I begin each of my weekly podcast conversations by asking my guest about their early years. They often share a story about their childhood aspirations or talk about an influential person who made a special impact on their life. This week’s guest, Michael Wenderoth, offered a different twist on the theme. His recollection was of something that he didn't want to be.
Michael is half Chinese. He grew up outside of Philadelphia, in the 70s-80s, not wanting to be half Chinese, and this sentiment lasted through high school. Ironically, he’s now fluent in Chinese, despite years of going to Chinese school and rejecting it. Then, during college, Michael met people who felt more like him. He said it was as if a switch was turned on inside him. He also had the opportunity to go to Taiwan and realized how the culture and values there were familiar to him. After college, he started his career in China as a journalist.
Within a year, Michael realized that his future in journalism was unlikely to grow the way he had expected, so he began exploring other options by speaking with a network of very interesting people, the ex-pat community in China. He met Roberta Lipson, who had a small medical equipment company that was doing business in China. She had the vision to set up a private hospital and decided to give Michael a chance to be on the leadership team that set up the first such hospital in China. He was open to something new and the mentoring that Roberta offered him. After four years, the hospital opened its doors. Michael was ready for his next move. He moved back to the US to attend business school at Stanford.
Graduating with his MBA in 2000 was a humbling experience for Michael as this was in the midst of the dot com implosion. Pushing through self-doubt and keeping his motivations up, he persisted and landed a marketing role in the tech industry in California. Eventually, he was moved to senior roles in Europe and Asia. Later, he joined the company that developed the invisible braces, Invisalign, where he worked for many years and grew their Asian markets.
Today, Michael is an executive coach who challenges leaders to re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity, so they can break through and ascend. He is the author of Get Promoted: What You’re Really Missing at Work That’s Holding You Back. His focus is on POWER, a word with negative connotations – a topic most people mistakenly shy away from.
In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Michael’s journey:
- Michael’s contrarian views have been featured in Harvard Business Review and Forbes.
- He trained as an executive coach at Columbia University.
Learn more and connect with Michael here:
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