Your Biggest Strength Is Your Biggest Career Blocker (Jenny Wanger)

A huge thanks to this episode’s sponsor:

Hire Overseas: Exceptional Talent for Less - https://www.hireoverseas.com/value

Navattic: Interactive Product Demo Software - https://navattic.com/value

In this episode, Jenny Wanger, a coach for product teams, shares her story of growth and leadership development.

Jenny discusses the pivotal moment at SpotHero when she was informed that she would not receive a promotion due to her leadership style, a feedback that deeply affected her. She reflects on how this experience shaped her approach to leadership, focusing on building accountability and receiving constructive feedback. Jenny shares how she turned this difficult moment into an opportunity for personal growth, creating a peer council to help her improve her leadership and communication. This journey of self-reflection ultimately transformed her leadership approach and contributed to her professional success.

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Intro

(01:07) Transitioning from cook to systems

(03:58) The journey into product coaching

(05:29) Key lessons from strategy panic

(07:23) Pushing for promotion at SpotHero

(09:21) Missteps during offsite strategy planning

(13:36) Leadership transition: a wake-up call

(15:01) Thank you to our sponsors, Hire Overseas and Navattic

(17:45) Trust and defensiveness in leadership

(24:19) Building an inclusive change playbook

(26:41) Effective tactics for a listening tour

(27:02) The power of small group workshops

(29:45) Confidence-building moments in leadership

(30:47) Dealing with promotion denial fallout

(33:47) Uncovering psychological safety blindspots

(37:08) Creating a feedback loop with advisory council

(43:50) Avoiding overcorrection in leadership practices

(48:00) Confronting imposter syndrome and belonging

(51:23) The purpose behind this show

(53:27) Normalizing struggle through empathy

Resources:

Connect with Jenny:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennywanger/

Connect with Andrew:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/

Substack: https://media.deliveringvalue.co

Hire Andrew as your coach: https://deliveringvalue.co/coaching