Rachel Lockett
Rachel Lockett is a sought-after executive coach and former HR leader at Stripe and Pinterest who now works with CEOs, founders, and tech leaders on emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership skills.
Career Skills
Career satisfaction and energy levels are directly tied to how much time is spent working within one's 'Zone of Genius.'
"When people are in their gifts and their strengths firmly, most of the time, they have more energy... I try to help my leaders see that they can design their lives so they're spending 80% of their tim..."
Hiring & Teams Skills
The 'enthusiastic rehire' question is a binary litmus test for maintaining a high talent bar.
"I ask them, 'Would you enthusiastically rehire this person for the same role?' Which is the question we always asked at Stripe. And when the answer is no to that... this is not going to work."
Leadership Skills
Shifting from an 'advisor' role to a 'coach' role prevents the leader from becoming a bottleneck and empowers the team.
"Great leaders know that when you try to advise and have the answer all the time, you're not actually equipping your team to go solve the hard problems. You're training your team to come to you with al..."
Effective coaching requires 'Level 3' listening, which involves picking up on non-verbal cues and emotional subtext.
"The first skill is active listening... Level three listening is global listening. So, that's what I'm hearing beneath the words. I'm hearing what you're communicating, not just what you're saying. I s..."
The GROW model is a simple framework for guiding team members toward their own solutions during 1:1s.
"Second skill, powerful questions... I use a GROW model. So, the GROW model just is four different categories of kinds of powerful questions. So, the G in grow is goal... The R in the GROW model is abo..."
The objective of conflict resolution should be shared understanding rather than winning an argument or proving the other person wrong.
"Actually, the goal of any conflict is to create mutual understanding."
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) provides a structured way to address conflict by focusing on objective facts and personal needs rather than blame.
"I'm going to give you a framework that I like that many of my clients use. It's from Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication. It is a book and a framework. So it's four steps. The first step is..."
Taking 100% responsibility for your contribution to a conflict prevents the 'victim/hero/villain' dynamic.
"There is always something that we're doing to contribute to the conflict, even if it feels like the other person is insane... Entering any conflict conversation with humility, and curiosity about the..."
Scaling requires moving from individual decision-making to building systems and coaching others to lead.
"He realized he was the blocker on every decision, every business decision, every product decision... he decided to create squads... shifting from the role of deciding on everything to coaching."
Product Management Skills
A one-page plan ensures that daily and quarterly goals are always visually and strategically linked to the long-term vision.
"The reason I like the one-page plan concept is, it's simplifying. It's a way for the leadership team to come together and align... puts your vision and your values on the first column, your strategic..."