In this guest interview episode, Rebecca Yang, Director of Engineering at HubSpot, shares her unconventional journey to tech leadership and reveals seven uncommon leadership principles that have shaped her success. From her early days in client services to leading a 50+ person engineering team, Rebecca opens up about how embracing authenticity and overcoming personal challenges has made her a more effective leader. Her refreshing take on leadership - including why micromanagement isn't always bad and why you shouldn't trust your gut with feedback - offers valuable insights for leaders at all levels.
About Rebecca:
Rebecca Yang is a Director of Engineering at HubSpot, leading the Breeze Intelligence group. She joined HubSpot in 2023 through the Clearbit acquisition, where she previously served as VP of Engineering. She's passionate about cultivating high performance engineering cultures. Rebecca's teams focus on shipping innovative, impactful customer-facing solutions.

Highlights:

• How coming out as a queer woman early in her career shaped her leadership style, particularly around transparency and authenticity
• The unique culture of engineering teams and how it allows for greater self-expression and authenticity
• Why psychological safety starts with how we handle critical feedback - both giving and receiving it
• A deep dive into Rebecca's "7 Uncommon Leadership Principles"
• How Rebecca successfully led her team through a challenging one-third reduction in workforce by being transparent about the "why"
• The importance of "Debate, Decide, Unite" in building team alignment
• Why leaders must own difficult messages rather than deflecting responsibility

Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Rebecca Yang’s LinkedIn Profile
• Stay SaaSy Blog: Don’t Create Chaos
• Dharmesh Shah's "Debate, Decide and Unite" Framework

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