Dec. 26, 2024

The Art of Advocacy and Standing Up for Your Team

The Art of Advocacy and Standing Up for Your Team

In episode 89 of the Speak In Flow podcast, Melinda Lee has an empowering conversation with Jeffrey Yang, the Chief Technology Officer at Rising Team. They dive deep into how you can supercharge your team by getting them all on the same page and working with a deep sense of purpose and ownership towards a goal. 

Jeffrey shares his journey of personal and professional growth, reflecting on how he evolved from a "tell me what to do" mindset to becoming a leader who champions his team. Through stories of resilience and triumph, Jeffrey reveals the transformative power of thoughtful leadership that balances accountability with compassion.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The Vision for Empowered Teams

Rising Team focuses on creating workplace environments where everyone feels understood, supported, and empowered. Learn how consistent, team-based workshops and AI-driven leadership tools enable managers to connect with their teams on a deeper level.

Accountability Helps You Grow

Jeffrey reflects on how he transitioned from avoiding accountability to taking ownership, inspired by mentors who believed in his potential. His story underscores the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone to grow as a leader.

Standing Up for Your Team (with Respect)

Discover how Jeffrey tackled a challenging workplace scenario to secure a fair team rating. Learn how aligning goals with stakeholders and advocating thoughtfully can create impactful results without fostering defensiveness.

Balancing Work and Well-Being

Melinda and Jeffrey have some great tips on making an 8-hour workday work for you. They know how to prioritize effectively and avoid burnout, so listen in to learn how you can break away from unhealthy cultural perceptions around overwork.

Memorable Quotes:

"If every person in the workplace felt understood, supported, and empowered, imagine how incredible that environment would be." - Jeffrey Yang

“Advocating for your team doesn’t mean pushing others down. It’s about thoughtful communication that helps everyone align and grow.” - Jeffrey Yang

“Powerful leaders are human. Storytelling from a place of strength and vulnerability creates trust.” - Melinda Lee

Connect with Jeffrey Yang

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffyang/ 

About the Guest: 

Jeffrey Yang is the Chief Technology Officer at Rising Team, where he puts his heart and soul into creating solutions that empower teams to flourish and reach their full potential. Jeff uses his hard-earned expertise to empower teams to reach their full potential. From his "Happy and Successful" program to his current role at Rising Team, Jeff is a man on a mission. He is committed to transforming every workplace into a fertile ground for everyone's growth. 

Fun-facts:

  • Jeff has a family of gamers! He loves playing Baldur's Gate 3 with his wife and Tears of the Kingdom with his three kids.
  • Jeff has a really unique sleep habit; he sleeps with his head tucked under the covers!
  • Speaking of unusual pets, Jeff used to have a chicken, but it was only his pet for a day.

About Melinda:

Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.

She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.

Website: https://speakinflow.com/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow

Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast review.

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Transcript
Melinda Lee:

Welcome. Dear listeners to the speak and flow podcast where we dive into unique experiences and strategies to help you and your team achieve maximum, potential and flow. I'm so glad you're here. I have an amazing, incredibly smart and also humble, genuine leader, Jeffrey Yang. He is a chief technology officer for rising team.


2


00:00:26,310 --> 00:00:27,630


Melinda Lee: Hi, Jeffrey!



3


00:00:27,890 --> 00:00:28,690


Jeffrey Yang: Hi!



4


00:00:28,860 --> 00:00:32,279


Jeffrey Yang: Thanks for having me, and really excited to be here.



5


00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:50,950


Melinda Lee: Me, too. Me, too. We're gonna dive into some really unique experiences that you've been through, and, too, so we can learn. But before we get into that. I wanted to have you tell the audience like, what makes you so passionate about rising team because they're doing some amazing things.



6


00:00:51,640 --> 00:01:05,709


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, thanks. I think so what I'd like to start with is the vision of the company, which is that every person in the workplace feels understood, supported, and empowered.



7


00:01:06,540 --> 00:01:12,159


Jeffrey Yang: And that really resonates with me. I think that



8


00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:18,349


Jeffrey Yang: if you imagine a world where everyone feels understood, supported and empowered.



9


00:01:18,380 --> 00:01:23,320


Jeffrey Yang: that it's just. It's a wonderful kind of vision



10


00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:27,779


Jeffrey Yang: where everyone is happier. They enjoy their jobs.



11


00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,797


Jeffrey Yang: they do better at their jobs.



12


00:01:31,340 --> 00:01:32,410


Jeffrey Yang: and



13


00:01:32,630 --> 00:01:42,059


Jeffrey Yang: yeah, so so that's kind of the vision I think about. And what makes me passionate? It's something that even before I started at rising team.



14


00:01:42,110 --> 00:01:45,359


Jeffrey Yang: it was something I had focused on.



15


00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,140


Jeffrey Yang: And if you think about.



16


00:01:48,270 --> 00:01:54,910


Jeffrey Yang: if you think about it, not even the whole world, but like, if your whole company felt that way, that would be an amazing place to work.



17


00:01:55,160 --> 00:02:00,860


Jeffrey Yang: And if it even just your team felt that way, that's kind of the



18


00:02:01,290 --> 00:02:02,710


Jeffrey Yang: it's it's like.



