Hannah Mendoza

You're putting out fires. Yeah. And I've learned to have this attitude of, oh, I'm having a little breakdown about something today. I wonder how it's going to feel tomorrow. As opposed to, this feels like a problem. Let me pull out all the stops to try and fix it. And... Gosh, especially nighttime thoughts. I don't know if you've experienced this.

You're putting out fires. Yeah. And I've learned to have this attitude of, oh, I'm having a little breakdown about something today. I wonder how it's going to feel tomorrow. As opposed to, this feels like a problem. Let me pull out all the stops to try and fix it. And... Gosh, especially nighttime thoughts. I don't know if you've experienced this.

But it feels like this kind of cerebral off-gassing that's disguised as insight. I used to stay awake and I would be up at 3 and I thought these thoughts were revelatory. And then I'd write them down and the next day I'd look at it and say, what a load of rubbish.

But it feels like this kind of cerebral off-gassing that's disguised as insight. I used to stay awake and I would be up at 3 and I thought these thoughts were revelatory. And then I'd write them down and the next day I'd look at it and say, what a load of rubbish.

And I think just knowing that your brain is going to go through these cycles of obsessing about things and then giving them space for them to process subconsciously often is where the insights come. In the shower, if you take yourself for a walk, that's been such a huge help to not take my brain so seriously because you're putting it under a lot of stress. And so it's not always...

And I think just knowing that your brain is going to go through these cycles of obsessing about things and then giving them space for them to process subconsciously often is where the insights come. In the shower, if you take yourself for a walk, that's been such a huge help to not take my brain so seriously because you're putting it under a lot of stress. And so it's not always...

It's not always going to react in a way that's logical.

It's not always going to react in a way that's logical.

I've never had a problem being vulnerable as a person, at least not since I moved to California and was just kind of surrounded by, you know, a lot more emotional openness than I had grown up with. And I do want to admit, I've really had to play with... the boundaries and how much I do lean into vulnerability and sharing with the team. It's a messy process. Stoicism is so much simpler.

I've never had a problem being vulnerable as a person, at least not since I moved to California and was just kind of surrounded by, you know, a lot more emotional openness than I had grown up with. And I do want to admit, I've really had to play with... the boundaries and how much I do lean into vulnerability and sharing with the team. It's a messy process. Stoicism is so much simpler.

It's so much easier, but it's not the way, especially as female leaders. This is a superpower, but learning when to turn it on and off and by how much is a messy process. I've been in meetings where, you know, I was feeling hormonal and one of our team was leaving and I just started crying in the meeting. And then I watched everyone else look a bit freaked out.

It's so much easier, but it's not the way, especially as female leaders. This is a superpower, but learning when to turn it on and off and by how much is a messy process. I've been in meetings where, you know, I was feeling hormonal and one of our team was leaving and I just started crying in the meeting. And then I watched everyone else look a bit freaked out.

And I thought, oh, that was a bit much. Maybe just turn it down a little bit.

And I thought, oh, that was a bit much. Maybe just turn it down a little bit.

And sometimes if you're drawn to someone because they're quite similar, that actually very much might not be what your business needs because we need to diversify skill set and perspective. And so having a bunch of people around you that think like you can actually be a bit of a trap.

And sometimes if you're drawn to someone because they're quite similar, that actually very much might not be what your business needs because we need to diversify skill set and perspective. And so having a bunch of people around you that think like you can actually be a bit of a trap.

As I said, I do feel like I had a period where I was leaning more into vulnerability as a superpower, but with no filter, than I think was wise. And I got the reflection from Raj, bless him. He was like, you know, I know you're trying to be real with the team, but... And I really, it was a little hard to take in the moment, but I did really appreciate that perspective because what I found is...

As I said, I do feel like I had a period where I was leaning more into vulnerability as a superpower, but with no filter, than I think was wise. And I got the reflection from Raj, bless him. He was like, you know, I know you're trying to be real with the team, but... And I really, it was a little hard to take in the moment, but I did really appreciate that perspective because what I found is...

By knowing that I did have to play the role of the cheerleader to a certain degree, you're also talking yourself into that attitude. And your job as CEO is cheerleader. It's to hold the vision. It's to, of course, be real and soft about the challenges on the way there. But being tasked with showing up with vision, with drive...

By knowing that I did have to play the role of the cheerleader to a certain degree, you're also talking yourself into that attitude. And your job as CEO is cheerleader. It's to hold the vision. It's to, of course, be real and soft about the challenges on the way there. But being tasked with showing up with vision, with drive...