World Cup Teams Prove This About Resilience

Leadership Lessons from the FIFA World Cup | Hope, Teamwork, Resilience & Human Connection

Welcome back to the Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Dora Mendez.

This is Part Two of our special World Cup-inspired series exploring how global events bring people together across cultures, generations, and communities.

In this episode, we reconnect with two returning Building Leadership Community guests, Dr. Lori Marie Huertas and Anisha Jennings, to reflect on leadership, teamwork, resilience, and what it means to stay grounded through both success and adversity.

Drawing inspiration from the FIFA World Cup, these conversations remind us that leadership extends far beyond titles and accomplishments. Whether you're leading a team, supporting your family, serving your community, or navigating your own growth journey, authentic leadership often begins with empathy, perseverance, and human connection.

Dr. Lori Marie Huertas shares reflections on hope, diversity, and authentic leadership, including her recent experience attending the soft opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Her perspective reminds us that some of the most powerful leadership lessons emerge when people from different backgrounds come together with a shared sense of purpose and possibility.

Anisha Jennings offers insights on resilience, leadership under pressure, and the role failure plays in growth. Drawing from the world of sports and her experience following the Indian Premier League (IPL), she reminds us that setbacks are not the end of the journey. Growth often comes from our willingness to learn, adapt, and keep moving forward.

If you missed Part One of this World Cup series, be sure to listen to that episode as well, featuring perspectives from members of our community including our children, Rocio Mendez, fight and intimacy director for theater, and Zenaida Mendez, author, activist, and public speaker.

Whether you're developing your leadership skills, building community, or looking for inspiration rooted in real-life experience, this episode offers practical lessons that can be applied both personally and professionally.

Key Takeaways

⚽ The Power of Connection
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas reflects on hope, empathy, diversity, and authentic leadership while sharing her experience visiting the Obama Presidential Center.

⚽ Leadership Through Humanity
Leadership is not only about influence. It is also about how we show up for others through empathy, kindness, and authentic connection.

⚽ Redefining Failure
Anisha Jennings explores why setbacks are part of growth and why quitting can become a greater obstacle than failure itself.

⚽ Leading Under Pressure
Both guests discuss the importance of staying grounded, leading by example, and supporting others during moments of challenge and uncertainty.

⚽ Resilience and Perseverance
Whether in sports, business, or life, resilience is built through consistency, recovery, and the willingness to keep showing up.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome & World Cup Inspiration

01:13 – Reconnecting with Past Building Leadership Community Guests

04:13 – Launching Your Voice: Entrepreneur's Podcast Blueprint

05:52 – Dr. Lori Marie Huertas on Hope, Leadership & Human Connection

07:44 – Diversity, Belonging & the Power of Coming Together

10:01 – Authentic Leadership, Empathy & Shared Humanity

11:09 – Reflections from the Obama Presidential Center

15:24 – Anisha Jennings on Leadership, Teamwork & Pressure

17:41 – What Failure Teaches Us About Growth

19:26 – Why Quitting Is the Real Failure

21:20 – Cricket, the Indian Premier League & Resilience

22:28 – Final Reflections & Closing

Guests Featured

Dr. Lori Marie Huertas

Leadership educator and returning Building Leadership Community guest sharing insights on hope, empathy, authentic leadership, and human connection.

Anisha Jennings

Entrepreneur, podcast host, and returning Building Leadership Community guest sharing perspectives on resilience, teamwork, pressure, and personal growth.

Resources & Organizations Mentioned

Obama Presidential Center
https://www.obamafoundation.org/the-center

Obama Foundation
https://www.obama.org

FIFA World Cup
https://www.fifa.com

Indian Premier League (IPL)
https://www.iplt20.com

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Podcast Consulting with Dylan K. Rogers

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About Building Leadership Community

Building Leadership Community exists to enrich People, Culture, Wellness, and Joy.

Season 3 serves as a leadership growth hub for professionals of color and allies seeking career advancement, executive presence, meaningful community, and sustainable human-centered leadership.

We believe you don't have to become someone else to grow. You simply need the right conversations, the right perspective, and the right support.

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Transcript

00;00;13;18 - 00;00;43;28
Coach Dora Mendez
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Building Leadership Community. I'm your host coach Dora Mendez. Today we're continuing a very special two part series inspired by something that is bringing people together across cultures, across language, across generations and across continents. The FIFA World Cup. If you haven't watched or listened to part one yet, I encourage you to check it out.

