All right. Um Yeah, thanks everyone for joining. I know we have a short uh 20 minutes. Um But I will go ahead and get started um for the moderator. Is it ok for me to, to go ahead and, and start? Ok. I'm gonna assume. Yes. Ok. Awesome.All right. So, hi, my name is Ay, I'm a senior program manager at Google. I've been at Google about seven years now. Um I started my career in manufacturing. Um I got an engineering degree in mechanical engineering. Um and then I went into, to manufacturing. Um and I can dig a little bit deeper into that at some point and then, um went to business school and did a pivot into management consulting. So I did that for about seven years and then before I joined Google, um ever since I've, you know, been a program manager, I think theoretically my entire career has been pretty much me being a program management in different industries. Um But I can touch on some things, you know, later Q and A, you know, if we have time permitting. Um Q and A at the, the end, um I just wanted to caveat that, you know, this is me not speaking on behalf of Google, this is me speaking, you know, my myself.

Um And, you know, it's sort of like the advice that I've received over the years from many different people, men, women, um, et cetera. So I thought it would be interesting and cool to share because sometimes, you know, people don't have the benefit of mentors and people, um you know, at work that can, you know, give them advice and these, these are some, some things that I've pulled. Um I always keep track anytime, like somebody tells me something that I think is interesting in a, in a book and I've been curating this over many years. So I thought I would share it with this, the script. All right. Um So let's get started. So the first one is to be present and known. Um And so, you know, this one entails creating your own narrative and making sure that people know um people know what your narrative is, what your story is, what you want to stand for. Um Otherwise, in the absence of that, people will create it for you and it may not be accurate or something that you want. And so just to give a little bit of color around this, it's about making sure that you have relationships, especially with people within your organization that are influential um to your career that know who you are, what you stand for. How you work, etcetera.

Um It's no longer um and you know, the times have passed where it's good enough to just do good work and hope that you get notice, right? Uh There's no deck. Uh This is just me speaking, but feel free to obviously take, take notes. Um And so good work no longer just speaks for itself. You need to have people speaking for you as well and for them to be able to speak, you know, on your behalf in a way that does you justice. Um They need to know what your story is. So making sure that, you know, at work, you're with the things that you're working on, how you're working, how you're contributing to, to your organization is known by the co, not just a lot of people but the correct people. And so it's your job to kind of do your due diligence to know who those correct people are. Um And I would also say, you know, one mistake that often times I see that I myself have done as well is also limiting sort of like this my span of people that I connect with to just my manager. Um I think if you're doing this well, like it's your manager's managers as well. And obviously different organizations have different culture around and sort of like protocols around, around that, right? Um um Some may see that as, you know, something that it's not.

Um But to the extent possible with your culture, foster, sort of like you kind of expanding your network trying to go above just your manager, but having relationships with their managers as well and other executives, um and people above your level. Um uh, let me look in the chat, I'll make sure to gaze in the chat every once in a while to, um I think the second piece of advice, advice that I, I got was you're paid for performance and promoted for potential. Um So I'll repeat that again. You're paid for performance and promoted for potential. So you're paid for what you do, right? What you've done and you're promoted based on what you can do. And so, you know, relationships matter, right? For people to be able to project in the future and say, yes, I think this person is going to can be successful. This is somebody that we should invest in, right? Like that's your potential and that's where promotions come from. And I, I tend to agree with this. I think it's, it's actually true. Um So just something, something to keep in mind. Um The third piece, um It's about ownership. So don't wait until you get the title. This one's very true in terms of taking initiative and kind of owning your career, owning the things that you wanna work on, making sure that what you, the things that you value, the things that you're passionate about that get you going are um things that you're actually like working on.

Um And that you can, you know, take that initiative in your own career. Um But another piece of advice that I didn't actually weave into this. But uh as I'm talking was, um somebody mentioned to me is that not everything like you can be busy doing a lot of things, but not everything that you work on, right is important, but not everything is valuable. And so you have to figure out like what's also valuable to your organization or as you can be kept busy doing a lot of kind of important things. But then when it comes time for promotions and um you know, um you know, this really interesting opportunities and, you know, whatever those may be, you could potentially be overlooked, right? Because you've been busy doing a lot of things, but is it actually really important um important to the people that, that matter in your work? Um And people that have a say in, in your career trajectory, um The fourth one have a network that will vouch for you. So this, you know, goes to relationship building, building and this is in internal, as well as external to your organization, right? Like having sort of like your board of directors.

