Empowering Asian American Leaders to Get the Recognition, Respect, and Rewards They Deserve

I help Asian American leaders and executives crack the inner game — so they can communicate powerfully, speak with authority, and finally be seen for the work they've always done.

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Empowering Asian American Leaders to Get the Recognition, Respect, and Rewards They Deserve

I help Asian American leaders and executives crack the inner game — so they can communicate powerfully, speak with authority, and finally be seen for the work they've always done.

Work With Me

Take the Quiz

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Only 9% of senior vice presidents and 5% of C-suite executives at large U.S. organizations are Asian American (McKinsey, 400 companies surveyed)

Research consistently shows that Asian professionals are rated highly on competence but low on assertiveness, the single trait most strongly linked to leadership selection in American organizations. A generation of high-performers doing exceptional work, going unrecognized.

And the reasons run deep. Professionals raised in collectivist, high-context cultures are conditioned to lead with humility, defer to hierarchy, and let results speak for themselves. Those instincts are genuine strengths until they meet a workplace that rewards self-advocacy, directness, and visible leadership.

This isn't an individual problem. It's a cultural and structural one.

Hard work gets results. Visible work gets recognition.

Learn How I Can Help

About John

I knows the heavy burden of high expectations, growing up in a traditional Asian household where success was everything. This pressure led to burnout, imposter syndrome, and constant people-pleasing. After hitting rock bottom, I broke free from these self-sabotaging patterns, redefining success on his own terms.

For over 15 years, John has helped high-achieving Asian Americans overcome similar struggles, empowering them to unlock their potential and break generational patterns.

With 240,000+ followers on TikTok, TEDx talks, and the Big Asian Energy podcast, John’s mission is to inspire a new generation to lead with confidence. His book Big Asian Energy, launched May 2025 (Tiny Reparations/Penguin Randomhouse Publishing), and offers even more tools to step into your full power.

Learn How I Can Help

About John

I spent years coaching Asian American professionals from Google, Apple, Amazon, and Goldman Sachs — watching brilliant people get passed over for positions they were more than qualified for. And then I started seeing my own patterns underneath it.

I grew up in a traditional Asian household where success meant everything. My mother literally wrote books on parenting — I was on magazine covers at age five. I did everything I was supposed to do. And by 30, I'd burned out so completely that my body started shutting down while I was on stage.

That's when I realized the patterns I was coaching my clients through were the same ones running me. We'd all been handed the same operating system — one that was brilliant for survival and terrible for visibility.

Now I help people rewrite it. Not by becoming someone else. By understanding why they became the version they are — and choosing what comes next.

Read My Story

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How I Can Help

Own the Room

Learn to communicate with confidence, set boundaries without guilt, and speak with authority in the rooms that matter. A program designed for Asian American professionals ready to close the gap between what they know they're capable of and what others see.

Join the Waitlist

Bring John to Your Organization

Keynotes, workshops, and team trainings built around the ACE Framework — a research-backed system for understanding why high-performing Asian employees get overlooked for leadership, and giving them the tools to close that gap. Different from any DEI talk your team has heard.

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Leadership Coaching

For senior professionals ready for a private, intensive partnership. We go beyond communication tactics to the cultural and generational patterns underneath — so the shifts you make are real, lasting, and visible to the people around you.

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Creating Transformations

"I reached out because I'm a fan. I wish you could've been my coach 25 years ago.

My career would have been easier. I'm recommending this book to everybody. It's so well researched. It's written with so much heart and so much positive intention. It's easy for people to talk about the problems."

- Vicky Tsai, Founder and CEO of Tatcha

"Absolutely LOVING this book! Required reading for AAPI

and anyone who feels like they want to be more effective and confident."

- Vicky Nguyen, NBC News Anchor & Correspondent, Author of Boat Baby

"John’s ability to dive deep and offer actually tangible, easy-to-use advice

while sharing deep and relatable stories makes Big Asian Energy such an essential read. If you’ve ever felt tired about being asked ‘Why are you so quiet?’ this is the book for you.

— Vivian Tu, author of the New York Times bestseller Rich AF and CEO of Your Rich BFF

"This is the book I wish I had had for navigating my career and life.

John does a masterful job helping Asians like myself navigate the pitfalls of culture so we can step into our personal greatness. I recommend this to every Asian trying to make it in the West.”

- Dan Go, CEO of High Performance Founder, fitness coach to entrepreneurs

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