Google

Stripe

Anthropic

Instagram

Amazon

Yue Zhao

Chief Product  & Technology Officer, First PM @ Thumbtack, Ex-Instagram & Meta

Oct24

August24 - ExecPres

Dec24 - ExecPres

Oct24 - ExecPres

Feb24

Feb25 - ExecPres

Feb 2025

EP June 25

Sep25

Dec 2025

Mar26

Jun26

Cohort 1

Your superpower is a strength that makes you stand out as a leader. It is what you can do better than most as a leader. Superpowers often start as innate preferences honed through experience.&nbsp; Take a short quiz to find your executive superpower and in what contexts it is most valued.

Discover Your Superpower

Have you felt the sudden attention shift to focus on someone entering the room? Or the collective sigh of relief when someone speaks up during a group meeting to put the discussion back on course? Or the unmistakable voice of respect one person uses for another? This is executive presence. It is made up of multiple components put together, and it can be learned.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Components of Executive Presence

Build credibility, influence without authority, and land strategic impact.

Chief Product Officer, Executive Coach

Chief Product & Technology Officer, Executive Coach, Author

Master Executive Presence, Communication & Influence with AI

Co-founder

UX Research

Design Manager

Creative Director

Senior Product Manager

IT Director

Sr Manager

Product Marketing Specialist

Sr Director, Software Engineering

McKinsey & Company

Thumbtack

Harvard University

You get things done. You are praised as a high performer. Yet when it comes to leading others and landing asks with executives, you often fall short. A common misperception is that executive presence is something you either have or don't.In reality, you can significantly improve your presence, influence, and impact by understanding a few key frameworks and psychological principles of how humans behave. Executive presence &amp; communication are skills that hundreds of students have learned through this course. Past students say this course transforms how they engage with executives, facilitate high-stakes situations, and handle conflicts. Many students report stronger relationships with stakeholders and decision-makers, increased influence with executives, and promotions. In the age of AI, communication, influence, and relationship building matter more than being book-smart. Learn it. Apply it. Get Promoted.

Use AI to nail executive communication, build your influence, and get promoted

Build Executive Presence

Communicate strategically

Navigate High-Stress Situations with Grace

Gain Recognition as a Top 1% Leader

Senior Managers, Directors, and Principal ICs who aspire to be a part of senior leadership. Min 4 years of work experience.

Those who feel overlooked or talked over, and want to better manage a room, increase their influence, and get noticed.

Those who want to more effectively communicate their value, seniority, and leadership style to their leaders or hiring managers.

Doing a lot but not getting noticed?Feeling stuck in place?Wondering whether you should stick it out or head elsewhere? Learn how to tailor your work to best leverage your leadership superpowers.Did you know that at the highest levels of leadership, companies are often looking for spiky talent, not "well-rounded" leaders?Shift your mindset. Ruthlessly prioritize your time to focus on the work that helps you stand out. When you align your work to your superpower, you'll deliver more impact, get noticed, and move up into executive leadership fast. --- Focus on strength-based growth* Take your leadership strengths and what you love to do and turn them into your superpower* Learn real-life examples of superpowers of famous executives like Fiji Simo, Steve Jobs, and more.* Know potential pitfalls (or “shadows”) of your superpower* Manage multiple superpowers and adapt them to different leadership roles Craft your career trajectory * Craft your pitch for projects that showcase your superpower* Turn your superpower into your personal brand* Ditch the work that isn't getting you ahead. Get promoted* Build a positive cycle of delivering impact and advocating for your work* Incorporate your superpower into performance reviews and promotion processes --- When you reach a certain level in the workplace, it is no longer about shoring up your weaknesses.Instead, focusing on your strengths will get you further, and faster. Learn how to align your work to your superpower and career progression not only possible, but inevitable. --- What you will learn* Map your superpower to the type of projects and work environment that uniquely values your strengths.* Prioritize how you spend time and what projects you take on* Learn how to delegate or say "no" to projects that fall outside your superpowers* How to advocate for your wins and build your personal brand* Translate your superpower into a strong promotion narrative. --- Course content is based on Yue's personal experience leveraging her leadership superpowers to get promoted from PM to CPO in less than 15 years, landing mission-critical roles at Tier 1 startups and Meta alike. She also leveraged her superpowers to transition industries from consulting to product management to venture capital. Alumni from: Slack, OpenAI, Instacart, Guild Education, SurveyMonkey, Paypal, Braze, Meta, Instagram, Thumbtack, Sequoia-backed Tier I Startups, Google, Capitol One, Figma, Microsoft, and more. Well-loved and EffectiveA version of this course was run on Reforge with 90% promoters for the content and 98% promoters for the instructor. -----This is one of three Maven courses by Yue designed to help women and minority leaders fast-track to the C-suite. * Mastering Executive Presence &amp; Communication: https://maven.com/yuezhao/execpre* Chart Your Path to Executive Leadership: https://maven.com/yuezhao/superpowers* Self-Advocacy and Influencing Upwards: https://maven.com/yuezhao/selfadvocacy For more, Yue also runs The Uncommon Executive Leadership Launchpad, an 8-week leadership transformation program that helps women and minority leaders fast-track to executive levels. The program covers the topics above and adds additional topics like sponsorship, relationship building, and building sustainability in your career. It also combines curriculum with coaching and community in a way you will not find anywhere else. Check out the full program here: https://www.yuezhao.coach/accelerate ----

Chart Your Path to Executive Leadership Through Focusing On Your Strengths

Course syllabus

Focused discussions on the week's material and live Q&amp;A.

Thursdays each week

Personal projects with each lesson are designed to apply theory and examples to your specific environment.

