The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Recruiting and Talent Acquisition Conversations
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The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Recruiting and Talent Acquisition Conversations
EP 189: Empathy, Grit, and Leading Teams Through Crisis
Lauren Groshong, GTM Recruiting Leader at Vanta, shares how growing up with grit and humor was foundational to her leadership style. Lauren talks about her time leading business recruiting at Grammarly, and how the leadership team has supported staff based in Ukraine throughout the war with Russia.
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Lauren Grosong, welcome to the show today. Everyone tuning in, Lauren is currently in the role of GTM recruiting leader over at Fanta. Well, Lauren, thank you very much for uh joining us on the show today.
SPEAKER_00:Excited to be here. Thanks so much for having me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, thank you. So, yeah, Lauren, where are you from?
SPEAKER_00:I am born and raised in uh California, specifically outside the Bay Area. Right now I'm in Sonoma County, which is like the gateway to wine country. Hopefully, people have been there. Um, but growing up, I grew up in a really small town of Westmarin. It was Woodacre. We had no strict like stop sign, streetlights, that type of stuff. Haven't gone far, but far enough in my eyes.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, gotcha. What were you like as a kid?
SPEAKER_00:As a kid, I love humor. I think that's something that has rung through and it's something that within my family. So jokes, all jokes. Growing up, though, I was really into sports. So soccer, basketball was my passion, but I would try everything. Uh grew up in, again, a really small town. And so, like, we had 12-person classrooms and things like that. So, just really deep ties into the community that was there, which was really awesome. Um, and have maintained, thankfully, all of those friend groups, which is pretty awesome.
SPEAKER_01:It seems like your personality type from what I'm just seeing with uh your energy thus far, you're probably constantly on the go, playing a lot of sports. Very see you seem like a very driven person.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely really driven. I got that from my dad. My dad was um a kind of a small business owner, if you will. Um, and he saw a lot of, you know, challenges in his life. He actually was in the Navy during Vietnam and he actually fell off the aircraft carrier and broke his back and neck. And so growing up, there was like, it wasn't always talked about. It wasn't like the elephant in the room, if you will, but like it was there. He definitely was in pain and things like that. But he was successful and he pushed through it. And so, like that type of perseverance and like that work ethic and that drive was always something that resonated me. Um, it also was like something where I think I learned very early that you have to work hard. Nothing is given. And if you want to succeed, you have to put in the effort. And so, like that was ingrained in me in like a really young age. I took that into sports, I took that into classes, even though education is probably not like my favorite thing. Um, but I took that dedication and just like seeing it as I need to get through it competitive to push myself through it to kind of get to the next things, things that excite me.
SPEAKER_01:I'm curious to get your thoughts on this. Like what you said about your dad, not necessarily it's something that was, it wasn't really talked about very often. And a business owner, which is an incredibly demanding career, potentially even more so, or potentially even more challenging for your dad. I wonder if one of his keys to success was the fact that it's like even when you have challenges in life or something that is really hard for you to work through, it's not putting the focus or the emphasis on that and focusing on what you have to do. I'm wondering if that just shed some insight into your psychology and potentially his going through that hardship. Do you think that that was one of the keys that helped him be successful in business?
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. I think about it like he had multiple surgeries, was in like a bed for a couple months on end. And it was never like a feel sorry for me or like overly help me. Like he hated to be like the burden. Um, and I think it was more of we rise despite of things. And I think that is something like I always to this day try to look at things very glass hap full, be positive. I really don't even like to like turn on the news these days because a lot of things can like bring you down. Um, but I think it really helped me like shape how I look and how I approach issues and problems and things like that, with always trying to like things happen. Let's try to not keep them, keep us weighing us down, type of thing. But how do we continue to like trudge and move forward?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, 100%. He seems like he was a great mentor for he was.
