Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA was formative for me. People from “the burgh” are a unique breed. For starters, there is language that only we know. Pitsburghese, spoken by Yinzers.

• Got any gumbands? (rubberbands)
• He’s a jagoff. (jerk) – We can go after you red up. (tidy)
• How are yinz? (ya’ll)

But more importantly, there is a lack of pretense, a realness, that people possess. They are tough but friendly and resilient. They don’t want to waste time and they want to talk about what’s practical, doable, and gets results. (Of course everyone is an individual, but this is just a general observation.)

When we do values assessments with clients (from any city), we are often asked if our values come from nature or nurture. It’s both. For me, my number one value is authenticity, or realness. Another way to say this is that my number one pet peeve is when someone tries to be too slick or impressive, when they are two-faced, or operates from a hidden agenda. I am proud to be a yinzer.

How has your regionality impacted who you are?