"Is It Just Me?" The Inner Critic of Startup Leadership with Executive Coach Lupe Prado
- May 19
- 29 min read
Leading Without a Playbook: Why Executive Coaching Matters in Early-Stage Startups
Lupe Prado is an executive coach who works with leaders across startups, private equity, and corporate organizations. For over seven years, she has helped high-performing professionals navigate leadership growth, career transitions, and complex workplace dynamics. Lupe built her career in accounting, and financial reporting. After experiencing burnout early in her career, she sought out coaching herself. Ultimately led her to pursue a master’s degree in leadership, and organizational development with concentration in executive coaching and to launch her own coaching practice.
Lupe explores with Helen what executive coaching is behind the scenes, particularly for leaders operating in a fast paced startup environment. She shares the common themes in startup leaders seeking support, including self-doubt, and the loneliness that often accompanies senior roles. They cover the practical approaches leaders use to seek meaningful feedback, and build support systems as responsibility grows.
Lupe explains how leaders can sustain performance by strengthening foundational habits by developing tools to manage pressure and internal criticism.
For clinicians moving into startup leadership roles, these insights offer a clearer understanding of how coaching can provide perspective, strengthen decision-making, and support leadership development in environments where the structure is still evolving.
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Executive coaching often becomes a turning point for leaders who realize performance alone does not solve leadership challenges.
Clinicians are trained to think algorithmically, but startup leadership requires systems thinking.
Self-doubt is one of the most common themes among executives, even among leaders who appear highly confident externally.
Clinicians moving into startups must transition from algorithmic clinical thinking to more adaptive, systems-level decision-making.
Burnout in startup culture often disguises itself as commitment or intensity.
Sustainable leadership requires intentional recovery, including sleep, reflection, and personal boundaries.
Lupe’s clients are often high performers who want to lead more effectively while navigating complex leadership roles.
Emotional regulation in leadership is different from suppression in high-pressure startup environments.
Many leaders perceive asking for help as weakness, when it actually strengthens leadership capacity.
Startup leadership often lacks clear benchmarks for success.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“Leadership becomes easier to navigate when leaders learn to observe their inner critic rather than react to it..”- Lupe Prado
“Leadership becomes more sustainable when leaders learn to recognize their inner critic without letting it drive decisions.”- Lupe Prado
“Feedback becomes essential when roles evolve faster than clear metrics.”- Lupe Prado
“Look for people in your community, in your network, that could be a support system for you.” - Lupe Prado
“Startup leaders benefit from spaces where they can think out loud without judgment.”- Lupe Prado
”When you step into startup leadership, the skills that got you here won't automatically get you there.” - Helen Tanner
”Startup leadership often lacks clear benchmarks for success.” - Helen Tanner
“ Coaching isn't a luxury for people who have it all figured out. It's a performance tool for people who refuse to stay stuck.”- Helen Tanner
“Leadership challenges often feel isolating until you realize others are going through the same thing." - Helen Tanner
“When I stepped into executive leadership in a startup, I didn’t need more grit. I needed perspective.” - Helen Tanner
Mentioned in the Episode
About Lupe
Lupe Prado is an executive coach who has worked with leaders across startups, private equity, consulting, and corporate for more than 7 years. Her work focuses on supporting high-performing professionals as they navigate leadership growth, career transitions, and complex environments.
Before becoming a coach, she began her career in accounting and financial reporting. After experiencing burnout early in her career, she sought out coaching herself. It was an experience that led her to pursue a master’s degree in leadership and organizational development with executive coaching.
Lupe now works with leaders across industries, helping build perspective, and navigate the pressures that often accompany senior leadership roles. Her coaching frequently supports startup leaders in a fast-paced environments, where expectations evolve quickly and structures are developing.
Follow Lupe
Follow The Early Hires
Follow Helen Tanner
Join The Early Hires Community
Are you a clinician navigating startup life? The only way to access our private Slack community is by visiting www.theearlyhires.com.
Head to the website to request access and join clinicians who are building, leading, and navigating the realities of early-stage healthcare companies.
Share your challenges. Share your wins. Ask your questions.
Start at www.theearlyhires.com.
The conversation continues there.
