Sense of “belonging” vs “fitting in” | Chetana Deorah (Ex-Design Director at Netflix, Coursera)

Welcome to Growthmates with Kate Syuma — Growth advisor, previously Head of Growth Design at Miro. I’m building Growthmates as a place to connect with inspiring leaders to help you grow yourself and your product. Here you can learn how companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Canva, Loom, and many more are building excellent products and growth culture. Get all episodes and a free playbook for Growth teams on our brand-new website — growthmates.club, and press follow to support us on your favorite platforms.

Listen now and subscribe on your favorite platforms — Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube (new!).

In this episode, Kate speaks with Chetana Deorah , a seasoned design leader who shares her journey across renowned companies like Yahoo!, Netflix, and Coursera, along with her transition to building a community-driven vegan pizza initiative. Chetana opens up about navigating the intersection of creativity, leadership, and self-reflection while balancing corporate and personal passions.

—

Brought to you by Command.ai — a user-focused platform offering an alternative to traditional popups or chatbots. Their AI “Copilot” answers questions, performs actions, and simplifies complex tasks. Use “Nudges” to guide users with timely, relevant messages, all within a no-code platform. Perfect for Product, Support, and Marketing teams to positively influence user behavior while respecting their needs:

—

Key highlights from this episode 👇

* From Binge Watching to Binge Learning: Chetana reflects on her career’s evolution—from binge-watching at Netflix to binge-learning at Coursera—and how aligning with personal values reshaped her path.

* Belonging vs. Fitting In: Drawing from @Brené Brown’s work, Chetana shares insights into workplace culture and how recognizing the difference between belonging and fitting in shaped her professional growth.

* Balancing Creativity with Corporate Leadership: Creative professionals often feel stifled in structured environments. Chetana provides strategies to thrive without losing your creative spark.

* The Power of Mentorship and Self-Reflection: Chetana emphasizes the importance of mentorship and learning to ask yourself the right questions to unlock growth opportunities.

* From Corporate to Community: Discover how Chetana co-founded Pizza Valley, a vegan and sustainable initiative that fosters community and connection.

—

⭐️ Special announcement — Join the Design Career Accelerator, coming in January ❄️

How do you decide where to grow? IC vs. Manager, in-house or solo? For years, I’ve collected frameworks that helped me and my coaching clients from Loom, Intercom, and more. This year I want to share these practices with everyone who are on a cross-way in planning the next career step. To help you dedicate time for that at the end of the year, we created a special 1-week Design Career Accelerator — learn more about the program and grab your slot in December with 120$ discount: https://maven.com/lena-kul-kate-syuma/product-design-career-accelerator?promoCode=growthmates

—

Follow Growthmates updates on:

* Growthmates website with “The Holistic Growth Playbook”: https://growthmates.club

* Substack Newsletter (for instant inbox delivery):

https://www.growthmates.news/p/what-4-years-of-advising-35-companies

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/growthmates-podcast/

* X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kate_syuma

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthmates_/

Where to find Kate Syuma, Growth Advisor (ex-Miro):

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/

* Newsletter: katesyuma.substack.com

Where to find our guest

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chetanadeorah/

—

What we covered:

[00:00] Introduction[03:42] Career journey[07:41] Pizza business[12:19] Work culture[15:15] Fitting in[29:26] Mentorship[35:08] Recharge & reflect[37:58] Yoga asana[42:05] Lifestyle[48:52] Favorite app[52:22] Chetana suggestion[53:49] Outro

—

📕 Useful Resources and other related Podcasts:

The Culture Map by Erin Meyer – A guide to navigating cultural differences in global business.The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin – Insights into nurturing creativity and finding inspiration in life.Dare to Lead– Brené Brown’s podcast exploring leadership, values, and human connection.

—

Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the show on growthmates.club and get the free playbook with frameworks and insights. If you find this valuable, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to this show on your favorite platforms to get new episodes. Let’s keep growing together!

For sponsorship and other inquiries reach out to hello@growthmates.club

Thanks for reading Kate's Syuma Newsletter & Growthmates ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Get full access to Growthmates with Kate Syuma at www.growthmates.news/subscribe