ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Host: Nikki Adamson (me!), Founder + CEO @ Hustle Hunters (recruiting and team building partner for startups making high stakes hires)
Guest: Sehreen Noor Ali, VC-backed Founder of
In this episode of Defining Talent, Nikki and Sehreen discuss Sehreen's early career experience managing a team at the State Department, the influence of curiosity and persistence in personal and professional growth, and the importance of accommodating work flexibility for caregivers. Sehreen also shares insights about her approach to team building, her company Sleuth's mission, and the types of talent they are seeking. Join us as we explore the qualities that make for an exceptional teammate and the strategies for creating a thriving, diverse workplace.
00:51 : E10 Welcome
1:40: When did you first start thinking of talent and team-building as part of your career?
2:28: Soccer team mentality
2:49: Why the family analogy doesn’t suit the work place.
4:06: How your life priorities change your work relationships.
5:47: Why impact-driven candidates end up in start-ups.
6:08: How Sleuth came to be
10:09: How do you build a soccer team?
10:20: Founders are looking for proactivity.
11:26: The juxtaposition between being a good student and being a creative, curious, proactive thinker.
12:26: Failure as a story-telling component.
13:05: Entrepreneurship is failure.
15:09: How do you think about building a team around skills and experiences that maybe aren’t on a resume?
17:05: How do you navigate work/life balance as a mom, founder, teammate, and more?
18:08: Embracing the curious side of yourself.
19:19: How do we hire parents that also have medical caregiving needs (for themselves or their children), and how do we keep them in the workplace?
19:55: The persistance that medical needs parents demonstrate is remarkable and great for the work place.
20:49: Work is important for people’s sense of identity and control.
22:14: When someone has an identity shift in their personal life, they may need an identity shift at work too.
24:00: How do we build roles and a company that can encompass all seasons of life?
24:41: Your amibiton is an amoeba.
25:05: What makes Sehreen a great teammate.
Book Recommendations:
Masters of Scale: Surprising Truths from the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs by Reid Hoffman
The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change by Michelle MiJung Kim
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