19


00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,769


Jeffrey Yang: like, how great would it be if your whole team



20


00:02:06,250 --> 00:02:20,169


Jeffrey Yang: understood you and supported you and empowered you. And so yeah, that's kind of makes me passionate. So every company that that we on board every team that that uses our product makes me feel good.



21


00:02:20,170 --> 00:02:23,690


Melinda Lee: Oh, my gosh! That gave me chills!



22


00:02:23,730 --> 00:02:37,430


Melinda Lee: It really did. That is such a beautiful vision and mission, because a lot of what I do with helping people with finding their voice is so that they can feel I love the the flow. What you said understood, supported.



23


00:02:37,570 --> 00:02:53,919


Melinda Lee: And so it's just amazing. And I I completely agree with that. How how much better could this world be when people are actually enjoying their work? The statistic is sad about how many people are unhappy at their jobs?



24


00:02:54,790 --> 00:03:10,619


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, exactly. And I've been like when just a little bit of connection and just support it's I mean, we see, like, you know data about how much it improves things like retention and engagement. And



25


00:03:11,238 --> 00:03:14,180


Jeffrey Yang: just, it's like proof that



26


00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:16,509


Jeffrey Yang: everyone really needs that.



27


00:03:16,510 --> 00:03:19,839


Melinda Lee: Yeah. And they're doing it through. AI, correct.



28


00:03:20,630 --> 00:03:42,209


Jeffrey Yang: We? Well, yeah. So what we do is so we take the team as a unit so the team, if you think about like who is best equipped to like support you at work, and who who you want to understand you. It's your manager and your team. It's the people you work with. So the team is kind of like the built in unit that we impact. And



29


00:03:42,618 --> 00:04:05,610


Jeffrey Yang: what we do is we have team workshops that you you can do with your team. And so if you think about workshops typically, you would might do them once a year, and it might only be for leadership. And then you kind of they. They can be really amazing. And you can bond with the people that you do the workshop with. And you share. And



30


00:04:05,916 --> 00:04:18,160


Jeffrey Yang: you do activities together, and you practice together. But you, you do it with people that you don't actually work with, and so if you do it with your team, and then, instead of once a year, you do it



31


00:04:18,658 --> 00:04:27,020


Jeffrey Yang: like you do it consistently. Then that is a much better experience in, in like our opinion. And so



32


00:04:27,430 --> 00:04:29,960


Jeffrey Yang: then, what happens is



33


00:04:30,070 --> 00:04:46,179


Jeffrey Yang: you have this bonding experience where you over time learn to more. Learn more about your team, learn how to support each other and help each other, and then you do it consistently. And



34


00:04:46,690 --> 00:04:50,210


Jeffrey Yang: and so that's kind of how we work.



35


00:04:50,970 --> 00:04:51,970


Jeffrey Yang: So



36


00:04:52,400 --> 00:05:21,359


Jeffrey Yang: yeah, I think. And so we do have an AI component which is an AI leadership coach. That kind of takes the things that you've learned about your team and helps you kind of understand them better. And and for example, like, you might learn that different people appreciate things different ways, right? Or like to be appreciated differently. So, for example, somebody might care most about like the impact on the customers. So if you appreciate them like. Oh, your project did really well.



37


00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:38,430


Jeffrey Yang: and, like everyone, loved it like who uses it. That might be the way to appreciate that person. Another person might prefer to be appreciated, for, like how hard they worked, and so you might say, something like, Oh, like, Oh, this project was great, and I noticed you worked really hard on it.



38


00:05:38,430 --> 00:05:49,549


Jeffrey Yang: and it turned out really well. And so so like, that's kind of the insights from the workshops that you can use and the AI leadership coach can help you say.



39


00:05:49,750 --> 00:06:02,380


Jeffrey Yang: sort of like, Oh, I'd like to appreciate Melinda. And and how does that like, what's the best way to kind of appreciate her for this project that I'd like to appreciate her for. So



40


00:06:02,838 --> 00:06:04,931


Jeffrey Yang: that's yeah. That's kind of



41


00:06:05,380 --> 00:06:07,070


Jeffrey Yang: what? Yeah, what we do.



42


00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:30,749


Melinda Lee: That is great. I I use Chat Gpt, and I get so many wonderful ideas from there, and it's so nice to have a personalized coach to be able to have the right words or the right ideas to appreciate different. Because how am I gonna know how to appreciate somebody else? If first, st I don't know how they want to be appreciated. And 2. That's not the way I like to be appreciated.



43


00:06:31,020 --> 00:06:32,260


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, it's perfect. Yeah.



44


00:06:32,260 --> 00:06:45,539


Melinda Lee: Yeah. So it's like, almost like learning a different language in terms of valuing and appreciating others. Which I think like you said builds a more cohesive team, and people feel valued. People are motivated and they're enjoying their work.



45


00:06:46,210 --> 00:06:47,080


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, yeah.



46


00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:57,890


Melinda Lee: As the chief technology officer. It sounds incredibly busy. Do you? Do you have a lot of things going on? It's been in business for 4 close to 4 years now rising team.



47


00:06:58,530 --> 00:07:06,350


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, it is. I mean, I like to keep it manageable. So I I think, that's 1 of the things



48


00:07:06,450 --> 00:07:19,579


Jeffrey Yang: I focus on is is prioritizing. And I and like, there's always an infinite amount of work to do. So prioritizing is really important in terms of figuring out like what's the most effective thing to do right now.



