Summary & Highlights
For minorities aspiring to ascend to the upper ranks of corporate leadership, the journey is often fraught with unique obstacles and systemic barriers. Yue offers a compelling exploration into this terrain, delving into the strategies and insights necessary for minorities to break through barriers and ascend to successful careers in the C-suite. With a focus on empowerment and advocacy, Yue provides a roadmap for aspiring leaders, offering practical advice and thought-provoking perspectives on navigating the complexities of corporate advancement.
Some key take-aways from this talk:
- Evolving from competition to collaboration: Yue emphasizes the necessity for leaders to shift their mindset from competing with peers to collaborating with them. This shift is crucial as executives are expected to prioritize collective success over individual accomplishments, fostering an environment of teamwork and unity within the organization. (6:47)
- Prioritizing the company’s goals over individual achievements: As leaders move in to executive roles, they must prioritize the overarching goals and success of the company above personal accolades. This requires a willingness to make decisions that benefit the organization as a whole, even if they may not directly benefit one’s own team or department. Yue recommends putting yourself in your managers shoes when making decisions to identify between what’s best for your team vs the company at large. (7:49 & 9:43)
- Exploring beyond personal responsibilities: Yue highlights the significance of leaders going beyond their immediate job roles and responsibilities. By actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with other teams and departments, leaders can gain a broader perspective of the organization and contribute to its overall success. (11:47)
- Fostering confidence as a minority: Yue emphasizes the importance for minorities to overcome ingrained habits of deferring to authority and hesitating to voice their perspectives in decision-making processes, especially as they aim for leadership positions. Through actively asking questions, challenging stereotypes, and confronting imposter syndrome, they can nurture confidence in expressing their opinions and seizing initiative, thereby enhancing their leadership capabilities. (13:33)
- Developing a “superpower”: She encourages leaders to identify and develop a unique skill or expertise that aligns with the current and future needs of the business. This “superpower” not only sets them apart from their peers but also positions them as valuable assets to the organization, enhancing their chances of success in executive roles. (21:02)
Yue’s insights shed light on the nuanced challenges minorities face in ascending to leadership roles, offering practical advice for navigating these obstacles. From shifting mindsets to embracing creativity and harnessing the potential of emerging technologies like AI, she provides a holistic perspective on the journey to the C-suite. Ultimately, emphasizing the importance of strategic alignment, collaboration, and leveraging one’s unique strengths to drive personal and organizational success in executive leadership.
Guest Profile
Yue was the first product manager and Head of Professionals at Thumbtack Inc. for 5 years, where she worked alongside the founders to build and scale a technology leader valued at $3.2B in 2021 with investment from Sequoia, Tiger Global, Capital G, QIA, and more. Then, at Fuzzy Pet Health, she was the Chief Product & Technology officer, helping the team find PMF for its telehealth offering and reach EBITDA positive within 6 months. Previously, she co-founded a wine e-commerce startup called FirstCrush. She spent 4 years at Meta working on Instagram Feed and Profile, Messenger Web and Desktop, and SMB Advertising.
Yue is currently a Venture Partner at LifeX Ventures, a $100M fund actively deploying capital in healthtech, climatech, and the AI space. Her network in the product space, in particular, adds a new dimension to LifeX’s team of ex-founders and operators.
As a seasoned executive career coach and advisor, Yue is passionate about coaching mid-career minority executives and helping the next generation of CEOs and founders hone in on the real pain points to solve for their customers.
She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. A lifelong student of human thriving, Ashish has read over 450 books and studied the teachings of world-renowned experts in the fields of spirituality, philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. His purpose in life is to help individuals, organizations, and communities achieve their full potential through the power of happiness.
Resources
- Book: The Uncommon Executive: Breakthrough to the C-suite as a Minority
Website: PM Coach
LinkedIn: Yue Zhao
Episode Transcript
Sue Bethanis 0:03
Welcome, everyone to WiseTalk. This is Mariposas monthly podcast, we provide perspectives on leadership. Today we’re excited to welcome Rich Horwath. Rich has been described by Chief Executive Magazine as the world’s foremost expert on strategic thinking. As founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, Rich serves executive leadership teams as a strategy facilitator, strategic advisor and executive coach. He has helped