The Spotlight Project

Emily Payne (she/her) is Sales Enablement expert in the tech space. She's built a career working at iconic companies like Netsuite, Shopify, and now 1Password helping them to build systems, processes, and trainings that support growth and elevate the way their team sells their products/services. She's also a working mom of 2 young kids, aspiring to "have it all". An ambitious and fulfilling career while still being a present and attentive mom.In this episode, Emily shares what's been critical to her career growth and success. How much coming from a place of curiosity and service has played into the opportunities she's landed. Really leaning into nurturing relationships and putting her hand up for anything and everything she could help with. Most of the time, without even knowing if it was something she could do.We dig into her leap into leadership and how that "helper" energy worked for and against her at times. As someone who naturally cares deeply and is willing to go above and beyond in your job, where do you draw the line between "giving" and putting important boundaries in place that protect your energy and asking for the things you've earned and deserved.Layered on top of this, we talk about what the realities are of being a working mom. In a society that tells us that women can "have it all", is that realistic? And if it is, how do you find the balance between two important pieces of your life that demand a lot of your time, effort, and attention and still find space for you?Follow Emily on linkedin.Follow your host Diana Chung Coaching on instagram for the latest and upcoming episodes. If you're interested in connecting on the topics of career, leadership, or sales excellence visit www.dianachungcoaching.com to book a free 30min consult.

Danielle Leroux (she/her) is a certified life & leadership coach and the co-founder of She Summits: an organization that facilitates personal growth & wellness workshops for companies specifically looking to attract and keep their female talent.Born in Ontario, Canada - Danielle grew up surrounded by excellence. Born from parents who were very successful careerists and very active in their community, to having an Olympian relative - from an early age she developed a strong work ethic and internal drive to do well. She started out in music mastering the flute & piano, and attended an arts school & gifted program. From there, pivoting into corporate to starting multi-entrepreneurial ventures.In this episode, Danielle shares how being a self-proclaimed "over-achiever" has it's good and bad sides. It can push you to work hard and get ahead, but can also lead to feelings of anxiety, fear, and crippling self-expectations. She shares how she's learned to let some of that perfectionism go, and be OK with just good enough.We dig into her experience in working with women in the workplace on the impactful ways we can take care of our mental health. How do we do a better job at having more open and honest dialogue around our struggles. Normalizing just how common it is and that what we're experiencing isn't a result of being "weak" or being "unable to hack it". What are ways we can take that pressure off and make time for more joy and play while still remaining resilient?Follow Danielle on linkedin. If you're a female founder/leader interested in coaching with Danielle, book a 30 min consultation with her.Follow your host Diana Chung Coaching on instagram for the latest and upcoming episodes. If you're interested in connecting on the topics of career, leadership, or sales excellence visit www.dianachungcoaching.com to book a free 30min consult.

Elizabeth (Libby) Stewart (she/her) is a business consult and workplace psychologist who has built her career trying to answer the question of "how do we unlock our potential at work?".Born in Papua New Guinea and raised in Australia - Libby's early days exposed her to a melting pot of cultures and radically different worldviews, sparking a natural curiosity around people. Understanding what makes us tick, what fuels our belief systems, and how do we find belonging and connection. With a background in business psychology, Libby has built her career on helping people and companies do work that gives us that sense of belonging and meaning.In this episode, Libby shares the many expected and unexpected twists and turns of her career. Including a move to Canada, a pivot into the tech/start up industry, and her most recent decision to take a step back from her professional life to put her healing and recovery first.We dig in on the ever present topic of burn out for women in the corporate world. What are the tell tale signs of burn out? What factors contribute to it? Why do we so often continue to "push through" despite knowing what we need? And how can we do a better job of de-coupling what we do for work from who we are? For so many of us, our job gives us a sense of identity, purpose, and meaning. And when we make the decision to take a step back, how do we make peace with who we are without the job?Follow Libby on linkedin.Follow your host Diana Chung Coaching on instagram for the latest and upcoming episodes. If you're interested in connecting on the topics of career, leadership, or sales excellence visit www.dianachungcoaching.com to book a free 30min consult.

Brigitte (she/her) is a professional multi-tasker, serial entrepreneur, and director of operations at Culturally Defined Dance Family [CD]. A Vancouver based dance studio dedicated to inspiring adults of any age and walks of life to fall in love with the art of dance. It's been 10+ years in the making that Culturally Defined is opening its doors to their FIRST newly minted dance studio space in the heart of Mount Pleasant, Vancouver.Growing up in a tri-cultural family, Brigs grew up in different parts around the world that built an innate ability to adapt quickly and throw herself into uncomfortable situations. With the push from her parents to explore her creativity, joining her partner Chris to help grow and evolve the mission of CD was a no-brainer. The early years were about testing and being scrappy. But as they scaled, it meant dealing with more people, more emotions, and more unknowns.Brigs shares the important lessons she learned about herself on the long road to their first studio opening. Being OK with making decisions that don't necessarily make everyone happy. How to have tough conversations with your partner (in business and in life) to make sure you're respecting each other's boundaries. How to ask for help, knowing there's some things you just don't know how to do (yet). And how much entrepreneurship is a mental game, and impossible to successfully do alone.The brand new studio is now open! To learn more about the studio & dance programs, check out the culturallydefined.com and follow @culturallydefined on instagram.Follow your host @dianachungcoaching on instagram (for the latest & upcoming episodes). Interested in connecting on your career, entrepreneur/solopreneurship, or sales visit dianachungcoaching.com and book a free 30min consult.

Vivian (she/her) is a recovering lawyer turned entrepreneur. She is one of the co-founders of Flax Home, a digitally native retailer of linen home goods taking the world by storm.Viv didn't always think she had a knack for entrepreneurship. Following her dad's path of a "good professional" she started her career in law.  But after 5 years working at the big law firm and doing all the lawyer things, the unpredictability and lack of control became harder to justify. Peering into her future she began to wonder if she could build her life in a way that felt more sustainable to her. But what could that look like? Enter in feelings of uncertainty, fear, and questioning if she had the skills to do anything other than what she was trained & educated to do. Like the start of so many entrepreneurial ventures Flax Home begun with a problem to solve. When Anna (one of the business partners) presented a challenge. That challenge was finding breathable linen bedding online that was both cost friendly & local. Fast forward to today - what started out as a challenge accepted has now become a successful business. What's so interesting about Viv's story is she unpacks the forever journey of truly owning the title of "entrepreneur". What it means to both launch and scale a business. And how to do that in a way that remains true to friendship & personal values. Follow Flax Home on instagram or shopflaxhome.comFollow your host Diana Chung Coaching on instagram for the latest & upcoming episodes. Interested in connecting on your career, leadership or sales enablement visit  www.dianachungcoaching.com 

Peter (he/him) is a product strategist, growth hack expert, and entrepreneur.  He currently runs his own design thinking consultancy called PMN Design Lab. Helping small and medium sized companies put out products into the world that work and matter to people. Peter's love of innovation and design began early in his career with a trip to a remote village in Mozambique. There he quickly realized that in order to change people's minds and behaviours, you need to be able to showcase value in a product. But like so many of us first entering the workforce, our priority in the beginning is just to land a decent job and start making money. For Peter, that put him on a sales path. Working in very sales driven cultures at companies like Salesforce & Box of Crayons, Peter always had an inkling deep down inside that he was much more of a product guy than a sales guy. More drawn to creating & building than to the grind and output of sales. But once you get good in one lane, it becomes all too comfortable and easy. The idea of leaving that comfort is difficult. It was an unexpected lay off that turned into a life altering opportunity for Peter. A chance to reset and be honest with himself about the type of work he truly wanted to do. With the help of a career coach he began his own design thinking consultancy. Running workshops and building a brand name for himself as the product expert. With a lot of action, trial and error, and a little bit of self-belief, Peter is proof of how you can do work that you feel aligned to. It just takes a bit of guts. Follow @peternakamura on instagram or www.peternakamura.comPeter is also the host of The Ikigai Project Podcast. You can follow on instagram.Follow your host @dianachungcoachingco on instagram (for the latest & upcoming episodes). Interested in connecting on your career, leadership, or sales visit dianachungcoaching.com   

Cecilia (she/her) has built her career in working for mission & purpose driven organizations (in the non-profit & profit sector) who merge business and charity to give back to humanity in a meaningful way. She's worn many hats, mainly specializing in operations and most recently the Head of Customer Success at Too Good to Go. The #1 anti-food waste app fighting the good fight against food waste. Born to parents who immigrated from the Philippines, from early on the idea of giving back was a deeply ingrained value in her family. To do work that felt deeply personal and contribute to the better of our future and future generations to come.She shares what it's felt like to work for a cause you truly care about. The extreme highs you experience, but also the extreme pressure to "do good". Sometimes to the detriment of your own well being in service of the cause. Exhaustion is real. Burn out is real. In a constant attempt to show just how much you care. We tackle the added layer of being an asian female leader in this space. Grappling with imposter syndrome and self-doubt. The incredible pressure many women face to "prove themselves" and just "push through". How this has framed her on unique leadership philosophy and the lessons she's learned along the way of what it means to lead. With or without the title. Follow Cecilia on instagram. Follow Too Good to Go on instagram or  www.toogoodtogo.org/enFollow your host Diana Chung Coaching on instagram for the latest & upcoming episodes. Interested in connecting on your career, leadership or sales enablement visit  www.dianachungcoaching.com 

Chris (he/him) is a movement specialist, dance teacher, friend, and the creative brains behind Culturally Defined Dance Family. A Vancouver based studio bringing the real authentic street dance lifestyle to the everyday dancer. Called to dance after some troubled teenage years, Chris talks about his experiences in New York City. Absorbing from the OGs [original gen] teachers the origin & history of street dance and bringing that inspiration to starting his own dance studio with his partner Brigs. With the goal of wanting to create a community vibe and space where the everyday person could walk in and confidently say "I'm a dancer".   He shares the ups and downs of converting your passion into your job. Continually challenging himself to stay creative and place value on other areas of his work that isn't just about making money.  Follow @chris.wow on instagramFollow @culturallydefined on instagram or at culturallydefined.com on how you can get involved or sign up for their dance programs. Follow your host @dianachungcoachingco on instagram (for the latest & upcoming episodes). Interested in connecting on your career, leadership or sales visit dianachungcoaching.com 

Matt (he/him) is a certified yoga teacher, people guru, leadership coach, and currently COO of Smash & Tess. The retail company leading this generation's #romperrevolution. Matt's super power has been in helping high functioning teams, companies, and their executives solve for the big and messy problems that no one else wants to touch. He's also real life BFF. Ride or die dance homie. Seasoned cookie decorater. And new(ish) dad to baby Sasha with his husband Chad. Living his best life when under pressure, Matt shares how he's navigated through crisis and the unknown. From Lululemon's Sheer-mageddon scandal, to co-running an HR company with his sister, and now leading the Smash & Tess team on the rocket ship to growth. Throughout his very multi-faceted career, Matt talks about the lessons he's learned from managing through the perfectionism behaviours and tendencies that plague so many of us. How to let go of the habits and behaviours that simply aren't working for you. And how to build a career legacy that isn't all about YOU, but about passing the microphone to someone else and giving them an opportunity and platform.Follow @matt_corker on instagram or at mattcorker.comFollow @smashtess on instagram or at smashtess.caFollow your host @dianachungcoachingco on instagram (for the latest & upcoming episodes). Interested in connecting on your career, leadership or sales visit dianachungcoaching.com