Tracy Podell Leadership Advisor Hi Reader, I happen to have two spherical crystals in my office. Mostly because I’ve lived in LA for 15 years and I’m a coach. Last week, mid-session, I felt the strong need to pick them both up and hand them to my client. “I’m handing you balls.” (Yes, it’s a gendered metaphor. Yes, women don’t need testicles to be powerful. I know, I know. But she got it!) Twice that week, on two different calls, I heard the same questions from two very accomplished women:...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Tracy Podell Leadership Advisor Hi Reader, Neuroscientists have found that we’re highly attuned to social tension. When something feels unresolved or charged between people, our attention locks in. We want to understand what’s happening and how it’s going to play out. So if you find yourself drawn to drama, it’s not because you’re immature. It’s because you’re human. There are two very different kinds of drama I see a lot when it comes to teams: 1. The drama of avoiding drama (that makes...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Tracy Podell Executive Coach Hi Reader, At a leadership workshop, the facilitator asked a mixed group of men and women a simple question: “Who here is an expert on breastfeeding?” Several men raised their hands. Most of the women did not. When asked why, the men said: “My wife breastfed 3 kids."The women said: “I’ve breastfed, but I’m not a lactation consultant.” Same proximity. Same lived experience. Very different rules for what qualified as expertise. What struck me wasn’t breastfeeding....
7 months ago • 1 min read
Tracy Podell Executive Coach Hi Reader, I delivered a 360 to a newly promoted C-suite leader who refused to fully own the insane amount of positive feedback they received. A lot of us are taught to be “humble,” but we mistake being humble for not claiming our strengths. And it backfires. On us and on our team. Owning your strengths isn’t arrogant. It’s accurate. And it’s the thing that actually makes you humble. Real humility comes from knowing what you’re good at and being unattached to...
7 months ago • 2 min read
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8 months ago • 1 min read
Tracy Podell Executive Coach Hi Reader, I delivered a 360 to a newly promoted C-suite leader who refused to fully own the insane amount of positive feedback they received. A lot of us are taught to be “humble,” but we mistake being humble for not claiming our strengths. And it backfires. On us and on our team. Owning your strengths isn’t arrogant. It’s accurate. And it’s the thing that actually makes you humble. Real humility comes from knowing what you’re good at and being unattached to...
9 months ago • 2 min read
Tracy Podell Executive Coach Hi Reader, Early in my startup career, I had an intern who just oozed exec presence. Tall, good-looking, and confident AF. He looked you in the eye as if you had his full attention and nodded along as if he was tracking every word. I assumed he knew exactly what he was doing when I gave him an assignment… until two weeks in, when I realized he didn't even know how to open his email. Why did it take me 2 weeks to realize this?? Research shows that it only takes us...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Tracy Podell Executive Coach I mean, it’s not. But you know how this goes. Blink twice and it’s Q4. Blink again and it’s holiday out-of-office replies and “wait, how is it already December?” And it’s been an incredibly unpredictable year. So it makes sense if your current strategy is just keep swimming and try not to drown. While I'm not advocating drowning, I do think it’s a good time to stop swimming (just for a moment) and hop in your imaginary (eco-friendly) private plane and zoom up to...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Tracy Podell Executive Coach Hi Reader, “I don't know what I'm doing.” About 15 years ago, I said those words behind closed doors at Pluto TV, where I was their Marketing Director. The product was breaking while I tried to market it. The data was unreliable, and I’d never led at this level before. I only had two years at an online video startup before this—and the Pluto “marketing team” was originally just me: no wise mentor, no roadmap. I said those words to a colleague one...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
