Jan 31, 2023
Growing up in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment, Sylvana Rochet learned to adapt to new spaces and places with ease and creativity. Establishing a career in International Development, Sylvana traveled around the world and realized that poor leadership was a common issue in various sectors. Sylvana is an Executive Coach and People Advisor based in Silicon Valley. She guides founders and CXOs on how to manage their internal psychology and interpersonal dynamics so that they can lead from a place of clarity and courage. Since founding her practice 8 years ago, she’s coached over 200 leaders at companies like Slack, Apple, Netflix, and fast-growing startups in the US and Europe. Sylvana is a Techstars Mentor, startup advisor, and angel investor. As an international speaker, she’s given talks about how to give feedback that builds relationships, how to be a great leader, and how to leverage your mindset for success. Originally from France and Colombia, Sylvana is a political scientist by training who also studied Hatha Yoga in India. Her prior career in international development has enabled her to approach business and people challenges with a wide lens and a variety of tools.
What You Will Hear in This Episode:
2:40 Sylvana’s personal journey
5:25 What makes good leadership / Becoming a good leader
6:15 Challenges faced along the way
9:30 Internal Psychology
14:35 Perception and awareness
18:02 Gender differences in leaders
21:13 Gender bias in tech
26:09 Startups and its pressures and challenges
27:15 Being an Angel Investor
30:00 Greatest challenges leaders are facing today. Demands and expectations
Quotes
“I made an effort myself to become a better leader for the people that I was working with.”
“If there is something externally that you are seeing is not working, the only person you have control over is you.”
“For most people, there's been a reticence and a hesitation to have frank conversations with people about, how are you perceiving me?, how am I supporting you?, how am I not supporting you?”
“Ageism is a thing.”
“The pace that we are living at in our world and the demands and the expectations that we are setting for ourselves societally have gotten to a point where they are so high and unrealistic that we are reaching a breaking point.”
Mentioned:
Sylvana Rochet LinkedIn