From Stuck in Career Limbo to Rediscovering Passion in EdTech | Lynne Levy Review

Hey Dan, how are you?

Hey Lynne, I am great. How are you? Good.

Good to see you.

Likewise.

So thank you so much for doing this session real quick for us today.

Of course.

So let's start with, so tell me, where were you before you started, before you decided to join the Inspired Leader Program?

Oh man. It happened. So much has happened since then, it almost feels like a lifetime ago. I will say I was working in a job where I really, I felt like I was delivering, but I felt like it wasn't going anywhere. You know, I was regularly delivering everything that I needed to, to in my mind at least be successful at my job. But I wasn't where I wanted to be in the organization, either in the hierarchy or, you know, close. I do education technology, so I wasn't close to the students. Which is where my passion lies. And I really, I really knew that I needed to really kind of step outside the organization in some way and learn what I needed to do to really end up where I wanted to be.

And what made you, I mean, what made you finally say, all right, I'm going to do this?

Yeah, so I had the good fortune, as you may recall, of meeting you in person. Yes. At a product management event several months ago. We had a great conversation. I was really eager to take the class. And, you know, I think the thing that made me really kind of, kind of take the plunge is, it's probably two things. So the one is the introductory phone call that we had. You know, I told you everything that was going on, exactly how I felt. And you not only understood, but you immediately had some great kind of nuggets of wisdom and advice for me. Um, right off the bat. Like, I knew that you got it. I knew that you could help me. And I was, I was really excited to continue. Um, you know, the second thing was honestly, you made it easy by, uh, by having the free trial week. So there was, there was, there was no risk, right? It was kind of like, all right, I think Lynne is great. And now she gets a week to prove that she's great. And you did. Uh, and I was in, in my mind, I think I was already in for the course by like Maybe the second class. I mean, it didn't take me long to be like, I'm all in. Awesome.

And what were some of your key takeaways? And I just, I remember that your first couple of weeks in the program, you had like 50 sheets of paper, like paper was everywhere.

So, oh man. So it's hard to narrow down what my best takeaways were. I will say, interestingly enough, those sheets of paper came from one of your suggestions that you had, which is this morning ritual that you ask folks to do every day to get started and really start the day off on a positive note. And one of the suggestions you had for what to do in the morning ritual is, you know, do some writing. And so I was working my way through the modules and I just like, I started asking myself these deep questions that you were pushing me to ask myself and like, Initially, when I'd answer a question, you'd be like, why ed tech? I'd be like, oh, because I love kids. And you were like, that's not deep enough. Like, why do you love ed tech? And so I spent the morning digging deep and writing and writing, and I finally figured it out. And man, once the floodgates opened, I had, to your point, pages and pages of content that was just unlocked from within. And so really the number one takeaway for me is I discovered my passion, or rediscover my passion, I should say, for education technology. To date, I've been in edtech for my entire career. I was, like I said before, I was stuck. And so the thought had certainly occurred to me of leaving edtech, but, you know, you've helped me rediscover my passion for it, and I'm never leaving edtech. I'm staying in it for the rest of my career.

That is amazing. I mean, you just, it's like, literally, it's like the I don't know, like a hose opened up with it. It was amazing to watch. And walk us through a little bit of what happened then. I mean, it's like things just fell into place for you.

Things. I mean, it's, it's great. So, so as you, as your, you know, your mantra is never settle. And especially once you helped me rediscover my passion for ed tech, I was like, I'm not settling. You and I kept having conversations after that. I think I pretty quickly, with your help, was able to figure out exactly what my passions were, exactly what I wanted to do, and everything just took off from there. I mean, I basically saw several jobs that I was interested in. I applied to them. At the end of the day, I had 3 companies competing. To hire me. I ended up going with, I mean, I ended up going with a company who literally, I think 3 days before I saw the job posting, you and I had a conversation and I was like, you were asking like, what do I want to do? And I named all these things. And then 3 days later I saw this job posting that was basically everything I had told you. And so that was the job that I ended up going with. And it was crazy. I had, like I said, 3 companies were competing over me. I had like probably 15 interviews in the span of like 2 or 3 weeks. It was a really intense period. And then I called you up the morning I got the offers and I was like, at the last minute you were helping me figure out exactly which one I should choose. And of course your advice was spot on as always. Once I got a little bit farther from the situation, I was like, yeah, of course she was right.

Amazing.

So that was all about week 7 of the program, by the way.

Exactly. I mean, you just, you killed it. And not only were these great jobs, I mean, you're, you're going into a leadership role.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm gonna be managing all the, all the products for an education technology company, which, uh, is my passion, both product management and education technology. So doesn't really get better than that.

Amazing. So let's say you're in Boston and you bump into somebody on the street or at a Boston product management event, and they were to say, listen, I'm hearing about this program. Should I think about it? Should I consider it? What would you say?

The answer is a resounding yes. And I would tell them that, you know, Lynne is really, really good at her job. Thank you. You know, you're more than welcome. What I've— what you've been able to do for me, what I've seen you do for the other folks in the class, It's really impressive. It really truly is. Like, you meet all of us where we're at. You help us work through whatever issues we're having, and the way you can do it sometimes simultaneously— I mean, I remember the class that I had— that we had, excuse me— the day I got my first offer and I went into class, I was of course elated. And then a few minutes after I gave the news to the class, somebody else, another regular student joined, And she had a really bad day. She had a really just rough conversation with her manager. And the way that you were able to balance those two situations and, you know, be happy for me while being super supportive with everybody else on the call for our colleague, for our colleague who needed help, it was, it was really impressive. So, you know, the short answer is Lynne is amazing at her job, whoever is thinking of taking this course, as long as you're willing to do the work, man, you're going to get a lot out of this class. Awesome.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And Dan, oh my gosh, you're a rock star. I'm so excited to see what happens after you start your job on Monday. I mean, holy cow.

Thank you so much, Lynne Levy. You've been amazing. And I really hope you know that you are a rock star too.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Dan, have an awesome weekend. Let me know how the new job goes on Monday.

Absolutely. Will do.

All right.

Talk soon. Bye-bye.