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Helen Tanner: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Early Hires. I'm your host, Helen Tanner, and today I wanna talk about something that I genuinely wish. Someone had handed me a permission slip for when I first stepped into a startup leadership role, executive coaching. But before I tell you why I wanna talk about this, I wanna start with a story.
Executive Coaching Matters in Startup Leadership
Atul Gawande, a Harvard surgeon, public health professor, author of the Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal gave a TED Talk in 2017 called Want to Get Great at something, get a coach. And in it, he describes something really honest. After eight years as a surgeon, his complication rates plateaued. He thought to himself, is this as good as I'm going to get?
So he invited a retired surgical mentor to observe him in the operating room, and what his coach found for small things that Gowane couldn't see because he was too busy doing the work. After two months of acting on that feedback, his complication rates started dropping again. and I love this so much, he said, quote, I know that I'm learning.
Again, that phrase hits differently when you're a clinician. We spent years being students, and then one day we graduate and get license, and then we're handed the message. You know enough now, figure out the rest yourself. Well, that message was already a little bit of a problem in clinical practice.
'cause we're always needing to learn. We certainly do not know everything. but in startup leadership it's a recipe for stalling out. but here's what I've learned and what the data is starting to confirm. Coaching isn't a luxury for people who have it all figured out. It's a performance tool for people who refuse to stay stuck.
For clinicians navigating the startup environment, it might be one of the most underutilized resources that we have. And here's what nobody prepares you for when you step into startup leadership. The skills that got you here won't automatically get you there. In startup leadership, you're being asked to operate and sustain ambiguity to build teams you've never led before, to manage up to investors while managing down to a clinical team that still see you as a peer and to do all of this while the company is changing shape underneath you.
Sometimes weekly, the research reflects just how hard this is. One study of 156 startup founders found 61% had considered quitting. And 53% had experienced burnout. A separate study of 400 founders found 72% reported mental health impacts. That's founders. Now imagine being an early hire, building with them, with all that pressure, and often without the equity cushion or the narrative of quote, I built this and yet 70% of Fortune 500 companies now use executive coaching.
The average ROI is between five and seven times the investment, and 90% of startup leaders specifically report that coaching is highly impactful for their performance and confidence. The data is clear, the practice is underused, and today I have someone. On the podcast who lives inside of this work every single day.
When I stepped into executive leadership in a startup, I didn't need more grit. I needed perspective. I needed somebody who wasn't on the leadership team with me, wasn't on the board, who wasn't reporting to me, who wasn't emotionally tied to every dynamic, and that's when I began working with Lupe Prado.
And today we're talking about what executive coaching actually looks like behind closed doors. Lupe, I'm so glad that you're here.
Lupe Prado: I'm so excited to be here, Helen. Thank you so much.
Helen Tanner: Sure. so before we get into the meat of it, I'd love listeners to understand who you are, how you got here. Tell us a little bit about your background and the work that you do.
Career Pivot into Executive Coaching
Lupe Prado: Sure. So I'm an executive coach now. I've been coaching for the last seven and a half years. but before that I was in accounting and financial reporting and I was the first time my family to go to college. And I picked accounting because my high school computer teacher said. If you major in accounting, you'll always have a job.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: And I wanted to help my family financially, and so I followed that all the way through. I did a few internships. I had a full-time offer at one of the big four firms, PWC, and felt like I made it. I thought, this is it. I am going to be a partner. but what I found was that like four and a half years into the role, I was working 80 hour weeks, I was having health issues, migraines that wouldn't go away.
And it was because I was deeply unhappy. I loved the people, I just didn't love the work. And so my boyfriend now has suggested I hire a coach, that I talk to someone who could help me figure it out. I resisted at first.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: I thought I could figure this out on my own. I didn't know anyone who'd had a coach, so I just googled Dallas career coach and I called the first person whose picture I liked.
And, you know, it sure
Helen Tanner: matters.
Lupe Prado: Well, she seems so warm in her picture. And, I tell everyone that after my husband and kids, Kristen's been one of the best things that's ever happened to me. And shortly after working with her, I left the firm. I went to work in an oil and gas company doing the same type of work, but instead of auditing financial statements, I was helping prepare them and checked all the boxes in terms of a great team, great hours, et cetera.
But I still didn't love the work I did, and so I reflected and realized that my favorite part of the day was talk when people came into my office to talk about their problems. So I would refer them to Kristen, but they wouldn't call her. They'd just come right back into my office.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: And, so I thought maybe I should do this, like some training to help my friends and family, and I did that.