49


00:07:19,770 --> 00:07:27,970


Melinda Lee: And how do you prioritize it? If the new priority comes in? And then what happens to all the old priorities? How do you balance that.



50


00:07:27,970 --> 00:07:37,580


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, I mean you. You have to evaluate it and and decide. And there's multiple ways of doing that. But I think



51


00:07:37,730 --> 00:07:43,120


Jeffrey Yang: a lot of it is just communication with stakeholders and



52


00:07:43,180 --> 00:07:53,039


Jeffrey Yang: just being upfront like, yeah, like, we can't do everything we we have to acknowledge that. And and that's the truth of of everything. At work. And



53


00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:54,630


Jeffrey Yang: you.



54


00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:57,429


Jeffrey Yang: we need to decide like what's the most important.



55


00:07:57,430 --> 00:08:12,929


Melinda Lee: Have you always had this skill set or mindset of balancing the priorities? And we even went way back when you started your career. What was that like? Did you work really hard or not? Work really hard, like? What was that like for you?



56


00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:14,505


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah,



57


00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:21,219


Jeffrey Yang: I think. Well, so when I started, I did, I did kind of have this skill set of not



58


00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,680


Jeffrey Yang: not overworking kind of, I mean, basically, yeah.



59


00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:28,070


Melinda Lee: You just born with it?



60


00:08:28,170 --> 00:08:33,999


Melinda Lee: Or did you watch your parents work to like? Where? Where do you know what was the switch? Maybe? Was it from your.



61


00:08:34,650 --> 00:08:35,959


Melinda Lee: Be too hard, or



62


00:08:36,490 --> 00:08:37,270


Melinda Lee: I'm curious.



63


00:08:37,270 --> 00:08:38,083


Jeffrey Yang: What's this?



64


00:08:38,750 --> 00:08:51,150


Jeffrey Yang: I mean? I think it was. It was be. I was very passive, right? And I think part. I mean, there were multiple reasons. I I don't think I mean I had a pretty sheltered childhood.



65


00:08:51,523 --> 00:08:54,659


Jeffrey Yang: I had, like my parents did a lot for me



66


00:08:55,209 --> 00:09:02,990


Jeffrey Yang: which meant, in many cases, I I didn't really develop the skills necessarily to do a lot for myself,



67


00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:04,740


Jeffrey Yang: and



68


00:09:05,451 --> 00:09:09,309


Jeffrey Yang: and so what ended up happening was.



69


00:09:09,430 --> 00:09:13,300


Jeffrey Yang: I was more of a like a Tell me what to do, and I'll do it.



70


00:09:13,300 --> 00:09:14,550


Melinda Lee: Right, right.



71


00:09:14,550 --> 00:09:20,070


Jeffrey Yang: I'll do a good job of it. But that's it. I'm done right. You tell me what to do, and I'll do it, and I'm done.



72


00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:29,629


Jeffrey Yang: And I just got really efficient at just doing what other people told me to do and like part of that is like, go to college get a job, so on. And



73


00:09:30,146 --> 00:09:53,353


Jeffrey Yang: so, like my 1st job, for example, I I worked 4 h days. I was a full time software engineer, but I worked 4 h days because I I would roll in at 11 and eat lunch, and then like do some work, and I would get everything done, and then I'd be out around 4 go play sports. It was pretty. It was a pretty fun time.



74


00:09:54,240 --> 00:10:07,220


Jeffrey Yang: And I remember my manager called me in, and he was like, Oh, Jeff, you could work more hours. And I was like, well, okay, yeah, I could. Is there something like you wanted me to do that I'm not doing.



75


00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,752


Jeffrey Yang: And he said, No, but it might be good for your career.



76


00:10:12,300 --> 00:10:16,439


Jeffrey Yang: And I was like. I thought about it. And I I said, No, thanks like



77


00:10:16,670 --> 00:10:20,270


Jeffrey Yang: I don't. I don't know. Like I didn't really feel like



78


00:10:20,740 --> 00:10:38,149


Jeffrey Yang: career. Was this tangible thing that I should be working on, or so it's just kind of like, well, you didn't tell me to do my career like, so I'm not going to do it right. And so that's kind of where I was for a really long time, actually, until



79


00:10:38,903 --> 00:10:43,890


Jeffrey Yang: I was at Hulu and my manager there. His name was Araj, and



80


00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:48,347


Jeffrey Yang: he actually believed in me and kind of pushed me



81


00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:58,720


Jeffrey Yang: And he, he said, like, I want you to be the manager after me like you, you know a lot, and and you know what you're doing. But there's 1 thing you have to stop doing is



82


00:10:58,740 --> 00:11:01,084


Jeffrey Yang: stop asking me questions.



83


00:11:01,990 --> 00:11:08,050


Jeffrey Yang: and basically the reason for that is I I had gotten to the state where I would



84


00:11:08,610 --> 00:11:22,260


Jeffrey Yang: ask for permission for anything because I wanted it was kind of my way of not taking responsibility. Right? It's like, if you, if you give me permission to do it. That means it's on you like what whatever happens. And



85


00:11:22,260 --> 00:11:43,919


Jeffrey Yang: so and this was really hard for me to get around because actually taking accountability and responsibility was something that I wasn't used to and I even remember he was he'd be like Jeff, stop asking me questions and I would say, Okay, I'm not. I'm not asking questions anymore. I'm done with that. And then, 30 seconds later, I'd be asking him a question like, and he'd be.