SPEAKER_00:And he has this like charisma. He is one of those, and I think that's like the humor comes into play there, which is like how I was born and raised. It's just, you know, family first type of environment. But I think we laugh at everything. Unfortunately, sometimes if somebody were to get injured younger, like the first reaction was to laugh. I've had to not do that now in my professional life, and as I've become a mom, because that's not a good thing. Um, but it was just like one of those, like it's just how we approach things is humor. Let's laugh through it. Again, challenges, like you can have a fight, but then like laugh about it and move forward.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love that. So, what kind of business did he have?
SPEAKER_00:Or I don't know if he's still on a so uh one of his best friends was a scientist, which is he is not scientific by any means. So the two of them coming together were like total opposites, which is great. He and his scientist best friend created a um, it's technically like a bug that cleans contaminated soil. Uh so they started in the US and then they actually ended up doing most of their business outside the US because the US changed their laws of how you clean, if you will, like contaminated soil. So he in my high school years and college years, he did the majority of his business in Egypt and Mexico.
SPEAKER_01:This that sounds fascinating. So what do you what do you mean by that? Like created a bug?
SPEAKER_00:Like it's like uh bacteria and and like food for the bacteria where they actually go in. And so like you feed the bacteria a certain, you know, recipe, if you will, and they actually clean contaminated soil. So you think of like old gas stations and all the stuff that they leave in the soil. So you basically go in and it's an organic way to like clean the soil. You have to like rotate and get the topsoil and things like that. But over time, this like bacteria bug um eats that and then leaves very clean, fresh topsoil that you can then build on and not have that leftover contamination.
SPEAKER_01:That's fascinating. So you said he was working a lot in Egypt and worlds, Mexico. Did you ever get to travel with him?
SPEAKER_00:I did not. Mexico, we would go on like family vacations and then he would like go off for a couple days and go do like business and things like that, but we were left at the pool, so to speak. Um, never to Egypt. It's definitely on my list of places to go. He has some awesome pictures of the Red Sea and things like that. And he just has always said such positive things about the colleagues over there and like the culture and all that kind of stuff. So definitely it's on my bucket list.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. Then a little later on when you went to college, I think um, so you initially, well, you graduated with a degree in business marketing, right?
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm. Uh my whole life. My dad is Jewish. And so growing up, I had my Bubby. His mom lived really close to us. And like we were, she was obsessed with fashion and the garment industry. And I always thought I wanted to be a fashion buyer. I was obsessed, I was pretty girly in that sense, but then also balanced the sports. But I was set on, I want to be a fashion buyer, I want to go into the fashion industry. Um, and so I kind of picked my major as business marketing that can go across everything. I knew I wanted something a little bit more generalized. My dad has a friend who owns a business in LA, and he had kind of said, like, you can come in and you can start low, but you can work your way up here. And so it kind of had like my path, what I thought figured out and set on. So like my mission was go to college, have fun, but get to that next step, which is always what I've wanted to do. Um, so went through college, worked my way through college, held a full-time job, and I worked at a small boutique to gain insights into in Heelsburg, if ever anybody has ever gone. It's absolutely beautiful in the wine country. Small denim boutique where the creator and like the owner of it was an ex-Levi's head designer. So she just had like a lot of really great knowledge. And I got to see exactly like how small businesses run, from like the buying to like the cleaning the bathrooms to literally everything. And so that was awesome. And I actually had started at Nordstroms when I was in high school on an internship and stayed on and off with Nordstroms throughout college too. And so I ended up being there full time and I saw I worked in like every department from like stock to lingerie to the juniors section. And then the last one I ended up being in uh the HR at Nordstroms, which changed my perspective a little bit on what I wanted to do.
SPEAKER_01:And then from there, when you went to Salesforce, that was your first time in recruiting, right?
