The 18-Digit Combination Lock Every Leader Must Crack | Andrea Wasserman

Sadaf Beynon: [00:00:00] Andrea, in your experience, what are the invisible rules of advancement that no one tells you?

Andrea Wasserman: The first one is doing your job is not enough. Especially for , new graduates coming out of college, the perception that you can put your head down, check off items on your to-do list, report back with some data on everything you did, being enough is unfortunately a misperception.

Especially today.

Sadaf Beynon: Welcome to Conversations That Grow Podcast, where we explore how meaningful conversations can help you expand your influence, build authority, and grow your business in unexpected ways. My guest today is Andrea Wasserman, founder of the Executive Express, a career coaching company that helps high achievers fast track their way to the top. Andrea's led teams at huge brands like Verizon, Yahoo, Nordstrom, and European Wax Center, and she's known for delivering results and helping others do the same. Welcome to the show, Andrea.[00:01:00]

Andrea Wasserman: Thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here.

Sadaf Beynon: Awesome. Andrea, I think it's fair to say that we all have those conversations that hit different. one that really changed the way you lead or think about business?

Andrea Wasserman: You know, we can talk about big conversations that had huge effects, but there's actually one that over time has been feedback that I've been able to generalize in so many different ways, and I think the visual of it is something that people will appreciate and remember.

What it is is that a little bit over a decade ago, I was the CEO of a footwear and accessory brand out of la, big open format office, if you can picture that.

And I'm a New Yorker living in LA at the time and walked fast. I still walked fast. I. Well, in this situation I got feedback that my walking fast around the office was really unsettling for people. They saw this and they thought that there was some kind of crisis that [00:02:00] I was running to address and that there must be a problem, and I got that feedback immediately started slowing down.

But it really has become this example for me of how when you're a leader. People are watching everything you do, and even if you don't consider yourself a leader yet, it's a reminder that body language is something that everybody can see and internalize and use to draw conclusions about you and the entire environment.

So it's a great, again, I'll say a visual lesson for me that helps me remember that in every situation, even if it has nothing to do with the pace of my walking.

Sadaf Beynon: I love that. Andrea, thanks so much for sharing that visual. You know, it really, it really helps to understand what, what happened there. so you were given this feedback. What was your first thought?

Andrea Wasserman: I better slow down. Like nothing's wrong. Why am I letting people think there's something wrong? I mean, truly it's, and it's something that is so easy to correct [00:03:00] and I think it, it, it is a good lesson that we can be non-defensive about feedback. It's not an assault on our complete personality or leadership style.

It can be one isolated instance that makes a difference and we need to take it for what it is. Um, there's a quote I've heard, take feedback seriously, but not personally,

and I think it's so true.

Sadaf Beynon: I I love that. I think you're so right. And, and you said earlier too, like when you're in leadership, everyone's watching everything you do, and it's how they're interpreting your body language, your words, you know, all how fast you walk. Uh, I find that I, you know, you're so right. Um, but it's interesting when, when you say slow down. Was that just in, in your own, like the way you carried yourself and in the way you worked and led as a CEO, did you find that that translated to anything else you were doing that needed to slow down? [00:04:00] Or was it just the, the physical

Andrea Wasserman: In this particular case, it happened to be an isolated situation where it was. Specifically the speed of walking that was raising eyebrows, if you will.

Um, but I do think that it's a reminder of the importance of patience and explanation and what I like to call style flexing in any environment where you're being very perceptive about what other people need and realizing that it's not the same for everybody.

And so the way that you communicate with one person or one team may be different from what it takes to be an effective communicator with a different person or team. And it's possible that in another corporate culture, the pace of my walking would've been just fine. And I think what we need to take from that is that we can be authentic to ourselves.

But still adjust to the dynamics that surround us and demonstrate that [00:05:00] flexibility that helps us fit into different environments and work with all types of people and teams.

Sadaf Beynon: Tell me more about style flexing.