Um uh um and, and people that, you know, know the kind of work that you have, know what your aspirations are, know how you, you show up to the table and can speak positively for you in rooms that you're not in, right? Like that's sort of the sign of it. Like people that will speak on your behalf, um in conversations that you don't even know are happening and can and vouch for you and put you up for opportunities. And so that goes towards, you know, making sure that you develop a, a good sponsorship base. Um and that you just have good relationships throughout the org at various levels, then function that, you know, various functions as well. Um The next piece of advice is to speak up and ask for, ask for advice. This is something, you know, especially when you're new to an organization or a whole. Sometimes, you know, there may be some hesitancy to speak up and, um, but it's ok, like e even if it's, there's something that you think, you know, you yourself deemed to be a stupid question, it's better to ask that stupid question and know than to not ask. And then the time has passed where sort of like your runway to ask is, is gone and, you know, then you're asking and people are like, wait a minute, you've been in this role six months. Why did, why are you just asking this very basic question now?

Um So I, you know, that's something that I've had to keep in mind. Um, you know, over the years is to not take this for granted and to really like, especially when you're new to a role, like that's when you have the most sort of like leeway to kind of ask anything. Um But even then, even if the time has passed, right, like you should always defer to knowing the answer regardless of what you think the perception of yourself will be. Um other people may have the same, you know, question as well. Um And so just giving yourself that grace to be vulnerable and speak up. Um The next piece of advice is to always leave with grace. And so this one's kind of an interesting one, you know, and um sort of like this, this world of social media and all of that where people, I, I feel like sometimes people are vying to have the most like outrageous departures, that's actually not the best, best way to leave. So to the extent possible, try to leave with grace, try to make sure that you set your, your team up for success, right?

Like you have your transition plans, you're, you're not necessarily saying anything negative, hopefully you're going from like you're going to something versus running away from something. But regardless of what the scenario is, you know, trying as much as possible to have leave in a positive note because one thing that's like, so interesting, it sounds cliche, but it's, it's super small world. Like if you will end up can end up running into people completely, you know, different organizations, companies in different countries that you've, you know, you met whatever, 1520 plus years ago. Um And so it's good within your control, right? To, to really just have a graceful departure regardless of the circumstances. Um Let's see, number seven, be consistent and dependable. And so, and then also don't be reactive, don't be known for being reactive. Um And so, you know, people value kind of stability, right? And kind of knowing what you're gonna get like they know every time, you know, I know I'm, I go and I scoop in, you know, my um I go into my freezer and I'm, I reach for my vanilla ice cream vanilla is what's gonna come out, not strawberry, not chocolate. Like I wanna know like I'm coming to somebody, I know what I'm gonna get from that person that they're dependable and they're gonna see things through.

Um this is really important that you're known for good things, but then also if you want people to be able to vouch for you like they, they need to know that you're going to represent them. Well, right. And so that, that, that um sort of credit that they're giving you on behalf of yourself is for somebody that is going to represent them well and not embarrass them later. Um And so it's always better whether, you know, it's, you know, there's emails or personal interactions or, or whatever um to try, you know, as much as possible um to err on the side of not being reactive, even in situations that could be, you know, potentially like contemptuous or, or whatever and, and take that time to react and respond in um you know, very person in a professional manner.

Um And so that goes to the consistency of things, right? Like people want to know they can depend on somebody and that the person is consistent, not going to be sort of like volatile from one day to the next or that, you know, your work, the the quality of your work is gonna vary from one day to the next. There's, there's value and consistency. Uh Let's see, the next one. Someone is always watching you. And so this one is uh a, a good one, whether it's parties, meetings, emails, you know, standing in the lunch line, there's always somebody that is, is, is watching you and not, you know, not to be like creepy about it, but it is true. Um to, or someone that knows somebody that knows somebody, you know, things, it's a very small world and so always sort of not to say that you can't let your guard down, but just always be cognizant of that. Um you know, your presence either physically over, you know, um you know, virtually on social media on linkedin. There's always somebody there you never know, like when things can come back either in a good way, it doesn't always have to be negative or a bad way, right?

Um So it's just, it's an important thing to keep them in mind. Number nine, always assess the age of your knowledge. And so, you know, things are developing so rapidly, right? And so, you know, always having sort of like this learning mentality and learning is not just from books, it can be from going to conferences, it can be from connecting with people and just learning from them as well. Podcasts. Uh you know, certifications, always trying to keep yourself fresh. Um And make sure that you at least have a, a, a working knowledge of some of the, you know, the trends and, and top things that influence your industry. Um so that you can speak in sort of like AAA knowledgeable way. Um If, if, if need be. Um and then the last one, which is most important um is always, you know, taking care of yourself. And so, you know, I think somebody, the person I got this one was like, you know, the golden goose, you're the sort of like the golden goose laying the eggs, right? And so be compassionate with yourself, be sensitive to the energy um that you allow around yourself. Um and figure out what healthy looks for you. So healthy is different from one person to the next.

Um And so making sure that you invest in yourself um and you take care of yourself because you can't do any of the things that I mentioned above, if you're unhealthy, they like physically, mentally, like spirit, like whatever that looks for you, um looks like for you take action and, and try to be deliberate and thoughtful about it.