But when I became a mom seven and a half years ago, I was out on maternity leave and I thought, I really wanna show my daughter that I'm doing something that I feel passionate about. And so I didn't go back after maternity leave and I went back to school. I got a master's degree in leadership and org development with the concentration and executive coaching, and I've been coaching ever since.
And I love it. I get to work with amazing clients. I get to have impact. I I have flexibility. I'm a mom. I have two kids now. So, drop 'em off at school, pick them up. Get to work with clients. so it's been a really good pivot for me. so that's how I landed in executive coaching.
Helen Tanner: That is fantastic.
so you were in corporate prior transitioned out, and now you are working with executive leaders in both corporate settings
Lupe Prado: mm-hmm.
Helen Tanner: And startup setting. Tell us a little bit about Who you typically work with on an executive level as far as, kind of what they're doing and how startups, kind of your experience and expertise with working with some startup leaders.
Lupe Prado: Sure. So I get to have the opportunity to work with a whole bunch of different leaders, different industries, so startups, private equity consulting, like I get to. see the behind the scenes for a bunch of different industries and, startups are one of them and it's fascinating.
Helen Tanner: Yes.when you get someone from a startup, you obviously know what you got with me, but when you get somebody that reaches out to you from a startup, what does that person typically look like when they first come to you?
Or what are some, are there any trends of something that you see on a regular basis of people when they're reaching out to you? It's time for a coach.
Why High-Performing Leaders Seek Coaching
Lupe Prado: Yeah. It's usually high performers, people who wanna do a good job, but maybe you're feeling like they need some support, they need some help. They need help figuring out maybe either a change of direction or how to.
Balance it all more, effectively. because the startup world, because of its nature is just fast-paced. There's a lot to do. You wear a lot of hats. And so when people reach out from startups is they feel like finally hit a point where they need some help.
Helen Tanner: Sometimes I, and I am speaking from the healthcare world, the idea of a coach.
May be a little bit new, in the sense of executive coaching or the thinking about needing a coach. There may even be the. Misperception that there's something wrong with you, so it's time to go get a coach or my company is, making me go get a coach. Or, is there a negative connotation with a coach?
I think that is very much changing. We heard from some of those stats at the beginning about how much that coaching helps in so many ways, certainly, from a performance standpoint, but even, just day to day of how you manage your, interactions and your work. But
how do you handle that perspective? or what do you have to say to people when they kind of have that misperception?
Lupe Prado: Yeah.
Well, like if it's the company hiring or paying for the coaching. there might be things to work on, so they might see an area of growth or opportunity for the leader. But, executive coaching isn't cheap, especially, when companies are willing to, pay for it. it means that they believe in the leader
Helen Tanner: mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: And their potential. Even if there's an area that needs to be developed from their point of view. And we all have areas, everyone does. so if the company is willing to invest in that person, that signals to me that, they believe in their potential. They wanna help develop them, they wanna invest in them.
So at the executive coaching level, it's usually not something where. They would be willing to do it if they were thinking that person should not be at the company.
Helen Tanner: so there's executive coaching, and then there's. You know, explain the kind of different types of ways that people can connect with a coach, because there's, through the company where it's a
Lupe Prado: Yep.
Helen Tanner: It's like, yeah, but then there's also the individual outreach.
Lupe Prado: Yeah. So I like to think about it as like, usually clients that hire me on their own, they're thinking about their career. the way I see it is like, oh, that's my career coaching piece. Even though, yes, a lot of it, there's overlap.
So if someone hires me personally, it's like they're working on the career. Sometimes they're trying to figure out what they wanna do, whether they, what they're doing is what they wanna continue doing. So they need some clarity or they need to figure out how to be more effective so in that way, it's very similar to executive coaching.
And so coaching is usually what, companies pay for. And then when I have clients. Privately who hire me on their own. I usually think of that as more like career coaching, where they're trying to figure out the direction that they wanna take. they need some clarity. it's not like we're working on resumes, we're not working on any of that stuff.
It's like we're talking through what challenges they're going through, in their career and in their work.
Helen Tanner: Yeah, I know. Whenever I reached out to you, as you know, I heard you on a podcast and it was just, it resonated with me so much. Like, this is what I need to talk with. I need a coach.