Andrea Wasserman: To me, style flexing means that when we go into any situation, we are very quickly assessing. What it will take to collaborate successfully with any person or team who is sitting in front of us. And so you might have people who learn best by shoulder to shoulder coaching and working together and getting up in front of the whiteboard.

You may have other people who would like a little bit of direction and wanna go off on work and work on something and come back to you. You may have some people who respond very well to in the moment feedback. Whereas others may wanna have a sit down, more formal conversation where they can process things.

So those are just a few examples [00:06:00] of what it means to lead people and work with people in the ways that they need, not necessarily the way that you need all the time. That's really how I think about style flexing and showing that adaptability in different situations, which is critical, not just at leadership levels, but really anytime you need to work with others or influence people.

I.

Sadaf Beynon: I love that. You know, you're so right. That adaptability element is so critical, especially in in leadership. , how do you figure out, like say you're meeting a team for the first time, or , a group of people for the first time, or a person for the first time, and you're trying to figure out. What their style is and what they respond to. How do you do that?

Andrea Wasserman: Well, I think the first step, whether you're great at reading people or not, is to be curious. And to actually ask that question and to say, what is your learning style? What is your communication style? How do you [00:07:00] prefer that we work together? What's worked for you in the past? Where have you struggled in working with people in the past?

What are some examples of things that have gone well and things that haven't? And just by asking those questions, you build such a level of trust because people see that you're interested in them. And building a relationship with them in a way that is not just transactional in nature. So I would say that's the first piece.

Whether you think you're good at reading somebody or not, is to ask questions so that you can flex your style accordingly. And then, yes, there is a piece of it that is over time, reading people and paying attention to the cues of when you're getting through to people and when you're not. What is effective in bringing them along and helping them understand the situation and what is falling flat?

Sadaf Beynon: I love, I love what you're saying, Andrea. I think it just makes so much sense. Good sense. [00:08:00] And I hear you when I'm listening to you speak, I hear, um, the importance of intuition

Andrea Wasserman: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: to, you know, to understand the fact that you need to ask those questions and, um, your style in a way that's gonna resonate. And self-awareness

Andrea Wasserman: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: to really understand how it is that you carry yourself and , how you come across and how you can adapt that. And back to what you were saying about someone, you know, the feedback you got was to slow down. That was someone else's, someone else pointing something out to you. But as soon as you heard it, your first reaction was, okay, I better, you know, I'm walking too fast, I need to slow down. It wasn't that, oh, these guys are. know, they don't like me or they don't like my style, they're gonna have to fall in line.

It was none of that. It was more about to the people.

Andrea Wasserman: Exactly, and taking the feedback for what it is, which doesn't need to be a global criticism of you as a person or even as a leader.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. That's great. I love it. [00:09:00] Andrea, you've worked at powerhouse companies and you've climbed

Andrea Wasserman: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: How did you learn to advocate for yourself and earn trust at that senior level?

Andrea Wasserman: I think number one, um, learning to advocate for yourself is about being confident in your own abilities. And also being comfortable with what your weaknesses are and where you shouldn't be stepping up or where you should be pulling in other people to do so. And so the advocacy piece, and you talked about advocacy and also building trust.

The advocacy piece comes from asking for help where you need it, because that gives you the confidence. To really stand up for yourself in the areas where you know you're strong and you know you're making contributions. And part of advocating for yourself is about having the trust of others. And so it's interesting that you spoke about those two together [00:10:00] because many people don't and you're the best advocate for yourself.

When people trust you, because they're more willing to listen, they're more willing to take that advocacy, that message of confidence seriously, because they know that you're not going to say that you are great at everything and that you deserve a promotion and a raise every quarter. They trust that you're being realistic in assessing your own capabilities and those of others.

Sadaf Beynon: How do you, or how would you speak to someone who doesn't have the confidence in themselves?

Andrea Wasserman: I think it confidence is something that is learned and built and grown over time. And so for more junior professionals who are starting out in their careers, it's important to help them understand truly what their strengths are and what they bring to the table. Maybe they are not feeling [00:11:00] confident because they're not aware of the contributions they're making,

and they need help reflecting on the ways in which they're delivering and getting ready to communicate those to others.