SPEAKER_00:Correct. So at Nordstrom's my last role there when I was assistant HR manager for the store in Cuerto Madeira, I was responsible for the staffing. So we have like our big holidays. You think of Christmas, but they have their anniversary sale, which is like their one of their biggest milestones for the company and where they bring in the most revenue. And so I was tasked with literally hiring like 160 people to get the store to its seasonal needs. And so I was doing all the interviewing and onboarding and all that kind of stuff. And so I wore like a lot of different hats. I didn't unfortunately firing too, um, but compliance, kind of like you name it. Um, and I realized that the interviewing and like the hiring was like that gave me a lot of juices. I hated the firing. Not my thing. Um, and I didn't like a lot of like the compliance stuff. It wasn't something that like brought me joy, if you will. And so I had a couple colleagues who left Nordstroms as they were full the frontline managers and they went over to Salesforce. And so they actually referred me and I was like, Salesforce, like what is this thing? And I remember telling my grandma, and she was like, You are an idiot. You don't leave Nordstroms, everybody knows Nordstroms, who's Salesforce? And so it was just like one of those things of changing my identity because everybody in my family, I had told everybody because I was pretty crystal clear that I wanted to be a fashion buyer and go into that. Um, and so it kind of really changed what I wanted to do in the trajectory of my career.
SPEAKER_01:Nice, nice. You were at Grammarly for uh about five years, and during your tenure, and you're in the role of a head of uh global business recruiting. The Ukraine-Russian war broke out, and uh you had told me before we hit record that the founders of Grammarly are actually from Ukraine, and a lot of your team was in Ukraine from day one when the war started. Grammarly is like the category-defining and leading solution for what they do, and they've continued to be so. I my understanding they still are today. I mean, I use it, and most people I know use it. I think it's really fascinating that they've been able to maintain that competitive advantage and category-leading status through an incredibly brutal war in Ukraine. What was that like, right? Like working with the team and how did you adapt with day one when that the war broke out? Like, what was that like at Grammarly?
SPEAKER_00:100%. So I would say it was definitely, I think, where I've learned the most and probably changed the most as an individual, personally and professionally, I would say. Um, when I first started Grammarly, it was actually like it was just all kinds of change. So, like when I first started literally the my first day, it was like COVID had just hit. And so they were like, Oh, we're in office. Oh, we're gonna ship your laptop, you'll come in in about a month. And then I never went in and we switched to like remote first. So day one with that company, it was like always leading through change and things like that. Um, but I think it was my third or second year when the war actually broke out. The company honestly handled it fantastically. They had been monitoring it. People was their most important thing. Like I mentioned, our co-founders were from Ukraine, specifically Kyiv, Ukraine, which is where we had the office for Grammarly, and we still have the office today, which is pretty awesome. But it was wild to just basically put business aside and just literally thinking about lives and safety and well-being of your team. And it was so inspiring, honestly, to see people leading through so much in their lives and still showing up. I had an individual on my team. And when everything kind of like broke out, I was like, don't worry about work. I'm the last thing. Just keep me in mind. Please tell me we're safe and when you've made it out of the country and all these things. And I remember her saying, no, I need to work. This is like the only stable I have in my life right now. And so it was like trying to show up and support people when they were going through so much. Again, it made you realize like the little things like having a bad hair day, getting a zit, or whatever those like little things that sometimes can bring people down really don't matter. And I think it gave me a different perspective. Um, but it also changed my leadership and my style and kind of like how I show up at work. I try to lead with positive poly energy, right? Like I really try to do empathy first, really get to know somebody as a human first and then integrate like the business stuff and figure out what motivates them, what gives them like psychological safety and lead through that. Um it's funny too, if I were to reflect back, feedback I got when I was a manager at Dropbox was I'm too empathetic. Um, that that was like a fault of mine almost as a manager, is that I lean too much with empathy uh when I'm leading my team. And I think actually, I think it was the Times had actually, or Harvard, one of the two, put out an article and it was about how during the time of COVID and immense change, empathy was like the top trait of like the best leaders. And that was really eye-opening for me is I was like, okay, I'm allowed to be this empathetic. I'm allowed to kind of show up as authentic as I want and lead. And I feel like it just like it changed my tune. And I'm happy that I was able to do it. I'm still the war is ongoing. I still am very connected with a lot of the individuals. It is heartbreaking. Um, but again, like if I were to look at back at Grammly, I think how they showed up for their people one and how they led through that was like so inspiring and honestly what kept me there for such a long time.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I'd be curious. I'm sure there was the co-founders. I'm assuming would you have all hands or meetings or um just the communication with the team? Were there any themes or like values or or what did the key things you remember in terms of how they helped the team like navigate those challenges in terms of how they were communicating and trying to lift people up and support people? Are there any memories there?
