JZ has built product teams at Airbnb, Webflow, Dropbox (and now Laurel), and in this episode she shares her honest leadership playbook and lessons learned. JZ covers why conviction is really about speed to signal, how to move fast without creating chaos, and why great leaders should share uncertainty instead of performing conviction. JZ also shares hot takes about 1:1 meetings, asking for help, and scrapping work that isn’t going in the right direction. This conversation between JZ and Annie Riley is packed with practical frameworks for managers and startup operators who want to move faster and build teams that thrive in ambiguity.
TimeStamps:
00:00 — Meet JZ
03:03 — The “fast-moving river” analogy
05:38 — Getting people to jump in
07:22 — Hiring for curiosity and urgency
10:11 — What “speed to signal” means
12:43 — Building through fast feedback
16:16 — The 3 leadership traps
20:41 — Operating at 120%
23:54 — Sharing unfinished work early
27:14 — Open sourcing strategy and workflows
31:34 — Knowing when to stop
34:16 — Graduating out of one-on-ones
36:23 — Asking for help effectively
40:23 — Trust, communication, and speed
43:41 — Ownership, introspection, and time
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This episode is sponsored by Blomma, the AI career coach built to help people grow with more clarity, accountability, and insight over time. Use code MANAGER for a free month and early access: https://www.blomma.com/
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