But if they're not even observing that themselves and keeping track of that and comfortable initiating the conversations where they're talking about those accomplishments. Then they're not going to come to the table as confident and ready to advocate.

Sadaf Beynon: So is there an element the workplace, the business, the company, however you wanna see that. Um, an element of that being more of a nurturing place where they're able to speak, you know, they can give honest feedback and the person can receive it in the same way that you did and be able to respond to it in a constructive way.

Andrea Wasserman: When people are thinking about how to advocate for their [00:12:00] themselves or gain recognition or demonstrate executive presence in a company,

it really is dependent upon all the factors that surround that person.

I think that there is this misperception. That the way you show up as confident and able to accept feedback is the same in every environment,

when really you need to be thinking about who is my manager?

I. Who is the team that I lead, who are the peers I'm trying to influence? What is the politics, the policies, the culture of the company, and all of that is going to inform the way that it is appropriate to advocate for yourself to try to gain visibility, to give feedback, to receive feedback, because there are different spoken and unspoken expectations in every single organization.

I often refer to it as this dynamic, like 18 digit combination [00:13:00] lock, if you remember those from the high school lockers where you're kind of twisting and turning all of the digits. Well, this is a really big one, and having worked across some of the brands that you mentioned, I have the pattern, pattern recognition to identify those dynamics and what needs to be unlocked.

But that was years in the making. So I think the important thing for people to understand is at least to be looking at all of those factors before making a decision about here's how I need to advocate for myself, or here's the right way to deal with feedback, or here's the right way to show up in a conference room with executive presence.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. What mistakes do do, um, people make when they're trying to get noticed by leadership?

Andrea Wasserman: When people are trying to get noticed by leadership and they're not doing it in ways that are organizationally sensitive,

it can really backfire.

There are some companies where it's fine to be very self-promotional, and it's a loud environment [00:14:00] where you'll see many of your peers doing that, and it's what people do.

And if you're not doing it, then maybe more senior executives will think that you're not ready for a promotion or you're not really in the room, so to speak. But there are countless other organizations and cultures where being loud and and proud and, and feeling like that's the right thing to do actually can.

You know, take, set you back in your efforts to achieve visibility because you're doing it with a style that doesn't work in that environment. And so in some ways it goes back to the individual style flexing that I talked about, where you work with different people in different ways. I. In this case, it's really about being aware of what's appropriate organizationally and should you be raising your hand really loudly and advocating for yourself, or is it a more subtle, collaborative environment where you wanna be doing that only with [00:15:00] select stakeholders in certain places, in much more humble ways.

And again, that depends on the entire construct surrounding you.

Sadaf Beynon: Okay.

Andrea Wasserman: I think a mistake people make is not really taking that into account

and having a one size fits all approach that they're going to try to apply in any company they, they encounter.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. So when you work with clients, what does that look like? So if they're, if they're in a situation where making this mistake, I. How do you work with them to help them be able to flex their individual style , appropriately in the environment that they're in?

Andrea Wasserman: When I'm working with clients who are trying to navigate their organizations and gain recognition for their work, advocate for themselves, I'm starting out by asking them countless questions where I really wanna understand who their bosses, who their boss's peers [00:16:00] are, who's above their boss. What the relationships look like among that entire Crowd of people.

I wanna understand what the organizational structure is. Most, if not all, organizations now have some amount of metrics to them. I. Which means that there are a lot of dotted lines and informal reporting relationships and stakeholders who may not have solid lines to each other on the organizational chart, and I wanna understand all of that.

I also want to ask them questions that help both of us understand what are the cultural tenets of this organization that we need to be thinking about. Because those are going to be the cues for what is appropriate and what is less appropriate in raising your hand and opening your mouth. So it's really helping clients understand that everything surrounding them is going to inform what their strategies for [00:17:00] advancement are, and it's going to be different for every client and even different for the same client in different companies.