Lupe Prado: Mm-hmm.
Helen Tanner: And I did not even Really think about a coach per se until I, I knew I needed help and resources very early on, right? I was a couple months into a startup and I could not find resources that aligned with me being a clinician leader on the founding team in a business setting and a startup setting.
the clinician. Tools are clinician focused and more, delivering medical care as it should be. That's important. But I didn't quite fit into the business acumen side and those, it was, as, you know, it was just so challenging to find that. And when I heard you speak and, kind of the things that you worked on, I thought, well, this is what can help me I really can't find other clinicians doing what I'm doing so easily, but maybe this is.
A place where I can receive help. managing self-doubt, managing
Lupe Prado: Yeah. You
Helen Tanner: know, emotional regulation when things are really tense. Mm-hmm. things like that. And that is exactly what you were able to help me with. And I do think that's an important piece for startup leaders, and anybody entering into kind of a new space for them.
I know self-doubt, kind of inks in and I was. One of the things that was helpful to me is that you're working with other leaders, startup leaders, and you normalized that. You know, it was like, oh, Helen, let me share with you one of my client, obviously protected hipaa, all that stuff, but one of my other clients is going through this, so one of my other clients is going through this over time, and I thought, oh.
Okay. This not, is not necessarily a me issue. This is like a role issue and a lot of people are managing this and that made me feel so much better. what does that do? You know, hear about the self-doubt of leaders a lot, executive leaders even, you know?
Lupe Prado: Yeah. What
Helen Tanner: is your experience hearing about that behind the scenes?
Self-Doubt, Loneliness, and Support in Leadership
Lupe Prado: Yes. Self-doubt is one of the things that comes up the most.
Helen Tanner: Hmm.
Lupe Prado: It comes in different forms for different people, but it's always there. like to tell clients that it's our brain trying to keep us safe, right? I like to call it our inner critic. And our inner critic is trying to keep us safe, and it tends to be the voice led by fear.
So part of my work with coaching is to help the person, the leader, become aware of that voice and then separate. Themselves from that voice and just observe it. Like, oh, there's my inner critic, there's my self doubt coming through. Again, that's normal. That means I care. It's trying to keep me safe. that comes up for everyone and it will never go away.
It's there to protect us and there's tools to help us kind of. Get better at dealing with that voice. So I would say it's like a universal thing. And so part of my job as a coach is to help normalize that because when a client first steps into coaching, a lot of times they think is just me.
They're gonna figure out that I'm not that great. They're gonna figure out that I don't know what I'm doing and that comes up so much. Like in conversation, which for me is such a blessing because I get to hear that the other side of it, the behind the scenes and how we're so similar.
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
Lupe Prado: As human beings.
Like what filled with that doubt. Even the people that can present as the most confident person in the world. when we're in a coaching conversation, it's like, yeah, there's a lot of doubt.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. I have my. Yellow sticky. It's over here with my inner critic and inner leader still.
Lupe Prado: Yes.
Helen Tanner: as reminders.
and then let's talk about the loneliness piece. not to get overly emotional, here, but I do think it's under reported. I mean, there's an assumption that if you have a big title and a team and investors and all these people that believe in you, that you must feel super supportive. But that's not always the experience, is it?
Lupe Prado: No. No.
Helen Tanner: Yeah,
Lupe Prado: no. and this really is kind of, well, especially definitely in startups and really in general, like the higher the role you have at a company, the more lonely it can feel.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: There's a lot of responsibility. People can feel like they're supposed to know all the answers or that they don't have someone to talk to that trusted.
Like when you're younger, you can go to your manager and present all these things, but as you become more senior, and your boss is even busier than you are. And so there's not all that time to have those types of conversations. And so it can feel very isolating, very lonely.
and what I would like to say if someone's listening is that you're not alone. There's so many people feeling the same way. And so to like, look for, people in your community, in your network, that could be a support system for you. So if you don't have it internally, like is there someone in your neighborhood that you could reach out to in your community, in your network that could really help support you and maybe have like.
Regular conversations, coffee conversations or whatever to help you feel less alone. There's a lot of power in that.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. in addition to getting a coach, one of the things I did, speaking exactly to that, it was, I have a lot of, women, a number of women in my neighborhood who are pretty kind of high powered tech executives or, finance executives and.
