220. Tessa White - The Job Doctor

2025-02-18

"Feedback is a gift.” "You do what is best for your career, not what's comfortable for other people." “We trust the people who tell us the truth.” “I really subscribe to the idea that you should do something once a year that scares the crap out of you.” Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Tessa White and Her Journey 02:51 Navigating Career Challenges and Generosity in Leadership 05:45 The Birth of The Job Doctor and Accidental Influence 08:58 Overcomin...

"Feedback is a gift.”

"You do what is best for your career, not what's comfortable for other people."

“We trust the people who tell us the truth.”

“I really subscribe to the idea that you should do something once a year that scares the crap out of you.”

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Tessa White and Her Journey
02:51 Navigating Career Challenges and Generosity in Leadership
05:45 The Birth of The Job Doctor and Accidental Influence
08:58 Overcoming Adversity: Tessa's Personal Story
11:57 Writing 'The Unspoken Truths for Career Success'
14:54 Playing in the Gap: Prioritizing What Matters
17:51 Managing Workload and Setting Boundaries
21:55 Finding Balance: Something's Got to Give
25:59 The Gift of Feedback and Performance Lies
27:41 The Importance of Feedback
30:19 Seeking Honest Feedback
33:44 Understanding Power and Influence
36:36 Identifying and Solving Gaps
39:50 Navigating Conflict in the Workplace
43:31 Celebrating Success and Book Launch
45:45 Evaluating Career Opportunities

Episode Summary:

In this conversation, Tessa White, founder of The Job Doctor, shares her journey from a secretary to a leading HR executive and now a career coach. She discusses the importance of navigating workplace challenges, the power of feedback, and the necessity of prioritizing what truly matters in one's career. Tessa emphasizes the significance of personal growth, setting boundaries, and understanding the dynamics of workplace politics. Her insights are drawn from her extensive experience and her new book, 'The Unspoken Truths for Career Success.'

In this conversation, Tessa White discusses the critical role of feedback in professional development, the importance of seeking honest feedback, and the dynamics of power and influence in the workplace. She emphasizes the need for individuals to identify and solve gaps within their organizations, navigate conflict effectively, and evaluate career opportunities based on personal values. Tessa also shares her personal experiences, including her book launch and the significance of resilience in career growth.

R.O.G. Takeaway Tips:

Setting boundaries is essential to avoid burnout.
Feedback should be viewed as a gift for personal growth.
Understanding what your manager values can help prioritize tasks.
Personal experiences shape professional insights and advice.
Women and men both need support in navigating their careers.
It's important to make decisions that keep you whole and healthy.
Feedback is essential for career growth and understanding perceptions.
Seeking feedback from diverse sources can yield more honest insights.
Perception is reality; changing how others perceive you is crucial.
Power and influence are necessary for credibility in the workplace.
Identifying gaps and solving problems can lead to career advancement.
Conflict is often avoided, but addressing it can build trust.
Assuming good intent in conversations fosters better communication.
Start small when trying to make changes in your organization.
Resilience is a valuable trait in overcoming career challenges.
Evaluate career opportunities based on personal values and goals.

Guest Bio:

Tessa White, the founder of The Job Doctor, and author of The Unspoken Truths for Career Success. Her thought leadership on the modern workplace makes her a frequent guest on national television shows and in top tier publications. She has amassed more than 1 million followers on social media, and she is ranked in the top 2% of creators on her LIVE career sessions on TikTok.

The Job Doctor is a company dedicated to moving employee performance from average to extraordinary and building strong company leaders with highly engaged employees. Tessa is recognized nationwide as a media expert on people strategy and career navigation, and has been published in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Apple News, and Inc. Frequently used by investors to assess the people strategies of many companies, she has led multiple restructures, acquisitions, and prepared companies for initial public offerings.

She has worked at the highest levels in both small start-ups and Fortune 50 companies. At United Health Group she led company-wide talent management and people strategy redesign project, which helped shape her ideas on creating an engaged workforce. In 2016, she helped lead the Vivint Solar team to be recognized as one of Glass Door’s Top 20 Companies to Work. She is a frequent television guest on Career Navigation and is featured on Season 2 of The Social Movement on Amazon Prime. Tessa also won the President’s Award at PowerQuest /Symantec for Innovation, awarded only to the top 2% of the company.

She has led the company Human Capital interests on multiple Boards including Vivint Solar’s partnership with Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms Today, she is an active advisory board member to one of the nation’s top entrepreneur programs, Utah State University’s Huntsman School of Business; she also serves on the boards of Utah Valley University Women’s Center and Dahlia’s Hope (https://www.dahliashope.org), a center that helps sex-trafficking victims recover and rebuild their lives.

If there is time leftover, she loves fly-fishing.

Resources: