The People Stack Podcast

Episode 322: Kathy Sebuck talks about growth mindset, connected balance, core values & what adulting really means

November 7th, 2023  |  1 hr 32 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Kathy Sebuck, Founder/CEO of Marchitecture and author of Waves of Change: Growth Mindset Tools for Connected Balance.

We talked about:
-What is a growth mindset and how do we know we’ve achieved it?
-Why discovering our core values is so important
-How to avoid weaponizing mindfulness and positivity
-Why being color blind to red flags might be ruining your life
-What adulting REALLY means (no, it’s not about paying bills or taking out the garbage)
-How to give yourself permission to be your best self & conduct your own woo-woo choo-choo

This episode was a blast to create and we hope it’s a blast for you to listen to! Check it out right now!

Episode 321: You're Color Blind to Red Flags

October 31st, 2023  |  30 mins 25 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

Some red flags are truly useless - like that colleague who always sends emails with “asap” in them and it’s never truly an emergency.

But others are helpful. And if you ignore these red flags, your career will suffer.

How do you know what red flags you’re ignoring that you shouldn’t be?

And why bother, anyway? Why is it so important to be aware of what we’re tolerating?

I explain all of this in this episode so that you can have a level of career & life clarity that you never had before…
…and create your dreams from the most powerful place possible.

Episode 320: Dave Sobel discusses managed service providers, the business & tech intersection, & the value of IT

October 24th, 2023  |  1 hr 20 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Dave Sobel, the host of the Business of Tech podcast (https://www.businessof.tech/).

We talked about:

• The ins and outs of managed service providers (MSPs) and why they’re relevant to a growing number of people (yes, even you)
• Why the intersection of business and tech is the key to success for so many tech folks
• How to move from being a cost center to being a revenue generator
• The importance of being comfortable talking about money, money, money
• Risk management, IT security, and the mafia behind current tech threats
• Why education is the core offering for many tech companies
• How he became a full-time podcaster

Enjoy this multi-layered, informative, and fun episode!

Episode 319: Stop Giving Advice!

October 17th, 2023  |  31 mins 16 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

Even if it’s well-meaning, advice can be harmful.

This goes for both giving and receiving advice.

Why is it harmful and what do you do instead?

I want you to empower yourself and others w/out treating them like robots…
...while you co-create all of the marvelous work & career & life outcomes you desire!

Check this one out right now!

Episode 318: Dream Jobs Don’t Have a Season

October 6th, 2023  |  27 mins 8 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

Stop treating your career like a seasonal gig.

There’s no “perfect” time or season to land a new job or promotion.

It’s time for you to treat your career with more intention and become a year-round badass career athlete!

In this episode, I talk about why this is so important and how to make this shift so you can create your dream tech leadership job no matter what’s going on externally.

Check this one out right away!

Episode 317: Marc Prine talks about hiring, firing, building trust, and his “no asshole” rule

September 26th, 2023  |  1 hr 25 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

For this episode, I interviewed Marc Prine who is an I/O Psychologist with the management advisory firm MIP Consulting.
We talked about:

• The good, bad, and ugly of employee monitoring systems
• How to REALLY build trust with team members
• Psychometric testing (and why Meyers Briggs & DISC are good for fun & games only)
• How to increase your confidence and executive presence
• The best way to hire (that’s backed by the scientific literature)
• How to fire with dignity
• How his “no asshole rule” helped him create his dream career

Enjoy this valuable episode full of evidence-based leadership principles, strategies, and tactics.

Episode 316: Guaranteed Career Success or Your Money Back!!! (just kidding)

September 19th, 2023  |  34 mins 46 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

There are no quick answers to complex problems - including career problems.

It’s never - “You just have to update your resume” or something similar.

Also, there are no guarantees in life so why should we offer guarantees to you?

In this episode, I explain exactly why we don’t offer money-back guarantees (like so many other coaches are doing right now)...

…and more importantly, I explain why embracing your own agency - your own badass power - is the key to your career success.

Tune in right now!

Episode 315: April Wensel talks about Compassionate Coding, connection, assertiveness, and her real dream career

September 12th, 2023  |  1 hr 43 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

For this episode, Rob and I interviewed April Wensel, founder of Compassionate Coding.

We talked about:

• What her mission at Compassionate Coding is
• Why compassion is so important
• How leaders can create more compassionate organizations
• Connection, communication across differences, & assertiveness
• The roles of suffering and intuition in building compassion
• How mindfulness and spirituality are important pieces to the compassion puzzle
• Her honest answer to “is this your dream career?”

Enjoy this multi-layered and useful episode!