I was talking to my neighbor who works for Meta and she said, let's put a group together, like a breakfast group of just kind of the, our professional working moms and let's go get coffee. And so we did that for about two years. just kind of fizzled out as people got busier and busier, but for about two years, once a month.
And it was so helpful. They weren't in my space, they weren't in healthcare startup, but they were in super fast moving. companies and I learned so much from them and it was a safe place, to talk about, things. So that was really helpful too. Yeah.
Lupe Prado: Yeah. it's amazing that you were able to keep it up for two years, first of all, and, I bet you learned so many things from them and how you were going through similar things, even though it was totally different industries.
Leading Without Clear Benchmarks
Helen Tanner: Yeah. Yeah. So how do you, one of the other challenges in a startup is sometimes there's no clear benchmarks for whether they're doing a good job.
a lot of times, like in clinical medicine, there are very clear metrics. You saw X number of patients, or you did X number of procedures, or you did this many RBU's and on the business side, they have different like KPIs and it's very clear.
But snms in a startup. Things are changing so much where you don't have super detailed metrics and you don't always know exactly how you're doing. have you experienced that challenge with startup leaders you worked with and I guess how have you navigated that, helping them through that piece?
Lupe Prado: Yeah. that makes me think about is, how fast paced it can be in the startup world and how, like maybe taking the time to have conversations with your leaders so whoever your leader is. Asking what and how questions. So, very open-ended questions. How am I doing? What could I be doing differently?
so if there's not like specific metrics or the metrics keep changing and you need some perspective on like, how am I doing? 'cause the doubt starts creeping in.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: It's going to those leaders or going to your peers asking those questions, not am I doing a good job? Because they're just going to say yes.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: It is, what am I doing that's working well for you? When I partner with you, what could I be doing differently? Right? So like asking what and how to get their perspective to get some feedback, even if it's informal. so you're not. isolated thinking, I'm not doing a good job. I must not be doing a good job because there's nothing to measure against.
You can get some feedback if you do that consistently, you start getting data.
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
Lupe Prado: And people, become really supportive because it's like you've enlist them to be allies for you and supporters for you.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. And another thing really early on, Sometimes, you're creating the structure.
If you're in an early company and there's, you're building the structure. That structure is certainly not only for the growth of the company, but even the structure between your manager. Like if you report to the CEO e you still have to put the work in about how you create the structure of communication between.
it may not really be set. It may be so fluid.
Lupe Prado: Yep. Yeah.
Helen Tanner: it may lose priority due to the fast growth of what people need to work on, but that making an effort to close that loop every week, like I know. I made the effort a lot to create standard check-ins and we really didn't have like a set structure of that,but just that we had that set every week and I mean, that was standard in some other large corporate or, other practices, but it wasn't necessarily when there was only four or five of us, and you're all working right there, but you still have to start that structure early and that really helps.
At least having that touch base. and it seems 1 0 1, but it's sometimes it's not.
Lupe Prado: No. Yeah, I, I'm glad you called that out because Yes. So when it's a bigger company that's been established for a long time, right? there's systems and processes in place. There's development plans that need to be filled out by a certain deadline.
There's conversations that need to be checked off. That's not really the case a lot of times for startups, right? You're just trying to do all the things all at once and moving fast. So it requires intentionality. So like being really intentional about getting that feedback, from those around you to see how you're doing.
And, like you said, the weekly touch base, right? or the quarterly feedback that you kind of. Put on your manager's calendar or your partner's, calendar so that it happens and it can feel awkward, especially if it's like a smaller group. Like we talk all the time about all the things. but having those conversations are really important.
And it can be really illuminating. Like it can really tell you, okay, this is how I'm being perceived, or this is something that I could work on. And the more you do them, the less uncomfortable they become.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. And practicing. some of setting up those structures or how to deliver them was some things that you and I worked on.
And so I do think that's another way that you can work with a coach that, I mean, I know I really valued and I didn't necessarily realize that would happen, that is something that I could do and that we could discuss and, you would potentially challenge me, you know, how would we deliver this?
What would you think? and then we, kinda worked on that together and then I had a little bit more confidence of, how to really get, The impact, the information that I needed and I didn't quite know how to deliver it 'cause it wasn't awkward in a new situation.
