August 29, 2023 • 39 mins
In this podcast episode of "Work From Your Happy Place," Belinda introduces the upcoming launch of a new online community and quarterly subscription box. She then interviews guest Emily Tsitrian, author of "Make Me the Boss" and co-founder of Yield, a payments consulting company. Emily shares her journey in the tech industry, the challenges of transitioning into a management role, and the importance of personal development as a leader. They discuss the fast-paced nature of the tech industry, the impact of AI, and the importance of building networks and embracing vulnerability. Emily also shares her immigrant story and offers advice for listeners facing dilemmas in their careers. The episode concludes with a reminder to follow, subscribe, and leave a review for the podcast.
Timestamps [00:04:42] Three tips for first-time managers and those in the tech industry Emily Tsitrian shares three tips for first-time managers, including building relationships with peers and stakeholders, cultivating a life outside of work, and prioritizing personal development alongside team development.
[00:11:19] Identifying superpowers and weaknesses in leadership positions The speaker talks about the importance of understanding one's strengths and weaknesses in leadership positions and shares her own superpowers of public speaking and coalition building.
[00:22:22] The importance of having a personal board of advisors Emily discusses the value of having a network of trusted individuals who can provide honest advice and guidance in making career decisions.
[00:23:26] The vulnerability of starting a new venture after being laid off Emily shares her experience of being laid off and the emotional roller coaster of self-doubt and confidence that comes with starting her own company.
[00:32:24] The immigrant story and the need for fresh leadership Emily discusses the importance of lighting the path for others, especially younger generations, and the shift in power dynamics in the workplace.
About the guest:
Emily Tsitrian is the author an award winning management book called Make Me the Boss. She has worked in leadership in the tech industry for the past decade, and now leads a payments consulting company she co-founded called Yeeld.
How to connect with Emily:
https://emilytsitrian.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tsitrian
https://www.facebook.com/Tsitrian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilytsitrian/
About the Host:
Belinda Ellsworth is a Speaker, Trainer, Best-Selling Author, and Podcaster
She has been a professional speaker, mover, and shaker for more than 25 years. Having built three successful companies, she has helped thousands of entrepreneurs make better decisions, create successful systems, and build business strategies using her "Four Pillars of Success" system.
Belinda has always had a passion and zest for life, with the skill for turning dreams into reality.
How to Connect with Belinda:
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/workfromyourhappyplace
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/belindaellsworth
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/workfromyourhappyplace/
Website - www.workfromyourhappyplace.com
Timestamps [00:04:42] Three tips for first-time managers and those in the tech industry Emily Tsitrian shares three tips for first-time managers, including building relationships with peers and stakeholders, cultivating a life outside of work, and prioritizing personal development alongside team development.
[00:11:19] Identifying superpowers and weaknesses in leadership positions The speaker talks about the importance of understanding one's strengths and weaknesses in leadership positions and shares her own superpowers of public speaking and coalition building.
[00:22:22] The importance of having a personal board of advisors Emily discusses the value of having a network of trusted individuals who can provide honest advice and guidance in making career decisions.
[00:23:26] The vulnerability of starting a new venture after being laid off Emily shares her experience of being laid off and the emotional roller coaster of self-doubt and confidence that comes with starting her own company.
[00:32:24] The immigrant story and the need for fresh leadership Emily discusses the importance of lighting the path for others, especially younger generations, and the shift in power dynamics in the workplace.
About the guest:
Emily Tsitrian is the author an award winning management book called Make Me the Boss. She has worked in leadership in the tech industry for the past decade, and now leads a payments consulting company she co-founded called Yeeld.
How to connect with Emily:
https://emilytsitrian.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tsitrian
https://www.facebook.com/Tsitrian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilytsitrian/
About the Host:
Belinda Ellsworth is a Speaker, Trainer, Best-Selling Author, and Podcaster
She has been a professional speaker, mover, and shaker for more than 25 years. Having built three successful companies, she has helped thousands of entrepreneurs make better decisions, create successful systems, and build business strategies using her "Four Pillars of Success" system.
Belinda has always had a passion and zest for life, with the skill for turning dreams into reality.
How to Connect with Belinda:
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/workfromyourhappyplace
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/belindaellsworth
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/workfromyourhappyplace/
Website - www.workfromyourhappyplace.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Work from Your Happy Plays, the podcast that equips you with the
knowledge and inspiration to live your dreamsand find your own happy plays. You
will be encouraged by and learn fromentrepreneurs and artists who are already working from
their happy plays, all while pursuingtheir passion with a purpose. Be sure
(00:20):
to sign up for our free weeklynewsletter for our recap of the week's guests
and a preview of what's in store. We also have two special gifts for
you, a video, the fivefour Principles to living a half year life,
and a printable download title Top tensales Strategies. Go to work for
your happy place dot com, forwardslash free. Fill out the attached form
(00:43):
to receive your gifts and be addedto our newsletter. And now here's your
host, Belinda Ellsworth. Hi,it's Belinda here, and before we get
started with today's show, I'd liketo tell you about some exciting things coming
soon that I think you're gonna love. After over five hundred episodes, we've
discovered so many tips, tools andbits of knowledge that we want to share
(01:06):
it all with you. So thisspring, we are launching a brand new
online community and quarterly subscription box.Here's how it works. Each quarter,
you'll receive an amazing box full ofitems to bring you happiness in both work
and in life. Each box includesitems designed by entrepreneurs just like yourself for
your home, office, personal care, and so much more. It will
(01:29):
also contain a business book and ourActs of Kindness sharables so you can show
appreciation to your customers and anyone whoneeds to be lifted up. In the
months between box deliveries, you'll learnfrom an amazing community of business owners.
Included guided trainings on business skills andpersonal development, a book club that features
Q and a time directly with thatmonth's author, and a monthly featured guest
(01:53):
from whom you'll learn strategies to growyour own business. You'll learn from one
another through our private group as wellas our live Q and a session where
you can get all of your questionsanswered. Sound exciting. How would you
like a free six month subscription toenter? Get on our VIP list by
going to work from your happy placedot com forward slash vip. Now,
(02:14):
sit back, relax and enjoy today'sshow. Hello everyone, and welcome to
our show. We have got agreat guest for you. Today I have
Emily Citrian with me. And Emilyis the author of the award winning management
book called mak Me the Boss.She has worked in leadership in the tech
industry for the past decade and nowleads a payments consulting company she co founded
(02:37):
called Yield. It is my pleasureto welcome Emily to our show today.
