Executive Coaching
The Uncommon Executive
Unlock your leadership potential and accelerate your career
👋 Hi! I'm Yue Zhao, Chief Product and Technology Officer turned Executive Coach.
My mission is to help women and minority aspiring executives break through to the C-suite.
I'm glad you're here.
Trusted by Leaders From
Ways To Work Together
1:1 Executive Coaching
1 hour sessions monthly or biweekly. 6-month minimum commitment.
Includes in-depth intake process with leadership assessments, 360 conversations, and async access via Slack and email.
Learn More
Leadership Accelerator
8-week Leadership Accelerator for mid-career leaders. Combines small group coaching and curriculum to put you on the fast track to executive levels.
Live Cohort Course
Master Executive Presence and Communication with AI. Use AI to increase your influence, communicate effectively, and command the room. Live cohort-based course through Maven.
Speaking & Workshops
Yue is a highly rated speaker and workshop facilitator for Tier 1 companies. She offers fireside chats, leadership workshops, and limited in-person sessions.
Book: The Uncommon Executive: Breakthrough to the C-suite as a Minority
Do you feel like your career is stalling? Are you perceived as a do-er and not a lead-er by others? The Uncommon Executive is the book I wish I had when rising through the ranks. Full of frameworks and tactics for helping your level up to the c-suite.
Professional Experience
1
Founder & Executive Coach
The Uncommon Executive LLC
1:1 executive coaching, leadership accelerator, course, newsletter, and workshops for aspiring executives
2
Chief Product & Technology Officer
Fuzzy Pet Health
Managed a 100+ person org including PM, design, engineering, and research. Helped company achieve 1st order payback. Raised $88M from Matrix and Greycroft.
3
Venture Partner
LifeX Ventures
$100M early-stage fund investing in Healthtech and Climatech.
4
PM Manager
Meta and Instagram
Promoted twice in four years, leading key product initiatives and teams. Managed SMB Ads PM team (~12% of FB revenue). Led Instagram Feed & Profile teams.
5
First Product Manager then Director
Thumbtack Inc.
Helped the company 10X in 5 years. Led supply-side of marketplace. Backed by Sequoia & Google Ventures.
6
Founder
FirstCrush Wines
Accepted into the DreamIt Ventures NYC ’12 accelerator program. Ran Product, Operations, and Winery Partnerships.
7
Business Technology Analyst
McKinsey and Company
Only student accepted from UCBerkeley for 5 years. Secured offer to return post MBA.
8
Education
Executive Coach Certification, New Ventures West
MBA, Harvard Business School
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, UC Berkeley
I Partner With Aspiring Executives On
Career Strategy
I take on more but don't see change. How do I put myself on a different path and position myself for growth over the next 3-5 years?
Team Performance
My team is constantly spinning due to conflicts and debates. How do I better anticipate and resolve conflict instead of jumping from fire to fire?
Building a Narrative
I want to be perceived as a leader and rising star at my company. Currently, I'm viewed only as a strong executor. How do I change how others perceive me?
Mental Health & Resilience
I have too many priorities on my plate and I am feeling overwhelmed and overworked daily. How do I get my work into a manageable load?
Strategy & Leadership
I don't have the buy-in of senior leaders at my company. My decisions don't stick. My ideas aren't heard. How do I manage up to my leadership?
Combating Bias
I am not viewed as leadership material. Others take credit for my work. Mistakes are blown out of proportion. What is the best way to manage these biases?
The Uncommon Executive: Breakthrough to the C-Suite
This book I wish I had climbing the ladder to the executive levels.
Many smart, hardworking and dedicated leaders see their careers stall once they reach middle management, and the same topics come up repeatedly:
  • “I feel stuck. I’ve been in this job for years without getting promoted. What am I doing wrong?”
  • “The women I see at the top have abrasive, aggressive styles, and I don’t want to be like them.
  • “I’m swamped and nearing burnout right now in middle management. How can I even think about the VP role?”
  • “I don’t know how you did it. How do I balance family and getting into leadership? It feels just impossible for me where I am.”

This book provides a path to executive leadership through that doubt and confusion. Some topics in the book include:
  • The Executive Mindset
  • Effective Delegation and Communication at Scale
  • Stay Calm During Crises
  • Winning Performance Reviews
  • How to get the best stretch assignments.
  • Building Trust & Relationships.
  • Combat Cultural Stereotypes
  • Finding your Superpower and building your brand
  • Finding the Right Company Culture
  • Family Growth vs. Career Growth

This is your guide to getting promoted to the executive level.
