What happens when the person you’ve spent a year developing tells you they’re leaving for their dream job at Google?

For Olga, it was one of the proudest moments of her career. She had helped her regional director to grow and believe in herself in ways she never had before. And then she watched her leave.

In this conversation, we talk about how to build teams, why Olga took a seemingly smaller title for a bigger revenue challenge, and her framework for setting “North stars” and bringing focus to her team.

We also get into Olga’s path, how not getting the role she really wanted led her somewhere better, what to look for when hiring for grit and curiosity, and the best career advice she ever got: “Tell yourself you’re excited, not nervous. Your body can’t tell the difference.”

Connect with Olga Lykova: LinkedIn Connect with Laura Colagrande: LinkedIn

Timestamps:

* 00:00 Introduction

* 01:21 Leadership and team dynamics

* 06:15 Early career lessons

* 09:56 Job market and networking

* 15:56 Strategic leadership challenges

* 21:59 Acquisitions and integration

* 25:49 Working with senior leadership

* 33:13 Career transitions and impact

* 38:41 Hiring for curiosity and grit

* 45:08 Influence Shout Out and Closing

One thing you’ll take away:

The hardest part of building leaders is knowing the best ones will eventually outgrow you. The reward is they’ll still call you when they do.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kat Heisler’s episode on Rules to Thrive. Olga’s former regional director, now leading Workspace Partnerships at Google.

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