Thanks so much, it's great tobe here. And you absolutely landed the
last name, So well done.I'm so glad you know that's such an
important piece, right. I betyou have had difficulty with that your entire
life, haven't you. I have, but it's always a fun topic of
(02:59):
conversation, so I just kind oflean into it. But thanks so much
for having me. All right,Well, let's dive into this, so
let's get to know you a littlebit. First of all, I'm super
excited to have a woman on ourshow that is super involved in tech because
you don't see that as often asI'm sure you have found and it's really
exciting to have you on the show. But let's dive in. Get to
(03:21):
know you a little bit. Tellus a little bit about your journey and
how you got to what you're doingtoday. Absolutely so I've been working in
the tech industry for about just overthe past decade, past seven or so,
have been in people management roles,people leader roles, And when I
first became a people leader, Ifound that there really was no guidebook or
(03:43):
handbook to transition into what that meant. And so a couple of years into
it, I learned so many thingsa hard way, and I thought,
you know what, I'm going towrite that book. I'm going to talk
about all the things that I wishsomebody had told me, especially as a
millennial, and especially as a womanin a pretty mail dominated industry, that
can help adjust to that new reality. So I publish it last year,
(04:04):
and I'm very proud that it's wona couple of awards and many people have
read it and enjoyed it and learnedfrom it. And now as a business
owner myself an entrepreneur, I findmyself experiencing people management in a whole different
way. So perhaps that'll be mynext book, but it's it's just been
an incredible journey. Oh that's thatis fantastic. So let's talk a little
(04:27):
bit now within your field of expertise, what are three tips that you can
offer to our listeners, either inthe area of tech or for first time
managers. Absolutely, so for firsttime managers, I think the number one
thing that many millennials and many newvery new people leaders, which incidentally are
(04:49):
mostly millennials, since the average ageof a new people manager is about thirty,
so right in the middle of thegeneration. But one of the things
they really struggle with, and Istruggled with, is figuring out who your
now peers and stakeholders are. Whenyou're an individual contributor, it's very easy
to connect with people you work with, form that sense of camaraderie and kind
of develop this identity of us versusthem, you know, in any sort
(05:14):
of corporate structure, but once youbecome a manager, you both have to
learn how to manage up and managedown simultaneously. Sometimes people you just used
to work with are now your employees, and so it can be very awkward,
and so it's very important to becreating that sense of community, that
sense of camaraderie across across people inyour role within your company and even outside
(05:34):
of your company. So that's numberone. Number two is recognizing that you
have to really intentionally curate a lifeand identity outside of your career, Like
it's very easy to spend so manyendless hours doing work, completing work,
(05:55):
figuring out how to level up,and many of us, as millennials,
we find so much satisfaction in reallystrongly identifying with your career. But as
we're learning, even in the currenteconomic climate, things can change on a
dime. And so if you haven'treally curated this identity, these hobbies,
this community outside of the career that'sright in front of you, you're probably
(06:15):
going to plateau and you're also justnot going to be that interesting. Frankly,
if all you ever kind of kindof think about as the career in
front of you. So being veryintentional about that, especially as you level
up and realize, you know,the pile of work in front of you
is never going to end, socreating that space. The third is to
be not only thinking about how youdevelop your team, because I think most
(06:38):
people leaders just have this instinct thatI have to develop my team, that's
why you got the job. Butyou have to think about how do you
develop yourself. So, for example, if you are running a sales team
and your sales team target is okayby the end of the year, we
will have increased revenue twenty five percent. Let's say it's a very modest growth.
What are you going to do asa leader to increase your personal output
(07:00):
twenty five percent? How are yougoing to be one hundred and twenty five
percent of the leader you are today? And so prioritizing that and actively leveling
yourself up as you're leveling your teamand your company up, that's how you're
going to continue to grow at thepace that your team and your function demands
of you. That is a great, great piece of advice. Well,
(07:23):
all three of them actually were,because I do think that when you're pursuing
a career really intently, it's easyto not carve out any other time to
do anything else. And you're right, it is it's through doing those other
things that we meet new people andexpand our network, and that is what
(07:44):
could lead you to that next job, or that next position, or the
next great team member because of theserelationships you've built outside of this bubble that
you're in with work. So Ithink that was a great piece of advice.
But you know, I think thatpeople don't think about continuing to do
personal development or personal growth within theirfield unless suddenly they're faced with finding a
(08:09):
new position or getting a new job. When they're in the job, I
don't think they think so much aboutwhat can I what can I learn to
level up my own self in thissituation. So that is really really great
advice. Absolutely, And I thinkwithin what's happening in the world around us,
we are in such a fast movingI think it's like another tech revolution,
(08:33):
similar to cloud computing or the Internetproliferation, or when mobile phones hit.
Right now it's AI. It couldbe something else the next year,
but we don't really know what jobsand careers are going to look like over
the next five to ten years.So really staying on top of it,
staying adaptable, learning the new thingsas they come into your practice, that
is just what's going to set youup for continual multideckide really satisfying career.
(08:58):
It's so interesting how much it's likeAI sort of came on the scene and
it was always it was on thescene in the background, but the average
JoBlo person was not talking about it, And it has literally been in a
couple of months everybody is talking aboutit. It's just like went crazy.
Yeah, it has been really interesting. I know for myself. I don't
(09:26):
really a super tech person, butyou know, I have found it very
helpful just using chat chept it justto go in and look for headers and
look for just when I'm writing,like right now, we're writing and it's
just like, oh, I justwant a couple of bullet points, and
I'm trying to think it out,and it's like you look it up and
then you're like, okay, andthen you can write your own stuff.
(09:50):
Like as long as I have theheader and thoughts around that, then I
can completely take off on the knowledgethat I have in regard to that.
But it's just helpful just some timesgetting those thoughts and ideas, and it's
really cut down on probably half ofthe time too in writing this book that
I'm completing then I would have doneotherwise. It's just been amazing, mind
(10:13):
blowing. It's truly mind blowing.It's what the world's going to look like
in five years. It's it's amazing. It's a tectonic shift and how all
of us work, and I thinkas as leaders and entrepreneurs, we've got
to be on top of this.And I love to hear that you're kind
of experimenting, like what How canthis help with writing? Help? Could
this help with scheduling? How couldthis help with research? I think it's
(10:33):
going to make all of us justmuch faster. And I'm really excited about
it me too, and I andI only share that because I'm not your
galve that would normally be doing thatevery day, like just like sitting down
and looking up just like ideas ortopics or or even subject lines, you
(10:54):
know what I mean. Like it'sjust been it's just it's saving a huge
amount of time. It's it's actuallyquite amazing. So it certainly is the
topic of conversation no matter where youlook at online, and now everybody's teaching
classes on it, which I justthink is funny because it's only been out
for a couple of months and beingpeople are jumping on that bandwagon in a
(11:15):
pastory hysterical amazing, I know.So everybody's got their own superpowers, like
their own skill sets that really sortof set them apart or have really helped
them be successful, and what haveyou identified as yours? Absolutely so when
people are coming into leadership positions,it's very important to understand what is that
(11:39):
magical thing that you bring to aworkplace? And to a situation where you
know when you reveal it. Whenyou reveal that talent, you can bust
through really challenging situations. On theconverse, you should also know what your
weaknesses are, what are your achillesheels, and if you don't, ask
the people you work with because theywill know it. But in terms of
(12:01):
your in terms of superpowers, Ihave a couple. So one is public
speaking. I am a very goodpublic speaker. I work with people to
overcome their fear of public speaking,and I've always really just loved being on
stage in the limelight. I knownot everybody does, and that's perfectly okay.
But if I'm ever in a situationwhere I'm leading a team meeting,
or I'm giving an update, oreven just you know, asking a question
(12:26):
at a company to all hands meeting, I've always been able to really deliver
a message very effectively. And thathas been something that I've leaned on over
and over and over again throughout theyears. And it's also something that I
am very willing and happy to coachand teach people on. So it's it's
been a little bit of a glue. The other is that I am an
(12:46):
extremely effective coalition builder. And Ihave a theory about this, Belinda.
I think that women and minorities arenaturally very good at this because we have
to be. We've had to buildcoalitions around us to help us get to
our next level, because we don'talways have the kind of built in network
and backdoors that other people have had. So I think it's a skill that
(13:09):
we pick up through brute force.But when you come into a leadership position,
it's insanely effective to be able tocreate organizational change through building coalitions and
networks and bringing people along with yourather than just kind of iron fisting your
way like a bulldog and a chinashop. People always say, so those
(13:31):
are two that I've really leaned onand have really helped me be effective.
That's fantastic, And I think you'reright, And I think that's why women
in leadership roles typically are. Theyhave just much more of a cohesive team
building experience than just a harsh managementstyle like you said. And I do
(13:56):
think that comes from happy to doit, to be taken seriously, to
move your message in a way that'smore collaborative. Absolutely, So let's talk
about one of your most outstanding accomplishmentsor something that you're really proud of.
Yeah, so I would say it'sactually the book. And it was really
(14:20):
tough to write about something that Iwas actually doing some days not very well
while I was writing it. SoI wrote the majority of it during the
COVID pandemic and we're all kind ofin a lockdown situation. It was a
highly emotional time for everybody. Imean literally every person I know and was
working with and was working for mehad something terrible going on in their life,
(14:43):
even if it wasn't COVID itself.It was I had to postpone a
wedding, or I'm really worried Iwon't see my grandparent to get you know,
just like these terrible things. Andso it was a very tough time
to be a people leader. Butat the same time, I felt so
moved to write this book and puttingmyself in the discipline of, you know,
doing the job all day and thencoming home and writing about it.