00;00;44;00 - 00;01;13;21
Coach Dora Mendez
That World Cup episode featured some very special voices from our community, including our children, my sister Rocio Mendez, a fight and intimacy director for the theater, and my mother, who's kicked off every season of this podcast tonight, a Mendez author, activist and public speaker. Together, we explore how the excitement of the World Cup can spark conversations about teamwork, leadership, inspiration and belonging.

00;01;13;23 - 00;01;49;21
Coach Dora Mendez
For part two, we wanted to reconnect with members of the Building Leadership Community podcast guests who have previously joined us and continue to inspire us through their work and their leadership. First, you'll hear from Dr. Lori Marie Huertas. Yeah. That the world does reflects on the power of bringing people together. She shares her experiences that reminded her how hope, empathy and authentic human connection can transcend differences.

00;01;49;23 - 00;02;24;06
Coach Dora Mendez
Her message is a powerful reminder that leadership isn't only about influence, it's about our humanity. Then you'll hear from Anisha Jennings, a fellow entrepreneur and podcast host. Anisha offers a thoughtful perspective on teamwork, resilience, and what failure can teach us. Her reflections remind us that great leaders, just like great athletes, learn how to recover, adapt, and keep moving forward even when things don't go according to plan.

00;02;24;08 - 00;02;48;25
Coach Dora Mendez
One of the things I love most about sports is that the lessons extend far beyond the field. Whether you're leading a team at work, supporting your family, serving your community, or pursuing a personal goal, there is something we can all learn about the discipline, the collaboration, the perseverance, and the courage we see on display during moments like the World Cup.

00;02;48;27 - 00;03;10;03
Coach Dora Mendez
So today, I invite you to listen not just as a fan of the game, but as a student of leadership. Let's dive into these conversations and explore how the spirit of the World Cup can inspire leadership and teamwork in our everyday lives. Roll credits.

00;03;10;05 - 00;03;35;12
Intro & Outro
Hello and welcome to Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Dora Mendez. I am the founder and CEO of Coach Dora LLC. Our guests will be entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders that drive social impact. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be.

00;03;35;15 - 00;03;52;12
Coach Dora Mendez
I'm your host Coach Dora Mendez, and if you're new to our channel, please make sure you hit, like, share and subscribe if you're watching us on YouTube. Help us out with our YouTube algorithm. And if you're listening on your favorite audio platform, don't forget to follow us, like us, and share it!

00;03;52;14 - 00;04;13;05
Coach Dora Mendez
Before we jump into today's episode, we've got something special for you. So if you ever listened and thought, how did I do this? Or could I start something like this to this episode is for you. Because here's the truth. Your voice, your story, your leadership perspective is unique. There is no one else like you, and it deserves a platform.

00;04;13;08 - 00;04;41;27
Coach Dora Mendez
And podcasting is one of the most powerful ways to build authority, community, and real opportunity. So before we dive in, we want to give you two simple ways to get started. You can, get started at your own pace and learn hands on from, our entrepreneur's Podcast blueprint, our step by step system to help you launch with clarity and confidence.

00;04;41;27 - 00;05;06;05
Coach Dora Mendez
For just $99, the link is in the description. And if you're thinking, I'd rather have an expert handle this for me or do it for me. You can work directly with our producer and editor, Dylan Rogers. And if you follow our show, you know that Dylan's my husband, aka, Building the Community. Producer. Dylan is my husband.

00;05;06;05 - 00;05;52;00
Coach Dora Mendez
And so for our clean, professional episode edits, to truly produce branded and even white glove podcast support where everything is handled for you can book call with Dylan by using the county link in the description to find the right fit for you and your budget. Either way, your podcast doesn't have to stay in idea. Now, let's dive into today's conversation.

00;05;52;02 - 00;06;20;19
Coach Dora Mendez
Hello. Thank you so much. We have Dr. Lori Marie Huertas with us? Here. And we reached out to all of our previous podcast guests because we were so inspired by the world coming together. For the World Cup. And, we didn't want to compete with the World Cup with the algorithm. So we decided to align our content this week and we reached out.

00;06;20;19 - 00;06;24;24
Coach Dora Mendez
And Dr. Huertas answered the call. How are you, Dr. Huertas?

