Heart Leadership with Pooja Shankar Pooja Shankar

The guest on today's episode is Ivan Zarea. He is an engineering manager at Netlify, building a diverse and inclusive engineering team that builds a better web. Before Covid, he used to organize the Lead Developer Amsterdam meetup — a community of engineering leaders united in their quest for building better teams.In today's episode, we talk about vulnerability as a leader. We don't start our careers being empathetic because we are afraid of looking weak. Ivan shares his personal journey. He started off being very comfortable telling people what to do and that's not always a bad thing, in his opinion. He came from a military background and this is what he knew. He also shares how a trusting, empathetic manager made a difference in his professional journey. He is passionate about hiring for diversity and he talks about the strategies he uses to look for talent. We share our favourite books and podcasts that has made an impact on us and changed us for the better. I hope you enjoy this episode and have a few good take-aways.The resources mentioned in the episode:1. https://www.palomamedina.com/biceps2. Connect by David Bradford and Carole Robin (https://www.amazon.com/Connect-Building-Exceptional-Relationships-Colleagues/dp/0593237099)3. Changeable (the summary of the book is recommended by Ivan) - https://www.amazon.com/Changeable-Collaborative-Problem-Solving-Changes/dp/01431290154. The Mastery of Self by Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. - https://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Self-Toltec-Personal-Freedom/dp/1938289692/5. Drama Triangle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle 6. Feeling Good - https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy/dp/0380810336

Welcome to episode 3 already! This is a short 40 minute episode and I hope you enjoy this. Today's guest is the wonderful Vithika Yadav. She is an anti-slavery and gender rights activist. She has been an expert in the field of sexual health and reproductive rights for over 2 decades now. She is the head of Love Matters, India and is the founder of Teen Book.We talk about how being an empathetic leader was the only way she knew. Being away from home in boarding school shaped Vithika to be the leader she is today. She talks passionately how we need to break away from the stigma. She and her team experienced racism, comments on how much food people in her team consumed and how her way of dressing wasn't "acceptable" because people in India "looked a certain way". I hope you enjoy this episode and if you think a leader in your network can use this space to share their experiences, write to me on heartleadershipwithpooja@gmail.com. Vithika Yadav's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vithika-yadav-4829655/

Warning:TW - Some aspects of workplace harassments are briefly mentioned in this episode. CW - Swearing.Today's guest is the very energetic Rayta van Rijswijk, who's a techie and currently an Engineering Manager. She also co-runs RailsGirls in the Netherlands. She recounts her experience as a techie woman of colour, what kept her going, her allies and how she sets value while being a vulnerable leader. This is a powerful conversation and many experiences we exchanged here are quite widespread. How can we talk about these awkward topics? How do we deal with micro-aggressions? How can your manager make a difference? Some of the resources that Rayta mentions during this conversationBook - The Culture Map by Erin Meyer (https://erinmeyer.com/books/the-culture-map/) Website on allyship -  https://guidetoallyship.com/Learn Coding and Networking platforms for various groups:Tech focussed:All URG: • diversifytech.co/job-boardGender • womenintechnology.org • fairygodboss.com • inhersight.com • hiretechladies.com • powertofly.com • witi.comBlack • blacktechpipeline.com • blacksintechnology.net/ / blacksintechnology.slack.comGeneral:Orientation • http://www.campuspride.jobs/ • http://outandequal.org/lgbt-careerlink/Black • http://blackjobs.com/cgi-bin/jobs/postJob.cgi • http://jobs.imdiversity.com/cm/clients/advertise_jobsVets • http://vetjobs.com/ • https://recruitmilitary.com/employersHispanic • http://www.hispanic-today.com/index.php/career-opportunities • http://jobs.hlpa.com/employer-products/Age • https://www.retiredbrains.com/index.html • http://www.babyboomerjobs.net/

In this first episode, I establish my WHY, why I started this podcast and to uncover how empathetic leadership is the most powerful style of leadership. Today's guest is the amazing leadership coach and raindrop movement founder Nada Mesqui. I ask Nada what the current leaders are struggling with, how being vulnerable affects one's image. Are you weak, too emotional for showing your insecurities and emotions as leaders.Nada talks about Raindrop movement, a movement dedicated to all those identifying as female and how we need to tap into the feminine energy.Nada puts it beautifully "everyone has both masculine and feminine energies and we, as the leaders of tomorrow, should embrace it fully in order to be powerful"I'd love your feedback and if you are/ know someone who could use this platform to share their tools on empathetic leadership and leading teams effectively, please get in touch with me onLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shankarpooja or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poojashankarofficial/RaindropMovement: https://www.raindropmovement.com; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raindrop_movement/ Get in touch with Nada: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadamesqui/