Why Your Startup Will Never Outgrow You w/ Carole Robin

I hate to break it to you: most tech founders think if the product is strong enough, the rest takes care of itself. It doesn't. And today's guest has spent over three decades proving why.

I met Carole Robin at Human Tech Week earlier this year, sat in on a session she led, and knew immediately I needed her on the show. Carole is the co-founder of Leaders in Tech and formerly served as faculty director of the Interpersonal Dynamics for High Performance Executives program at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. She's also the co-author of Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues.

Students at Stanford nicknamed her course "touchy feely." Don't let that fool you. What she teaches is the hard skill most technical founders skip, and it's costing them more than they realize.

We get into why leadership is really about influence, why influence doesn't exist without connection, and why the mental models that got you through your early career might be the exact thing sabotaging you now. Carole also breaks down her Three Realities framework (intent, words, impact) and the one question that will tell you, immediately, whether what you meant to say is actually what landed.

What You'll Learn:

Why "soft skills" are actually the hardest and most business-critical skills a tech leader can buildThe one question that closes the gap between your intent and how you're actually being receivedHow the 15% rule helps you push past your comfort zone without oversharing or getting recklessWhat to actually do before a high-stakes investor, customer, or media conversation, and why there's no single shortcut

Resources Mentioned:

Carole's free self-assessment: connectandrelate.comLeaders in Tech: https://www.leadersintech.org/Grab Carole's Book: Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and ColleaguesConnect with Carole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-robin/

Your Next Steps:

Access the white paper: External Influence: The Currency Tech Leaders Can't Afford To Ignore: https://techinfluence.usFollow Shayna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaynarattler/Visit our website: https://executivesignalsgroup.com