86


00:11:44,150 --> 00:11:49,299


Jeffrey Yang: he'd say, Jeff, like you're doing. And so



87


00:11:49,711 --> 00:11:58,999


Jeffrey Yang: so so what happened? Was it he really empowered me, and I'll always be grateful to him for that. And I did become the manager of that team.



88


00:11:59,210 --> 00:12:03,170


Jeffrey Yang: And that was when I started to



89


00:12:03,929 --> 00:12:13,429


Jeffrey Yang: take responsibility. But also I started to realize that I do care about things at work like before, I just thought, okay, I don't care. Just tell me what to do. I do it.



90


00:12:13,770 --> 00:12:24,550


Jeffrey Yang: But now I'm like, Oh, there's people on my team who I'm responsible for, and I care about them, and I care about their growth. I care about understanding, supporting and empowering them



91


00:12:24,770 --> 00:12:25,900


Jeffrey Yang: and



92


00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:33,160


Jeffrey Yang: and that that led me to actually start trying and like, start growing. And



93


00:12:33,290 --> 00:12:37,669


Jeffrey Yang: actually, yeah, that kind of finding my passion like.



94


00:12:37,750 --> 00:12:42,480


Jeffrey Yang: just kind of triggered an avalanche where my career started taking off.



95


00:12:42,500 --> 00:12:46,770


Jeffrey Yang: And I started focusing on.



96


00:12:47,290 --> 00:12:50,910


Jeffrey Yang: I'm just helping people on my teams and and



97


00:12:50,980 --> 00:12:53,310


Jeffrey Yang: helping them be happy and successful.



98


00:12:53,730 --> 00:12:54,340


Melinda Lee: Well, that's



99


00:12:55,010 --> 00:13:05,139


Melinda Lee: it. Worked. That strategy seemed to work because you so with the passion you're able to find the passion you started caring more is what I'm hearing caring



100


00:13:05,260 --> 00:13:17,930


Melinda Lee: about. What is that you're doing, but more so caring about the people that you're working with your team, taking responsibility for them, and that strategy helps grow your your career. And then you ended up at Facebook.



101


00:13:18,470 --> 00:13:19,629


Jeffrey Yang: Yep. Yep.



102


00:13:19,900 --> 00:13:25,479


Melinda Lee: And then did you work hard the whole time, or were you still working? I'm curious about the hours by chance.



103


00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:33,220


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, it's a good question. I I my hours did increase right over time. I I've never been somebody.



104


00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:36,059


Jeffrey Yang: I've been relatively good with ours.



105


00:13:36,060 --> 00:13:36,930


Melinda Lee: Yeah.



106


00:13:36,930 --> 00:13:39,619


Jeffrey Yang: I don't. I don't work more than 8 h.



107


00:13:40,332 --> 00:14:01,069


Melinda Lee: I love it. I love it. No, I I the reason why is as entrepreneur. I'm entrepreneur, and there's and with anybody I mean, I think we're all in this trajectory. I feel like in America we're like, there's more to do. There's more to do or we want. If we don't do. Xyz. We're not going to get the promotion, or if I don't do Xyz, I'm not going to get the right client, and



108


00:14:01,070 --> 00:14:12,950


Melinda Lee: and I think that's a the perception unhealthy perception. Because I don't, but I I think that I cap it, and I I trust that what I did as long as they're the the right strategic right actions.



109


00:14:12,950 --> 00:14:15,769


Melinda Lee: It will come back tenfold.



110


00:14:16,555 --> 00:14:29,389


Melinda Lee: It does sometimes take longer than I wish to. But then it's also I also like you. I feel like I don't. I'm I'd like to keep my mindset. I try to balance other things in my life and other priorities, too.



111


00:14:29,650 --> 00:14:31,540


Melinda Lee: And do you think that's the case for you?



112


00:14:31,770 --> 00:14:36,579


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, it's I mean, it's it's a slippery slope to just



113


00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:45,379


Jeffrey Yang: trackling problems by adding more time. Right? It's it's like you.



114


00:14:45,550 --> 00:14:51,064


Jeffrey Yang: You could always add more time. Yeah, that's that's kind of like the easy way out in in many ways.



115


00:14:51,490 --> 00:14:52,420


Jeffrey Yang: but



116


00:14:52,810 --> 00:14:57,850


Jeffrey Yang: the better way is to find out ways to be more efficient and more effective, and



117


00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:03,259


Jeffrey Yang: figure out what's actually important. There. There's so many times where



118


00:15:03,460 --> 00:15:06,300


Jeffrey Yang: I could, for an example, is I don't.



119


00:15:06,450 --> 00:15:11,469


Jeffrey Yang: I. I batch my kind of messaging and slack and email, because



120


00:15:11,490 --> 00:15:14,079


Jeffrey Yang: a lot of times it's not



121


00:15:14,150 --> 00:15:17,440


Jeffrey Yang: urgent when somebody messages you.



122


00:15:17,470 --> 00:15:18,590


Jeffrey Yang: and



123


00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,759


Jeffrey Yang: if you just wait a little bit. They usually figure it out themselves, or.



124


00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:23,180


Melinda Lee: Hello!



125


00:15:23,180 --> 00:15:23,830


Jeffrey Yang: Oh!