SPEAKER_00:I think yes. Like again, Gram really did an amazing job of the foresight into this and like the planning that they did. And so, like satellite cell phones, transportation in and out, just like all hands on deck, crazy communication, like every 20 minutes, check-ins, like things like that. So, like really showing up against safety was at the end of the day the biggest thing for us. And it was making sure that um people got out if they were allowed to get out. And then the men that were enlisted, you know, like making sure we were there to support them and support the country. Like Grammarly sponsored a couple ambulances and seeing those who go around the rubble, like with the Grammarly logo, brought like immense pride. And that was stuff that like you just again, it makes all little things like that is really what's important, I would say. Um, I remember a couple meetings too, where we were doing just normal team meetings. And anybody who they all during Zoom, they'd have to like unplug from their Zoom because the the sirens go would go off and there was um bombs and things like that flying around. And so they would all have to go into the basement. So you'd be on a Zoom, you'd see everybody, and then all of a sudden you'd see the flashings of the sirens, and then they'd they'd disappear and then they would show back on like nothing had happened. There were days where the sirens were going off like 24-7 for like weeks on end, and they had no sleep, but they still showed up like their authentic selves, and they were so driven, so gritty, and honestly, again, inspiring. Like they are the Ukrainian people are so inspiring for what they're still going through to this day.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they really are. They truly are. Well, I think it's what you mentioned is how it fundamentally changed you as a manager and leader, is really interesting. I think seeing there are a few things, seeing and living through hardship, as well as just doing really hard things, like being a parent, right? I think that there's a level of empathy that that unlocks in people. And I think at least obviously for myself too, I feel like it's some of the harder things I've had to go through definitely, I think, have made me more empathetic. I think being a dad is definitely like having having a little girl is has made me a lot more empathetic. But it's interesting those chapters where you what you experienced at Grammarly, and then also how you saw other you know, leadership, the founders respond must have been incredibly impactful and probably still impacts how you you make decisions today, I would assume, and how you lead today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, people first. Again, I think it's like as cheesy as it is, but it's like the one team, one dream. Like you and any company, like really, I think like they are only as strong as the employees that they they hire and that they have and how they treat them. And so for me, it's actually been, I would say, a theme of how I pick companies is looking at how the leadership treats their employees. Um, and that's like the biggest one for me. So leadership is always my thing, and that's now a lens that I really look through is I don't want to work with people. We used to say a term like brilliant jerks, right? Like they may be amazing, but they're like not a nice human. Like, that's not um who I want to work side by side and like pour my hours into. I want to work along people that are genuinely nice people and we're on a mission, and it's exciting to do it together.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, fantastic, 100%. So when it comes to now, right, you have more experience as a leader. Um, now you're advantageous. So you're on to your next leadership role. At this point, what do you think is most important as a talent acquisition leader for other talent acquisition leaders, or even more generally, anybody who's trying to build amazing teams? What advice do you have to them? You talked about bringing people up. Can you explain what that means?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I would say like first, my biggest advice to them is for anybody in this type of role is like recruiting is only going to be successful if you understand the businesses you support. What keeps them up at night and how can we eliminate that nervousness or whatever it is? I think the people are the biggest thing. And so making sure that we're bringing the right level of talent, but you have to be really in tune with the business on their wants, what's working, not working, and then like the proactiveness to get ahead of things before they happen or don't happen, whatever that kind of like would mean. Um so I would say that's the biggest advice I would have uh for leaders specifically.
