Your Self at Work

Eric Nehrlich is an executive coach who draws on twenty years of experience in the tech industry to help leaders be more effective. Before becoming a coach, Eric spent ten years in tech startups, before joining Google and where he eventually led business strategy and operations as the Chief of Staff for the Google Search Ads team for six years, during which time it grew past $100B in revenue.

Connie Quinn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been practicing since 1996, the last 7 years dedicated to employee sponsored health care tech clients. She has held faculty appointments at both Adelphi and Columbia University, is a Certified Sex Therapist. Currently she's the the virtual medical Director at a National Primary Care Company after many years of state and federal service.
We discuss common mental health challenges of tech workers, including depression, anxiety, and the imposter syndrome that comes when perfectionists find themselves surrounded by the "best and the brightest".

Danielle Krettek Cobb is a trailblazing force in empathic design. She was the youngest senior executive on Apple’s Graphic Design team, where she worked on the seminal launches of the MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad. Danielle then led special projects at Google X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory, before going on to found the Google Empathy Lab. Currently, Danielle serves on the board and is Chief Creative Advisor to Hume AI and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation, and hosts the upcoming podcast Feeling Our Way.

This episode was recorded before the tragic wildfires in Maui, where Danielle lives and is an active member of the Hawaiian community. If you would like to donate to the relief efforts, Danielle recommends ⁠alohainaction.com⁠, a multigenerational native Hawaiian founded 501c3 giving 100% to Lāhainā. 

Christina Maslach is a professor of psychology emeritus at UC Berkeley, and the pioneer of the research field of organizational burnout. She created the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the most widely used instrument for measuring burnout, and has written numerous articles and books, most recently “The Burnout Challenge”. 

We discuss the relationship between burnout and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety; that burnout is not individual problem, but the result of a mismatch between the worker and the workplace; and actions leaders can take to reduce burnout and increase engagement in their workforce. 

Linda Furness is an executive coach who has worked with business leaders across industries for over a decade. We discuss the recent tech layoffs, and how to navigate the emotions that come up during career transitions. Linda provides tools to navigate a job search from a place of centeredness rather than reactiveness. We discuss exploring new career directions through experimentation, and how to manage the fears that can hold us back.

Daryll and Kristin were both at Google for over 15 years, during which time the industry was shifting to have a greater focus on workplace wellbeing. They introduce themselves, and share their career trajectories and their own journeys in workplace mental health. Topics include: the fallacy of the “straight line” career progression; the importance of accessing your full brain and body’s experience when making decisions; and how to develop your authentic leadership style. 

Storybooth Cartoon Link

Connect with us at [email protected]!