Lupe Prado: yeah.
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
Lupe Prado: And you know, one of the things that in coaching we do so is, trying to get to behavior behavioral feedback.
So,
Helen Tanner: oh yeah.
Lupe Prado: For example, let's say you ask your manager, how am I doing? And your manager says, you're doing great. Keep it up. that not behavioral feedback, it doesn't give you anything to take away from that conversation, what you could work on or what you're doing. Great. It's not good feedback, so what you can do is take really ownership of that.
So if someone's listening and say, and they ask their manager for feedback, they're having that awkward conversation, and then it just kind of gets. Almost dismissed. You're doing great. Keep it up. Wait, pausing and asking those what and how questions. So thank you so much for that feedback. what specifically am I doing?
Great.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: What is it that you think is working really well? What could I be doing more of? what isn't working so great? what could I do less of? Et cetera. And so that kind of helps, almost like. hold that person to or dig a little deeper. most people are are not good at giving feedback.
Helen Tanner: Yeah,
Lupe Prado: it's uncomfortable. It's awkward. we don't know how to do it. So asking those questions helps the person think through, oh, well, what is Helen doing? That's great. Oh, well, you know, the way you lead the meetings every week. Is really helpful because you're helping drive, clarity or drive forward movement or whatever.
Right? Yeah. You get more specific behavioral feedback versus just very generic, vague that's not very helpful.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. Doesn't help you necessarily grow as a leader. You, you are doing a great job. Yeah.
Lupe Prado: Yep, yep.
Burnout, Emotional Regulation, and Sustainable Leadership
Helen Tanner: so one of the things that I find fascinating sometimes write a little alarming, And you probably see this maybe on a larger scale, but is the idea of burnout kind of disguised as commitment?
Lupe Prado: Mm
Helen Tanner: especially in startup culture, intensity is rewarded. Being all in can kind of be like a badge of honor or working. 80, 90, a hundred plus hour weeks or in clinical too. I was in, I guess how do you distinguish between someone who's genuinely energized by the work versus someone who's running on empty calling it passion?
what are some of those red flags there? 'cause it's certainly a recipe for burnout.
Lupe Prado: Yeah, and that's a great question. I love this topic. I love coaching clients around this topic because. the foundation of sleep.
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
Lupe Prado: Right. And so I love talking about the importance of sleep because if you're working at a startup or what you just described, it's people who are high performers, right?
Who are excellent at what they do, who work hard, who are motivated, driven. And so it's very easy to slip into. That mode, right? That leads to burnout. So thinking about it, shifting your mindset around, getting sleep is a leadership decision, right? So in order for you to work, to perform at your best, to be at your peak, sleep is foundational.
It's so important to that. You're not gonna be able to think clearly. You're gonna be foggy, you're gonna be, um. More emotional, more stressed. That's not the best you to make the best decisions. So sleep. thinking about, when you're most energized during the day, right? And so in the afternoon most people get a slump.
I would say almost everyone, right?
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: And so like going for a quick walk to get some energy and get some clarity. So those things are so important and typically our culture, society has like put them off as kind of like on the edge, like wellness. That's a nice to, yeah, sleep. That's nice.
But I'm really motivated, I'm really driven. I need to work on all the things and you're not gonna be at your peak performance if you're not getting the sleep.
Helen Tanner: Yeah, I remember End of my first year in the startup and my kids were with, the grandparents outta state for two weeks, and I was like, okay, I am going to slow down.
I'm going to prioritize sleep. Working out, I'm gonna make sure I have more time with my girlfriends, you know, my hubby. Like, I really was gonna be so intentional, like I am going to recharge. it's been a year of really challenging work, limited sleep, you know, kind of a high stress environment.
And instead I worked like. Double if that was even possible. And I literally almost hit a wall. I could not turn it off. And it was such a lesson to me. I started to basically not be able to function, at work. And it was a very pointed time that I recall, and I didn't need to be doing that.
I mean, we weren't like producing a product that needed to be rolled out tomorrow. You know, it was important work, but it didn't have to be this much. And it was such a lesson learned to me like, and I never did that again. I, I made sure I marked my calendar. I took breaks. I learned from that.
But I do think. some startup cultures are even much more significant like health tech right now, ai, where you have to be more intentional about that. But, yeah, I feel like there can be more early signs than when you hit the wall.
