Female Tech Exec

In the podcast episode,  I show you what needs to happen for you to be able to fully unplug AND be a productivity superhuman at work.   I give you 4 strategies to take control of your time, whether you're at work or on vacation.

You'll learn:

• The surprising reason why Henry Ford invented the 5-day work week and the impact of the industrial era on how companies work today,
• How face-time is still a big thing at companies, even when they don't acknowledge it, and most importantly, how you can work around it,
• How boundaries can get you more respect and recognition if you do it right,
• The key ingredient to checking email and messages less frequently and pushing back on time-sucking meetings,
• The calendar strategy that top writers and productive entrepreneurs use to get deep work done. And how you can implement it in meeting-heavy tech companies,
• The two modes of working that you need to set for yourself that will save you from burnout,
• How one of the most respected thought leaders in business successfully pushed back on weekend work in his competitive consulting firm and got away with it,

And more!  

In this episode, I interview Tanya Bonamico, a Senior Product Manager at Amazon, leading a team of 50+ for seller risk management and a CareerClimb® client. 

We discuss her career journey and the challenges she faced while working in a long-term role. Tanya shares her insights on the price of loyalty, the struggle for career advancement, and the importance of seeking support and making bold decisions. Her story sheds light on the need to prioritize personal growth and recognize when it's time to explore new opportunities.

We talk about

• The challenges of staying loyal to a company and its impact on career growth,
• The realization that flight risk often takes priority over merit for promotions,
• The importance of seeking support from peers and a skilled career coach,
• Making bold decisions and taking leaps when growth opportunities are limited,
• Tanya's personal journey and the lessons learned along the way,

And much more!

I dive into a juicy conversation with Gabby Bernstein's coach and author of the book "The Calling: 3 Fundamental Shifts to Stay True, Get Paid and Do Good" - Rha Goddess.  We explore topics ranging from the practical to the spiritual. We discuss the importance of women connecting with themselves, the transformational power of community, and the need for conducive environments that foster growth and success.  Especially at a highly chaotic and uncertain time when women need more support than ever. 

Rha is an amazing woman and my interview with her put a smile on my face and charged me for days to come.  I hope it does the same for you too!

Connect with Rha and grab her book "The Calling" here: https://www.movethecrowd.me/the-calling

Today I interview one of my favorite clients ever - Lori Edwards, a Director at Niche - an ed-tech leader in school search.  

If you’re in the first decade of your career and looking to break through the Director level, this conversation can give you the mindset shift that will help you replicate her success, even if you feel stuck and frustrated at the moment.

Lori had spent seven years as a Product Manager when she joined her current startup as a Senior PM. That’s when things got complicated.

The head of her team didn't have a product background, so Lori found herself managing everything and everyone. She was clearly operating below her level.  Frustrated at waiting on a promotion that never came, she struggled to figure out why she was not moving up in the company. 

Just when she had resigned that there wasn't a role above her opening up anytime soon, she discovered the Denali Executive Accelerator.  After the Program and while continuing to work with CareerClimb, Lori received two promotions.  She had set her initial goals for a year but achieved them 3 months early.  

Today Lori is a recognized leader in her company with a strong team.  

In our conversation, I explore the secrets to her continued career success.

• How to cultivate the mindset of an athlete and a champion
• The critical importance of unlearning habits in order to relearn better ones
• How to deal with failure and being stuck
• How to get people to trust you, even though you may be the youngest in the group

Also, discover:

• The go-to framework Lori uses for change management that has gotten her visibility and results at her company
• The way she learned how to negotiate with authority during a hospital stay and how she uses this skill at work
• How Lori chooses who she surrounds herself with and learns from (hint: your environment trumps everything else)

And more!

Don't forget to opt into Lisa's email list to receive more episodes like this and to receive other news, insights and articles on how to grow your career as a woman in tech: www.careerclimb.co

Check out the Denali Executive Accelerator at https://executiveaccelerator.co/

Check out Lori at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-a-edwards/

Today I interview Alessandra Ghini, my very first executive coach and a partner at Go Partners.  We talk about what it was like working with Steve Jobs at Apple and how Alessandra survived the most difficult working environment for years before walking away at the peak of the company's rise.  Following her tenure at Apple, Alessandra worked with Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks on relaunching the Starbucks brand.