Episode 314: Another Book for the Pile

September 5th, 2023  |  26 mins 24 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

It’s back-to-school time so let’s talk about books and online courses.

Let’s get serious about what they can and cannot do.

In this episode, I invite you to take an honest look at what you’re doing (and not doing) to intentionally create your dream tech career.

And ask yourself: Are those books and online courses REALLY helping?

Because they are NOT the key to career success.

In this episode, I talk about what that key is.

Enjoy!

Episode 313: Aviv Ben-Yosef talks about leadership as a profession, leadership training, and what REAL leadership experience looks like

August 30th, 2023  |  1 hr 25 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

In this episode of the People Stack Podcast, Rob sits down with author and consultant Avi Ben-Yosef to talk about:

• smaller teams with smaller egos

• leading teams worth leading

• leadership as a profession

• connecting tech teams more closely to business outcomes, and how that’s determines startup success

• how you actually gather REAL experience (not just years or lines on your resume)

Enjoy this jam-packed episode!

Episode 312: Josh Doody talks about fearless salary negotiation, transparency, pay bands, and financial freedom

August 22nd, 2023  |  1 hr 30 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, negotiation, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Josh Doody, a self-employed Salary Negotiation Coach who specializes in helping high earners get paid what they’re worth.

We talked about:

• Fearless Salary Negotiation
• Pay Bands
• Revealing Your Salary History
• Salary Transparency
• His money beliefs and definition of financial success
• Why being a Salary Negotiation Coach is his dream career

Enjoy this informative and eye-opening episode!

Episode 311: Your Career is Worth Way More Than $5M

August 15th, 2023  |  22 mins 54 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

What’s your career worth?

In this episode, I crunch some numbers to show why it’s worth way more than $5M.

And more importantly, I address why this is so important.

Spoiler alert: Many of you are not giving your career it’s due attention.

I talk about how to fix that.

Tune in right now!

Episode 310: Roy Rapoport talks about leading people, shame, needing to have impact, & why he’ll never retire

August 8th, 2023  |  1 hr 50 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Roy Rapoport, a people-oriented people leader with decades of experience working for marquee tech companies including Macromedia, Slack, and Netflix.

We talked about:

• Roy’s dream jobs and why they were dream jobs
• Why Roy doesn’t want to identify as a “great leader”
• Shame & Leadership
• Mentoring vs. Leading
• Why love is a key ingredient to making an impact
• Roy’s views on retirement and money management
• and soooo much more!

Enjoy this useful, fun episode full of inspiring truths!

Episode 309: How to Cultivate Unconditional Confidence (w/out feeling like a jerk)

August 1st, 2023  |  35 mins 36 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

Want to be able to access confidence on demand?

Confidence even when - especially when - things aren’t the way you want?

Then this is definitely a podcast you’ll want to listen to very carefully!

I explain exactly what unconditional confidence is and why it’s so important - spoiler alert: it profoundly affects your ability to build your dream career.

I also explain HOW to cultivate this kind of confidence - and to get better at it over time.

AND you’re gonna feel GREAT about this increased flow of confidence! You won’t feel slimy or jerky or bitchy or fake about it one bit.

Tune in and get ready for a huge confidence breakthrough!

Episode 308: “Cash” is Not a Four-Letter Word (A Tale of Two Joes)

July 27th, 2023  |  27 mins 10 secs

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

In this episode, I want to get into a tricky topic that a lot of our clients deal with.

It’s this idea that being paid more is somehow bad or evil. That wanting bigger paychecks and a higher quality of life means you’re a craven Scrooge who’s in it for the money, not because you truly love the work.

To illustrate this quandary, I share the Tale of Two Joes (both tech leaders).

By the end of the episode, I hope you’ll see that money is NOT evil.

I hope you’ll see that earning more money is win, win, win!

Tune in right now!

Episode 307: Joe Meyer talks AI myths, the intersection of I/O Psychology & AI, and his scary career choices

July 25th, 2023  |  1 hr 40 mins

careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

This interview was super fun to do and I hope you find it super fun to listen to!

Rob and I interviewed Joe Meyer, an NLP researcher at Erudit, an AI-based HR company.

In addition to his expertise in AI, Joe is also persuing a Ph.D. in I/O Psychology, so two of us go along swimmingly. ;)

We talked about:

• Some big AI myths (and Joe dispelled them)
• Faking good and the validity of AI data
• The fear and excitement around AI
• The intersection of AI and I/O Psychology
• Joe’s career and the fun, interesting, & scary things that have happened
• and soooo much more!

Grab a beverage, get comfy, and enjoy our conversation with Joe Meyer!