Again, it's not a one size.

Fits all approach because what works here doesn't necessarily work there.

Sadaf Beynon: It's people, right? You're working with humans, so it's gonna be different.

Andrea Wasserman: working with humans and they're different every day of the week.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah, yeah, for sure. When you go through that process with them, has there ever been a point where your client said, you know what, actually I'm not a good fit for the business that I'm in, or does it not come to that?

Andrea Wasserman: I have not yet have, have, have had a client who says I am, you know, definitively not a fit for a certain environment. I have certainly have clients and, and do today. I. Who are not confident that they can get to the next level in their current organization. It could be a partial fit issue. It could be [00:18:00] just a lack of room to accelerate, a lack of open jobs, lack of sponsorship.

And so in those cases, we are thinking about what are the strategies and the day-to-day tactics to be most effective and most suc successful in this organization while parallel pathing. This planting the seeds for making a move and accelerating his career in a different organization.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. Hmm. Andrea, in your experience, what are the invisible rules of advancement that no one tells you?

Andrea Wasserman: The first one is doing your job is not enough. I think that especially this is graduation season, especially for new, new graduates coming out of college, the perception that you can put your head down, check off items on your to-do list, report back with some data on everything you did, being enough is unfortunately a misperception.

Especially today.

[00:19:00] Um, environments are more competitive than ever before. And so is it about doing your job? Of course, but that's table stakes. Anybody who's going to be around for a couple of years is doing the basics of their, of their job. So what really is required is communications. Executive presence, again, within the construct of one's organization, it's making sure that people know what you are doing and what your accomplishments really are, which is the combination of communications and executive presence in sharing that it's potentially, and this is controversial, even about taking on projects outside of your narrowly defined scope.

Now, does that mean stepping on toes? No. And that's another time to take into consideration what's going on in the organization and who the players are and how to do that sensitively. But it can mean taking on what I call extracurricular projects at work and finding [00:20:00] ways to volunteer for an initiative that doesn't have a leader or learn about a different area of the business.

And the reason I said that's controversial is because some people feel that for every extra ounce of effort they put in, they should be paid more or they should be promoted. And that's not the reality. These are the things that you do in advance of that raise or promotion to show more stakeholders that you are deserving of it and can contribute more, and it's also an opportunity for you to learn more.

Sadaf Beynon: I really like that. So just going back to the first thing you said, that your day job is not enough. Um, communication, executive presence, know what you're doing. Accomplishments to be tagged onto that. When you say communication, what do you mean by that?

Andrea Wasserman: Think when I say communication, I mean thinking very strategically. I.

About what you're saying and how you're saying it, and of course when you're saying it, because timing is everything and, and that's probably a whole separate topic, but going back [00:21:00] to what we were just saying about you just doing your job is not enough.

You need to communicate the wins. It's really thinking about what is the right communication, cadence and structure for different stakeholders. Is it a weekly report that you want to institute? Is it a, uh, email that you're, an email that you're sending out on a regular cadence that has a certain structure to it?

Is it certain people you are trying to check in with on a regular cycle? So it really is that combination of who you're talking to, what you feel is the right content for each of those audiences, how often you're doing it and the format. But it's not a haphazard, you know, sending off an email here and there about what you're doing.

It does require, if you wanna do it well, forethought in planning. This is who needs to know what, when and how.

Sadaf Beynon: You know, um, [00:22:00] listening to you speak, what I'm understanding is that it's, it's very strategic what you're doing. It's not to use your word haphazard,

Andrea Wasserman: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: it, it's actually planning it in and working towards something.

Andrea Wasserman: It is and, and that's why I say just checking off the items on the to-do list for your job is not enough. It requires this extra level of thought.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. And um, also when you said about taking on other projects and taking that initiative to,

Andrea Wasserman: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: I guess it, I guess it's not just to be seen by leadership, but it's actually to, um, grow your own skill base and understanding of how, how different things are done and why is that, right?

