Melanie Yencken | Living with balance as a leader

Melanie has always been an achiever. She rose through the ranks of young innovative companies and then to a big role at Google before arriving at LinkedIn as a Senior Product Director. Her story is full of highs and lows. When COVID hit she went through her own burnout, realising that her own striving was a way of finding her own safety (having experienced a lack of safety for part of her childhood). Emerging from this low, she was able to get support and rebuild a robust structure for her wellbeing. She shares in detail how she protects her mental health through strong boundaries. She has been on a journey of living her values which are; ‘live with balance’, ‘lift others up’ and ‘realise my visions’. When asked to present about herself and her strategy at interview for LinkedIn, she led with these values and how they support herself and those around her. In terms of team support, she is keen that people she works with develop personalised plans around ‘what builds them up, drains them and their ultimate career aspirations’. All with the goal of creating meaning for what they are doing now (as opposed to always wishing you were promoted to the next level). You will take away: Generating value and meaning beyond work Dealing with burnout Developing individualised plans for both performance and wellbeing with team members ‘Project Castle’ – her vision for a future outside of technology