126


00:15:24,110 --> 00:15:24,700


Melinda Lee: Right.



127


00:15:25,763 --> 00:15:33,360


Jeffrey Yang: It's something where you can find ways to manage your time and



128


00:15:33,926 --> 00:15:38,089


Jeffrey Yang: and what's another hour or 2 either way? Right? So



129


00:15:38,260 --> 00:15:40,930


Jeffrey Yang: why not go? Do an hour less.



130


00:15:42,277 --> 00:15:55,729


Melinda Lee: and then it's so true batching things and holding the line of trying not to let other things that you're supposed to do I find? Right? Like, okay, 1 h less



131


00:15:55,770 --> 00:16:01,900


Melinda Lee: here or 1 h less there. But as long as I'm batching it and then committing to what I'm supposed to be doing.



132


00:16:02,070 --> 00:16:04,769


Melinda Lee: I think that's been very helpful, too.



133


00:16:04,940 --> 00:16:05,619


Melinda Lee: Sounds like.



134


00:16:05,620 --> 00:16:17,799


Jeffrey Yang: And I think, like another thing people find is that there, there's this stuck of like a binary thinking of where it's like I either spend time or



135


00:16:17,910 --> 00:16:19,120


Jeffrey Yang: I,



136


00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,230


Jeffrey Yang: or I can't get it done right.



137


00:16:21,230 --> 00:16:22,300


Melinda Lee: Right.



138


00:16:22,300 --> 00:16:27,440


Jeffrey Yang: It's it's there's a way to say, actually, how can I get it done and spend less time.



139


00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:33,090


Melinda Lee: Yeah, I like that question, how can I get it done and spend less time?



140


00:16:33,210 --> 00:16:38,940


Melinda Lee: That's a good question. Good question. And so it sounds like you. Then you made it to Facebook



141


00:16:39,090 --> 00:16:45,189


Melinda Lee: and as a as a manager at Facebook, what are some of the things that you learned at Facebook



142


00:16:46,090 --> 00:16:48,010


Melinda Lee: standing up for your team.



143


00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,328


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, I think I



144


00:16:52,290 --> 00:16:56,750


Jeffrey Yang: there was a. So I I was building several teams at Facebook.



145


00:16:56,790 --> 00:17:00,259


Jeffrey Yang: And it was, it was great. And



146


00:17:00,860 --> 00:17:05,269


Jeffrey Yang: I learned a lot in terms of 1st of all, just aligning



147


00:17:05,849 --> 00:17:12,750


Jeffrey Yang: people with the like, aligning both what I wanted, what the company wanted and what they wanted.



148


00:17:13,109 --> 00:17:15,909


Jeffrey Yang: and so like.



149


00:17:16,069 --> 00:17:18,559


Jeffrey Yang: Ha! I found that



150


00:17:18,659 --> 00:17:21,309


Jeffrey Yang: that was a very powerful motivator. If



151


00:17:22,029 --> 00:17:22,979


Jeffrey Yang: what



152


00:17:23,379 --> 00:17:44,779


Jeffrey Yang: an individual wants is what they're working on so so if they want to get promoted, and you kind of line up the cards that way. And you say, Hey, like this is how you can get promoted. And it would be helpful to me and the company. Then, if everything is aligned, then it all works well together. So we



153


00:17:45,204 --> 00:17:49,865


Jeffrey Yang: so so IA lot of my job I felt like was setting things up like that.



154


00:17:50,299 --> 00:17:57,699


Jeffrey Yang: and I. There was one particular lesson I I learned at Facebook as well. And which you mentioned? Which.



155


00:17:58,604 --> 00:18:00,749


Jeffrey Yang: historically, I never.



156


00:18:00,879 --> 00:18:03,939


Jeffrey Yang: I had a hard time standing up for myself.



157


00:18:04,404 --> 00:18:07,779


Jeffrey Yang: And it's not. It's not something I typically do



158


00:18:08,527 --> 00:18:10,679


Jeffrey Yang: and so I,



159


00:18:10,769 --> 00:18:19,679


Jeffrey Yang: yeah. So I let me tell the story from with some context, the just what we let's see, I started a team



160


00:18:20,110 --> 00:18:24,019


Jeffrey Yang: that was tasked. It was a new team. It was tasked with finding



161


00:18:24,269 --> 00:18:29,089


Jeffrey Yang: new ways to grow Facebook groups. I was, I was working on Facebook groups at the time.



162


00:18:29,199 --> 00:18:30,329


Jeffrey Yang: and



163


00:18:31,169 --> 00:18:32,589


Jeffrey Yang: the



164


00:18:32,599 --> 00:18:40,939


Jeffrey Yang: trick was so so in terms of growing. What I mean by that is, we had a top line metric, which is the number of people who find groups meaningful.



165


00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:50,550


Jeffrey Yang: And that was the metric for every team in Facebook groups. And so we were tasked with finding a new way. And so



166


00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:58,789


Jeffrey Yang: with them. And so every other team like they had their plans. And they knew, like, Okay, this is how we want to grow Facebook groups. And they executed on that.



167


00:18:58,820 --> 00:18:59,860


Jeffrey Yang: And



168


00:18:59,870 --> 00:19:08,289


Jeffrey Yang: what we had to do was basically find all the stuff they didn't want to do, and all the stuff that they felt like wasn't worth it.



