The Uncommon Executive

How To Be Direct And Strategic

Don't confuse being direct with being unfiltered. Strategic communicators take the time to manage the when and how and prepare for how something will…

Apr 23 • Yue Zhao

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The Critical Shift In What Differentiates Great Leaders

When AI "outsmarts" everyone, your leadership differentiator is your intuition and emotions. It is your ability to rally teams, diffuse conflict, and…

Apr 16 • Yue Zhao

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What We Often Get Wrong About Leadership

Here's what you might be missing about next level leadership, and how you can spot the signs.

Apr 9 • Yue Zhao

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How We Hold Ourselves Back Without Noticing

You need to convince yourself that you are ready for the next level, so that others can believe it too.

Apr 2 • Yue Zhao

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March 2026

How Being A High Performer Limits Your Leadership Potential

There is a point where your thoroughness becomes your handicap. Here's how it is different and how to address it.

Mar 26 • Yue Zhao

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How To Advocate For Your Needs At Work

Speaking up is not selfish, it's supportive. We often expect to get noticed for our efforts. And when it doesn't happen, we grow resentful and…

Mar 19 • Yue Zhao

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How To Handle Overly Confident And Combative Colleagues

What to do when you need something from a coworker who is overly confident, defensive, or simply hostile towards working with you.

Mar 15 • Yue Zhao

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How To Succeed In Performance Reviews When AI Holds The Pen

AI is influencing your performance evaluations. It is writing summaries, development plans, and creating distributions. Here's how to manage it and get…

Mar 5 • Yue Zhao

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February 2026

The Magic of AI Is Reducing Coordination Costs, Not Individual Productivity

Productivity improvements are just the first step. Tue unlock and transformational change with AI comes from rethinking your data infrastructure and…

Feb 26 • Yue Zhao

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To IC or Not To IC In the Age of AI

As AI Agents level up and companies face rising profitability expectations, where does this leave middle management?

Feb 19 • Yue Zhao

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Why One-Size-Fits-All Team Routines Fail At Senior Levels

I recently spoke on a Chief Product Officer panel with a former mentor and fellow CPO from Thumbtack, Phil Farhi.

Feb 6 • Yue Zhao

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January 2026

What Most People Miss About Getting Promoted

Make the business case for why now. Pitch your promotion broadly on why invest in expanding your scope, and not fund someone else's promotion.

Jan 29 • Yue Zhao

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