Alessandra and I discuss:
1) What was Steve Jobs like as a boss and how he would insult his people,
2) How to not get destroyed or infected by a toxic culture,
3) How to not sell your soul destroyed at the hottest company in the world, even if it's led by an iconic figure whom the whole world worships,
4) The bad name Steve Jobs had picked out for one of Apple's products and what made him change his mind (hint, it was not the input of his marketing team)
5) The difference between working with Steve Jobs and Howard Schultz and their distinct CEO styles.
6) How to be financially independent, so you can walk away from a bad situation

In this episode, I go through advanced networking strategies, especially for those who are looking for a job. Strategic networking beats transactional networking every time in terms of quality and quantity of results, hands down.  Plus, it spares you from getting the reputation of a spammer.  

In this episode, I cover:
- The biggest prerequisite you need before you start networking (it's not what you think)
- The precise formula and template for the reach-out message to your network
- What to ask for and how to ask for it
- Other considerations that will improve your connections, results and the quality and quantity of the opportunities that come from your networking.

So tune in to find out how to level up your networking in the New Year!

In this episode, I talk about the two types of networking - transactional and strategic.  I then offer you a 5 step approach to kickstart your strategic networking if you've been doing transactional networking up until now.  I also give you a framework for reaching out to your connections.

Nivedita Ojha has broken quite a few norms in her life.  But none more significant than the decision she made to adopt an older child from an Indian orphanage as a single mom.

It was the spring of 2020 and as the world came to a halt at the onset of COVID, Nivedita was unable to travel to India to bring her new daughter home.  What followed was 9 months of a forced wait as Nivedita's boss transitioned out and a new executive came in - one who felt threatened by the independence of an Indian woman who dared to adopt a child as a single parent and single provider.  

Today as I sit down with this brave woman full of fire, passion, generosity, and optimism, I want to know the key to her ability to overcome challenges - both professional and personal - as a high-level female executive.  

Nivedita is currently Chief Product Officer at FORT Robotics, in charge of a high-precision suite of products that combine both software and hardware.  She loves her job, her company, and her team. 


But the road to here has not been easy.  It has taken her from leading her own startups to VP roles at companies like Citrix and Autodesk. There were many times in her career when Nivedita didn't exactly fit in with her big personality, big energy, passionate voice and bold vision in the package of an Indian woman.

But she persevered.  And she's here to share the lessons learned and the keys to not just surviving some spectacular challenges, but to thriving and enjoying her life and work fully.

Connect with Nivedita at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nojha/

Today I interview Evelyn Chou who currently works in Product at Coursera (ex-Uber) and whose passions include creating great articles and content on Medium and LinkedIn, working with data and analytics, traveling and launching products in different cities, as well as offering her advice and mentorship to up and coming PMs.  Evelyn is also one of the hardest-working, kindest and bravest people I've had the honor to know and coach.  

In our conversation, Evelyn opens up about a challenge that so many women face in private and keep a secret at work -  her fertility struggles. She shares with us how the journey has evolved her and what it has meant to open up to her manager and a few close colleagues about it, as well as the gifts of choosing to not isolate herself and feel alone.  

Tune in to find out:

• How she built a consistent habit of writing content and found the courage to press the "publish" button and what are some of her key principles that you can try as well in order to start writing, 
• Why trying to "check boxes" works for aspects of her career and professional life but not with her body and fertility,
• How feeling "out of control" has changed Evelyn's perspective on life, career and her purpose in life,
• What she found when she chose to share her fertility journey with her manager and a few colleagues, and why you should consider doing the same if you're going through this journey,
• What she learned from her bad*ss Taiwanese grandma,

And more!

Connect with Evelyn and follow her writing at https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelynchou/

In this episode, I introduce you to the mechanism responsible for accomplishing goals, including career goals.  And I show you what so many psychologists, behavior change experts and best-selling authors agree is the KEY to not falling off the bandwagon but being successful in achieving your goals, even the most stretchy ones.   This podcast episode is accompanied by a guided visualization (the prior podcast track) that will support you in using this powerful change strategy.  

Books / Resources mentioned in the episode:
* The Alter Ego by Todd Herman
* Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
* Indistractable by Nir Eyal