00;06;24;26 - 00;06;33;14
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
It's so nice to talk to you again. And, thank you for reaching out. I'm proud of all the stuff that you're doing. Coach Dora.

00;06;33;16 - 00;06;59;04
Coach Dora Mendez
Thank you. Thank you. What an inspiration we continue to inspire. It's. This is a mutual admiration. First of all, here we really, truly admire each other. We follow each other's work. Yeah. And I, I really value your opinion. And, you've always had. You know, you're such a leader, dynamic leader. And we were just felt inspired to reach out and reconnect with past guests.

00;06;59;06 - 00;07;33;28
Coach Dora Mendez
And we love to hear your thoughts about how the World Cup here in the United States. I'm in I'm in New York, and here we have many matches happening here in the New York, new Jersey area and the whole world. It feels like the whole world is descending on our New York and just just the whole thrill of of all the diversity people from different countries, cultures, languages just coming together for an event.

00;07;34;00 - 00;07;44;04
Coach Dora Mendez
I love to hear your thoughts on, you know, leadership, teamwork and what it means to have the whole world, unite.

00;07;44;08 - 00;08;18;01
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
Yeah, I just honestly, I think it's such a beautiful thing, and your timing and reaching out to me is so powerful, so on Saturday, I was actually in Chicago. I was at the, soft opening of Obama Presidential Center. And in thinking of the World Cup, I was crying, so many times this, this on Saturday when I was there because just like you say, seeing people, everybody with hope.

00;08;18;03 - 00;08;46;20
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
Everybody just happy. Just seeing the diversity. And it really didn't matter. Like when I was there, what people's races were, what their ages were. Everybody was just, full of hope as we were looking at the different parts of the museum, hearing people speak in different languages, and I think of the World Cup, Dora. And it reminds me of when the Olympics was in Atlanta.

00;08;46;23 - 00;09;12;21
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
So when the Olympics was in Atlanta years ago, I actually went and I did go see a soccer match with Italy in the U.S. and my parents, which I may have mentioned on a previous episode. My parents passed away, but during the Olympics I was able to bring them, and I remember the way they did. It is you would get on a bus and the bus would take you to the different, like events.

00;09;12;21 - 00;09;35;09
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
I don't know if that's how they're doing it. In New York and on the bus you would hear the people speaking different languages. And I thought, I believe in God. And I was like, man, this must be what heaven is like, because everybody was like, happy. The like on the bus throughout the whole thing. And it didn't even matter that we didn't understand each other.

00;09;35;11 - 00;10;01;14
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
That human element kind of like even, you know, it's kind of sad to reminisce about 911, but I did go to New York after 911, about two weeks after, because, my ex and I, I had gotten him tickets to see Teacher Trinidad, which is a fighter, and they rescheduled the fight for a couple of weeks after 911.

00;10;01;14 - 00;10;26;05
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
And so we got to go. It had those two weeks after. And it was the same thing, like during those two weeks, it was just like every day was just overwhelming kindness and empathy. And I just think that and thinking about leadership, that's always the leader. And I know you're like this to Coach Dora, that I strive to be authentic, that authentic leadership.

00;10;26;05 - 00;10;34;24
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
And I think that's something that, very grateful that you have the World Cup so close to you, Dr. Huertas.

00;10;34;24 - 00;11;05;21
Coach Dora Mendez
Oh my goodness, I'm so happy you answered the call. I want to ask you more about the Obama Foundation, and I just I'm so, thank you for sharing that. And, talk about bringing unity and being a unifying force and leadership. I I'd love to, you know, be a tourist for a moment here and just ask you to share a little bit more.

00;11;05;21 - 00;11;09;15
Coach Dora Mendez
How did you get that opportunity? Like, I can't wait.

00;11;09;17 - 00;11;45;12
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
Yeah. So you, anyone could go? I think the official inauguration. If I'm not mistaken, is next week, so anybody can Google it or get on Linked In. And after the official inauguration, which I believe he's here, Michelle and him will speak at, then anybody can go to the museum, but it's very affordable to go. I was invited to the soft opening because on LinkedIn, when they started Building the, you know, working on the Building in the museum, you could subscribe so you can kind of see how it was going.

00;11;45;12 - 00;12;07;10
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
So I've been subscribed for years since they talked about doing this. And so I guess they randomly picked a couple people to go to the soft opening. So I was chosen. So I literally flew 5:00 in the morning from Denver, and went straight there. And I just stayed for the day. And then I flew back to Denver that night.