SPEAKER_01:And I know also, yeah, you really also talked about understanding business needs, communicating with the different departments. It sounds like really dialing into business outcomes, right? In terms of how you shape your department and how you lead your recruiters. Can you tell us more about how you how you do that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure. I would say first and foremost, I think recruiting and sales walk a really, really fine line. I've always been drawn to the sales side. I specifically didn't go on the engineering side just because I I like that excitement and that like that pace, if you will. That's the exciting thing. Since we do walk a fine line, I think it's sometimes talking in the language of the sales organizations that you're supporting and showing them exactly you know what the end goal is, if it's revenue, if it's NRR, whatever it may be, how can we best support that? And so again, just knowing the the insides and outs, so to speak. Like with sales, when you're hiring people, sometimes like you have to understand that if you don't get a butt in a seat for your VP of sales, for example, like there's an open quota that they may not hit. And so you're actually like impacting people's paychecks and like the business's success. At the end of the day, that's a lot of pressure. And so you never want to be at the like the end of a finger. Like recruiting was the reason we weren't able to hit our goals or hit our quarters because they couldn't get kind of like butts and seats. And so I think like that, I take that, I start with that, and then it's how do we want to show up to the business? How do we make sure we don't get to that spot from creating goals and how we report out and how our frequent communication, having, you know, um my team members like be in team meetings, be vocal, but really also be really cross-functional. I think you have to have an amazing partnership with like your PvPs, with your recruiting ops, but also like the revenue ops teams, the people who create the quotas, who create the comp plans, like all the things. So again, I think it's like really being integrated and not just like one point of the business, but a lot of them to actually show up successful and more as a partner versus like a true support function, which I think a lot of people will look at recruiting and say, it's a support function. It is, but it's really necessary for a company's success.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I think I definitely agree with you. And I've experienced this too throughout my career. And I look at my like my own journey and my level of impact with the companies that I I help grow and within the tech industry. And it's just so different than when I was starting out, where it really was like you sort of when you're starting out as a recruiter, you almost feel like more of an order taker, right? Like you're writing down, you're doing your sourcing. So now when I think about leading hiring engagements with a lot of our customers, it's we're sitting down with the founders and the CEOs and the town acquisition leaders, and we're talking about like business strategy. And we're really trying to understand like how people fits and people fit into that. And it's like really being critical about like the hiring plans and making sure that there's alignment. And I think that's just a skill that takes like years to develop, right? It's critical. Like that's really what it takes. It takes a culture, I think, to like of an organization to really understand that's the level that you need to be playing at to win at recruiting.
SPEAKER_00:I think different size companies too. I would say early days, Salesforce started out as a recruiting coordinator, did sourcing as a full-time job, and then moved into like the full cycle of recruiting. And that was 100% order taking. And that was 25 hires a quarter, don't stop, go, go, go. And then I was like, oh, I kind of want to build. And that's what gave me that bug. And so, like, I think like my journey of going from large to smaller companies has been that building, taking more of that strategic level, if you will, and like going deeper and understanding that. And then I will say, post COVID, I mean, recruiting has seen the most rocks out of any gosh, yeah. It's been terrible, to be completely frank. Right. And like having been on the other side of having to do layoffs, I want to never ever do those ever again. Um So I do think there's like this theme now of like do more with less, especially with AI. Recruiters are tasked with take on more roles and hire more, but with less people and try to do it faster and try to, you know, do all these things. And so it's like, how do you one lead through that? But also how do we lean in and figure out how we can get more strategic? And again, staying your keeping your pulse on the business and understanding what it takes and what it means. And also, like I try to be very eyes wide open and have my team be very eyes wide open until like a bad hire will screw things up, not just cost, but like time in the business and things like that. And so um again, I picked kind of earlier building kind of stage companies because I really do think it's like talent is number one and you have to get that hire right. I never want to force a hire down a hiring manager's like throat, so to speak. Like I want it to be the fit for the business. Um, and I want all people within like the recruiting cycle. So like the RCs, if you're working with a candidate that's terrible or is rude or doesn't isn't responsive, like I want that voice, I want that echoed up. So again, the business can make the best decision on who to hire. Um, because at the end, like we wait, we want to make sure we get it right.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, definitely. So so at this point, I'm curious. You know, the when you look at at your your future, right? And uh you know recently started this this new job. I guess it's coming up on a year, right? Coming up on a year. It's wild. Um yeah, yeah, time flies, right? Particularly in tech, like particularly when you're in like Italian position leadership role, it just seems like things just fly, fly, fly.
