Send a text

Navigating Career Growth, Leadership, and Work-Life Balance with Karis Dorrigan

In this episode, Karis Dorrigan shares her inspiring journey from early days in product management to leading innovations at Qantas and Freely. We explore themes of intentional career design, overcoming systemic workplace gaps for women and solo parents, and reimagining the future of work to foster greater inclusivity and wellbeing.

Karis is a Head of Product in InsurTech, Coach and Solo Parent.  Karis has led companies to their first million dollars of revenue and led product billion dollar enterprises, shifting  organisations to customer-first, product-led and outcome driven. She is a coach for mid career women in product and tech, looking to step into senior roles. Her mission is simple - to help more women get into leadership roles on their terms. Holding ambition and life together. When we have more women at the top, systems change, customers win, the economy grows

Key Topics:

• Karis’s background growing up as a solo parent and the systemic challenges women face in the workforce
• The importance of persistence and learning from failures in career growth
• How intentionality, networking, and self-promotion can accelerate your career
• Innovating in large enterprises through customer-led thinking and continuous improvement
• Lessons from launching digital initiatives at Qantas, including voice experiences and international check-ins
• Navigating public speaking nerves and practicing for impactful presentations
• The systemic gaps faced by solo parents in workplaces post-COVID and advocating for flexible, inclusive work roles
• Theory and practice of gratitude as a tool for mental wellbeing and maintaining ambition
• Practical ideas for rethinking workplace design: asynchronous work, core hours, four-day work weeks, and role flexibility
• Advice for young professionals: building networks, choosing impactful work, and focusing on outcomes rather than busy work
• Karis’s upcoming project helping product managers elevate into leadership roles

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and Karis’s career overview

02:05 - Personal background and systemic challenges for women and solo parents

03:23 - How early career experiences shaped her approach to product management

05:07 - Advice for those uncertain about their career path

07:10 - Transition into travel at Qantas and key innovations

09:06 - The power of persistence and dealing with rejection

12:00 - Keys to career acceleration at Qantas

13:54 - Networking, visibility, and self-promotion strategies

16:04 - Overcoming public speaking nerves and practicing effectively

18:11 - Solo parenting challenges and systemic gaps in workplaces

20:07 - Post-COVID workplace redesign and flexibility solutions

22:37 - The importance of inclusive role design to retain women in tech

26:35 - Future of work: four-day workweek and impact-based pay models

28:38 - Practicing discomfort and testing innovative ideas in the workplace

29:57 - Cultivating gratitude and balancing ambition with mindfulness

35:07 - Advice to young people entering tech and the importance of relationship-building

36:01 - The value of focusing on impactful work over busywork

37:13 - Upcoming initiatives and how to connect with Karis

Resources & Links:

• Karis Dorrigan on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdorrigan/

Connect with Karis:

Support the show

[email protected]