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Mounica Veggalam

Executive Presence and Performance Coach

Hey, there! I talk about non-linear growth strategies and leadership development for tech leaders. Get mindset deep dives to break through into senior leadership roles.

Featured Post

Radical Candor, When is it appropriate?

Mounica Veggalam 28-03-2024 Radical Candor 201: The 5 stages of inquiry before the conversation Read time: 6 minutes Dear friend, leader and subscriber, Is it always appropriate to have a conversation when you're frustrated with your co-worker/boss/report? Yes and No. I'm a big advocate of Radical Candor. Yet, my answer to this question is "It depends." While I understand that it's a crappy answer when our reputation and career are at stake, there are nuances we must consider. After more than...

about 1 year ago • 7 min read

Mounica Veggalam 28-03-2024 The Best Way To Handle Pushback Without Needing To Memorize Communication Tactics— Become A Resistance Detector Read time: 5 mins Dear Friend, Subscriber And Leader, Chuck all your communication tactics. Today, I'm going to give you a new way of thinking to become more influential in your conversations, handle pushback with grace and avoid you being drained like a squeezed-out dish rag at the end of a day full of meetings. I recently ran a poll on what causes...

about 1 year ago • 6 min read

Mounica Veggalam 28-03-2024 Goleman’s Research On 6 Leadership Styles Shows You Can Be A Caring Leader Who Gets Business Results. Here’s My Take. Read time: 5 mins Dear Friend, Subscriber, and Leader, You don’t have to become a Dictator or empathetically collapse into a ‘Yes Man’ to get results from your team. If you rate high on empathy and brilliance, chances are you fall into either extreme often. That’s the dynamic of being in a high-expectations role surrounded by other brilliant...

about 1 year ago • 5 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 10 mins | Read it online here Hey Reader! One of the core ideas that I talk about a lot in my writing and coaching is Non-Linear Growth. Because most managers in tech think they’re underappreciated… They just can’t move their reports up to their potential, which could show their leadership capability. Their bosses don’t already hand them a bigger scope of work, which would be a sign of true recognition of their...

over 1 year ago • 10 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 9 mins Hey Reader! Your leadership career gets into a non-linear trajectory when you have a team of highly effective leaders, not followers. Specifically, when you don’t leave out developing their leadership to chance (aka company trainings) or wait for them to figure out their growth. This happens when you don’t procrastinate on high-stakes conversations with them. Which models to them that they shouldn’t...

over 1 year ago • 8 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 6 mins Hey Reader! Happy Sunday! Today I want to talk about how to challenge your directs for high performance. Like it or not, this is the most critical factor in getting to your next level. Engineering managers fall prey to 2 unique behaviors: Abrasive Posturing (“I know I’m right/better, you better catch up”) Empathetic Collapsing (“You’re not incompetent. I don’t mean to hurt you.”) Why? Because if you’re an...

over 1 year ago • 6 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 6 mins Hi Reader, Every conversation is an opportunity to uncover your leadership. You are responsible for changing how your manager, your report, or your team “thinks.” And you are successful when you’ve moved their mind from the sea of surface-level tasks to a deeper why — why they’re doing what they’re doing — to create more impact. The way you do this is by setting tight containers for transformation. Today...

over 1 year ago • 5 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 6 mins Hey Reader! Last week we talked about how the victim mindset can take over and prevent progress. Remember that the victim mindset is sneaky. Any waiting for things to get better -> Victim Mindset (“My hard work will pay off soon!”) Any blame on yourself or others -> Victim Mindset (“Why is this person not changing yet!”) Any overwhelm -> Victim Mindset (“Why is my life not changing yet!”) When deep in it,...

over 1 year ago • 5 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 5 mins Hey Reader! Today’s deep-dive responds to the annoying feedback most managers receive, “Step up as a leader.” If you’ve been left clueless with vague descriptions of what that means, I hear you. It would drive anyone nuts and get you fired up to hustle more (or quietly quit). I’ve got some harsh truths to put on the table for you to consider. Ready for it? Let’s dive in. Consider this conversation between...

over 1 year ago • 4 min read

Conversations For Career Transformation Mounica Veggalam | 28-03-2024 Read time: 7 mins Hey Reader! A few days ago, I was struck by what Ethan Evans, Former Amazon VP and executive coach, posted on LinkedIn. (Link to the full version of his article below) This & a couple of client conversations got me thinking, what does it take to breakthrough? Ethan Evans says this. As a professional performance coach, I’ve a slightly in-depth take on this. So, today’s post is about 4 areas of focus if you...

over 1 year ago • 6 min read
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