SPEAKER_00:Um I feel like I'm day two or a veteran. It depends on the hour on like what question harping I get. So it's it's great, but I love that. That's the excitement of like, again, I know I'm in the right place because like I'm excited. I don't have Sunday scaries. I sure have like Sunday wake up and I'm like, woo, we got some stuff to do this week, but it's not like I don't want to be here. Um, and that's when you know you're in the right spot, my opinion.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, I love that. Um so hey, like I I'm curious, how do you feel like your definition of success has changed over the years? What are you really focused on right now?
SPEAKER_00:I would say for me, I I learned this earlier, I would say, but I think it's like just been cemented. Every like change I've done is like I have learned to not look for accolades. I think early days at Salesforce, like your title mattered. If you weren't getting promoted every six months, it was an issue. You weren't as good as your peer. And then it would just like started a spiral within you. Um, and so I really started to like, what do I enjoy? What brings me good challenges? How can I continue to grow and what skills or what like type of people do I want to be in front of and kind of like work with? And so that's what's really, I think, of like career growth for me is like again, who would who do I want to be in my Zoom rooms? Um, and to like challenge myself. I love not never being like the smartest person in a room. I will never say that I am because I can always learn something from another individual. And I think um I want to continue to do that. I don't know what I want to do next, if I'm gonna be completely honest. Um, I've heard a lot of people be like, you should go for like a head of talent role. I don't know that much about Eng. I've always had amazing counterparts on the EPD side. Um, and so like I've always really stayed in my go-to-market bubble. I love go to market. It's the juice that like fuels me. I think if I had the right sales leader early in my career, I probably would be in a sales role. Um, so like I really don't know what next is for me or like the next step. I'm really happy with where I am. So I want to stay here for a long time. So don't worry, Siobhan. I'm I'm staying put. But definitely also just like it's continuing to again surround myself with really strong leaders that I can continue to learn from, be able to chew on like meaningful problems or challenges, whether that's like growth scale, like right now we're going into new markets, which is super exciting and using like a different part of my brain. There's always like these fun things that I think um can kind of re-excite and you know motivate.
SPEAKER_01:Folks tuning in, a lot of them are leaders similar to yourself. And typically lifelong learners, usually pretty ambitious. And when they're entering their prime, right? Which I told you I said I was like, Oh, you're you know, you're your prime and you're like, I don't even know if I'm there yet, you know. Um so I don't know how you see that. I also I kind of see it the way you do. I'm like, oh, I haven't even gotten started. I've always had that uh because I think that's normal for lifelong learners, right? It's like we always there's always that next level, right? Absolutely. I want to learn from you, and I think we all want to learn from each other. And it's like, how do you think about your own personal development? Like, what are what are your goals, you know, outside of your career? What's most important to you right now?
SPEAKER_00:I have two small kids. So I have a about to be seven-year-old and a three and a half year old. Um, my oldest is a girl, and then my son is the three and a half year old. He's like my little teeny tornado, I call him right now. Um, for me, it's really like families first. That is like the biggest one. And so, like making sure I can like build a life for my children that they're happy with, right? Like they're if they don't look back and they're like, oh, that scarred me. That is like every parent's like goal. Um, I think I'm doing pretty well there. I, you know, I haven't asked my kids for my grade yet, but we will see. Um, but like that's like on the personal side. It's just give them the best life we can, like make sure that we can give them all the opportunities that they want and kind of need. I'm not talking like crazy lavish. I mean, we live in Petaluma, California. It's not that, not that lavish, but like just like again, show up, be be present for them. Uh, my daughter like has these cute little like tea parties in class, or like she'll have a Valentine's Day celebration, or she had like, you know, like they're little jogathons. And I think there's like nothing more important than being able to like show up and see the smile on her face and like the pride she gets from like hugging me and like introducing me. I want to make sure that that is still like my priority and like how I show up. But then um, on the business side, I want to make sure that if people ask, how's Lauren doing? I hope it's, oh, she's a great partner, she's doing well. And if not, I want to make sure I can get there. And so I think like that's what fuels me. I want to do a good job um wherever I am and in like whatever role I am. And so like constantly asking the feedback and things like that. One of my old bosses used to say feedback was a gift. And I always would be like, oh God, I loathe that saying. I say it all the time now. Um, and so it's just like one of those things. That's kind of how I look at things.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. I have a six-year-old daughter. I only have one.