169


00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:17,926


Jeffrey Yang: And so we basically took every single one of those and we tried it. We tried every single item that we could find



170


00:19:18,490 --> 00:19:35,359


Jeffrey Yang: And and it was like that was a real roller coaster, because at 1st we were like, oh, this seems impossible, like, how are we gonna find stuff that, like nobody else wants to do and make it like worthwhile and then we found some items that were that were promising



171


00:19:35,706 --> 00:19:43,369


Jeffrey Yang: but then we realized why nobody wanted to work on it, because we got all these blockers and people like other teams stopping us.



172


00:19:44,082 --> 00:19:48,020


Jeffrey Yang: So we really struggled. And it was



173


00:19:48,990 --> 00:19:51,569


Jeffrey Yang: basically we had



174


00:19:51,840 --> 00:20:02,369


Jeffrey Yang: at the the weeks were ticking down. And we had these like 3 really promising projects. I remember, that were not launched yet, but were blocked for various reasons.



175


00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:06,770


Jeffrey Yang: Like, for example, one was a team that



176


00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:07,910


Jeffrey Yang: add.



177


00:20:08,491 --> 00:20:13,060


Jeffrey Yang: they basically said, you can't launch this because it uses too much. CPU.



178


00:20:13,510 --> 00:20:15,160


Jeffrey Yang: And we.



179


00:20:15,220 --> 00:20:30,920


Jeffrey Yang: we're like, Okay, we scramble. We're like, what do we do? How do we get past this? We found another engineer who was working on reducing CPU, and we worked with them. So we actually reduced like millions of dollars in CPU, just so we could use some of that in our project.



180


00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:32,059


Melinda Lee: Oh, that's funny!



181


00:20:32,060 --> 00:20:36,429


Jeffrey Yang: So that's actually another learning that like a lot of it, was like.



182


00:20:36,450 --> 00:20:39,800


Jeffrey Yang: it's kind of like negotiating. And like.



183


00:20:39,970 --> 00:20:51,969


Jeffrey Yang: it's, it's also with the alignment thing right? How can we get the other teams on board with us right? And and we did that by helping the other teams get their goals so that they could help us get our goals



184


00:20:52,390 --> 00:20:58,900


Jeffrey Yang: and but yeah, it was really like tense, because, like we, we ended up launching them like right at the end.



185


00:20:59,050 --> 00:21:10,309


Jeffrey Yang: And and it was really big, and we celebrated. We were so happy. It was like, I mean, we felt super victorious that we had like, felt like we conquered the impossible.



186


00:21:10,310 --> 00:21:11,140


Melinda Lee: Wow!



187


00:21:12,380 --> 00:21:13,529


Jeffrey Yang: And then.



188


00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:21,650


Jeffrey Yang: yeah, and we actually got more of the metric than any of the other teams who had already had all their plans and figured everything out.



189


00:21:21,650 --> 00:21:23,020


Melinda Lee: Wow!



190


00:21:23,399 --> 00:21:38,590


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah. So so I think so. So at Facebook, there's like a rating system. There's meets all expectations, which is kind of like the neutral like you met expectations. Then there's exceeds expectations, and then there's greatly exceeds expectations.



191


00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:45,840


Jeffrey Yang: So everyone on our team was like, Oh, we definitely greatly exceeded expectations like this was like an amazing victory.



192


00:21:46,532 --> 00:21:51,330


Jeffrey Yang: And then my manager or I had. We had a new manager, and he



193


00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:57,319


Jeffrey Yang: he talked to me, and he said, Hey, Jeff, like I talked to everyone on your team and



194


00:21:58,122 --> 00:22:04,630


Jeffrey Yang: you know, it's they were all like super proud of what you did last half, and



195


00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,310


Jeffrey Yang: they felt like you did an amazing job.



196


00:22:08,510 --> 00:22:09,520


Jeffrey Yang: And



197


00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,909


Jeffrey Yang: but then I I got the rating for your team.



198


00:22:14,020 --> 00:22:18,310


Jeffrey Yang: and it's actually meets all expectations, plus



199


00:22:18,420 --> 00:22:23,780


Jeffrey Yang: which is kind of their way of saying like, Oh, it's these expectations it's not exceeds.



200


00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:30,659


Jeffrey Yang: But we'll give you like a bonus. It's like a plus right. It's pretty much equivalent to it meets all expectations.



201


00:22:31,090 --> 00:22:33,320


Jeffrey Yang: and I remember telling my team.



202


00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:36,259


Jeffrey Yang: and I remember the expressions on their faces.



203


00:22:36,510 --> 00:22:40,239


Jeffrey Yang: and it was what they were stunned@firstst



204


00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:40,630


Melinda Lee: Right.



205


00:22:40,630 --> 00:22:43,839


Jeffrey Yang: And then there was this feeling of like total betrayal.



206


00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:44,460


Melinda Lee: Right.



207


00:22:44,460 --> 00:22:46,939


Jeffrey Yang: And disillusionment.



208


00:22:46,940 --> 00:22:47,610


Melinda Lee: Right.



209


00:22:47,610 --> 00:22:50,010


Jeffrey Yang: And like people wanted to leave



210


00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:58,730


Jeffrey Yang: And so it was. It was really terrible. And I got angry. I felt really angry, and



211


00:22:59,020 --> 00:23:10,670


Jeffrey Yang: I said, this isn't right, and I I asked all the leads of groups, and I asked for the head of groups Jen to be there as well.



