VP of Product: The Career-Altering Feedback No Leader Wants to Hear (Elena Luneva)

Elena Luneva, VP of Product at GoFundMe, opens up about the hard-earned lessons that shaped her leadership journey—from navigating layoffs early in her career to building a business unit from scratch at Nextdoor. In this episode, Elena shares how receiving career-altering feedback about her confidence changed her trajectory, why moving from “being right” to “being effective” became a career mantra, and how she learned to lead through massive uncertainty.Elena opens up about:The feedback that hit her “like a freight train” and what she did nextHow growing up as an immigrant shaped her relationship with vulnerabilityWhy psychological safety and hiring rigor became non-negotiables for her as a leaderThings to listen for:(00:00) Learning tough career lessons through feedback(01:16) Growing up between Russia, Canada, and New York(04:29) Early signs of curiosity and connecting different worlds(07:01) Perfectionism and cultural expectations(11:20) Building a new business unit at Nextdoor(13:39) Processing painful feedback and working with a coach(15:35) The shift from being “right” to being “effective”(29:08) A hiring mistake and its fallout(35:23) How to speak up when it’s hard(40:37) Leading a business unit through the COVID-19 crisis(49:04) What’s missing from a LinkedIn-perfect career story(50:18) How reframing fear helped Elena move forwardThis episode is presented by:Navattic: Interactive Product Demo Software - https://navattic.com/value Appcues: User Engagement for SaaS - https://appcues.com/value Resources:Connect with Elena:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenalunevaSubstack: https://elenaluneva.substack.com/aboutElena’s Maven course: https://maven.com/elena-luneva/business-impactConnect with Andrew:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/ Substack: https://media.deliveringvalue.coHire Andrew as your coach: https://deliveringvalue.co/coaching

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