It's easy to kind of be um kind of go with the, you know, the, the um the flow and um so, you know, you need to make sure that you um invest in yourself and it's, these are obvious things, but it's things that it bears repeating and for us all to kind of keep in mind. Um, so that we can be our best self. Um I think, you know, you know, with this one, when I feel like I'm taking care of myself, some of these things like, you know, if having, you know, let's say there's a difficult conversation that comes up at work, right? Like when you're sort of like at your best self, some of these things don't, maybe not, won't bother you as much as they would if you weren't, if you were, you know, low on sleep hadn't eaten for the day if exercise is part of your regimen and you haven't done it in three weeks, right?

Like, um, so it's important to start with yourself and then um build from there. Um So, um OK, perfect. So I'm looking through the chat, those were my sort of like 1010 key um things I know. Um uh I went through that uh kind of quickly the time went by so fast. Um ok, let's see. There's some questions here. Do you have any advice for setting boundaries, particularly around leaving with grace or making yourself available or initiatives in the workplace? It can be to take advantage of your good work or reliability. Um Let's see. So I think that's a maybe a compound question. Um Well, the part about leaving the grace, I think, um you know, um and setting boundaries, I'm not sure if it's in the terms of like telling people where you're going or anything like that. Um um But in terms of making yourself available and people taking advantage, I think. Um Yeah, this is an interesting one. I mean, it, it depends and I think this is something if you have a strong manager like support it, it's easier, right? Because that person can help you think through how to and theoretically should be on board and aligned with the things that you're working on and what was in your scope and what's not in your scope.

Um So I would, you know, start there, but again, asterisks, the assumption is you have a strong sort of like leadership base that you can anchor to, to push back on things. Hopefully, it's not the manager that's actually doing this. Um Maybe it's coming from like your stakeholders that are the ones that are asking more of you than maybe your role um mandates or you're physically able to do. Um So I would start there, I think sometimes, um you know, it, uh in terms of um you know, doing good work and reliability and all of that, like documentation, I think is also important. And so in a way that people, it's clear of the work that you're doing. Like, sometimes I don't mind actually being quote unquote taken advantage of if I know that it's actually going to be rewarded, right? Like I will make that performance for whoever. Um Because I know that it's either I'm gonna learn something that I didn't know until it's gonna be in my toolkit or um I'm going to get, you know, there's some sort of like value to it, right? It's gonna help me during the performance, review time or whatever. Um So, you know, there's a balance there as well, but I would start with your, your management chain. Um and, and try to figure out like what their expectations are. You're being asked to do something that's outside of it.

I think it, you owe it to stop yourself to have, you know, a candid conversation around um around it. Uh Let's see what to do if I have a lot of ideas, which is out of my KPIS, however beneficial to my organization. Yeah. Um I see by trying to do it all. I stretch myself then. Yeah, it's, uh this is an interesting one. I, I, we have an, an exec that made some uh mentioned something one day. She was like, just because, just because you own something doesn't mean you need to do everything. So you could potentially if you have ideas, bring other people together to help you make that idea come through. Right? And so then that speaks to sort of like being able to like corral a team around an idea, um, uh, you know, build consensus and drive something from, from an idea to an actual, like tangible, you know, a thing. Um So that would be my, you know, yes, you shouldn't do everything and it shouldn't be at the expense of the core work and expectations. Um But if the culture of where you work allows it, you know, maybe forming sort of like these side kind of working groups or, you know, whatever you wanna call it where um you corral like minded people that are also ambitious that are also like eager to work on creative things, corral them and, and get a team together that can help you, you know, see these things through.

Um I saw this on social media where someone wrote down all of her accomplishments in her notebook after every day because, yeah, yeah, it is easy to forget. Um And I, I tend to do that as well. I use Google Sheets as well, especially some things, but you do forget when it's time for performance reviews, you know, even, you know, some of them less tangible things like, oh, I had a conversation with this exec and I influence them to move this way instead of that way.

Like you forget these things, right? And so it is important to keep a log of everything so that when the time comes where your work to be recognized, you, you have a solid kind of journal and that's, that's good advice. OK. Uh We have one more minute. Hopefully I can any advice on working with colleagues who are not a deep dive person as much as I am, but I don't have to, we are not such a uh um working college and I not deep dive. So I'm assuming you mean like uh colleagues that aren't as like ambitious as you like, want the drivers that want to like move things as well? Um Yeah, I mean, that one's broader than you, right? Like it's sort of like outside of your scope a little bit um in terms of being able to influence, you know, the types of people there, um It would probably not to sort of like blow this off. It probably warrant a conversation with your manager to see. Um You know, is there are there things that you can influence that don't require so much support from other o other coworkers? Um All right. I think we're at time. Um I don't know if the moderator is still on if you can give me a, I think we had 20 minutes total. All right. Ok. I, I think I'm, I'm out of time, I believe. Um but yeah, thank you guys for joining him.

It was very short but um hopefully this was um you know, helpful and um enjoy the rest of the day, you think so.