00;12;07;12 - 00;12;39;06
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
But from the moment the Uber dropped me off there on the outside of the Building is just when you look at the Building, you see all of those works, the those you see you see the work, but you also see all of these beautiful, encouraging motivational words like hope, kindness, leadership, like just all these great words embedded in the top of the Building when you're at the bottom and the Building is very tall, when you go inside the Building, it's eight storeys high.

00;12;39;06 - 00;13;00;26
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
But to get to each story, you take, escalators. And the bottom floor is basically it's it's a journey throughout his life from when he was born, when he, he's a child, just like the first floor. And then you go to the second floor, and I can't remember if it's the second or third, but one of the other floors is when he met Michelle Obama and how they met.

00;13;00;26 - 00;13;27;20
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
And you, you learn about their families, you learn about their history. You learn about the places that they lived. You just see their authenticity throughout. But as you're going through the museum, the people that work there are like super kind. The people walking around, and then they have elements where there's documentary movies, but then there's artifacts from real things, and then the culmination is at the top.

00;13;27;23 - 00;13;49;19
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
So at the top you see the whole entire city of Chicago, super gorgeous. And those words that I told you that you see from the bottom, those are actually the windows. So you're actually looking through the lens of hope. It's very symbolic from the top. And they have a replica of the white House and the Oval Office. I'll have to send you the picture where you could sit.

00;13;49;19 - 00;14;05;18
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
They have a professional photographer for free that takes a picture of you, and you sit behind the oval Office. And the whole purpose of that, there were like little kids and the people working there say, honey, you could sit there because maybe one day you'll be president.

00;14;05;20 - 00;14;36;14
Coach Dora Mendez
Oh my goodness, that is so amazing. Wow. So Dr. Huertas, its always a pleasure. You always share the best stories. You have such a versatile background and interests, but at the same time, we're so aligned when it comes to leadership, culture, diversity and what it means when the world comes together. So I want to thank you again so much for answering our call.

00;14;36;16 - 00;14;46;29
Coach Dora Mendez
Being inspired by, the world Uniting. Thank you so much, Dr. Huertas.

00;14;47;01 - 00;15;00;13
Dr. Lori Marie Huertas
Thank you so much for having me. And, you know, just continued success and thanks for making a difference and just reminding the listeners that there is a lot of good still going on in the world. So thank you.

00;15;00;15 - 00;15;24;06
Coach Dora Mendez
Thank you. Yay.

00;15;24;08 - 00;15;59;13
Coach Dora Mendez
Hi, Anisha. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for answering the call on this very special Building leadership Community podcast. So we are thinking about the World Cup here in our house. I think we share with you our son is counting down the days. He's nine. He has his favorite players. He's loving it. And we realize that, that energy, that excitement is happening, you know, all around the USA.

00;15;59;15 - 00;16;15;05
Coach Dora Mendez
And we wanted to, get your thoughts on leadership and what the the games and the diversity of culture, what it means for leadership, sportsmanship, team dynamics. And I'd love to hear your thoughts.

00;16;15;07 - 00;16;41;23
Anisha Jennings
Oh, hi Dora, thank you so much for thinking of me. And, you know, giving us this opportunity. And yes, the World Cup or, any, any game brings so much energy. And there's the, the work that you need to put in when you are in this, at this level of, team playing and, you know, you're trying to win.

00;16;41;26 - 00;17;12;27
Anisha Jennings
But you're also wanting to have fun and not burn out. It takes so much, to be consistent, to go to the practices, to make sure you're in the right mindset. And also for the coach who is leading the team. It's so much pressure. And I feel like leadership for me is, you know, when you're able to, lead by example, you're able to stay calm even under so much pressure, which is so hard.

00;17;12;29 - 00;17;41;06
Anisha Jennings
And it's also one of those things where like people are looking up to you, like your team is looking up to you as to like, you know, leading them, towards victory. So that's, that's a lot for one person to hold. So to be able to handle that with grace and not let it get to your head and at the same time, like, move this team or this crowd towards victory, it's a lot.

00;17;41;06 - 00;18;09;21
Anisha Jennings
So, it comes down to personality, how you handle failures, which is so important. Because you could fail in one game, but then, you know, if you're moving up, you could still win the next. So how you handle failures, how you're able to handle your physical stress, strength and also mental both play a huge role. And, to be able to handle that gracefully.