(15:07):
I shouldn't even say coming home goingfrom my desk to my living room,
because we're just all in our houseat that time, but but writing about
it, I felt like I wasnon stop thinking about thinking about people leadership,
and that was extremely trying. Andthis is what a lot of authors,
I think will not necessarily say,is the actual process of writing is
(15:31):
very tedious and forces you to haveto go to place as you would just
rather not go emotionally to produce areally, really good book. So I
stuck with it. I hired abook coach, which was a game changer
to keep me accountable, and theentire process took me about really about a
year and a half. And soputting it out into the world, you
know that that to me is ahuge accomplishment, and it's going to be
(15:54):
out there, you know, forever, So I hope that, I hope
that even future gen rations we'll pickit up and trying to get a little
what was the slice of life likeback in the you know, twenty twenty
to twenty twenty five era for peoplethat were business leaders at that time.
So I would say that with it, that's great. It is. It
(16:15):
is very difficult to write a book. And I'm always blown away at people
that say, oh, I justfinished this in thirty days, or I
just did this in ninety days,or I just I just knocked out another
book, and I'm just thinking whatbecause I think a minimally the average person
(16:36):
at minimal can do that in aboutnine months. Like I think, I
find that to be the process.And I always say it's like birthing a
child. It's just like it takesthat amount of time, and then it
obviously can take longer and it doestake a discipline. But here's my question
to you, as I'm sure alot of people listening, So you said
that I published, So you selfpublished the book I did. I considered
(17:00):
going down the traditional publishing route,but it was ultimately very important for me
to keep my own intellectual property formyself and be in complete control over how
it was marketed. So for me, the right decision was to go down
the self publishing route. I thinkthe you know, appeal of traditional publishing
definitely has a sort of personal accomplishmentseal, but in the end, I
(17:25):
just wanted complete control over it,so that that was what I decided.
Yeah, that's fantastic, And Iknow this is a difficult decision for a
lot of people. But one ofthe things that I think people sort of
lean against as they think it won'tget recognized and yet it's won awards.
So I want you to speak tothat a little bit, like how did
(17:47):
how did that awareness come about?And how did it receive those awards?
Because that's the piece that I thinka lot of people hesitate in doing self
publishing is well, it won't getthe notoriety if I don't, so obviously
yours has. So can you speakto that just a little bit. Absolutely
so with traditional publishing deals, whata lot of people don't realize is actually
(18:10):
it's still the author's responsibility primarily tomarket the book, unless they're like Michelle
Obama. You know, if you'reMichelle Obama, like you'll get a team,
but if you're if you're anybody else, it's it's actually generally on the
author themselves. So because of thisdynamic, there are many organizations that exist
(18:32):
to help self publish authors get theexposure and the distribution. One of the
positive things I would say about aboutAmazon is is that it has become very
easy for independent authors to put theirwork out get really global distribution if if
your primary interest is getting your bookinto as many hands as possible as it
was for me. So it's absolutelya myth to think that the traditional publishing
(18:56):
route is the only route in particular, nonfiction fiction is kind of its own
game, and I don't know thefiction game very well. I think it's
a little bit different there. Butwithin nonfiction, the process of writing,
publishing, and marketing a book canbe incredibly successful doing it yourself, especially
if you're you know, building brandand expertise around the topic as I was
(19:18):
doing that. That's great, thankyou for sharing that, because I do
think that people just don't have afull awareness and then sometimes as they start,
they don't even know where to begin. And there's just so many paths,
and there is organizations, and thereis coaches, and there is I
mean, gosh, there's even peopleon fiber or on upworks that will do
(19:41):
the layout of it for you,and that will even do editing or proofing.
Like, there's just so many resourcesthat people can actually do this with
self publishing, and then you canget it printed right at Amazon just like
you said, and partner with them. There's just so many any ways to
do this today. Absolutely, wereally live in the future, and there's
(20:06):
been a lot of democratization of justmedia in general, I think over the
past few years, So I thinkwhy not now is the time everyone's got
something to say, why not putit out into the world to see what
happens. Yep, So let's talkabout the sort of opposite of that.
Let's talk about one of the challengesthat you've faced. Because it's never all
(20:32):
perfect and everything doesn't go right everyday. And I think a lot of
people out there thinking about being anentrepreneur, thinking about owning a business,
they have concerns or they just seeall the good things of people. And
so what is one of the challengesthat you've faced and how did you work
through that? Yeah? Absolutely soone thing that I have deeply experienced,
(20:56):
and I'm guessing you have two andmany of your listeners. Every time you
level up in your career or yourlife, really there's this feeling and experience
of extreme vulnerability as you make thatchange, that discomfort of putting something out
into the world, taking a risk, putting yourself into a platform where people
(21:18):
can judge people. Can you know? I was terrified, you know,
as it relates to the book ofgetting bad reviews. Now, you know,
a year later, I'm like,oh, if someone didn't like the
book, you didn't like the book, great, write your own book.
So but I think I think havinghaving that network of people that you can
lead on and that will that willgive me really honest advice that I trust
(21:44):
and that I understand, will tellme, Hey, Emily, I don't
think this is the right career move, or I don't think this is this
is the right direction for you basedon what I know about you versus oh
yes, this thing that you're tryingto do very much alignance what I what
I know about you. I'm luckythat I've I've curated a group of I
(22:06):
sort of called them like a personalboard of advisors throughout the years, and
that have really helped me through thosevery life altering changes. Most recently,
I was actually laid off, soI put this book out there. I
spent the past couple of years atat a very large tech company called Stripe,
and like many many in the techindustry, they went through a series
(22:30):
of pretty big mass layoffs the pastfew months, and I was affected by
them. So, after working forcompanies and within companies for the past decade
and leadership roles, I decided,all right, I wondered, do I
have what it takes to go outand be a founder and to create my
own company with this experience that I'vethat I've gained, but also feeling still
(22:53):
very wounded by the layoff. Okay, can I really do this? And
just really tapped into my personal boardof advisors to discuss the decision and what
are the risks and where are thecorners I'm not necessarily staying around, and
ultimately came to that decision that Okay, let's go ahead and do it.
But again, it felt incredibly vulnerableto put myself out into the world as
(23:17):
a founder and entrepreneur, especially afterhaving going through this experience. But I
gotta say, four months in it'sgoing so well. I could not have
dreamed of even the early success thatwe're having and standing up this company.
So I'm very grateful for it,and I really appreciate the challenges and the
vulnerability that come during that times ofchange and growth. Wow, it is
(23:41):
so true because you're dealing with withwhat you went through. It's you're dealing
with this feeling of rejection at thesame time that you are pulling all of
your strength in in your confidence andeverything to launch something new. I feel
like it's this. I'm sure youexperienced this, but it's this roller coaster
(24:03):
of one day you're like what amI doing? Can I do this?
I don't know? Like why didI get laid off? Why wasn't I
good enough? There? And thenthe next day going well, that had
nothing to do with anything, andI am good enough and I can do
this, and I'm going to doit. And it's like just this kind
of ping pong ball that is hardto navigate sometimes. Yeah, and I
(24:23):
it's speaking with a lot of foundersas I've tried to kind of intentionally grow
my network of other founders. Thisis a very common experience, and you
kind of to your point, youfeel both of those emotions simultaneously. And
I think the trick is really developingthose skills of preture. Honestly, I've
(24:45):
gained a lot of them in therapy. I highly recommend therapy to any founders
or entrepreneurs, but understanding that it'snot a logical thought to really think you
can't do this if there's a partof your brain that believes that you can,
and and you have people around youthat you trust their opinion, that
are telling you that you can doit, because then when that voice comes
(25:07):
into your brain that it's like youcan't do it, You're like, but
why would I trust that voice overpeople that I really sincerely believe would tell
me. So that's kind of howI battle through those difficult moments. But
also like staying humble, and Ithink when you go through hardships in life,
the blessing of it sometimes is youcan fail. That's okay, it's
(25:33):
okay to make mistakes, it's okayto fail. It's what you do in
the in the fog of war thatfollows, that's where true leadership happens.
