In the early stages of a career, people often focus on big name and brand recognition—what company do you work for, what school did you attend, how much prestige are you associated with. While the name-brand recognition can feel important, one executive coach thinks that it’s equally important to look around at the people you surround yourself with.
“I didn’t prioritize [who I was working] with high enough on my list,” Jessica Wan shared with me when reflecting on her career. You need to find the people within your organization that will help shape you, she explained. Great mentors and leaders that are invested in helping you grow can make all the difference. If you’re at a big brand name but you’re disposable, are you gaining the network that you need?
The relationship aspect of job growth is often overlooked, but it’s essential for your career growth, and this executive says it’s better to start thinking about this earlier in your career than you might realize.
Jessica Wan is a senior executive who has led marketing teams and product launches at Apple, Smule, Magoosh, and the San Francisco Opera for the last 18 years. She’s the host of the Ampersand Manifesto Podcast, and an executive coach for mid-to-senior level professionals with big jobs, big lives, and big dreams. Her specialty is working with leaders who are navigating change in their careers and lives, whether it’s pivoting career paths, scaling a business through new stages of growth, or expanding confidence in people management and leadership.
She’s based in Berkeley, CA, where she lives with her husband and 6-year-old son. She’s been a two-time member of The Wise Women’s Council I asked her to talk to us about parenting and business, and to give us insight in how to connect with people throughout your career. Below, she shares her five tips on how to get almost anyone to have a virtual coffee with you.
Here’s our interview.
What time did you wake up this morning and what was the first thing you did?
I woke up around 5:45am this morning, mostly because I conked out at 9pm the night before! I did some light stretching and then went downstairs to get some cuddle time with the dog.
Who are all the people on your support team who help you, both visible and invisible?
There are so many. My husband, my dad, my in-laws, our former nanny-turned-babysitter, my child's teachers and all the staff at his school, summer camp providers, all the workers involved in how we feed our family. I'll stop there but I'm sure there are so many more folks!
How many actual work hours do you have to do your work in any given week? (Give us your best estimate).
Somewhere between 30-35, depending on the week.
If you could go back and give yourself any advice about parenting, what would it be?
It's okay to not be perfect because there's no way you can be perfect. As a parent, you're going to make mistakes all the time, and that's normal. Don't dwell over whether your spirited child's behavior is nature or nurture. Does it really matter? Focus on how best to support them and take care of yourself and your marriage.
Ask for help, and say yes when help is offered!
“Ask for help, and say yes when help is offered!”
How has parenting changed you? How has business changed you?
Parenting has allowed me to enjoy all the kid things again with a new perspective. We don't really remember the first time around! I also have a newfound appreciation for parents and children that I didn't have before having my own child. The deep connection my son and I have with each other is so unique and special. It's something I cherish every day.
How long have you been building your business and what was the origin story or what was the idea?
In one sense, I've been building my business since my first job. And in another sense, it's only been a few months.
The long game: I consider my experiences in the business world over these past 18 years or so to be crucial to what I can provide in terms of understanding and empathy as a coach. I've had a lot of experiences in the working world that can benefit me in my new role.
The launch of the business: When I left my last job as Head of Marketing for a 100-person company, I had no clue what I was going to do next. I took a few months to travel and reconnect with people, and then enjoy the holidays being fully present with my family. It wasn't until January 2022 that I explored several paths—roles within companies, startup ideas, consulting—and finally realized that I was supposed to be a coach all along. It's what I loved to do. Once I realized that, things moved quickly. I started coaching clients pretty much immediately, and on the backend built out the business. I officially launched the business on March 21, 2022.
If you could go back and give yourself any advice about entrepreneurship, leadership, or business, what would it be?
Look for the people first.
It's always mattered who I work with, but earlier on in my life, I didn't prioritize the ‘WHO’ high enough on my list when choosing that next role. It makes sense—the earlier you are in your career, the more you might think that the "big fancy company name" really matters. And it might. But even so, can you find the people within that big company who get you? Can you find the leaders and role models who will shape you?
I've learned a lot from what leaders didn't do or how they shouldn't have acted. Valuable learnings, but it would have been more powerful to have seen those who I'd admire.
Please share a specific area of expertise that is really useful for our audience. What is a skill, tip, or teachable tool that you’d like to share?
How to get almost anyone to have coffee with you:
Do your research on them, their organization, and what matters to them.
Clarify your why: what's your purpose or goal?
Treat them to coffee. If it's a virtual meeting, send a Starbucks gift card.
Share interesting things about yourself in your message. You never know what they might be looking for or needing in their business.
Keep your message real, casual, and positive.
Give us 3 tools, parent hacks, or business hacks that have really helped you.
For business: Asana. I loooooooove project management and use Asana as my go-to tool. We used it at my last company and it was the "brain" of the organization. Since it's the "brain" I can get things out of my own brain and move along with the rest of my life.
Parent hack: Prep dinner during lunch. Do all the chopping, rinsing, etc ahead of time so then the cooking is fast!
For business: Compile similar projects into the same chunk of time. For example, this hour is my WWC power hour :) I'm working on this Q&A, doing my WWC 2022 intro in Slack, and checking out Voxer next!
Twice a year, we invite people to join the Wise Women’s Council, our community for women who are parents and also entrepreneurs, leaders, and executives. As I was reflecting on all of the incredible women who join us, I realized I wanted to introduce you to them. These brilliant humans are changing the future of work and parenting. We’re featuring them here.
We are also doing a feature series on dads. If you know an awesome dad navigating parenting and work that we should feature, nominate dads we should feature here.