Be Plucky Podcast

Episode NotesKatel LeDû is the CEO of A Book Apart, where she helps passionate tech community members become successful authors. She’s also a coach focused on helping folks cultivate creativity, develop social awareness in themselves and at work, and embody sensitivity and empathy as superpowers.We cover a lot, including:uncommon career pathsthe maturity of industriesegos and emailpauses before answerscapitalismpeople trusting themselveswork as saviorentrepreneurshipthe concepts of small as big, dangerous departuresConnect with Katel on LinkedIn and check out Katel's recent book, You Should Write a Book, here. And finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path. https://abookapart.com/

Christina Entcheva is a Director of Software Engineering at GitHub. Christina has a background as a software engineer, product manager, and designer. She’s passionate about open source software, radical candor, and salads!We cover a lot, including:who sets the standards for good performancesocializing career laddersthe difference between being challenged and underperformingmodeling constructive feedbackperfectionismweight training with a trainerPerformance Improvement Planswhat keeps managers up at nightfavorite moments of managementConnect with Christina on LinkedIn and read more about Communities @ GitHub! Christina's team owns a bunch of GitHub features including:Discussions: https://github.com/features/discussionsSponsors: https://github.com/sponsorsAnd finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path.

MJ is an Engineering Manager for the API and Partnerships team at Honeycomb. MJ's team works on exposing APIs and integrating Honeycomb capabilities with the broader software ecosystem to allow users to take advantage of Observability from anywhere!Before Honeycomb, MJ spent 12 years as a consultant, developer, and leader at companies like ThoughtWorks and Apple. Outside work, she enjoys long walks listening to an audiobook or podcast (current phase - true crime or cults). She also loves legos an lazy weekends and binge-watching television shows.We cover a lot, including:regular check-ins about career directionWill Larson's Career Check-upfinancial stabilityartifacts and structuresspecialists and innovationgeneralists and versatilityembracing the way things are done elsewhereappreciating context switchingLara Hogan's Voltron exercisefeeling stuck in a careerhow to recognize a need for changeConnect with MJ on LinkedIn and read more about Honeycomb here.And finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path. 

Meet Our GuestEmily Allen is the VP of People at SEER interactive. Emily has 15+ years experience building, scaling and leading People Operations end-to-end at agencies and start-ups with remote and fully distributed teams. When Emily's not HR'ing, you can find her spending time with her husband, three daughters and giant Newfoundland, Rooney. We cover a lot, including:remote work since Covidwanting to be everything for everyoneconfidencecommunicate, communicate, communicatebusiness hoursburnoutbeing a grown-upZoom vs. phonehow boundaries relate to delegationConnect with Emily on LinkedIn and read more about opportunities at SEER.And finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path. 

Meet Our GuestJulie Kang (she/her) is the Director of Engineering at Chord Commerce, a series A start-up, and a leadership coach. Prior to Chord, Julie was a manager at Mailchimp, worked at Minted, and several roles in in the biotech industry. Julie lives in Oakland, California with her menagerie of dogs, cats, chickens, and teenagers.We cover a lot, including:using intuition as a managerleadership responsibility in managing toxicity acutely and timelycreating environments for healthy teamsbaggage, grievances and boredomcanaries in the coal mine during seasons of attritionthe value of an empowered delegationallowing u-turns in management rolesSo Now You're a Manager trainingConnect with Julie on LinkedIn and read more about opportunities at Chord.And finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path. 

Meet Our GuestSameera Kapila (she/her) is a designer, educator, manager, and writer who works as a senior product designer at Netlify.From India and Curaçao, and currently living in Austin, TX, Sameera has held roles in agencies, educational institutions, and consultancies ranging from individual contributor to executive leadership, student to educator, and everything in between. This experience influences and powers Sameera to analyze design holistically, identifying gaps and advocating for solutions in her new book, Inclusive Design Communities.We cover a lot, including:daring to dream about something newinclusive placescaregiving and inclusive benefitsindividuals vs. communityunlearning (reference to: Ethan Marcotte's original book on Responsive Web Design)scientists and failurecalling in vs. calling outtactics for empowering sponsorship and allyship dailyConnect with Sam on her  personal website,  LinkedIn, and on Mastodon. Don't forget to purchase Sam's book!And finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path.

Meet Our GuestBorn and raised in Puerto Rico, Mari Chamoun (she/her) lives in Austin, TX, where she is raising a kid with her partner. Mari is COO and partner at Funsize, a digital service and product design agency, where she leads operations and sales.We cover a lot, including:sales in a design organizationmediating prices and deadlines between clients and the teamthe importance of empathy and creativity in negotiationmeeting folks first as humanshow to celebrate winshow to know when to walknegotiating on Zoom / remotelywhat is the other person afraid of?winning with a client vs. winning with your teamnegotiation as collaborative conversationgender in power and negotiation Connect with Mari or find out more about Funsize here. Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path.

Meet Our GuestDr. Evelyn Carter (she/her) is a social psychologist who has conducted cutting-edge research on how to detect and discuss racial bias. She’s also the president of Paradigm, a consultancy that designs solutions that help companies incorporate DEI into their talent systems and processes.As Paradigm’s President, Evelyn is focused on evolving and advancing the practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Evelyn’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, and in 2018, she was featured on the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences “20 Under 40” list. In addition to her peer-reviewed scholarship, Evelyn is a highly sought-after thought leader. Her work and insights have been published in popular press outlets such as The Atlantic, Bloomberg, CBS This Morning, CNBC, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and NPR. Evelyn holds a doctorate from Indiana University, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.We cover a lot, including:authenticity and first impressionsinterviewing and masksminimizing trade-offs when being yourself at workcurating first impressionsproblematic instinctsnetworking: lame and awesomethe first impressions of placesour choice of backgrounds on ZoomConnect with Evelyn on her  personal website,  LinkedIn, and her Twitter, @drevvycarter.You can follow Evelyn's blog series here and read more about opportunities at Paradigm here. And finally...Looking for new energy in your mentorships? Check out the Plucky Mentor Pack, an easy tool to inspire deep conversations about your path.

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