SPEAKER_00:Fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, it's it's a fun age for sure. Um, you know, it's funny because you said uh you hadn't asked for a grade yet. Now they're reminding me of. I don't know if you you know this uh cartoon strip. Do you remember? Did you ever read uh or hear of uh Calvin and Hobbes?
SPEAKER_00:I did not. I do not.
SPEAKER_01:Well, Calvin and Hobbes is like uh it's a fun little like cartoon strip that was used to be in the newspapers. I think it was like in the 80s or something. But Calvin's like this little boy, he's like your daughter's age, I think he is six, something something like that. And so like one on some of the comic strips, like he'd walk up to his dad and he would act like there was like a polling, like his dad was a politician, and he'd just walk up like dad, the latest numbers are in and you're underperforming. Like, you know, you're not like doing X, Y, and Z, or you know, people say that you really need to make this adjustment or you should find a new line of work. You know, something like that. It was just hilarious. Um, they're kind of like really cute cartoons I used to read as a kid, and now my daughter loves them. But uh yeah, anyway, just this random like thought or connection I made. It's really funny stuff.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. I will say, like, my daughter was definitely like the first to critique an outfit. Mom, that is not a good look. Like those types of things, and like, you know, their innocence and things like that, their truth serum that they throw at you is like it'll hit you at the knees. But again, you gotta laugh with it and move forward again. I think that's like how I approach life is like laugh, class, glass app full for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, for sure. I'm curious. So you're a very ambitious person, right? Driven, right? You seem like a go, go, go uh type of individual. Being a parent's hard and to be good at it is very hard, right? Like when we're trying to yeah, it's you know, it's kind of interesting. It's like I do, I do truly believe like being a parent is like the hardest job in the world. And what's wild about it is that everybody has, you know, almost everybody has that job. It's funny when you think about it from a recruiting perspective, because it's like it's like that it's incredibly challenging. I I'm wondering how do you think like finding that balance and like maintaining your professional progression, but now in a place too where you clearly it's very important to you to make sure your kids have the best opportunities. It's like the first thing you brought up with with uh your personal growth. So um, do you have any advice to parents out there that are also like really ambitious?
SPEAKER_00:I would say like the biggest thing is like be authentic to yourself, don't apologize. I think that's like one of the biggest things. Is like I remember when I was really green in my career and I was supporting somebody and she became a new mom. And I was like, God, her work is slacking. She hasn't been able to do this. And then of course, it wasn't until I became a mom. And I was like, oh my, the stuff you juggle, the things that are happening, like the sleepless nights, the trying to figure out feeding. And if you're working, you're pumping. Like there's just like so much more to it. And again, I think it's that empathy that like really brings it forward. And so I would say, be authentic, show up and know what you need to do. I'm very big on like calendar blocking. Like I do my son's preschool, it's not till 8:30, right? So, like some days I'll get up and I'll take my Amiha calls at 6 a.m. And then I'll get back and I'll do my eight-pack like ones at like 6 p.m. So I think it's just like do what you need to do, but always make sure your priority is in order. And I think it's like the communication and how you can communicate that out that is really important.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. I love it. Well, Lauren, this has been a really fun conversation. Thank you so much for coming on today and sharing more about your journey and your values and how you're approaching life and your career. It's been a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. Well, thank you. It was uh been a great conversation for me as well. I appreciate it.
