The People Stack Podcast

What happens at the intersection of Tech Leadership & Dream Careers? Listen and engage with The People Stack Podcast to see!

About the show

We explore the intersection of Tech Leadership & Dream careers. We do this by creating inspiring podcasts - including interviews with amazing individuals in the tech leadership space.

Dr. Jen Bunk earned her Ph.D. in I/O Psychology (a.k.a. The Science of Work). She is a retired Associate Professor and an accomplished speaker & researcher. As the CEO of the People Stack, she’s used her decades of experience to coach hundreds of tech leaders to create their dream careers - and the dream lives that go with them.

Rob Allen (Jen’s husband) is a 20+ year software industry veteran who moved from IC to Leadership in 2010, where the focus has always been on helping the technical folks who worked for him live their best lives. In 2019, he broadened that to the tech community as a whole by joining Jen full-time at The People Stack as her Co-CEO.

The People Stack Podcast on social media

Episodes

  • 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!

  • Episode 306: You Get What You Tolerate

    July 20th, 2023  |  37 mins 43 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    What are you tolerating in your career and at work?

    What are you settling for?

    Because we get what we tolerate.

    If you’re tolerating an asshole boss or less-than-adequate paychecks, or unfulfilling work, you’re gonna keep getting those things.

    So, how do you shift to a place where you’re no longer willing to tolerate anything less than your dream career and dream life…
    …so that you can gratefully LIVE your dream without an ounce of regret?

    Check out this week’s episode right now!

  • Episode 305: Interview with Michael Lopp (a.k.a. Rands in Repose): Stimulus Driven Creatures

    July 11th, 2023  |  1 hr 17 mins
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    The People Stack Podcast interview series is back!!!

    And what better way to re-launch than to have our friend and trusted mentor Micheal Lopp back on.

    Please consider this episode a master class in tech leadership best practices - with many other juicy topics mixed in.

    Rob interviewed Michael and they talked about:

    • Getting humans to communicate better (Michael’s bread and butter)
    • Michael’s dream jobs and how they came into his life
    • What being a stimulus driven creature means (and how it might be helpful in your life)
    • The fear of becoming irrelevant
    • and soooo much more!

    Please enjoy this super insightful, super fun episode!

    ★★ ★
    Check out our FREE online training: https://training.thepeoplestack.com

    This training will take you through the exact steps our tech manager clients are using to command premium salaries with at least $200k/year without working their butts of 50+ hours/week.

    ★★★ Connect with us ★★★
    Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/peoplestack/
    Podcast - http://podcast.thepeoplestack.com/
    ★★★

  • Episode 304: It’s not the economy or the job market, Superhero

    June 27th, 2023  |  31 mins 56 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    What’s in your way of creating your dream career & dream life?

    It’s NOT the economy, the job market, your workplace, your boss, or anyone else in your life.

    NOTHING external to you is truly in the way.

    So I invite you to STOP using the external as excuses like when you say:
    “The job market is bonkers right now. I’m gonna stay put even though my job could be better.”

    “The economy is terrible right now. We need to put off that vacation.”

    “My boss is super stressed right now. It’s a really bad time to ask for a raise or promotion.”
    Cut it out! ;)

    In this episode, I talk about what’s REALLY in the way and how to identify specifically what’s in in YOUR WAY so you open up new possibilities to co-create your dream.

    Open heart, empty your cup, and grab your Superhero cape for this one!

    Check it out right now!

  • Episode 303: Stop Beating Yourself Up

    June 9th, 2023  |  31 mins 43 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    We all beat ourselves up from time to time.

    What does this look like, why is it bad, and what do you do instead?

    I share this b/c I want ALL of you to be able to create your dream careers from a pure place of joy, freedom, love, and prosperity.

    Give this one a listen right away!

  • Episode 302: The Myth of Being Self-Made

    May 25th, 2023  |  32 mins 53 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    Many tech leaders believe that in order to create your dream life, you have to do it on your own.

    They follow in the footsteps of people who say, “I’m a self-made millionaire!”

    For example, many of you have not reached out for help because you believe you need to solve your problems on your own.

    In this episode, I bust this Self-Made Myth.

    And, I show you what to focus on instead so that you can not only achieve your wildest career & life dreams…
    …but also have loads of FUN while you do it!

    It’s time for some myth busting!

    Check this one out right now.