Lupe Prado: Yeah, no, because consistently doing that for a long period of time, which a lot of people do, there's probably people listening right now who are in the middle of that. It leads to health.
Helen Tanner: Yes.
Lupe Prado: Health issues. Right, right. So, I heard a podcast once that talked about, like most people, it affects their heart, their head, their heart or their gut.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: For me, when I was at, accounting, it was my head.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: And so I had these migraines, I wouldn't go away. And then taking all these pills, doing the scans, trying to figure out what's wrong with me.
And then I left that job and then two weeks later, the headaches were gone.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: For some people it's digestive, right? had someone on my podcast who had all these digestive issues. He had, he was getting his PhD, he had a family, all the things, he was able to get into the Mayo Clinic and the first thing they said to him was, how's your stress?
and he like rolled his eyes, like, I didn't come all the way to the Mayo Clinic for you to tell me. It's just stress. But it was stress.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: So he had to turn his life around to figure that out. I think he had had like a major car accident. Getting this doctorate, have kids, all the things, and it was stress.
and then heart, right? So it is just like our health and it's usually, it's like, you go, go, go, go, go, and you ignore everything. And then it's like, wait, I'm having all these issues, all this pain, all these things that it's your body telling you you can't keep going at this rate.
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
You'll hit a wall. Yeah. Yeah. and I think if you can figure out a way early on to create that structure of a break or whatever that is, I think it'll only carry people forward in a more successful manner.
Lupe Prado: Yeah. And it's never too late, right? So if you're like listening to this and you be doing that for a long time, it's like, okay, what could I do?
Start gonna sleep a little earlier? going for a five minute walk. Getting some sunlight in the morning, like getting sunlight in the morning is so important, so things like that little, starting really small is key to be able to sustain change.
Helen Tanner: So speaking of, the head, I wanna pull in something else that gets kind of misunderstood.
coaching as a support for emotional regulations. I think clinicians think we already know how to do this, because we're restrained, we're trained to stay calm under pressure.
I experienced this, when I was stretched so thin, and I know I've, shared a couple of my instances with you where I mean.
There was times when my emotional regulation was not regulated, you know, and I was, stretched so much to where I was even surprised at how mm-hmm. Raised my voice or how, I lost my patience and I'm just, sometimes I wonder if we confuse, like, suppression with regulation. but I. I'm wondering about your coaching conversation, just about emotional regulation tense environments.
Do you have any thoughts about anything about that? Any advice? I mean, it's a big topic.
Lupe Prado: Yeah. so I, makes me think A few years ago I coached, it was like a part of a group program, but like I coached about 20 physicians, and. I thought all the conversations there was gonna be a lot of talk about, well, you know, my patient died and it was really stressful or something.
Right. That was kind of what I thought going in. and I worked with them over six months and that was not the topic. It was work life balance. Yes. Managing stress, how to communicate better, how to put in boundaries, how to delegate. that comes up a lot. Not just because you're a doctor, not just because you're a clinician.
I remember I've coached people who are in those industries and that's, they help other people, but We all need support. I have coaches, I have therapists. Like we need that support to be able to be our best, to be able to be there for people, to be a leader at a company. That doesn't make us immune to all the things, to all the pressure, to all the stress.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. So, if someone's hearing this, and recognizing some of this in themselves, which I think we can all relate to many things in this, discussion, but if they're recognizing this, you know, they're an early hire in a startup or they're in a role that didn't exist before them, or they've had a shift, they're kind of figuring it out.
What can seem like alone, I guess, what's one mindset shift that you might want them to make or that you might suggest that would help them as they are going through their change or their, new period?
Lupe Prado: The first one that came up as you were asking that was, and hopefully this is okay to say, blessings come through people.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: And so, reach out to people, right? Reach out to your friend. If you're feeling lonely, reach out to a friend. reach out to a coach. Reach out to a therapist. Like there's people that can help you feel less alone, feel supported. It's, sometimes too, I think there's like this kind of perception that asking for help is like weakness or like quitting.
Something and it's not. And what it really is, is it's, you're not giving up on yourself. So asking for help is the strong thing to do. So whatever help looks like for you, right? Like help from a friend, help from family, talking through it. I've had conversations with clients where they'll say. you're the first person I've talked to about, I, I don't have the space mm-hmm.
