part of the experience was how I used AI in preparing for the journey. One thing I am learning in my EMBA program is that AI can be leveraged as more than a tool; it can also serve as a collaborator. Together, we refined itineraries, debated tradeoffs between adventure and relaxation, and optimized for a trip that felt uniquely tailored to me. That planning included a personal trip to Fiji before arriving in Sydney, where I took time to recharge, zip-line through the rainforest, and explore a part of the world I had never visited before. It was a practical example of how emerging technologies can enhance decision-making without replacing human judgment.
Gratitude was the emotion I experienced most frequently throughout the trip. The course discussions on resilience and well-being encouraged me to reflect on how rarely we stop to appreciate where we are while we are in the middle of the journey. I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in a program that is such a strong fit for me, grateful for the chance to travel the world, grateful for the friendships that deepened along the way, grateful for the flexibility to step away from work, and grateful that I gave myself permission to invest in both growth and renewal. Taking time to appreciate those experiences felt like another expression of perspective: not simply pursuing the next achievement, but recognizing and valuing the moment I was already living.
Global Network Week can be many things to many people. For me, it was an opportunity to expand my perspective, strengthen my global network, challenge myself as a leader, and deepen my connection with my Yale classmates. Most importantly, it was a reminder that sometimes the best thing a leader can do is pause, take in the view, and appreciate how far they have come before deciding where to go next.
