An Interview with Phil La Duke

The pandemic has allowed people to reevaluate what they want from work. This “Great Reevaluation” has led to the “Great Resignation” which has left the US with a great big labor shortage and a supply chain crisis. What can we do to reverse this trend? What can be done to attract great talent to companies looking to hire? What must companies do to retain their great talent? If not just a paycheck, what else are employees looking for? In this interview series called “The Labor Shortage & The 5 Things We Must Do To Attract & Retain Great Talent” we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and ideas from their experience that can address these questions.

As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview Steph Michelle Pimentel.

Stephanie Michelle Pimentel is the Founder and CEO of Lumena Global Advisory, a cross border consultancy helping U.S. companies build and scale operations across Latin America with precision, compliance, and cultural fluency. A Dominican American raised in the Bronx, Stephanie built her career in corporate environments before launching Lumena to bridge the gap between strategy and reality in global expansion. She has studied human behavior both academically and in the field, working boots on the ground across multiple LATAM countries and building trusted relationships rooted in deep cultural understanding. A mother and business leader, Stephanie is committed to breaking barriers for women like her and ensuring they have a seat and a voice at the global table.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would like to get an idea of who you are and where you came from. Can you tell us a bit about your background? Where do you come from? What are the life experiences that most shaped your current self?

I’m Dominican American, raised in the Bronx, and I’ve always known what it feels like to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously. I built my career in corporate environments where, more often than not, my talent was questioned, minimized, or repackaged through someone else’s voice. Usually a white male one.

Instead of becoming bitter, I became curious. I studied human behavior formally in school and informally by watching how power moves through rooms, cultures, and organizations. That curiosity took me across borders. I worked boots on the ground in multiple Latin American countries, building real relationships and learning how different cultures think, negotiate, lead, and trust in business.

Becoming a mother sharpened everything. It made me deeply intentional about the legacy I’m building. Lumena was born from that intention. I wanted to create a firm that helps companies expand the right way and helps women like me see themselves not as exceptions, but as authorities.

We’ve seen a lot of fluctuations in the labor market over the past several years — from the “war for talent” to the “Great Resignation” to today. What can employers do to position themselves as a destination for candidates in the midst of change?

The companies that win right now are the ones that stop pretending talent is lucky to be there. The power dynamic has shifted, and pretending otherwise is expensive.

People want clarity, honesty, and leadership that knows where it’s going. Especially in global or distributed teams, confusion is the fastest way to lose trust. When companies communicate clearly, operate ethically, and respect people’s time and intelligence, they become magnets for great talent. It’s not complicated. It’s just uncommon.

I am fond of saying, “If it’s fun they charge admission. But you get a paycheck for working here.” Obviously I am being facetious, but not entirely. Every job has its frustrations and there will be times when every job will aggravate employees. How important is it that employees enjoy their jobs?

Enjoyment matters, but not because work needs to feel like a party. If it’s fun, they charge admission. You get paid to work.

What people really want is dignity. They want to feel competent, respected, and trusted. A job can be demanding and still be deeply satisfying if people feel their effort leads somewhere. Enjoyment comes from growth, ownership, and being treated like an adult.

How do you think an unhappy workforce will impact a) company productivity b) company profitability c) and employee health and wellbeing?

An unhappy workforce is expensive. Productivity drops because disengaged people don’t think creatively. Profitability suffers because turnover quietly drains resources. Health and wellbeing decline because chronic stress without purpose wears people down.

The numbers always catch up. Culture is not a soft issue. It’s a balance sheet issue.

What are a few things that employers, managers and executives can do to ensure that workers enjoy their jobs?

Listen more than you talk. Give people real ownership over their work. Train managers to lead humans, not just deadlines.

And please, respect time. Nothing erodes morale faster than unnecessary urgency. When people feel trusted, enjoyment follows naturally.

Can you share a few things that employers, managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture?

Culture lives in behavior, not slogans. How leaders respond to mistakes, who gets promoted, how feedback is delivered. People watch closely.

The fastest way to damage culture is to say one thing and reward another. The strongest cultures are boringly consistent. That’s not flashy, but it works.

Okay, wonderful. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things employers should do to attract and retain top talent during the labor shortage?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Get clear before you hire. I’ve seen companies hire incredible talent into roles that were never clearly defined. Confusion drives people away faster than competition.
2. Build work around outcomes, not optics. Especially in global teams, performance matters more than presence. Adults do their best work when trusted.
3. Invest heavily in managers. People don’t leave companies. They leave bad management. A great manager can turn pressure into progress.
4. Pay fairly and explain your thinking. Transparency builds loyalty. Silence builds stories, and not the good kind.
5. Think beyond the next quarter. Employees stay where they see a future. Long-term thinking creates long-term commitment.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Indra Nooyi. She understands power, culture, and leadership without needing to perform authority. I imagine the conversation would be insightful, grounded, and refreshingly honest. Also, I’d probably take notes.

Our readers often like to follow our interview subjects’ careers. How can they further follow your work online?

Readers can follow Lumena Global Advisory on instagram @lumenaglobal and at lumenaglobal.com and connect with me on LinkedIn, where I share insights on leadership, global expansion, and what it really takes to build across cultures.

Thank you for these fantastic insights.

We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this. We wish you continued success and good health.

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About The Interviewer: Phil La Duke is a popular speaker & writer with thousands of works in print. He has contributed to Authority, Buzzfeed, Entrepreneur, Monster, Thrive Global, and many more magazines and is published on all inhabited continents. He is the author of four books and a contributor to one more. His latest book Stop. Don’t Shoot! Preparing For and Surviving Mass Shootings and Rampage Attacks. deals with identifying and preventing Mass Shootings. La Duke believes this subject is so important that he sent copies to the POTUS, the VPOTUS, and every US Senator who was seated as of January 7, 2023.

His first book is a visceral, no-holds-barred look at worker safety, I Know My Shoes Are Untied! Mind Your Own Business. An Iconoclast’s View of Workers’ Safety. His second book Lone Gunman: Rewriting the Handbook On Workplace Violence Prevention that deals with workplace violence, particularly directed at women, is listed as #16 on Pretty Progressive magazine’s list of 49 books that powerful women study in detail. His third book, Blood In My Pockets Is Blood On Your Hands is a step-by-step guide to getting worker safety right, and Loving An Addict: Collateral Damage Of the Opioid Epidemic is due to be released in 2025. La Duke also contributed a chapter to 1% Safer, a not-for-profit book, written by the “top game-changers and global thought leaders.”

Expertfile lists Phil La Duke as a top 25 thought leader in multiple areas. In addition to his writing, Phil sits on eight Biomedical Research Oversight Boards and is a highly sought-after speaker. La Duke is currently employed as a COVID Compliance and Production Safety Consultant for the film and television industry.

Follow Phil on Twitter @philladuke, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Phil-La-Duke-320996002174991/,

His author’s page on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B07G799XC6, or read his weekly blog www.philladuke.wordpress.com that he updates with the regularity of a turtle with too much rice in its diet.