In this episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field, I am pleased to introduce cohost Yadira Estrada, a research fellow in the Psychology department at the University of Pittsburgh, and our special guest Taal Hasak-Lowy, the Executive Director of Friends of the Children.

Yadira is in the process of exploring her career path and choosing her next step, a critical point that so many of us have experienced. Our conversation explored various avenues for achieving her goals and how she can frame her options and consider her next step.

Yadira brought up her quest to balance confidence and humility, and Taal challenged her to be bold and openly share the unique skills she brings to her workplace without selling herself short.

We had a rich discussion about the value of providing honest feedback in the workplace and how to know if you are in a safe setting where counterpoints and new ideas can be shared. Taal and I shared strategies we have used to giveand receive feedback in ways that can enrich organizations.

Watch or listen to learn about the above topics plus Yadira's hopes for her career and Taal’s strategy for countering the negative voice in your head and enhancing the positive voice.

In today's episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons fromthe Field, I am thrilled to introduce Dr. Kristine Lombardozzi and Jaime Barajas to discuss transitioning into that first job out of college and looking ahead towards a future career.

We talked about the importance of staying open-mindedearly in your career and trying as many new things as possible. As Kristine put it, “Go all in where you are and trust that you will find the right path.”

We discussed the importance of identifying specificskills and competencies that you want to develop and seeking out opportunities expand your skill set and demonstrate a growth mindset. We also talked about takingnote of the things that you are not interested in and using those lessons to help hone your career path.

Kristine and I could both relate to Jaime’s feeling ofbeing overwhelmed with all the options ahead of him and trying to figure out the right steps. We both remember being in our first jobs and wanting to have it all figured out but reassured Jaime that he has plenty of time to discernhis future.

Many thanks to Jaime and Christine for this importantconversation!

In this episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from theField, I am excited to introduce Matt Kueker, CEO of Kenway Consulting, and Apurva Bhagali, Program Manager at Microsoft.

Matt and Apurva are both immersed in the technology field in different ways, which enabled a robust conversation about the various paths that rising leaders can take in their careers. Matt and Apurva have had very different career trajectories, demonstrating how each of us can find our own way and end up exactly where we're supposed to be.

Beyond the discussion about working in the technology field,Matt and Apurva provided helpful insights into key strategies for rising leaders from any industry. They shared their approaches to networking with other leaders, their strategies for choosing how to focus their time, and the steps they take to develop themselves and others.

We also discussed the benefits of working in small andmid-size versus large enterprise organizations. Each has different advantages that rising leaders should consider when determining the type of organization that is the best fit for them.

Take a listen to hear about these topics and more, includingMatt's view on the importance of humility in leadership and Apurva’s thoughts on being authentic and on demonstrating your value.

Many thanks to Matt and Apurva for sharing these valuablelessons!