And so I tell people this asthey're going through, you know, a
very difficult life situation, difficult careersituation. Is true character is developed in
(25:55):
the aftermath. So that's where youreally make the decision, who are you
going to be today? Are yougoing to show up? Absolutely? One
of the things that you said thatI absolutely love, and I've trained this
throughout the years as well, butI don't see a lot of people that
actually take that serious, and thatis developing your own sort of board of
(26:17):
directors. And I love that yousaid that because I think that that is
so important, and so I wouldlove you. I know, I know
what I've trained on it, butI would love you to just expound on
that a little bit for our listenersout there, because this is, in
my personal opinion, it's such animportant thing. If you are in business
(26:40):
for yourself, you have got tohave this sort of personal board of directors.
So can you can you elaborate onthat just a little bit, oh,
one hundred percent? One hundred percent? So you know, it is
often said that you're the average ofthe five people that are closest to you.
I think that that is true inlife as it is in business.
(27:00):
And so in life we gain friendshipsthrough any number of ways, and they
all kind of serve a purpose andyou feel part of a community and meet
different emotional needs and that's terrific.In business, the people that you really
bring into your inner circle will onehundred percent influence who you are, the
(27:23):
opportunities that you have, and thekind of business that you're able to create.
And so when you encounter people inthe workplace or just in your general
networking that really inspire you and youcan see that they are maybe a couple
steps ahead of you in terms ofwhere you want to be. Really strategically
(27:44):
bring people into your orbit and youknow, bring something the table for them
as well. You don't want tokind of just aggregate mentors and not give
anything back, but bringing people intoyour inner circle that whose accomplishments you admire,
whose network you'd like to tap into, or who's just brain helps expand
your own brain over months and years, bringing those people along with you as
(28:08):
you navigate your own career and willtell you the truth and you trust and
you ask to tell you the truth. That has been a tremendous source of
levity but also clarity for me asI've navigated through this, and it starts
well before you really need them.So intentionally doing that right from the get
(28:30):
go. And if you're listening tothis and you haven't started, start today.
Who is somebody around you that youwant to pull in closer to be
in this journey with you as youtake your career in your business in the
next level that will pay off anabsolute dividends, and then you have to
remember to pay it forward, bethat for somebody else, because again,
(28:51):
you're going to be the average,So you're always going to have a couple
of people that are a couple stepsahead of you. And then you want
a couple of people that you canpull up and take take on the ride
with you and paying it forward thatpays back and dividends to absolutely. I
always say you should have a mentorand be a mentor at the same time,
always because you are learning from somebodyelse, but you learned so much
(29:15):
in mentoring someone else. It actuallylevels up your own abilities. When you're
bringing it to like a teaching perspective, or when you're bringing it to helping
somebody, you suddenly even the thingsyou know you have to articulate in a
way that is different, and itdoes it increases your own standing in what
(29:37):
you're doing. The other thing thatyou mentioned, and I do think this
is important is what are you ableto get back or do And that's how
because a lot of people don't knowhow to go find a mentor how to
find these people. And it issimple as something like, okay, what's
my expertise in and then finding somebodyin business that maybe their level of expertise
(30:00):
is something completely different than yours,but you're able to offer that up.
And I'm happy to be helpful inthis area of you know, whatever it
is that your specialty is. Ican remember when I was very very young,
very young. I remember going toone leader and I said, I
would just love to come to yourmeetings and observe you running these meetings and
(30:26):
if I could just set in andit'd come and observe. And she was
like, I could tell there wasa slight hesitation. I said, and
I'm happy at any time if youever want me to share any sales tips
or anything, because I was justlike one of the top salespeople within the
company. And she was like,oh my gosh, that would be amazing.
And so I just went and observed. Every once in a while she
(30:48):
would call on me. But man, I learned how And I was only
twenty four at the time. Ilearned how to lead a team through just
observing her meetings. I love thatand I'm definitely going to steal that idea.
I'm going to ask to observe somemeetings. It's such a great one.
Oh my gosh, it is sogood shadowing people. I don't think
(31:11):
we talk enough about that either,but gosh, you can learn so much
if you're willing to be open tojust the way people interact with people,
the way they conduct the meaning,the way they start the meaning, the
way they you know that lead ateam or get collaboration or all kinds of
things. It's just really actually quiteamazing. So this is our sort of
(31:33):
signature question of the show, andthat is what does working from your happy
place mean to you? I thinkit means finding that true north star within
who you are as a person andbringing that into an alignment with how you
work. For me, realizing thatI wanted to be a leader in corporate
(31:56):
America, I wanted to be aleader in the tech space, but I
wanted to do it on my ownterms. I am somebody who shows up
with tattoos. I am somebody whoshows up and has done a lot of
you know, hourly gig type work. That's who I am. I bring
working class roots into the situation.But figuring out how I could blend these
(32:20):
two sides of myself, my ambitiousside, but also the roots of who
I am and what I represent.I have an immigrant story as well that
has been able to light the pathforward for me and figuring out what is
my true north star, feeling authenticto who I am and showing up in
the workplace truly that way and ifI can leave anything behind it, it's
(32:44):
lighting up that path that others canfollow, especially for younger generations coming into
the workplace. The entire power dynamicis shifting from the kind of traditional established
to new young leaders that are thatare stepping into these positions with our money
and influence. Lead Like who youare at the moment absolutely demands and needs
(33:07):
new fresh leadership and perspectives. Don'tfeel like you have to give up who
you are to be successful in business, successful in your career, and especially
within the tech sector. It's sobadly needed. That is super great advice.
Which is our next question, whichis what advice This will be a
little bit different maybe than what youjust answered in that regard, but like,
(33:27):
what advice can you give to thatperson who's listening here and is maybe
based in the same sort of dilemmathat you were. You're either have been
laid off or you know it.You know that it's just not right for
you anymore where you are, andyou're like, I always wanted to pursue
this dream or I always wanted totake a risk and do my own business.
(33:49):
What advice would you give to thatindividual that's sitting in that space right
now? Yeah, I would sayleaning into that vulnerability. It is absolutely
nerve racking to step out and takethose first steps on your own. Do
not be afraid to ask for help. Do not be afraid to cold message
people on LinkedIn or Twitter or whereveryour prospects or your potential business partners are.
(34:14):
The worst they can say is no, but you never know until you
ask. And so taking those steps, and even though it's so painful and
uncomfortable, sales is still uncomfortable forme. I don't care for it.
But sitting with that discomfort and forcingmyself to take those steps, that has
ultimately what's landed to be in thisposition of success that I now find myself
(34:35):
in. So it's okay to beafraid, it's okay to be vulnerable,
but you'll never know what you canaccomplish until you try and put yourself out
there. So just go for it. Fantastic advice. Any new and exciting
things that you're working on that you'dlike to share with our listeners. Absolutely
so. My company, Yield justannounced our formal partnership with Stripes. So
(34:57):
it's been funny that it's very fullcircle. All used to work at Stripe
and now we are a consulting partnerof Stripe. More announcements to come along
those lines. And then on apersonal note, the book that I wrote
will be releasing an audio version ofthe book a little bit later in this
year, so be on the lookoutfor that as well. Fantastic, So
that congratulations on that, and thathe had to feel I don't know the
(35:22):
word. I was gonna say funny, but it had to feel serendipitous or
something. I don't know. That, Like, I get laid off from
Stripe and now I'm going to beconsulting with Stripe, Like that's got to
feel pretty darn good. It's kindof a trip. I'm not gonna lie.
It's a little strange, but it'sjust one of those things in life
(35:43):
that's like you just never know andsometimes you have to laugh at it.
But you know, I never wouldhave gone to this point if I hadn't
been laid off. And I'm havinga lot of fun continuing to just be
a payments expert and helping companies buildtheir financial infrastructure with this knowledge and experience
in just a different way. Soit's been all good. Oh and they
really are the leader in online paymentprocessing, so I mean they really are,
(36:09):
So that's exciting. They are.Yeah, technology is fabulous. There's
a lot of really great payments companiesout there. Stripe is definitely a leader
and kind of the startup and verydeveloper friendly, so we're really excited to
partner with them. But yeah,I think I think the future of online
payments is just getting started. Sovery excited to be a part of it
(36:30):
in this new way. I lovethat. I think the more that we
see people in that space, itwas just like so back in the day,
like when I first had my business, it was you getting your own
merchant account right, and you havingyour own I mean, I had my
own sort of machine here that weprocessed credit card payments with, and so
(36:55):
the best thing was trying to findthe best deal, right and getting enough
business is that you could get betterrates. And then on the online space,
it's been very difficult to have anycompetition because everybody's there's not been a
lot of options, and so youjust have to pay what you have to
pay. And so I think thatthat's going to be interesting. If there's
(37:15):
more people becoming a part of that, it is probably going to create opportunities.
I would hope for a little bitof competitiveness in percentages. Would you
agree or not agree? Oh?I agree. I think that the vast
majority of payments in the world arestill do not happen online. They still
(37:36):
are either cash based or people thatdon't even have bank accounts. So imagine
what happens as those regions of theworld start to come online and online payments
starts to get more proliferated. There'sjust an entire green field opportunity for up
and comers, Stripe and other playersin the ecosystem. So I really think
we're just getting started. And theway that people will pay for their cups
(38:00):
of coffee, their taxi rides inten years, who knows, who knows,
It'll be interesting to see where thingsgo. Yes, absolutely, well,
Emily, this has been absolutely delightful. Thank you so much for sharing
your wisdom and your leadership strategies withour audience. I think it's very exciting
(38:23):
to have someone speaking to a youngergeneration and leading a younger generation. It's
very exciting. Well, thanks somuch for having me. It's been a
great conversation. Thanks for all youdo as well. Yeah, and where
can our listeners find you? Soyou can find me on LinkedIn? Fairly
active on LinkedIn. I also havemy own personal website Emily Sitrian dot com
(38:44):
and my book Make Me the Bossis available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
and wherever books are sold. Greatwell, thanks everyone for listening today.
We would love it if you wouldfollow our subscribe so you don't miss
a single great episode and leave usa review, a five star review.
He was always very helpful for otherpeople finding us, and the most important
(39:05):
or the best compliment that you couldgive Emily or myself is to share this
with a friend. Don't forget tograb your free gifts and we will see
you next time on work from yourhappy place.
Welcome to Work from Your Happy Plays, the podcast that equips you with the
knowledge and inspiration to live your dreamsand find your own happy plays. You
will be encouraged by and learn fromentrepreneurs and artists who are already working from
their happy plays, all while pursuingtheir passion with a purpose. Be sure
(00:20):
to sign up for our free weeklynewsletter for our recap of the week's guests
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(00:43):
to receive your gifts and be addedto our newsletter. And now here's your
host, Belinda Ellsworth. Hi,it's Belinda here, and before we get
started with today's show, I'd liketo tell you about some exciting things coming
soon that I think you're gonna love. After over five hundred episodes, we've
discovered so many tips, tools andbits of knowledge that we want to share
(01:06):
it all with you. So thisspring, we are launching a brand new
online community and quarterly subscription box.Here's how it works. Each quarter,
you'll receive an amazing box full ofitems to bring you happiness in both work
and in life. Each box includesitems designed by entrepreneurs just like yourself for
your home, office, personal care, and so much more. It will
(01:29):
also contain a business book and ourActs of Kindness sharables so you can show
appreciation to your customers and anyone whoneeds to be lifted up. In the
months between box deliveries, you'll learnfrom an amazing community of business owners.
Included guided trainings on business skills andpersonal development, a book club that features
Q and a time directly with thatmonth's author, and a monthly featured guest
(01:53):
from whom you'll learn strategies to growyour own business. You'll learn from one
another through our private group as wellas our live Q and a session where
you can get all of your questionsanswered. Sound exciting. How would you
like a free six month subscription toenter? Get on our VIP list by
going to work from your happy placedot com forward slash vip. Now,
(02:14):
sit back, relax and enjoy today'sshow. Hello everyone, and welcome to
our show. We have got agreat guest for you. Today I have
Emily Citrian with me. And Emilyis the author of the award winning management
book called mak Me the Boss.She has worked in leadership in the tech
industry for the past decade and nowleads a payments consulting company she co founded
(02:37):
called Yield. It is my pleasureto welcome Emily to our show today.
Thanks so much, it's great tobe here. And you absolutely landed the
last name, So well done.I'm so glad you know that's such an
important piece, right. I betyou have had difficulty with that your entire
life, haven't you. I have, but it's always a fun topic of
(02:59):
conversation, so I just kind oflean into it. But thanks so much
for having me. All right,Well, let's dive into this, so
let's get to know you a littlebit. First of all, I'm super
excited to have a woman on ourshow that is super involved in tech because
you don't see that as often asI'm sure you have found and it's really
exciting to have you on the show. But let's dive in. Get to
(03:21):
know you a little bit. Tellus a little bit about your journey and
how you got to what you're doingtoday. Absolutely so I've been working in
the tech industry for about just overthe past decade, past seven or so,
have been in people management roles,people leader roles, And when I
first became a people leader, Ifound that there really was no guidebook or
(03:43):
handbook to transition into what that meant. And so a couple of years into
it, I learned so many thingsa hard way, and I thought,
you know what, I'm going towrite that book. I'm going to talk
about all the things that I wishsomebody had told me, especially as a
millennial, and especially as a womanin a pretty mail dominated industry, that
can help adjust to that new reality. So I publish it last year,
(04:04):
and I'm very proud that it's wona couple of awards and many people have
read it and enjoyed it and learnedfrom it. And now as a business
owner myself an entrepreneur, I findmyself experiencing people management in a whole different
way. So perhaps that'll be mynext book, but it's it's just been
an incredible journey. Oh that's thatis fantastic. So let's talk a little
(04:27):
bit now within your field of expertise, what are three tips that you can
offer to our listeners, either inthe area of tech or for first time
managers. Absolutely, so for firsttime managers, I think the number one
thing that many millennials and many newvery new people leaders, which incidentally are
(04:49):
mostly millennials, since the average ageof a new people manager is about thirty,
so right in the middle of thegeneration. But one of the things
they really struggle with, and Istruggled with, is figuring out who your
now peers and stakeholders are. Whenyou're an individual contributor, it's very easy
to connect with people you work with, form that sense of camaraderie and kind
of develop this identity of us versusthem, you know, in any sort
(05:14):
of corporate structure, but once youbecome a manager, you both have to
learn how to manage up and managedown simultaneously. Sometimes people you just used
to work with are now your employees, and so it can be very awkward,
and so it's very important to becreating that sense of community, that
sense of camaraderie across across people inyour role within your company and even outside
(05:34):
of your company. So that's numberone. Number two is recognizing that you
have to really intentionally curate a lifeand identity outside of your career, Like
it's very easy to spend so manyendless hours doing work, completing work,
(05:55):
figuring out how to level up,and many of us, as millennials,
we find so much satisfaction in reallystrongly identifying with your career. But as
we're learning, even in the currenteconomic climate, things can change on a
dime. And so if you haven'treally curated this identity, these hobbies,
this community outside of the career that'sright in front of you, you're probably
(06:15):
going to plateau and you're also justnot going to be that interesting. Frankly,
if all you ever kind of kindof think about as the career in
front of you. So being veryintentional about that, especially as you level
up and realize, you know,the pile of work in front of you
is never going to end, socreating that space. The third is to
be not only thinking about how youdevelop your team, because I think most
(06:38):
people leaders just have this instinct thatI have to develop my team, that's
why you got the job. Butyou have to think about how do you
develop yourself. So, for example, if you are running a sales team
and your sales team target is okayby the end of the year, we
will have increased revenue twenty five percent. Let's say it's a very modest growth.
What are you going to do asa leader to increase your personal output
(07:00):
twenty five percent? How are yougoing to be one hundred and twenty five
percent of the leader you are today? And so prioritizing that and actively leveling
yourself up as you're leveling your teamand your company up, that's how you're
going to continue to grow at thepace that your team and your function demands
of you. That is a great, great piece of advice. Well,
(07:23):
all three of them actually were,because I do think that when you're pursuing
a career really intently, it's easyto not carve out any other time to
do anything else. And you're right, it is it's through doing those other
things that we meet new people andexpand our network, and that is what
(07:44):
could lead you to that next job, or that next position, or the
next great team member because of theserelationships you've built outside of this bubble that
you're in with work. So Ithink that was a great piece of advice.