Andrea Wasserman: Exactly taking on, again, what I call extracurricular projects at work is not just a play to be seen. You know, that way I think would be very superficial. Can it help you be seen? Sure. Um, but you wanna be seen in the right ways. And so again, it's about how you take [00:23:00] on extra work. Um, making sure that you're not completely encroaching on other people's turf in ways that are going to backfire in your efforts.

It's about learning. And let's not forget, it's, it's about making an impact. This is what all of what we're talking about is about. Um, because ultimately you drive your career through the impact that you make, and by getting involved in more work and taking on new projects, you are increasing your ability and your chances to make that impact.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. Talk to me more about making impact and I'd love for you to un unpack that a bit more for me.

Andrea Wasserman: Everybody wants to make impact. It's very hard to do that when you don't know what impact, how impact is defined in your organization. So especially when starting a new role, it requires making sure that you're asking people, what does success look like here? [00:24:00] And that can be here, meaning in the chair I'm sitting in, and in this role today, it can be in the company, but understanding the answers to those two questions is critical.

Or else you don't really know what the end game is, what the goal is, and you can just spin your wheels. So for one company, the expectation of what your impact will look like, may be pure quantitative results. It may be driving a certain growth in revenue or an improvement in profitability, or a reduction in costs in another role at another time.

It might look like simply getting a new initiative or a new revenue stream off the ground, and that itself may qualify as impact. And just to give a third example, it could be some kind of cultural or team transformation if you're coming in and the goal is to provide stability and improve employee satisfaction.[00:25:00]

So they're all different types of impact and all of them are, are good and and meaningful, but they're not going to be seen as such if they're not the one that your organization or your manager is looking for you to deliver.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. So important isn't, it was, as you said at the beginning, that you need to define what impact is in your particular situation.

Andrea Wasserman: Yes, and often you need help defining what impact is in your situation. It's not necessarily something that you can do in a silo.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah.

Andrea Wasserman: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. Andrea, when you work with clients, what are some of the first career conversations you encourage them to have?

Andrea Wasserman: When I start working with a new client, it really depends on where they are in their journey and where they are with their current company in terms of helping them get started on our, um, path together. I.

So if a client is in an organization where [00:26:00] they're generally happy and trying to accelerate their career, get to the next rung on the so-called ladder or the next sort of peg on the Jungle Gym wall in that company, there is an entire set of conversations that will have sort of getting at that 18 digit combination lock that needs to be figured out.

For what's going on around them, from their team, to their peers, to their manager, to the culture, the politics, the policies,

and making sure that they're setting themselves up for success in getting to the next level in that conversa in that company. So I'll really wanna understand feedback that they've gotten so far, everything that they've tried to do to gain visibility, to get recognition for their work.

If I have a client who is lukewarm on whether promotion internally is possible, then it is parallel pathing. Well, what can we do to make [00:27:00] this, this organization, this environment more successful for you? And what are the no regrets moves we can make to plant the seeds for the next move in your career?

And so those are, those are work streams that can happen in parallel. Um, it's rare that you will look back and say, I wish that I didn't pick my head up and focus externally a bit and build an external brand and start networking. Those are the types of no regrets, moves. That I advise people to make in nearly any situation, but especially when they wanna accelerate, accelerate their careers, and they think it may require a new organization in order to do that.

Sadaf Beynon: So,

Andrea Wasserman: then there are other clients where they're just between jobs altogether. And so we're having a set of conversations to figure out what their vision is and how they can use their past experience as a springboard to do something similar at an [00:28:00] advanced, more advanced level or something different.

Sadaf Beynon: So you don't, you don't help them find a new role, it's just preparation for what they wanna do in their career path. Is that right? In that situation.

Andrea Wasserman: work with clients on finding new roles, I do. So it can be that we are focused exclusively on finding a new role because that's what they come to me for.

Or it can be that we're looking for a new role while they are in a current role that they're not entirely satisfied with. Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: great. How do you help people ask for a raise or promotion without coming across you know, entitled or something along those lines?