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Live, Cohort-based Course
Designed for emerging leaders, this course helps you build executive presence, sharpen your communication skills, and boost you into the top 1% of effective communicators.
Command the Room
Develop an impactful presence that captivates and influences, earning respect and buy-in.
Impactful Communication
Articulate complex ideas with precision and confidence, ensuring your message lands every time.
AI-Powered Prep & Practice
Leverage cutting-edge AI tools for objective, personalized insights to rapidly refine your style.
Wall of Love
Yue was invaluable to me in thinking through and facilitating my move to VP, and then coaching me through the challenges I faced. She helped me better understand how to adjust to reach my full potential.
The Uncommon Executive is an insightful and empowering guide for professionals navigating the path to the C-suite, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Yue delivers a compelling mix of personal experience, actionable strategies, and hard-earned wisdom that make this book both inspiring and practical.
Yue was a phenomenal mentor and coach. As we established a monthly meeting, Yue was never short of spot-on questions, honest feedback and genuinely cared for my growth and well-being. Would highly recommend working with her!
I’m a PDM M2 at Meta. I find your insights, experience and concise posts to be helpful as it enriches my ability to navigate my career. Thanks!
I walked away with concrete actions that I want to implement as a team manager and rethink as an executive. The Uncommon Executive is comprehensive, approachable, and engaging. Highly recommend.
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is Zhao's emphasis on the importance of adaptability and resilience. Through real-world examples and practical advice, one can learn how to navigate challenges with grace and emerge stronger and more effective leaders.
Yue used her years of experience, emotional intelligence, and research on communication to help our class understand how the conscious -- and often subconscious -- ways we show up at work (posture, tone of voice, language, presentation style) affect our ability to influence, to persuade, to discuss and problem solve. Bravo!
Zhao's no-BS and logical breakdown of her experience in becoming an executive and coaching others into executive roles is a great checklist for everyone trying to break into these strategic roles. In particular I appreciate the failed attempts she shares which is so refreshing from the usual "just do what I do because I'm successful" style .
I reached out to Yue when I was at the crossroads of my career. She helped me level up my thinking and made a tremendous impact on accelerating my promotion timelines. Yue gave me a framework and exercises to help me think through different scenarios. We then put those scenarios to practice: I worked with her on various topics, such as leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and managing up.
Your note on how to ask better questions during interviews helped me land my role. I think your newsletter and content will be critical to my success as I transition into my new role. Thank you for your insights!
Yue has a wealth of knowledge and perspective with practical tactics each week. Not just for product managers or those in tech. She definitely practices what she preaches too!
I am able to resonate with the articles and found so much value in terms of How I can navigate these kind of situations in practical ways.
Our convos have really helped me the past few weeks; becoming a new mom has been challenging and workshopping things with you, hearing about your own experience, and learning to shift my mindset has been clarifying. Looking forward to future discussions and thanks for everything so far!
Executive communication has long been a development focus for me, and Yue’s course offered a clear, actionable strategy along with practical tips that truly elevated my skills. I was able to apply the methods immediately in my day-to-day work and practice them in every meeting I attend. The impact has been remarkable—I’ve noticed faster progress and smoother collaboration as a result. I highly recommend.
Yue's course is very well thought out and researched and focuses on the obvious aspects of communications that may normally get overlooked at a given time. I am truly impressed by the way she evolved the content and her delivery style, I will look forward to future cohorts.
"The Uncommon Executive" is a an incredible resource for those early in their career looking for a blueprint to navigate corporate infrastructure, while learning how to think like an executive.
Senior executives would also benefit from reading this in order to maintain perspective of those they lead and sharpen their tools to combat unconscious bias.
I have the privilege of working with Yue Zhao, and I can confidently say she is one of the most powerful executive coaches I’ve ever encountered. Yue has an incredible ability to pinpoint exactly what’s holding you back and provide actionable insights that drive immediate and lasting impact. The content is strategic, well-structured, and deeply insightful. Yue has a gift for turning complex leadership challenges into clear, practical strategies that can be applied instantly.
As Seen On
Work With Yue
1:1 Executive Coaching
1 hour sessions biweekly. 6-month minimum commitment.
Leadership Accelerator
8-week group coaching and curriculum for mid-career leaders.
Speaking & Workshops
Fireside chats, leadership workshops, and limited in-person sessions.
Weekly Newsletter
14,000+ Subscribers. Tips for leadership & Career Growth.
Book
Full of frameworks and tactics for helping your level up to the c-suite.
Live Cohort Course
Master Executive Presence and Communication with AI.
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