But you know, I think thatpeople don't think about continuing to do
personal development or personal growth within theirfield unless suddenly they're faced with finding a
(08:09):
new position or getting a new job. When they're in the job, I
don't think they think so much aboutwhat can I what can I learn to
level up my own self in thissituation. So that is really really great
advice. Absolutely, And I thinkwithin what's happening in the world around us,
we are in such a fast movingI think it's like another tech revolution,
(08:33):
similar to cloud computing or the Internetproliferation, or when mobile phones hit.
Right now it's AI. It couldbe something else the next year,
but we don't really know what jobsand careers are going to look like over
the next five to ten years.So really staying on top of it,
staying adaptable, learning the new thingsas they come into your practice, that
is just what's going to set youup for continual multideckide really satisfying career.
(08:58):
It's so interesting how much it's likeAI sort of came on the scene and
it was always it was on thescene in the background, but the average
JoBlo person was not talking about it, And it has literally been in a
couple of months everybody is talking aboutit. It's just like went crazy.
Yeah, it has been really interesting. I know for myself. I don't
(09:26):
really a super tech person, butyou know, I have found it very
helpful just using chat chept it justto go in and look for headers and
look for just when I'm writing,like right now, we're writing and it's
just like, oh, I justwant a couple of bullet points, and
I'm trying to think it out,and it's like you look it up and
then you're like, okay, andthen you can write your own stuff.
(09:50):
Like as long as I have theheader and thoughts around that, then I
can completely take off on the knowledgethat I have in regard to that.
But it's just helpful just some timesgetting those thoughts and ideas, and it's
really cut down on probably half ofthe time too in writing this book that
I'm completing then I would have doneotherwise. It's just been amazing, mind
(10:13):
blowing. It's truly mind blowing.It's what the world's going to look like
in five years. It's it's amazing. It's a tectonic shift and how all
of us work, and I thinkas as leaders and entrepreneurs, we've got
to be on top of this.And I love to hear that you're kind
of experimenting, like what How canthis help with writing? Help? Could
this help with scheduling? How couldthis help with research? I think it's
(10:33):
going to make all of us justmuch faster. And I'm really excited about
it me too, and I andI only share that because I'm not your
galve that would normally be doing thatevery day, like just like sitting down
and looking up just like ideas ortopics or or even subject lines, you
(10:54):
know what I mean. Like it'sjust been it's just it's saving a huge
amount of time. It's it's actuallyquite amazing. So it certainly is the
topic of conversation no matter where youlook at online, and now everybody's teaching
classes on it, which I justthink is funny because it's only been out
for a couple of months and beingpeople are jumping on that bandwagon in a
(11:15):
pastory hysterical amazing, I know.So everybody's got their own superpowers, like
their own skill sets that really sortof set them apart or have really helped
them be successful, and what haveyou identified as yours? Absolutely so when
people are coming into leadership positions,it's very important to understand what is that
(11:39):
magical thing that you bring to aworkplace? And to a situation where you
know when you reveal it. Whenyou reveal that talent, you can bust
through really challenging situations. On theconverse, you should also know what your
weaknesses are, what are your achillesheels, and if you don't, ask
the people you work with because theywill know it. But in terms of
(12:01):
your in terms of superpowers, Ihave a couple. So one is public
speaking. I am a very goodpublic speaker. I work with people to
overcome their fear of public speaking,and I've always really just loved being on
stage in the limelight. I knownot everybody does, and that's perfectly okay.
But if I'm ever in a situationwhere I'm leading a team meeting,
or I'm giving an update, oreven just you know, asking a question
(12:26):
at a company to all hands meeting, I've always been able to really deliver
a message very effectively. And thathas been something that I've leaned on over
and over and over again throughout theyears. And it's also something that I
am very willing and happy to coachand teach people on. So it's it's
been a little bit of a glue. The other is that I am an
(12:46):
extremely effective coalition builder. And Ihave a theory about this, Belinda.
I think that women and minorities arenaturally very good at this because we have
to be. We've had to buildcoalitions around us to help us get to
our next level, because we don'talways have the kind of built in network
and backdoors that other people have had. So I think it's a skill that
(13:09):
we pick up through brute force.But when you come into a leadership position,
it's insanely effective to be able tocreate organizational change through building coalitions and
networks and bringing people along with yourather than just kind of iron fisting your
way like a bulldog and a chinashop. People always say, so those
(13:31):
are two that I've really leaned onand have really helped me be effective.
That's fantastic, And I think you'reright, And I think that's why women
in leadership roles typically are. Theyhave just much more of a cohesive team
building experience than just a harsh managementstyle like you said. And I do
(13:56):
think that comes from happy to doit, to be taken seriously, to
move your message in a way that'smore collaborative. Absolutely, So let's talk
about one of your most outstanding accomplishmentsor something that you're really proud of.
Yeah, so I would say it'sactually the book. And it was really
(14:20):
tough to write about something that Iwas actually doing some days not very well
while I was writing it. SoI wrote the majority of it during the
COVID pandemic and we're all kind ofin a lockdown situation. It was a
highly emotional time for everybody. Imean literally every person I know and was
working with and was working for mehad something terrible going on in their life,
(14:43):
even if it wasn't COVID itself.It was I had to postpone a
wedding, or I'm really worried Iwon't see my grandparent to get you know,
just like these terrible things. Andso it was a very tough time
to be a people leader. Butat the same time, I felt so
moved to write this book and puttingmyself in the discipline of, you know,
doing the job all day and thencoming home and writing about it.
(15:07):
I shouldn't even say coming home goingfrom my desk to my living room,
because we're just all in our houseat that time, but but writing about
it, I felt like I wasnon stop thinking about thinking about people leadership,
and that was extremely trying. Andthis is what a lot of authors,
I think will not necessarily say,is the actual process of writing is
(15:31):
very tedious and forces you to haveto go to place as you would just
rather not go emotionally to produce areally, really good book. So I
stuck with it. I hired abook coach, which was a game changer
to keep me accountable, and theentire process took me about really about a
year and a half. And soputting it out into the world, you
know that that to me is ahuge accomplishment, and it's going to be
(15:54):
out there, you know, forever, So I hope that, I hope
that even future gen rations we'll pickit up and trying to get a little
what was the slice of life likeback in the you know, twenty twenty
to twenty twenty five era for peoplethat were business leaders at that time.
So I would say that with it, that's great. It is. It
(16:15):
is very difficult to write a book. And I'm always blown away at people
that say, oh, I justfinished this in thirty days, or I
just did this in ninety days,or I just I just knocked out another
book, and I'm just thinking whatbecause I think a minimally the average person
(16:36):
at minimal can do that in aboutnine months. Like I think, I
find that to be the process.And I always say it's like birthing a
child. It's just like it takesthat amount of time, and then it
obviously can take longer and it doestake a discipline. But here's my question
to you, as I'm sure alot of people listening, So you said
that I published, So you selfpublished the book I did. I considered
(17:00):
going down the traditional publishing route,but it was ultimately very important for me
to keep my own intellectual property formyself and be in complete control over how
it was marketed. So for me, the right decision was to go down
the self publishing route. I thinkthe you know, appeal of traditional publishing
definitely has a sort of personal accomplishmentseal, but in the end, I
(17:25):
just wanted complete control over it,so that that was what I decided.
Yeah, that's fantastic, And Iknow this is a difficult decision for a
lot of people. But one ofthe things that I think people sort of
lean against as they think it won'tget recognized and yet it's won awards.
So I want you to speak tothat a little bit, like how did
(17:47):
how did that awareness come about?And how did it receive those awards?