212


00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:16,160


Jeffrey Yang: and I wanted to hear. I want to hear what they had to say, and I wanted them to hear what I had to say.



213


00:23:18,190 --> 00:23:22,100


Jeffrey Yang: And even that was a little. It was tricky, because, people



214


00:23:22,450 --> 00:23:31,669


Jeffrey Yang: the first, st you know, one person had removed the head of groups because they're they're like, Oh, well, they're not involved in this decision, so it doesn't matter. And I was like, No, she has to be there.



215


00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:44,920


Jeffrey Yang: and another like some other people were like, Jeff, are you sure you want to do this? You're you know you're doing well? Why risk your career? And over over this one thing right?



216


00:23:44,940 --> 00:23:54,286


Jeffrey Yang: And I I was so angry I feel like I had to do it. So I think that that was an instance where anger actually helped me.



217


00:23:54,750 --> 00:23:56,730


Jeffrey Yang: and I,



218


00:23:56,870 --> 00:24:01,230


Jeffrey Yang: basically, I forced the meeting to get together. And



219


00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,949


Jeffrey Yang: we they kind of told me what



220


00:24:05,330 --> 00:24:08,619


Jeffrey Yang: what was, what was the reason we got the rating.



221


00:24:08,890 --> 00:24:12,004


Jeffrey Yang: and then I stood up and I started talking.



222


00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,269


Jeffrey Yang: And the 1st thing I said is, I am pissed about this rating.



223


00:24:16,460 --> 00:24:18,850


Jeffrey Yang: and I and it's wrong.



224


00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:31,019


Jeffrey Yang: and I then I kind of explained everything I had said before, and and I was really I did it in a way like I practiced ahead of time, and I did it in a way that was really respectful.



225


00:24:31,020 --> 00:24:31,429


Melinda Lee: A month.



226


00:24:31,430 --> 00:24:33,100


Jeffrey Yang: And I was. I said.



227


00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:42,299


Jeffrey Yang: I know, yeah, I know, like it's not easy to determine the rating, and like you did the best you could, and this is raising rating you came up with, and



228


00:24:42,861 --> 00:24:45,740


Jeffrey Yang: at the same time. It's wrong, and



229


00:24:46,530 --> 00:24:59,970


Jeffrey Yang: I, you know, and part of that is my fault right? I admitted. It's like I could have explained how difficult our path was. I could have done a better job of helping that and because kind of the



230


00:25:00,010 --> 00:25:10,100


Jeffrey Yang: and the kind of what happened was, people felt like, oh, we were lucky, and we found something that was worked really well, and it was really easy for us.



231


00:25:10,130 --> 00:25:19,780


Jeffrey Yang: and it just happened, you know, we just happened to like. Instead, we like look through every single thing, and we had to, you know. Hit go over so many obstacles.



232


00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:21,570


Jeffrey Yang: but they didn't know any of that.



233


00:25:21,570 --> 00:25:22,060


Melinda Lee: You didn't know.



234


00:25:23,340 --> 00:25:27,189


Jeffrey Yang: So yeah, I kind of did this really long speech.



235


00:25:27,230 --> 00:25:32,130


Jeffrey Yang: And I actually ended up crying at the end because I I felt like I had failed my team



236


00:25:32,547 --> 00:25:38,279


Jeffrey Yang: and and and to be honest, like my team, helped me a lot in doing this, because



237


00:25:38,490 --> 00:25:42,209


Jeffrey Yang: if it was just me who was affected, I probably would never have spoken.



238


00:25:43,020 --> 00:25:47,589


Jeffrey Yang: but just seeing everyone on my team be affected by it. I had to do it.



239


00:25:47,590 --> 00:25:48,080


Melinda Lee: Right.



240


00:25:48,633 --> 00:25:52,506


Jeffrey Yang: And then yeah. And then Jen, she



241


00:25:53,420 --> 00:26:00,430


Jeffrey Yang: she did like she was really great at facilitating this, she she said, like she asked everyone to



242


00:26:00,510 --> 00:26:03,749


Jeffrey Yang: pause and reflect back what they heard from me.



243


00:26:03,750 --> 00:26:04,359


Melinda Lee: Oh, good!



244


00:26:04,830 --> 00:26:06,220


Melinda Lee: Good, good! That's powerful.



245


00:26:06,220 --> 00:26:08,220


Jeffrey Yang: And yeah, yeah.



246


00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:21,635


Jeffrey Yang: and and they did that. And it, it worked out well. You know, we ended up. The the team stayed together. We ended up actually growing into a hundred plus person, or because of the impact we had



247


00:26:22,020 --> 00:26:31,999


Jeffrey Yang: and she and Jen she actually like reversed our ratings. And it was it was like, I'm I'm really grateful for her to that for that, because



248


00:26:32,620 --> 00:26:48,260


Jeffrey Yang: they they they told her. You get one of these in your Facebook career, right? And if you want to use it on this team, go ahead. And she's like, I do. So yeah, and that really spoke volumes about her.



249


00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,159


Jeffrey Yang: and I. Yeah. So it it really



250


00:26:54,190 --> 00:26:59,999


Jeffrey Yang: gave me that message that I I can be angry which is not usually acceptable at work.



251


00:27:00,510 --> 00:27:03,499


Jeffrey Yang: I can be. I can speak up.