00;18;09;23 - 00;18;12;17
Anisha Jennings
I think that's what leadership means to me.

00;18;12;20 - 00;18;43;06
Coach Dora Mendez
I really appreciate that perspective. So I think what I'm hearing from you is that failure is a part of you know, being a good sportsman. I'm not a big on sports analogy. I don't personally play sports either, but I can. But the lessons, yes, from watching and, witnessing. While I'm not a big sports person whenever it comes to big games, you know, the Super Bowl.

00;18;43;09 - 00;19;06;19
Coach Dora Mendez
Yes. The, what whatever. There's some history making games that I just had to watch. And whatever sports it is, whatever sport it is, just because I know history is going to be made. And when you get to that level, the elite athletes, you got to watch it. And it's just been so amazing to witness a lot of these history making events.

00;19;06;26 - 00;19;26;04
Coach Dora Mendez
Yes, for sure. They bring the world together in the culture. And I just love your commentary on failure. Yes. Like you've got to be, fearless in a sense. So any other insights you like to share about failure? And, you know, you have to take a chance.

00;19;26;06 - 00;19;54;26
Anisha Jennings
Yes, yes. And I feel like with, nowadays, like, you know, failure was basically looked at. Okay. I have tried and it has not worked out. But if you quit, that's when you actually fail. Failure is not failure on its own. But what if you do quit from trying? That's when it's failure for. So I'm, I come from India, where cricket is huge and we just had our IPL playoffs.

00;19;54;26 - 00;20;22;24
Anisha Jennings
And that state that I come from, Bangalore were in the finals, so they had not won the IPL for years and years and years. But they kept going. They were consistent and they won two years back to back. So I feel like quitting is the biggest failure. So you just keep trying, get up again and it's okay to fail because some people are like, oh, I have to win.

00;20;22;26 - 00;20;41;16
Anisha Jennings
I'm not talking in sports context, but I'm talking about my son, for example. He's like, I don't want to fail. I want to win all the time. But that's a great attitude to have that you want to win all the time, but if you do fail, don't get so discouraged that you quit and don't try at all.

00;20;41;16 - 00;20;46;24
Anisha Jennings
So to me, failure is basically quitting and not trying.

00;20;46;27 - 00;21;13;25
Coach Dora Mendez
Thank you for sharing that perspective. And I think, that perspective works in any context, whether it's at work in life. Your son, like my son, is a winner. They really have a hard time dealing with failure. But, yeah, I think it's our job as moms to, help them through that. And so thank you, Anisha, for sharing your perspective.

00;21;13;25 - 00;21;20;12
Coach Dora Mendez
And can for someone who doesn't know cricket, can you just tell me what IPL is?

00;21;20;15 - 00;21;22;14
Anisha Jennings
It's the Indian Premier League.

00;21;22;17 - 00;21;47;06
Coach Dora Mendez
Indian Premier League, I love that. Well, I feel so educated. Just in a few seconds that not only do I feel, that I appreciate your perspective on leadership and failure and teamwork and what it really means, to fail is to quit. And, by failure is actually a good thing. It helps us figure out how to course correct.

00;21;47;12 - 00;22;11;23
Coach Dora Mendez
And I also, I learned a lot. Now, I didn't know that about cricket. I didn't know what that was. So thank you so much for helping for for being a member of this community of Building leadership community. You've always been such a wonderful guest. We're going to make sure we share this, your, your links in our show notes and just thank you again, Anisha, for sharing that perspective on my pleasure.

00;22;11;25 - 00;22;12;05
Coach Dora Mendez
Yeah.

00;22;12;06 - 00;22;15;02
Anisha Jennings
Thank you for the opportunity I appreciate it.

00;22;15;05 - 00;22;28;20
Coach Dora Mendez
Thank you. Anisha for this very special Building Leadership Community podcast episode. And with the World Cup lessons, we can learn about leadership. Thank you.

00;22;28;22 - 00;22;58;01
Intro & Outro
You've been listening to Building Leadership Community. Watch on YouTube @CoachDoraM. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts, follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube @CoachDoraM. Visit me on the web at CoachDoraMendez.com. Hosted by me, Dora Mendez. Produced by Dora Mendez and Dylan Rogers. Graphics, editing, and sound mixing by Dylan Rogers.