Because that's the piece that I thinka lot of people hesitate in doing self
publishing is well, it won't getthe notoriety if I don't, so obviously
yours has. So can you speakto that just a little bit. Absolutely
so with traditional publishing deals, whata lot of people don't realize is actually
(18:10):
it's still the author's responsibility primarily tomarket the book, unless they're like Michelle
Obama. You know, if you'reMichelle Obama, like you'll get a team,
but if you're if you're anybody else, it's it's actually generally on the
author themselves. So because of thisdynamic, there are many organizations that exist
(18:32):
to help self publish authors get theexposure and the distribution. One of the
positive things I would say about aboutAmazon is is that it has become very
easy for independent authors to put theirwork out get really global distribution if if
your primary interest is getting your bookinto as many hands as possible as it
was for me. So it's absolutelya myth to think that the traditional publishing
(18:56):
route is the only route in particular, nonfiction fiction is kind of its own
game, and I don't know thefiction game very well. I think it's
a little bit different there. Butwithin nonfiction, the process of writing,
publishing, and marketing a book canbe incredibly successful doing it yourself, especially
if you're you know, building brandand expertise around the topic as I was
(19:18):
doing that. That's great, thankyou for sharing that, because I do
think that people just don't have afull awareness and then sometimes as they start,
they don't even know where to begin. And there's just so many paths,
and there is organizations, and thereis coaches, and there is I
mean, gosh, there's even peopleon fiber or on upworks that will do
(19:41):
the layout of it for you,and that will even do editing or proofing.
Like, there's just so many resourcesthat people can actually do this with
self publishing, and then you canget it printed right at Amazon just like
you said, and partner with them. There's just so many any ways to
do this today. Absolutely, wereally live in the future, and there's
(20:06):
been a lot of democratization of justmedia in general, I think over the
past few years, So I thinkwhy not now is the time everyone's got
something to say, why not putit out into the world to see what
happens. Yep, So let's talkabout the sort of opposite of that.
Let's talk about one of the challengesthat you've faced. Because it's never all
(20:32):
perfect and everything doesn't go right everyday. And I think a lot of
people out there thinking about being anentrepreneur, thinking about owning a business,
they have concerns or they just seeall the good things of people. And
so what is one of the challengesthat you've faced and how did you work
through that? Yeah? Absolutely soone thing that I have deeply experienced,
(20:56):
and I'm guessing you have two andmany of your listeners. Every time you
level up in your career or yourlife, really there's this feeling and experience
of extreme vulnerability as you make thatchange, that discomfort of putting something out
into the world, taking a risk, putting yourself into a platform where people
(21:18):
can judge people. Can you know? I was terrified, you know,
as it relates to the book ofgetting bad reviews. Now, you know,
a year later, I'm like,oh, if someone didn't like the
book, you didn't like the book, great, write your own book.
So but I think I think havinghaving that network of people that you can
lead on and that will that willgive me really honest advice that I trust
(21:44):
and that I understand, will tellme, Hey, Emily, I don't
think this is the right career move, or I don't think this is this
is the right direction for you basedon what I know about you versus oh
yes, this thing that you're tryingto do very much alignance what I what
I know about you. I'm luckythat I've I've curated a group of I
(22:06):
sort of called them like a personalboard of advisors throughout the years, and
that have really helped me through thosevery life altering changes. Most recently,
I was actually laid off, soI put this book out there. I
spent the past couple of years atat a very large tech company called Stripe,
and like many many in the techindustry, they went through a series
(22:30):
of pretty big mass layoffs the pastfew months, and I was affected by
them. So, after working forcompanies and within companies for the past decade
and leadership roles, I decided,all right, I wondered, do I
have what it takes to go outand be a founder and to create my
own company with this experience that I'vethat I've gained, but also feeling still
(22:53):
very wounded by the layoff. Okay, can I really do this? And
just really tapped into my personal boardof advisors to discuss the decision and what
are the risks and where are thecorners I'm not necessarily staying around, and
ultimately came to that decision that Okay, let's go ahead and do it.
But again, it felt incredibly vulnerableto put myself out into the world as
(23:17):
a founder and entrepreneur, especially afterhaving going through this experience. But I
gotta say, four months in it'sgoing so well. I could not have
dreamed of even the early success thatwe're having and standing up this company.
So I'm very grateful for it,and I really appreciate the challenges and the
vulnerability that come during that times ofchange and growth. Wow, it is
(23:41):
so true because you're dealing with withwhat you went through. It's you're dealing
with this feeling of rejection at thesame time that you are pulling all of
your strength in in your confidence andeverything to launch something new. I feel
like it's this. I'm sure youexperienced this, but it's this roller coaster
(24:03):
of one day you're like what amI doing? Can I do this?
I don't know? Like why didI get laid off? Why wasn't I
good enough? There? And thenthe next day going well, that had
nothing to do with anything, andI am good enough and I can do
this, and I'm going to doit. And it's like just this kind
of ping pong ball that is hardto navigate sometimes. Yeah, and I
(24:23):
it's speaking with a lot of foundersas I've tried to kind of intentionally grow
my network of other founders. Thisis a very common experience, and you
kind of to your point, youfeel both of those emotions simultaneously. And
I think the trick is really developingthose skills of preture. Honestly, I've
(24:45):
gained a lot of them in therapy. I highly recommend therapy to any founders
or entrepreneurs, but understanding that it'snot a logical thought to really think you
can't do this if there's a partof your brain that believes that you can,
and and you have people around youthat you trust their opinion, that
are telling you that you can doit, because then when that voice comes
(25:07):
into your brain that it's like youcan't do it, You're like, but
why would I trust that voice overpeople that I really sincerely believe would tell
me. So that's kind of howI battle through those difficult moments. But
also like staying humble, and Ithink when you go through hardships in life,
the blessing of it sometimes is youcan fail. That's okay, it's
(25:33):
okay to make mistakes, it's okayto fail. It's what you do in
the in the fog of war thatfollows, that's where true leadership happens.
And so I tell people this asthey're going through, you know, a
very difficult life situation, difficult careersituation. Is true character is developed in
(25:55):
the aftermath. So that's where youreally make the decision, who are you
going to be today? Are yougoing to show up? Absolutely? One
of the things that you said thatI absolutely love, and I've trained this
throughout the years as well, butI don't see a lot of people that
actually take that serious, and thatis developing your own sort of board of
(26:17):
directors. And I love that yousaid that because I think that that is
so important, and so I wouldlove you. I know, I know
what I've trained on it, butI would love you to just expound on
that a little bit for our listenersout there, because this is, in
my personal opinion, it's such animportant thing. If you are in business
(26:40):
for yourself, you have got tohave this sort of personal board of directors.
So can you can you elaborate onthat just a little bit, oh,
one hundred percent? One hundred percent? So you know, it is
often said that you're the average ofthe five people that are closest to you.
I think that that is true inlife as it is in business.
(27:00):
And so in life we gain friendshipsthrough any number of ways, and they
all kind of serve a purpose andyou feel part of a community and meet
different emotional needs and that's terrific.In business, the people that you really
bring into your inner circle will onehundred percent influence who you are, the
(27:23):
opportunities that you have, and thekind of business that you're able to create.
And so when you encounter people inthe workplace or just in your general
networking that really inspire you and youcan see that they are maybe a couple
steps ahead of you in terms ofwhere you want to be. Really strategically
(27:44):
bring people into your orbit and youknow, bring something the table for them
as well. You don't want tokind of just aggregate mentors and not give
anything back, but bringing people intoyour inner circle that whose accomplishments you admire,
whose network you'd like to tap into, or who's just brain helps expand
your own brain over months and years, bringing those people along with you as
(28:08):
you navigate your own career and willtell you the truth and you trust and
you ask to tell you the truth. That has been a tremendous source of
levity but also clarity for me asI've navigated through this, and it starts
well before you really need them.So intentionally doing that right from the get
(28:30):
go. And if you're listening tothis and you haven't started, start today.
