In this special live episode of Wear Your Cape to Work, recorded at the PMI Orange County Chapter in Anaheim, California, Trina Schaetz talks with Marjan Khan, HR Project Manager at Mazda North America Operations, and Tamas Vejsz, Senior Project and Program Leader at CTC Global.
Marjan and Tamas share how they discovered their leadership strengths, how those strengths were shaped by their career paths and life experiences, and why strong leaders do not have to be good at everything. The conversation explores structure, communication, consensus-building, career pivots, asking for help, and building the kind of network that helps cover blind spots.
01:15 Leading from authentic strengths, not an impossible ideal
01:32 Marjan’s nonlinear path into project management
02:22 Tamas’s path from engineering to project leadership
04:01 Recognizing the strengths people consistently come to you for
04:17 Marjan’s strength: bringing structure and clarity
04:42 How Marjan’s communication strength was shaped early in life
05:43 Tamas on leading technical teams through relationships and consensus
06:30 Your strengths may shift depending on the role or season
06:58 Tamas on honing strengths over the course of a career
08:06 Strong leaders know who helps them think better
08:20 The people who see your capability before you do
09:23 Mentors who help you grow through blind spots
10:07 Why trust matters when someone gives you hard feedback
10:25 Asking for help without treating it like weakness
11:24 Start small, learn, and grow from the support you receive
11:44 Marjan on building a project management network inside Mazda
13:00 Networking starts with people already close to you
14:10 Marjan on being brave enough to reach out
15:08 Different strengths, same strong leadership
15:42 Get brave, go out there, and build your network
Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:
YouTube
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
RSS