Leaders Unscripted

Conversations with leaders about the challenges they’ve faced and what they’ve learned.

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13: Navigating the Director Sandwich with MailChimp’s Director of Engineering, Sonal Mehta

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The Director role is uniquely sandwiched, with expectations and emotions from both sides - it’s a huge shift, but one in which Sonal Mehta has made herself comfortable.

As Director of Engineering at Mailchimp, having worked through the ranks throughout her career, she’s perfectly placed to weigh in on the unique nature of the role.

Sonal shares her wonderful perspective with me on Leaders Unscripted, a must-listen for any budding first-time Directors.

This Episode Covers:

  • Sonal’s transition into a director role, and how the experience is akin to parenthood
  • The result of no longer ‘being in the weeds’ of day-to-day work
  • Managing high stakes and expectations
  • The balance between leaders’ and workers’ emotions, and staying level in the face of that
  • How to build the essential tenet of trust

Episode Highlights:

“I think it was the biggest leap in responsibility compared to all of the other roles that I have moved in and out of, because now suddenly, I was no longer in the weeds. I had to learn to lead without really knowing the specifics yet.” - 4:15 - Sonal Mehta
“The stakes are so much higher than what they were when I was a manager. I say that because you have so many more people that you have to ensure know what they're doing.” - 9:20 - Sonal Mehta
“You obviously make so many mistakes. But there's nothing that comes out as a good single story that I could tell you. I feel like you have to course-correct almost every day. ” - 13:20 - Sonal Mehta
“We expect our senior leaders to have answers to everything. As you move closer to that level, you realize it’s impossible to have answers to everything.” - 16:30 - Sonal Mehta
“When you are in a situation like that, where you have to communicate something, the work often starts long before you're ever in a situation like that. To me, it's all about trust.” - 20:50 - Sonal Mehta
“When I think of who is in my immediate team, of course it’s my managers, and my engineers, who are my direct reports. But then I also say it's my peers, because my peers are my team - we, together, have to work towards a common goal.” - 28:15 - Sonal Mehta
“Directors are between leaders and the people doing the work, both of whom have their own emotions. That can make us a little less objective about what’s going on.” - 34:25 - Suzan Bond

Links & References:

Constellary: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

Suzan Bond: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanbond/

Sonal Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonalpmehta/

Mailchimp: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intuitmailchimp/