Beware the Shadow You Cast with Rhody Hill - Episode 3

I’ve crossed paths with Rhody Hill a few times over the years, first during the VMware V-Champions days and again in various roles across the tech ecosystem. Every time, I walk away a little wiser. She has built partner ecosystems in big tech, led teams across the Asia Pacific and Japan, and now shares honest leadership lessons through her Substack, Nuggets of Gold.

It was these Nuggets of Gold that lead me to us recording this podcast. It was titled “Beware the shadow you cast”, and this line jumped out at me:

“As your light grows brighter, your shadow grows longer.”

That sentence landed hard. It made me reflect on how much influence leaders have without realising it and how your tone, stress, energy, or offhand comment can shape the whole team’s culture. So I reached out and asked her to unpack it with me.

A brutal moment: "You dumbed them down."

Rhody shares the story of coming back from a long holiday to feedback she didn’t expect: her team had become too reliant on her. While trying to help, she’d actually disempowered them. It changed how she leads forever. She even built a question bank to remind herself not to jump straight into solution mode.

This hit me hard because I’ve been there; having the answer doesn’t mean you should always give it, especially if you want to grow your team’s confidence and independence.

Key themes we explore

• Your shadow grows with you – The more senior your role, the more your tone, energy, and offhand comments shape the culture.
• Transparency vs venting – Being open is good. Oversharing to make yourself feel better is not. Learn the difference.
• Leadership gets lonely – Whether it’s being promoted above your peers or leading global teams, Rhody opens up about the very real isolation that can creep in.
• Psychological safety is earned – It's not about being soft. It’s about building the kind of trust where people can challenge, question, and speak up.
• Don’t hire people like you – Rhody talks about checking her conscious biases and why diversity of thought beats team of clones.
• Sunday Reflections – One of her habits is a quiet Sunday morning review: what did I do last week, what matters next week, and am I still showing up in a way that’s relevant?

Favourite lines from Rhody "Just because you're helpful doesn’t mean you're empowering. Sometimes helping too much makes your shadow too big." "Your playbook from yesterday might be your blind spot today." "You’re not their friend, you’re their leader. Do it well and the friendship will come later." "Psychological safety doesn’t mean no accountability. It means people can fail fast and still feel safe." Who this episode is for

• Leaders learning to balance transparency with steadiness
• People stepping into more senior roles and feeling the shift
• Anyone who's ever felt the weight of being the one others look to
• Teams navigating how to speak up when things feel off

Episode 3 Glossary

APJ – Asia Pacific and Japan - A common regional designation used in global tech companies. Includes markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and others.

OKR – Objectives and Key Results - A goal-setting framework used by teams and individuals to align efforts and measure outcomes. Commonly used in tech companies to track quarterly or annual goals.

SKO – Sales Kick-Off - A team-wide or company-wide event at the beginning of a sales period (often annually) to align strategy, motivate the team, and launch new initiatives.

GM – General Manager - A senior leadership role responsible for the performance of a business unit, geography, or function.

KPI – Key Performance Indicator - A measurable value that indicates how effectively an individual, team, or organisation is achieving its goals.