In this episode, Rana Mumtaz, Product Growth Leader, reflects on the defining moments that shaped her personal and professional identity—from quietly adapting to American culture as a soft-spoken engineering student to building products at the New York Stock Exchange and navigating executive rooms as a banking outsider.

She opens up about career pivots that required unshakable self-belief, including her leap from civil engineering to software, and the moment she realized her leadership potential didn’t need to follow anyone else’s blueprint. Rana shares how difficult conversations, strategic missteps, and cultural friction all played a role in helping her find her voice and shape her path.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

Why empathy matters more than titles when leading
How to build healthy boundaries with work identity
What it takes to speak up without burning out

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Intro

(01:27) Growing up and schooling in India

(03:37) First impressions of the United States

(06:37) Starting a career from scratch

(08:35) Thanks to our sponsor, ThriveStack

(13:52) Becoming a software engineer

(17:08) Honest thoughts on giving feedback

(18:22) Executive interactions and leadership lessons

(26:32) Dealing with imposter syndrome

(29:38) Navigating career challenges and transitions

(38:17) Facing hard conversations at work

(47:38) Balancing career with identity

A huge thanks to this episode’s sponsor:

ThriveStack: Measure Growth. Find Drivers. Fix Leaks. https://www.thrivestack.ai/

Resources:

Connect with Rana:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamumtaz/

Connect with Andrew:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/

Substack: https://media.deliveringvalue.co

Hire Andrew as your coach: https://deliveringvalue.co/coaching

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