Leaders Unscripted

Leaders are humans too, and Etsy’s culture has given Jenn Clevenger the opportunity to lead through remarkable adversity.

In her 8 year tenure, she’s become VP of Engineering, tackled a pandemic, and stayed her course while her house burned down.

It’s the staggering story of a remarkable leader and a resilient human, one which we delve into on episode 26 of the Leaders Unscripted podcast.

This episode covers:

• Jenn’s ‘zigzag’ path to leadership
• Leadership lessons learned from Etsy’s culture
• Our ‘nonsense buckets’, and how to make space in them
• Taking time to breathe, do nothing, and be self-empathetic
• Advice for leaders tackling headwinds, both external and personal

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

The most organic path to becoming a leader is to follow your values, with no aspirations of leadership.

At least that was my experience, as I found my way into a COO role. What I seldom share on Leaders Unscripted is the path I paved to get there.

In this episode the tables are turned on me, as Extrology podcast host Lee Cooper steps in to interview me on my own journey, uncovering my formative experiences, philosophies and morals.

This episode covers:

• My early challenges and formative experiences
• How the ‘bushwhacking’ career path organically evolved into a COO role
• Career influences and books that have guided my journey
• The superpower of seeing the world through different perspectives
• Listening to instincts and trusting your path

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

When your identity is so strongly focused around leadership, anything that challenges your identity can be a world-altering experience.

Pleo’s Meri Williams has been through the reinvention of her leadership style after her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome diagnosis, cementing her role as a self-empathetic CTO.

Meri joins me on Leaders Unscripted to discuss the balance of her CTO role with her diagnosis, and her wisdom for those finding themselves newly diagnosed while leading.

This episode covers:

• The notable challenges of a CTO role
• Balancing logistics with emotions
• Harnessing the collective excellence of an engineering team
• Meri’s numerous medical conditions, and changing her leadership style to suit
• Offering a more valuable version of yourself less frequently
• Making a mental change to handle pain & suffering

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

There are few challenges like leading a varied range of software engineers, and few places more prestigious than Google at which to do so…

18 years strong into her tenure at Google, Madleina Scheidegger is a Software Engineering Manager whose lessons on leading software teams is absolutely golden.

From staying flexible and balancing internal vs external stakeholders, to building partnerships and setting your North Star, this episode of Leaders Unscripted is a masterclass in leadership longevity.

This episode covers:

• Madleina’s freedom to move around within Google
• The importance of building partnerships with your team, rather than giving orders
• Using a North Star to inform smaller decisions
• Management vs leadership
• The invaluable ability to be flexible

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

Being the first people leader in a business is a uniquely privileged position, brimming with untapped potential.

That’s why Christie Williams has seized those opportunities, culminating in her current role as Softdocs’ VP of Employee Success.

With such an intriguing job title, it’s hard not to see how Christie’s multidisciplinary experience feeds into her insightful approach to people leadership - an approach that we learn more about in episode 22 of Leaders Unscripted.

This episode covers:

• Why Christie likes being the first people leader in a business
• Preferring gradual shifts over complete overhauls
• Holistic approaches to a company’s tech stack
• The importance of leadership buy-in for people leaders

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

Management has the power to both embolden us, or burn us out.

It’s a very real danger, and we’re all more aware of it thanks to growing awareness of mental wellbeing, but Vimeo’s Vaidehi Joshi knows first hand how to overcome leader burnout.

Vaidehi joins Suzan for this week’s Leaders Unscripted, taking us through the battle against perfectionism, managing a team alongside your mental health, and what makes a great management experience.

This episode covers:

• The expectation vs reality of management
• Why perfectionism in leadership can be deadly
• Trauma from burnout, and how it takes time to overcome
• How different environments demand differing management experiences

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

What’s a CEO without a playbook to follow, and how do they communicate their plan with their team?

Mindaugas Petrutis, who was suddenly thrust into the CEO role at Coho, leads with a transparency and honesty which he was never able to exhibit in his previous roles.

Sharing the areas of focus that any new CEO should prioritise, Mindaugas details his bold and brilliant leadership style in this week’s episode of Leaders Unscripted.

This episode covers:

• How Mindaugas follows his instincts as a CEO
• People’s re-evaluation of their relationship with work
• The role of honesty and transparency in leadership
• Building resilience, and how it repays you in the long run

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

Awareness of disability in business leaders is far from normalized, which makes the mission of John Samuel and Ablr absolutely paramount.

A visually impaired CEO who’s gained the confidence to be open about his disability, John is creating opportunities for greater equity and inclusion in business.

His impactful story and charming optimism made for a rousing conversation in the latest episode of Leaders Unscripted.

This episode covers:

• John’s experience of vision loss and navigating the working world
• The dangers of contorting ourselves to others’ perceptions of leaders
• Leadership being inclusive to all
• Founding Ablr and embodying its key principles
• John’s biggest leadership challenges
• How other leaders can contribute to the growing need for DEI

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

The only certainty in business is uncertainty; the only constant is change.

As leaders, we’re tasked with the impossible in navigating that change and to bring our teams with us. 

While in her role at Blackboard, Ashley Hunsberger held several Director roles throughout her 17 year tenure, and has found some fantastic ways to guide your team through the choppy waters of change.

Ashley joins me on Leaders Unscripted to share her ‘structures for reflection’, an ideal approach to feedback, and finding your balance as a leader.

This episode covers:

• Developing consistent feedback loops
• Finding your balance as a leader
• Navigating constant change
• The power of collective goal-setting
• Time management & being protective of your space

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

When the world throws challenges at you from both your business and personal lives, it can be hard to overcome them all.

For leaders, this dilemma scales up immensely - first-time Founder Kirk Fernandes has learned the tools first hand that help to manage the unmanageable.

With three family members sick in the same year, and his business Merit in relative infancy, Kirk’s story is an unmissable tale of resilience, strength in numbers, and honest leadership.

This episode covers:

• The need for networks in employees’ growth
• Founding a company amid multiple health challenges for family members
• How to keep the wheels turning whilst allowing time to grieve
• Bearing humanity to your team
• The true value of a network
• Managing self-talk

Visit Suzan's website: https://www.constellaryhq.com/