Who is somebody around you that youwant to pull in closer to be
in this journey with you as youtake your career in your business in the
next level that will pay off anabsolute dividends, and then you have to
remember to pay it forward, bethat for somebody else, because again,
(28:51):
you're going to be the average,So you're always going to have a couple
of people that are a couple stepsahead of you. And then you want
a couple of people that you canpull up and take take on the ride
with you and paying it forward thatpays back and dividends to absolutely. I
always say you should have a mentorand be a mentor at the same time,
always because you are learning from somebodyelse, but you learned so much
(29:15):
in mentoring someone else. It actuallylevels up your own abilities. When you're
bringing it to like a teaching perspective, or when you're bringing it to helping
somebody, you suddenly even the thingsyou know you have to articulate in a
way that is different, and itdoes it increases your own standing in what
(29:37):
you're doing. The other thing thatyou mentioned, and I do think this
is important is what are you ableto get back or do And that's how
because a lot of people don't knowhow to go find a mentor how to
find these people. And it issimple as something like, okay, what's
my expertise in and then finding somebodyin business that maybe their level of expertise
(30:00):
is something completely different than yours,but you're able to offer that up.
And I'm happy to be helpful inthis area of you know, whatever it
is that your specialty is. Ican remember when I was very very young,
very young. I remember going toone leader and I said, I
would just love to come to yourmeetings and observe you running these meetings and
(30:26):
if I could just set in andit'd come and observe. And she was
like, I could tell there wasa slight hesitation. I said, and
I'm happy at any time if youever want me to share any sales tips
or anything, because I was justlike one of the top salespeople within the
company. And she was like,oh my gosh, that would be amazing.
And so I just went and observed. Every once in a while she
(30:48):
would call on me. But man, I learned how And I was only
twenty four at the time. Ilearned how to lead a team through just
observing her meetings. I love thatand I'm definitely going to steal that idea.
I'm going to ask to observe somemeetings. It's such a great one.
Oh my gosh, it is sogood shadowing people. I don't think
(31:11):
we talk enough about that either,but gosh, you can learn so much
if you're willing to be open tojust the way people interact with people,
the way they conduct the meaning,the way they start the meaning, the
way they you know that lead ateam or get collaboration or all kinds of
things. It's just really actually quiteamazing. So this is our sort of
(31:33):
signature question of the show, andthat is what does working from your happy
place mean to you? I thinkit means finding that true north star within
who you are as a person andbringing that into an alignment with how you
work. For me, realizing thatI wanted to be a leader in corporate
(31:56):
America, I wanted to be aleader in the tech space, but I
wanted to do it on my ownterms. I am somebody who shows up
with tattoos. I am somebody whoshows up and has done a lot of
you know, hourly gig type work. That's who I am. I bring
working class roots into the situation.But figuring out how I could blend these
(32:20):
two sides of myself, my ambitiousside, but also the roots of who
I am and what I represent.I have an immigrant story as well that
has been able to light the pathforward for me and figuring out what is
my true north star, feeling authenticto who I am and showing up in
the workplace truly that way and ifI can leave anything behind it, it's
(32:44):
lighting up that path that others canfollow, especially for younger generations coming into
the workplace. The entire power dynamicis shifting from the kind of traditional established
to new young leaders that are thatare stepping into these positions with our money
and influence. Lead Like who youare at the moment absolutely demands and needs
(33:07):
new fresh leadership and perspectives. Don'tfeel like you have to give up who
you are to be successful in business, successful in your career, and especially
within the tech sector. It's sobadly needed. That is super great advice.
Which is our next question, whichis what advice This will be a
little bit different maybe than what youjust answered in that regard, but like,
(33:27):
what advice can you give to thatperson who's listening here and is maybe
based in the same sort of dilemmathat you were. You're either have been
laid off or you know it.You know that it's just not right for
you anymore where you are, andyou're like, I always wanted to pursue
this dream or I always wanted totake a risk and do my own business.
(33:49):
What advice would you give to thatindividual that's sitting in that space right
now? Yeah, I would sayleaning into that vulnerability. It is absolutely
nerve racking to step out and takethose first steps on your own. Do
not be afraid to ask for help. Do not be afraid to cold message
people on LinkedIn or Twitter or whereveryour prospects or your potential business partners are.
(34:14):
The worst they can say is no, but you never know until you
ask. And so taking those steps, and even though it's so painful and
uncomfortable, sales is still uncomfortable forme. I don't care for it.
But sitting with that discomfort and forcingmyself to take those steps, that has
ultimately what's landed to be in thisposition of success that I now find myself
(34:35):
in. So it's okay to beafraid, it's okay to be vulnerable,
but you'll never know what you canaccomplish until you try and put yourself out
there. So just go for it. Fantastic advice. Any new and exciting
things that you're working on that you'dlike to share with our listeners. Absolutely
so. My company, Yield justannounced our formal partnership with Stripes. So
(34:57):
it's been funny that it's very fullcircle. All used to work at Stripe
and now we are a consulting partnerof Stripe. More announcements to come along
those lines. And then on apersonal note, the book that I wrote
will be releasing an audio version ofthe book a little bit later in this
year, so be on the lookoutfor that as well. Fantastic, So
that congratulations on that, and thathe had to feel I don't know the
(35:22):
word. I was gonna say funny, but it had to feel serendipitous or
something. I don't know. That, Like, I get laid off from
Stripe and now I'm going to beconsulting with Stripe, Like that's got to
feel pretty darn good. It's kindof a trip. I'm not gonna lie.
It's a little strange, but it'sjust one of those things in life
(35:43):
that's like you just never know andsometimes you have to laugh at it.
But you know, I never wouldhave gone to this point if I hadn't
been laid off. And I'm havinga lot of fun continuing to just be
a payments expert and helping companies buildtheir financial infrastructure with this knowledge and experience
in just a different way. Soit's been all good. Oh and they
really are the leader in online paymentprocessing, so I mean they really are,
(36:09):
So that's exciting. They are.Yeah, technology is fabulous. There's
a lot of really great payments companiesout there. Stripe is definitely a leader
and kind of the startup and verydeveloper friendly, so we're really excited to
partner with them. But yeah,I think I think the future of online
payments is just getting started. Sovery excited to be a part of it
(36:30):
in this new way. I lovethat. I think the more that we
see people in that space, itwas just like so back in the day,
like when I first had my business, it was you getting your own
merchant account right, and you havingyour own I mean, I had my
own sort of machine here that weprocessed credit card payments with, and so
(36:55):
the best thing was trying to findthe best deal, right and getting enough
business is that you could get betterrates. And then on the online space,
it's been very difficult to have anycompetition because everybody's there's not been a
lot of options, and so youjust have to pay what you have to
pay. And so I think thatthat's going to be interesting. If there's
(37:15):
more people becoming a part of that, it is probably going to create opportunities.
I would hope for a little bitof competitiveness in percentages. Would you
agree or not agree? Oh?I agree. I think that the vast
majority of payments in the world arestill do not happen online. They still
(37:36):
are either cash based or people thatdon't even have bank accounts. So imagine
what happens as those regions of theworld start to come online and online payments
starts to get more proliferated. There'sjust an entire green field opportunity for up
and comers, Stripe and other playersin the ecosystem. So I really think
we're just getting started. And theway that people will pay for their cups
(38:00):
of coffee, their taxi rides inten years, who knows, who knows,
It'll be interesting to see where thingsgo. Yes, absolutely, well,
Emily, this has been absolutely delightful. Thank you so much for sharing
your wisdom and your leadership strategies withour audience. I think it's very exciting
(38:23):
to have someone speaking to a youngergeneration and leading a younger generation. It's
very exciting. Well, thanks somuch for having me. It's been a
great conversation. Thanks for all youdo as well. Yeah, and where
can our listeners find you? Soyou can find me on LinkedIn? Fairly
active on LinkedIn. I also havemy own personal website Emily Sitrian dot com
(38:44):
and my book Make Me the Bossis available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
and wherever books are sold. Greatwell, thanks everyone for listening today.
We would love it if you wouldfollow our subscribe so you don't miss
a single great episode and leave usa review, a five star review.
He was always very helpful for otherpeople finding us, and the most important
(39:05):
or the best compliment that you couldgive Emily or myself is to share this
with a friend. Don't forget tograb your free gifts and we will see
you next time on work from yourhappy place.
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