How Identity Influenced a Managing Partner's Career at LoveMore Group
Alex's spiritual identity, a "greater touch with...the universe," significantly shapes their career, influencing actions from mindful email management to founding a wellness club during MBA studies and incorporating this practice into a startup, the Thought Lounge. This holistic approach emphasizes "absorptive capacity" and emotional vulnerability to foster deep relationships and identify opportunities, demonstrating a unique integration of spirituality and business.
Mindfulness, Spirituality in the Workplace, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Wellness
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Alex Cramer
Managing Partner
LoveMore Group
UC Berkeley, 2015
UCLA Anderson School of Management (MBA)
Mathematics, Data Science, Statistics
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Strategic Management and Executive
Video Highlights
1. Alex's integration of spirituality into their professional life, emphasizing the importance of presence and mindfulness in navigating the demands of a career.
2. Their experience in founding a wellness and yoga club during their MBA program, highlighting the value of incorporating wellness practices into the workplace.
3. Alex's belief in the power of absorptive capacity and emotional intelligence, suggesting that cultivating mindfulness and vulnerability leads to deeper relationships and greater opportunities in the workplace.
Transcript
What part of your unique identity has impacted the way you navigate your career the most?
Since I was a kid, my mantra was about being aware and present. Even as a young child, people often thought kids couldn't understand much. My personal mantra was more of a positive affirmation, like "this is what really makes me me."
I would say, "I am aware. I'm here, right now, in this moment." I've always seen the importance of developing a deeper connection with the universe. You can call it God, the Creator, or whatever you wish.
The piece of my identity that has carried into my work has been a spiritual one. I don't see things as separate. I think many in the millennial or Gen Z generations tend to compartmentalize, but I don't believe it's truly possible. You can't think solely with your head or feel only with your heart.
You can't be purely intellectual in business or purely emotional in spirituality and your family life. It just doesn't work. That approach doesn't resonate with me.
So, I believe that part of my identity has been about bringing that sense of spirituality into my work, though not always directly. I think a lot of it requires indirectness. It happens through every action, through every part of the day.
For example, when I'm sitting at my computer, I prepare myself to face emails. I aim to be present enough with each one to create an action that saves time, helps others, and moves things forward meaningfully. Even if it's the difficult task, I try to approach it with this mindset.
Maintaining that practice throughout my work is important. I'm still on that path, of course, but I try my best. That's the main thing.
When I was at UCLA pursuing my MBA, we founded the Wellness and Yoga Club. I brought in the wellness aspect and invited teachers who were general and accepting of different religions and practices. The goal was to explore that aspect, like bringing silence into the workplace.
Often, the workplace is focused on speaking, putting forward ideas, and doing. Instead, I advocate for an open, absorptive capacity. Developing that is where Eureka moments truly come from, and where deep relationships are formed.
Learning to connect with the emotional and vulnerable allows you to sense when something is off or when a real opportunity arises. I haven't shied away from that in my work. With the startup "Thought Lounge," which I mentioned earlier, that effort more directly bridged that practice in the workspace. That's the part of my identity that has influenced my work.