Projects for Async Feedback

Refined and honed through workshops and classes taught at top tech and consumer companies, each lesson is packed with tactics and examples that are relevant and applicable to you and your workplace.

Well-loved, easy-to-digest lessons 

Course schedule

Leaders with more than 4 years of work experience in their industry looking to hone in on an area of strength.

High-achieving leaders who want to deliver more impact while raising the bar for their team.

Leaders who want to figure out what type of company or work is the best fit for their strengths and leadership style

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Are you a turnaround guru? Visionary leader? Team builder? Are you uniquely able to see the special talent in others? Stay extra calm under pressure? Follow a proven method to identity your superpower based on your strengths and passions.

Discover Your Leadership Superpowers

Startups look for visionaries. Scaling growth companies look for seasoned operators. Work with me to transition to projects and places where you'll be invaluable to the business.

Supercharge your impact at work - become irreplaceable and get promoted

Learn tactics to advocate for your business impact and wins. Get feedback from myself and the community on your personal brand -- the external articulation of your superpower.

Build your personal brand to land a stretch role 

Superpowers help you deliver more impact with less work. Learn tactics and frameworks to improve your energy flow throughout the day, recharge quickly between meetings, and maintain a sustainable workload while taking on stretch projects.

Decrease your stress and improve your work-life balance 

Get tailored support throughout the course through projects and live Q&amp;A sessions. Hear directly from Yue how she aligned her superpower to her career, landing her in the C-suite and a 7-figure income in 15 years.

Get personalized feedback (not just theory)

Chart your path to the executive level by leaning into your leadership superpowers. Find environments that value you for who you are.

About the book

A book for aspiring executives who feel stuck in high-performing middle management roles. 

CPTO, Author, Executive Coach; Ex-Meta, McKinsey, Thumbtack

The Uncommon Executive: Breakthrough to the C-suite As A Minority

60 minutes of executive coaching with Yue

CPO, CTO, Ex-Meta, McKinsey, Thumbtack

1:1 Executive Coaching with Yue

Build your influence strategy with stakeholder mapping

CPO, CTO, Executive Coach

OpenAI

Microsoft

CPO, CTO, Executive Coach. Ex-Meta, McKinsey, Thumbtack

Feeling stuck on key decisions? People nodding in agreement yet projects fail to progress? New leadership revisiting decisions and randomizing your team?In larger organizations, the informal "org chart" can hold more power than the official org chart. And it can be challenging to navigate. Influence maps are a great way to clearly understand the people dynamics of a decision, project, or proposal. It allows you to see strategies and paths forward that may not have been obvious, or realize where you need to spend more time. In this one-hour workshop, you'll learn how to draw influence maps, what to look for in them, and how to create an action plan based on the learnings.

You want to grow your influence in your organization.

You have a key project or proposal to land

You work in an 100 person+ organization in a cross-functional role

Super IC or Manager? How To Move Up as AI Transforms Orgs

Chief Product  & Technology Officer, Executive Coach (Instagram, McKinsey, Thumbtack), Founder

Hilary Gridley

Product Leader & Writer | WHOOP, Dropbox, Big Health

Rise of Super ICs, VPs going back to building. Learn how the "management path" is evolving at the leading companies.

How "middle management" is changing

How to decide whether to go Super IC or Manager. How to break down your decision process.

What Factors Are Critical To Consider

What skills and traits are important to develop regardless of the path

Where To Invest

How To Manage Up Effectively

CPO, CTO, Executive Coach. Ex-Instagram, McKinsey, Thumbtack

How To Leverage Upwards Communication Opportunities

Why Managing Up Is Not Status Updates

3 Step Framework for Upward Communication

How to handle questions and short replies from executives

When Things Go Wrong

Prep for High-Stakes Leadership Meetings With AI

CPO & CTO, Executive Coach. Ex-Meta, Instagram, McKinsey

Use ChatGPT to quickly identify stakeholder goals, incentives, and pressures.

Understand stakeholder priorities fast

Apply AI prompts to predict objections, risks, and questions so you can prepare responses in advance.

Find your Zen through prep and practice

Use AI to reframe tense situations, respond empathetically, and use language that aligns with each stakeholder.

Resolve conflict with empathy

AI-Powered Stakeholder Management

Chief Product Officer, Executive Coach, Author, Ex-Meta, Thumbtack, McKinsey

Pitching an idea is not about writing a doc. Learn how to get buy-in for your ideas every time.

Well-tested framework for pitching your ideas

Difficult stakeholder? Tricky group meeting? Use AI to run scenarios and help you prep.

Prep for your conversations with AI

Sometimes, it's not about logic. It's about managing your emotions and fears.

Practice your emotional responses

How To Frame Your Ideas So They Are Heard

Chief Product Officer, Ex-Meta, Instagram, Thumbtack, Executive Coach to VP+

Learn what people think matters and what truly matters when it comes to landing your ideas. Hint: it's not the data.

Common mistakes leaders make when trying to be heard

Learn how to quickly reframe your approach to put the other person first and lower their defensiveness.

Two proven frameworks for buy-in even when you disagree

Sharpen these timeless skills using GenAI to prep and refine your approach.

How to use AI as your practice partner

How To Use GenAI to Nail Executive Communication

Executive Coach, CPTO, Author

Use GenAI to come up with FAQs for your executive meeting. Practice your answers and get feedback

Yue Zhao will enable you to thrive in the age of AI

Yue Zhao

About Yue

Courses

Master Executive Presence, Communication & Influence with AI

Unleash Your Superpowers: Chart Your Path To Executive Leadership

Workshops

Influence Maps: Navigating The Hidden Org Chart

Lightning Lessons