Building a more equitable world by empowering diverse teams and collaborative product leaders
👋 I’m Gillian Zamora (she/her).
I am passionate about solving problems, empowering teams, and leading through relationships. I have more than a decade of experience at the intersection of product: business, technology, user experience, and storytelling. Empathy, collaboration, and care are the primary values I bring to everything I do.
My mission for Product Team Spirit is to provide research-based tools, frameworks, workshops, and coaching conversations to help individuals and organizations thrive.
The technology and media products we use every day can change the world. We need to make sure people across experiences are leading, building, and influencing them.
During the pandemic and beyond, so many people; especially women, LGBTQIA+, people of color, neurodivergent folks, and others in underrepresented communities; lost their jobs, reconsidered their priorities, struggled to balance their leadership style, and find belonging, growth, and influence within their organizations and teams.
Based on research and experience, I know that:
- The most innovative products are built collaboratively with diverse teams and people.
- Empowered teams with equitable voices, idea generation, and psychological safety are a strategic advantage.
- The most strong and successful servant-leaders and executives make time to explore their own habits and and self-care in order to be their best selves for their teams and businesses.
I want to be part of a network of services that are empowering collaborative teams; prioritizing leadership and skills development; and creating diverse opportunities among tech, media, and product teams.
Please reach out about possible partnerships or collaborations to help you and your organization thrive.
Product Team Spirit
Learn insights and actionable tips for collaborating on products with (mostly remote) diverse teams and leaders.
The ROI of Ongoing Skills Development, Empowerment, and Coaching
$135M
The cost of not investing
The average company with 10,000+ employees budgets about $20M annually on learning and development, with employees spending more than one week per year in training. According to a whitepaper from coaching service BetterUp (using data from McKinsey, Gallup, and the Center for American Progress), “the hidden annual costs of skill gaps, disengagement, and turnover are estimated at -$135M.”
6x
Return on investment
Manchester, Inc. surveyed 100 executives and showed that a company’s investment in coaching realized an average ROI of almost six times the cost of the coaching.
4.6x
Empowerment increase
Teams that follow an inclusive process make decisions 2x faster with 1/2 the meetings, according to Forbes research.
Employees who feel their voice is heard at work are 4.6x more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work, according to Salesforce Research’s The Impact of Equality and Values Driven Business.
Services
I enjoy working primarily with women and queer leaders and entrepreneurs but make space for anybody willing to grow into their best selves personally and professionally.
Product leadership coaching for entrepreneurs
Have you recently created a business, initiative or product (meaning anything from a Substack to an app to a new events service) and need to formalize your business goals, product strategy, and success metrics?
Product coaching is for individuals who are ready to build their business for success, without losing their hearts and souls. You’ll learn how to create and execute an effective product strategy, all while keeping a moral compass and self-care in check.
Career growth coaching for individuals
Did you recently start a new job as a product manager, product designer, engineer lead, or executive? Perhaps you’re looking for a new opportunity and want to make sure you’re ready to manage a team, communicate with leadership, and tune up your own practices to build innovative, collaborative products.
Career growth coaching or mentoring is for individuals who are looking for guidance on how to develop their own leadership style, bring their authentic selves and live out their values personally and professionally, and work on the skills that will take them to the next level on product teams.
Testimonials
” A trusted advisor”
“Gillian’s contributions helped Alley become better in countless ways. She provided energy, leadership, and expertise in the areas of product strategy, product management, consulting services, DEI, coaching, culture…the list could go on and on. Gillian was a key leadership figure in the strategy and launch of new products and services. She led with a fine-tuned approach to digital publishing strategy and market needs. She was a trusted advisor to our clients. The supportive relationships Gillian developed with her colleagues helped so many individuals be more successful in their roles. Gillian was a tremendous resource and support for me personally.”
Rebecca Sherman, Director of Client Services and Product Owner, Alley
“A builder, a creator, and a leader”
“I sought out Gillian as my coach after working with her closely. I had observed that she is a builder, a creator, and a leader who marries her drive and mind for business with a natural ability to inspire, support and mentor those around her. This was the combination of abilities I wanted to nurture within myself. Whenever I met with Gillian, I felt simultaneously buoyed by her ability to listen and challenged as she asked me thought provoking questions and provided candid reflections back to me. For any woman seeking to lead confidently while also committing herself to growth, Gillian is someone you want in your corner!”
Susan Finklepearl, Chief Experience Officer, Alley
“A path towards success”
“When I decided to start a media co-op with 19 of my friends, I thought there was maybe a 10 percent chance that our launch would go smoothly. It wasn’t until everything went off without a hitch that I realized we had Gillian to thank for that. She made the process of conceiving, designing, and launching a functioning website not only easy, but fruitful. Working with her was incredibly rewarding, and she did so much to set us on a path towards success.”
Tom Ley, editor in chief and co-owner of Defector
“A skilled champion”
“I had the good fortune to work with Gillian Zamora as a career coach for the better part of two years during one of the most challenging periods of my life. While I had decades of work experience coming into the position, she guided me as I adapted to a new role in a fast-paced, medium-sized company. As I worked through an initial poor cultural fit with a work team and the death of a parent, Gillian offered sensitive coaching that was unfailingly compassionate and always on-point with how I could work to flourish even amid the most trying times. When I found my place within the company, she proved a skilled champion guiding me in how I could make a unique contribution to the company’s goals.”
Robert Pratt, Senior Software Developer
“There are times when personal experience keeps us from reaching the mountain top and so we let it go because the weight of it is too heavy. And sometimes the mountain top is difficult to reach with all our resources, factual and confessional, so we are just there, collectively grasping, feeling the limitations of knowledge, longing together, yearning for a way to reach that highest point. Even this yearning is a way to know.”
bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
Let’s connect.
For partnerships or collaborations, email gillian@productteamspirit.com.
For 1:1 coaching inquiries, including 1 free session, fill out this coaching inquiry form.