Making the transition from being a tactical contributor to a strategic leader can be daunting, especially if you have limited experience managing others. So what do you do when you’ve proven yourself and want to take your career to the next level but others making the decisions don’t see it that way?

In this episode of That’s a Good Question, our listener finds herself in this very position. Between workload overload and feeling under-valued, unsupported, and frustrated she ultimately resigned to prioritize her self-preservation.

Through active problem solving, practical advice and shared experiences, Celeste and special guest Ellen Lee offer tips and tricks to help our listener navigate a job search and make the leap into leadership — or determine if her next leap is a career change all around.

 

Guest Expert: Ellen Lee

Ellen Lee, TPM Director, has been leading large scale engineering programs at Google for over 18 years. In her tenure at Google, Ellen has helped to build Google’s first data centers as part of the Technical Infrastructure organization and is known for growing robust, execution driven Program Management Organizations inside of Geo and now for Core. As a T/PgM Steering Committee member, she is an ardent advocate for the value T/PgMs bring to Google’s overall success. Ellen is a strong advocate for building inclusive and diverse teams. She serves as DEI Council chair for Core and is the executive sponsor for Grow with Google’s first ever Project Management Certificate Program. Ellen is a founding member of Tech Advisors and plays an active role in advising and mentoring the next generation of Google leaders.

Our Host: Celeste Headlee

Celeste Headlee is a communication and human nature expert, and an award-winning journalist. She is a professional speaker, and also the author of Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism—and How to Do It, Do Nothing, Heard Mentality, and We Need to Talk. In her twenty-year career in public radio, she has been the executive producer of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Radio, and anchored programs including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She also served as cohost of the national morning news show The Takeaway from PRI and WNYC, and anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel. Headlee’s TEDx talk sharing ten ways to have a better conversation has over twenty million total views to date. @CelesteHeadlee

 

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Photo credit: iStock.com/skyNext

 

Episode Transcript:

Celeste Headlee:

Okay. So we’ll begin Natasha with you. And I want to hear some details about what it is that’s happening that has brought you to us.