Andrea Wasserman: I mentioned a few minutes ago that timing is important in conversations, and the question of when to ask for a raise or promotion definitely brings that to bear. The number one reason that I [00:29:00] have not given out raises and promotions when people have come to me requesting them is because the timing is bad,

and that can mean any one of a number of things.

It can be that this is a person who got a raise and or a promotion. A quarter ago or six months ago, and we're not just handing them out like candy on a regular calendar, right? So that's one example of where timing is poor.

Another example could be that the company or the specific business unit or department is in a bad spot.

It's unfortunate that that can affect individuals who want raises and promotions, but in some companies it really does, and so the timing needs to be one where you're coming from a place of strength. And then the third timing mistake, and granted this is one that I see less often is where you have a performer who is just not a high performer and not being self-aware about the fact that they're receiving feedback, uh, [00:30:00] speaking to that and choose instead, instead to ask for the raise promotion.

When they've gotten critical feedback recently that they haven't yet corrected for.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. Which mirrors what we were, what you were saying earlier, actually about, um, being intentional and self-aware. Right.

Andrea Wasserman: Yes.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. Andrea, you've, you've grown quite a strong presence on Instagram. I've, I've been following you. How has that helped build your business? Or I guess maybe open new doors to clients?

Andrea Wasserman: Sharing career advice on social media is actually how I formally got started in the executive coaching space. Yes, there's a fun fact for you. So it's something that I actually have been doing on the side for almost as long as I could remember and have always loved it. And I think there was a piece in, uh, in the back of my mind that said, could, would I do this on a full-time basis?

But hadn't necessarily decided to do that. And [00:31:00] then started organically sharing on Instagram, on LinkedIn, a bit on TikTok. Advice specifically for corporate professionals. Now, is it applicable to nonprofits and others in traditional types of organizations? Yes. I. As well. But the reason I say that, and the reason that I started doing this is because I was personally noticing that a lot of the advice on social media about careers is how to make money in your sleep, how to quit your job, how to become an entrepreneur, how to quiet, quit.

How to push back on your boss, how to set boundaries. Now, all of those things are desirable for certain people. They're certainly necessary at times. I'm not saying one should never push back on management or never set boundaries, absolutely not. But what I felt was missing was advice for really how to get raises and promotions and climb the corporate ladder if that's what you wanna do.

And despite I think a lot of societal enthusiasm [00:32:00] for entrepreneurship, and there should be that for sure, there still are no shortage of people who want to grow their careers in more traditional ways.

And so that's what I started sharing advice about, and that's when I started getting requests from potential clients or from people who were interested in what I was doing and what I had to say about different topics.

Sadaf Beynon: Do you find that showing up online like that has helped you grow your credibility, your reach, the trust that your clients have in you?

Andrea Wasserman: I think showing up on social media has given people a way to get to know me before we speak one-to-one. A lot of the content that I do is video. It's just me in front of a camera. It is not heavily produced. It's certainly not scripted. I have a topic in mind, but I'm really speaking personally and off the cuff, and so I think if anything, it does build a sense of familiarity and, and trust and [00:33:00] awareness in that way.

I think about it less in terms of, of credibility,

uh, and more just as a way to provide a free service out there for people who are not at a point to invest in coaching, and also to let potential clients get to know me a little bit. Uh, and then when we get on a video chat for the first time, it feels, uh, less, less cold.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. Yeah. Do you do other content to help create that credibility, or does that come from, like you said, having a call with you and going from there?

Andrea Wasserman: So I share videos and also other types of posts on social platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok. I do write a column for Forbes. I've written now a couple of times for Business Insider. I, uh, will, will sometimes speak on podcasts. I moderate a number of panels at different types of conferences.

I do [00:34:00] genuinely enjoy just being out there and connecting with people and adding value where I can.

So it's, it's a lot of fun

Sadaf Beynon: Awesome. Andrea, what advice would you give to leaders who want to grow their influence beyond the boardroom?

Andrea Wasserman: for leaders who want to be influential in broader ways. I always advise thinking about how that's going to look inside their companies as well.

