Authenticity, Trust, and Sustainable Leadership

For this conversation, the interviewee preferred to remain anonymous. He is a real estate investor and sustainability advocate who oversees real estate investments and development for a private company. I first met him about ten years ago in a class that we both took in California, and over the years, we have remained friends. I enjoy interviewing longtime friends and having the opportunity to learn even more about them. He brings decades of experience from the US, Asia, and Europe in investing and relationship building.

He grew up on the West Coast, before embarking on an international career that took him to Asia and beyond. While living in Tokyo, he worked at the Foreign Language Center of the Japanese Parliament, helping parliamentarians prepare speeches in English before international trips. He later joined a real estate developer recognized for trailblazing sustainability and award-winning design in an industry with a poor track record for both, where he spent six years working on various projects in Asia. These experiences laid the foundation for his later focus on both international investment and sustainable real estate and design.

His current work emphasizes sustainability, including adaptive reuse projects that reimagine existing structures instead of demolishing and rebuilding. “About 40% of the world’s carbon emissions come from buildings,” he explained. “Real estate is a huge opportunity to decrease our carbon footprint.” For him, sustainability in planning, design, and real estate development are ethical disciplines, not just technical ones. Design decisions are indeed moral choices about access, health, and quality of life.

Trust emerged repeatedly in our conversation. He described how transactional behaviors erode relationships, while trust-based actions, whether from a contractor who fixes only what is needed or a global firm that takes responsibility for past mistakes, create long-term loyalty. He recalled one example from his years in Asia, where a Japanese general contractor took responsibility for correcting a costly engineering flaw in a building they had originally constructed decades earlier. Rather than deflect blame, they absorbed the repair costs, strengthening trust and ensuring that his company continued to use them for all their future projects.

He was candid that in business, reputations matter, and people share their experiences with each other. “There's always this discussion in business, is so and so trustworthy or not. People usually have options, and they don't want to work with someone who is bullshitting them or comes across as inauthentic, and that's the bottom line.”

He also shared examples of kindness in action, especially through mentorship and sponsorship. In his view, senior leaders who help junior colleagues grow—even when it means guiding them toward opportunities outside the company—demonstrate true kindness. “That’s a real act of kindness,” he said. “Helping someone move forward even when it doesn’t benefit you directly.”

He spoke about lessons learned from mentors early in his career. One of his first bosses said during a time of economic uncertainty, “Don't worry too much about what you're doing in your 20s. That's a time for discovery. Once you hit around 30, find something you really enjoy doing, or that you're really good at, because when you're 40, it's hard to get out of bed in the morning.” He appreciated that and finds it true. He tried a few things in his twenties, and around 30, he started to focus more on what he does now. “I think of this when I hear from some of my friends who are doing things that they simply don't enjoy.”

That same boss also provided guidance during a turbulent work situation: “You know, when you're at school, you can pick and choose who you hang out with. If there's somebody you don't like, you don't have to ever talk to them. Adult life is different. You have to work with people who you may not like at all, but you somehow have to find a way to work with them, at least temporarily.” He reflected, “I think that was a real act of kindness to impart that knowledge on me. He didn't have to say anything, but he was just a very kind person who wanted to help somebody who was younger. His name is Greg. I wish I could find him and thank him.” This example shows how sometimes you have no idea the influence you have on someone. Decades later, Greg’s words are memorable to him.

Across cultures and industries, he sees a common thread: people want trust, fairness, and opportunity. Whether in a Tokyo boardroom, a Singapore construction site, or a Los Angeles investment office, those values remain central to how he leads. When asked about investing in kindness, he again emphasized authenticity as inseparable from kindness. He noted that leaders who are inauthentic create distrust, while those who are both kind and authentic build loyalty and effectiveness.

“We all want to work with kind people. In a Venn diagram, kindness and authenticity significantly overlap.”

This interviewee is a real estate investor and sustainability advocate who believes that authenticity and trust are inseparable from kindness, and that leadership rooted in those values can transform both people and places. Keep an eye out for more interviews.