The Leadership Advantage

Leadership Advantage - Issue 11 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders, Are you striving to create products that truly resonate with your users? What happens when you decide to build a product not for market validation, but to share something that brings you joy? That’s exactly what happened to me when I was sick with a cold. I was just sick enough to not want to follow my normal routine, but not so sick that I needed to stay in bed. With only a 20-hour-per-week commitment to my client, I suddenly had...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 5 by Andrea Michalek “So, how does it feel to fail?” This lovely question was once asked of me when I was most vulnerable as a leader. In this issue of Leadership Advantage, we will talk a little about the underbelly of all success → failure. Feel free to reply to this newsletter with any questions you have. I always answer, and I’d love to hear from you. – Andrea Leadership Story: So, how does it feel to fail? It was January 2001. The first Monday after the...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 4 by Andrea Michalek Leadership where you least expect it This issue I wanted to explore is how we often become leaders when we least expect it. I start off with my coming-of-age story of being ripped from the keyboard and asked to lead for the first time. I also wanted to talk a bit about the areas in our lives where we ALL are leaders. I hope you enjoy! – Andrea Leadership Story: Battlefield Recruitment and Mentorship I transitioned unexpectedly from being a...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 10 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders, Are you looking for a way to maximize your team's impact? It's not just the charisma of leadership. It's also the grind of management. You need both for team success. 🌛 The world craves authentic leadership. But what’s leadership without its other half — management? It is vision without execution. It is like dreaming of climbing Mount Everest but not packing the gear. The ambition is high, but there is no chance of reaching the...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 9 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders, This week, while I was on a coaching call, the topic of burnout was front and center. Looking back at my career, with the clarity of hindsight, the factors that both got me to that point, what helped, what didn't, and what I have learned are so much more apparent than when I was facing the situation alone. In this issue of Leadership Advantage, I want to highlight some research that gives anyone struggling with stress and burnout...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 8 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders, Nothing screams 'successful team' like a well-oiled rhythm. But how do you create it? Having led numerous teams that excelled in delivering products throughout my career, I want to share the structure that will help you get a solid start. 👇 (Note: This is an excerpt from my Leadership Advantage Fundamentals course. More about that below.) First and foremost, as a leader, it is important to think through what needs to happen at...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 7 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders, In this issue of the Leadership Advantage, I want to talk about those events that wake you up and make you reconsider your path. For me, it started 5 years ago. Sometimes your drive to do what is right for "the business" comes first. You put it before your free time, your leisure time, and your mind is always racing. Some mornings, more than you want to count, you wake up from sleep and sit STRAIGHT up, with 100 thoughts of what...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 6 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders, In this issue of the Leadership Advantage, we are going to talk about how to set your product vision. Especially with the never-ending stream of product releases, teams can get lost and lose track of the reason they are building the product in the first place. Like a beacon in the fog, a clear and compelling vision can guide them through the numbing repetition of endless product updates. However, many product leaders struggle with...

Leadership Advantage - Issue 2 by Andrea Michalek Hi Leaders! We are going to cover 2 topics today, both related to team culture. The first is how to build a culture of innovation. Not to get that one-hit-wonder of a great product idea, but how to create the long-term environment where ideas thrive. The second is about learning what drives your team outside of the office. Now on to the content... Building a culture of innovation Innovation doesn't just happen; it must be cultivated. As a...