Or anyone to talk to
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
Lupe Prado: About this. Right. and part of the coaching thing too is like having this space to think and to vent and to process and to think about different way about certain things. And so that doesn't necessarily just have to be with the coach. It can be with just someone that you know is a great listener.
And can listen to you and not try to fix it. Right?
Helen Tanner: Yep.
Lupe Prado: So, yeah.
Helen Tanner: Is there a quote about leadership or something that you return to often and share with leaders you coach, or something you know, that has really stayed with you to help you?
Lupe Prado: this one, not maybe leadership. Oh, oh, go ahead. Okay. This is my, maybe not.
Leadership in general is just a general quote that I like, that I love, which it sounds a little woo, but, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. So when you're ready to learn about whatever it is, sleeping better or, how to be a better leader. It's like someone mentions a podcast, someone mentions a book.
Someone said, you should talk to this person, right? Like when you're ready to make some changes and you're listening and you're like, this is just how it is, but you listen to this conversation and you're like, well, maybe there is a different way to approach my role or the way I think about certain something.
When you're ready, you're open to that. The resources just start coming in. It's like, oh, somebody mentioned the book. Like I said, somebody mentioned the podcast, et cetera. So when we're open to that, we start finding the, solutions or the answers or the resources.
Helen Tanner: Yes. I love that.
And this is kind of along those lines. You, you kind of already answered this, but as we close, I usually ask every guest, To answer this, and I always love what services from it, but What was the single most helpful resources for you? A person, a tool, a book, a framework, community mindset, whatever, and why?
Lupe Prado: Ooh,
I'm gonna give a shout out to my coach, Kristen.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: My first coach. I've worked with many coaches since, this is over 10 years ago. She was just from the very first conversation, she helped me feel seen and like it was okay to feel like how I was feeling. So burnt out. She listened, she was supportive, she helped me think differently.
She gave me tools that was, so life changing for me.
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: Which is why I feel so strongly about coaching, right? Like I wouldn't be a coach if I like, didn't believe in the power of it. And she helped me see that. And so for me it was her. And then I love reading, so I love reading. I love podcasts. I love listening to people's conversations.
It's like you get to be a little fly on the wall listening on a conversation. so Kristen Books. I know that's kind of very, like
Helen Tanner: general. You always had good, good book Rex. and a really cool thing that you do, and you have your, obviously your executive coaching practice, but you are also a podcast host.
and I'll let you share about that, in just a second. But one of the things that stood out to me about your podcast is you listen to a lot of. Challenging speak every day, you know, people going through struggles hard times. and then how to navigate that. And I love that your podcast kind of flips that on its script and, allows people who really found their passion and started a business to kind of speak about that.
So why don't you share with us about your podcast and I guess what you're working on?
Lupe Prado: what do you do?
Helen Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Lupe Prado: Yeah. So my podcast is called Paid Vocation. Mm-hmm. So it's kind of a play on paid vacation, but it's paid vocation. And I started it because I wanted, to share stories of people who are doing work they love.
what I hope that people get out of the conversations is that they feel inspired if they're not doing work, they love that they feel motivated to start. Exploring or thinking about what that might be. when I was in accounting and, I didn't love the work I was doing, I would listen to podcasts and I would hear people talk about work they loved.
And I thought, well, maybe, it's possible. I would tell people about it. And sometimes I'd get like a random person saying like, that's nice, Lupe, but that's not possible. you can't love what you do. And I would say, oh, you know, but I heard this conversation, or I met this person, or et cetera.
So the podcast is me trying to bring those stories, bring those people that I've ever met in real life, or follow and share their stories of how they did it and that, and not necessarily a straight path. There's usually twists and turns, but that is possible. And I firmly believe that I feel like I'm living it because I was able to turn around, my life in that way, in that I didn't love what I did.
and now I do and I feel really strongly about it. So that's what I hope people get out of it. Right. So I love the podcast. it's been really rewarding and I've gotten to meet some really cool people.
Helen Tanner: Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, Lupe, this has been such a rich conversation. I think our listeners are gonna walk away feeling genuinely seen and maybe a little less alone on kind of ways that they can engage through their leadership journey.
So thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you.
Lupe Prado: Thank you for having me.