252


00:27:04,130 --> 00:27:07,059


Jeffrey Yang: And I can do it in a way that doesn't



253


00:27:07,590 --> 00:27:09,000


Jeffrey Yang: make things worse.



254


00:27:10,211 --> 00:27:22,450


Jeffrey Yang: So and that's always been like a fear of mine, right of like, if you speak up like, what what's gonna happen like? Are you gonna damage your career? Or and in fact, it it helped my career right. It helped my career at Facebook.



255


00:27:22,580 --> 00:27:28,050


Jeffrey Yang: It also helped my career afterwards, because I haven't mentioned this. But Jen is actually the founder of rising team.



256


00:27:28,050 --> 00:27:29,520


Melinda Lee: Oh, nice!



257


00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:42,340


Jeffrey Yang: So I it. Yeah. And and I've always admired her. And I'm so glad to be working with her. At rising team. So, yeah, that's kind of my story about standing up for.



258


00:27:42,340 --> 00:27:59,480


Melinda Lee: Wow! What a powerful story! And what a full circle in terms of yes, your your growth development everywhere from where you are now, with rising teams to how you were before in terms of



259


00:28:00,270 --> 00:28:15,700


Melinda Lee: committing to your passion and helping people, and how that how you then use it to develop. Develop your voice, to stand up for your team and to do something incredibly difficult, which is again like you said, challenging somebody.



260


00:28:16,110 --> 00:28:19,699


Melinda Lee: putting your emotions out there, but in a way that is



261


00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:40,569


Melinda Lee: helpful, respectful, and just acknowledges what's happening in a very truthful way. But in a way that again, yeah, helps. People. People want to hear it. So you didn't do it in a way where it caused defensiveness or so. That's amazing that you you did that. And it sounds like you did practice, and you sort of put thought into it versus speaking out of anger without the thought. So you



262


00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:52,579


Melinda Lee: yeah, they're your yeah. You knew what you're going to say, but you allowed yourself to be angry. And that's your fuel. And I think that's okay, too, because I think powerful leaders are not emotionless.



263


00:28:52,580 --> 00:29:14,499


Melinda Lee: Powerful leaders are human, and that's where storytelling with the emotion. As long as you can gauge if you're telling the the story from a place of strength, even though it's vulnerable. Or are you getting angry at somebody so? Or are you venting like? There's a lot of different reasons. But you. Your reasoning was to stand up for your team.



264


00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:22,060


Melinda Lee: and you were. You knew that. That's what they deserved. And so that is an amazing story that I learned. It's just so inspirational.



265


00:29:23,790 --> 00:29:33,070


Melinda Lee: Yeah. And so I wanted to leave off with with, what would you like the audience to take away? What is the one golden takeaway?



266


00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,390


Melinda Lee: If you could share one or 2 statements.



267


00:29:36,870 --> 00:29:38,920


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, I think that



268


00:29:41,070 --> 00:29:44,770


Jeffrey Yang: I think I would like them. The what I would say is.



269


00:29:44,980 --> 00:29:46,909


Jeffrey Yang: at least in my experience.



270


00:29:46,970 --> 00:29:48,300


Jeffrey Yang: finding



271


00:29:48,540 --> 00:29:50,370


Jeffrey Yang: the points of passion



272


00:29:50,570 --> 00:29:51,910


Jeffrey Yang: in your work



273


00:29:52,260 --> 00:29:53,629


Jeffrey Yang: and in your life.



274


00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:00,549


Jeffrey Yang: And it's doesn't have to be this like one driving passion that you have.



275


00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:11,890


Jeffrey Yang: But it. It can be just finding those can just like boost you so like for me. Finding that I I cared about my my building my team, and



276


00:30:12,419 --> 00:30:25,599


Jeffrey Yang: maybe not so much about the work itself, or what's getting done. But like, what about the about the development of the people on my team, or that the passion about stick sticking up for my team and



277


00:30:25,780 --> 00:30:29,380


Jeffrey Yang: feeling like I needed to fix something.



278


00:30:30,870 --> 00:30:31,660


Jeffrey Yang: yeah.



279


00:30:32,190 --> 00:30:37,640


Melinda Lee: Yeah, finding those things a little burst of passion within your day to day.



280


00:30:37,670 --> 00:30:45,899


Melinda Lee: your day, our day to day can be so routine sometimes or so overwork. So where are we gonna find that boost of passion to fulfill our hearts?



281


00:30:45,920 --> 00:31:03,420


Melinda Lee: And I I think that with you being at rising team with the your amazing leader, Jen. They're lovely to have you. So, and especially with you and your passion in helping people. This is a perfect alignment of the company's vision, and your skill set so, and your leadership.



282


00:31:03,660 --> 00:31:05,235


Jeffrey Yang: Yeah, it really is perfect.



283


00:31:05,550 --> 00:31:27,919


Melinda Lee: Yeah, that's amazing. Well, thank you so much, Jeffrey, for your time and sharing your your unique experience. I trust that our audience and I know myself. I learned a lot, and I also trust that the audience got your golden takeaway to propel your leadership and build your teams until next time. Thank you so much for joining. I'll see you later.



284


00:31:28,300 --> 00:31:28,990


Jeffrey Yang: Thank you.



285


00:31:28,990 --> 00:31:29,980


Melinda Lee: Jeffrey.