Member since November 2021
I’ve spent over 25 years in technology leadership, helping teams navigate big changes—like moving everything to the cloud, building new processes from scratch, and balancing the pressure of “get it done yesterday” with keeping people healthy and engaged. Along the way, I realized something: teaching the tech is easy, but developing strong leaders is where the real work—and the real impact—happens.
That’s why I started Technology Leader Development (TLD). I work with IT managers and directors who were promoted for their technical expertise but now need a different toolkit—one built around mentoring, managing up, running projects, and leading people with clarity, confidence, courage, and commitment.
Whether I’m speaking at a conference or joining a podcast, my goal is the same: to give tech leaders practical strategies they can use the very next day—not abstract theory, but real-world lessons from someone who’s been there.
I’m passionate about helping technology leaders grow into confident, capable people managers. Too often, talented tech experts are promoted without the support or mentoring they need. I love showing leaders that they don’t have to figure it out alone—there are practical skills and real conversations that make leading people just as rewarding as solving the hardest technical problems.
One of the most defining moments in my career came in my mid-30s, when I was working to move from manager to senior manager. A top executive pulled me aside and told me to stop trying to be like everyone else. I had been polishing my answers, playing it safe, and toning myself down to fit the mold of what I thought a senior leader should look like. But in the process, I wasn’t being me.
She told me: “You’re a shooting star. Be the shooting star no one’s ever seen before.” That changed everything.
From that point forward, I leaned into being authentically Tina—straight-shooting, collaborative, and willing to slow down to educate others. Not everyone liked it. But it built trust. One of my proudest moments was the day the head of the data centers said, “You can get off this Sev 1 call. We know it’s not the network.” For years, everything was “always the network.” By consistently proving otherwise, I’d earned credibility and influence in a way that no title alone could give me.
It taught me—and it’s what I share with others—that the best leaders aren’t carbon copies of someone else. They succeed by being authentic, reliable, and confident enough to bring their true selves into the room.
One of the most defining moments in my career came in my mid-30s, when I was working to move from manager to senior manager. A top executive pulled me aside and told me to stop trying to be like everyone else. I had been polishing my answers, playing it safe, and toning myself down to fit the mold of what I thought a senior leader should look like. But in the process, I wasn’t being me.
She told me: “You’re a shooting star. Be the shooting star no one’s ever seen before.” That changed everything.
From that point forward, I leaned into being authentically Tina—straight-shooting, collaborative, and willing to slow down to educate others. Not everyone liked it. But it built trust. One of my proudest moments was the day the head of the data centers said, “You can get off this Sev 1 call. We know it’s not the network.” For years, everything was “always the network.” By consistently proving otherwise, I’d earned credibility and influence in a way that no title alone could give me.
It taught me—and it’s what I share with others—that the best leaders aren’t carbon copies of someone else. They succeed by being authentic, reliable, and confident enough to bring their true selves into the room.