Sadaf Beynon: Okay.

Andrea Wasserman: If you are really focused on growing your career in a certain organization,

you don't wanna be out there showing up at conferences and on social media and in different forums in a way that is not a fit with other leaders at the company.

So an example is that if nobody else at your level in a company is active on social media or going off and speaking at conferences, I'm not saying never do it, but think about it a little [00:35:00] bit. You know, be introspective, look around, say, why aren't other people in this company doing this? Is it not something that the company supports from a budget standpoint?

Is it something that the company may think is a conflict of interest? Will I be signaling to the company that I'm distracted and not focused full-time on the role that they're paying me to do? Now, in many cases, you can certainly find a way to go to a conference or to post within reason on social, but before doing those things and getting very promotional about your own brand.

It's very important to be aware of what others in your company are doing and why they are, or why they aren't employing certain tactics and understanding what the company's explicit or implicit stances on this are. That's if you have an interest in growing within that company. If you don't, then it's a different set of questions.

Sadaf Beynon: Andrea, I'm conscious of time. , so I'm gonna move [00:36:00] on to, another question for you that's a little bit parallel to what we're talking about, but you help people get promoted faster. Um,

Andrea Wasserman: Yes.

Sadaf Beynon: does sustainable success look like to you?

Andrea Wasserman: Uh, what does sustainable success look like to me or for my clients?

Sadaf Beynon: I guess let's talk about you.

Andrea Wasserman: For me, my goal is to have more people who want power and influence and status and success in their careers, achieve that. So my goal is really helping as many people do that as I possibly can because I've been working on that personally for so long, and that's what they want, and I know that I can help them create that.

So for me, that's success. The way that I think about success for them is really what they want. Not everybody wants the same thing, and I always say that clients I work with tend to be very ambitious, motivated, go-getters. I. [00:37:00] Some people will say, isn't that everybody? Doesn't everybody want the next raise and the next promotion and the bigger job?

And the answer is no, absolutely not. And that's fine. You know, there are reasons that organizations have people working at all levels. Everybody wants different things. And so in terms of sustainable success for my clients, I want them to reach the type of success that they envision, whatever that is.

Sadaf Beynon: Thanks for that, Andrea. Andrea, if someone walked away from this conversation remembering just one thing you said, what would you want that to be?

Andrea Wasserman: I want people to understand that if you wanna accelerate your career, your career, just doing your job is not enough.

You have to be thinking about relationships and influence and impact beyond what anybody is asking you to do.

Sadaf Beynon: Where would be a good place for them to start?

Andrea Wasserman: Uh, well, as you suggested, they can follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn for more, for [00:38:00] more tips like that. But really joking, joking aside, um, I always talk about that 18 digit combination lock that feels really secretive and exists in every organization.

And whether they are going to try to solve that code with the help of an executive coach or on their own, it really is thinking about 360 degrees.

What is surrounding them in the environment because that's what's going to inform what they need to do and what they should not do in that quest for career acceleration.

Sadaf Beynon: I love it. Thank you so much, andrea, this has been packed with insight. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Andrea Wasserman: I've enjoyed it. I appreciate your having me. I.

Sadaf Beynon: Awesome. Before we wrap up though, where can our listeners connect with you and learn more about the Executive Express

Andrea Wasserman: They can find me on LinkedIn at, uh, Andrea Wasserman, my name. Uh, my website is theexecutiveexpress.com and I'm on Instagram, TikTok and [00:39:00] Substack as The Executive Express.

Sadaf Beynon: Awesome.

Andrea Wasserman: I.

Sadaf Beynon: you tuning in, thank you for joining us. You'll find all the links and details that Andrea's just mentioned in the description. And if you're someone who's been thinking about using conversations to grow your own business, maybe even through a podcast, but don't have time to handle all the moving parts, we can help you with that at Podjunction.

So head to podjunction.com to find out more or just reach out to me on LinkedIn. from Andrea and from me, thanks again for listening and bye for now.