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Hire Ground Podcast Episode 21: "Founding, Twice" with Irene Shih, CEO of Pave HER Way

Season 2 Premier: Episode 21 of Hire Ground Podcast 

"Either you hired the wrong CEO, or you need to take a step back as a board."

Irene Shih has sat on both sides of the governance table, as Board Member and CEO, and she's direct about what each one owes the other. She's the Founding CEO of Pave HER Way, a new nonprofit empowering women and girls facing systemic barriers. Before that, she built Minds Matter Bay Area from the founding up so she's just lived both halves of the founder story: the leaving and the starting again.

What she and host, Christina Greenberg, get into:
  • The founder's real problem isn't scarcity, it's abundance — too many good ideas, too many willing hands, and the discipline to pick three
  • Why culture, not documentation, is what a successor actually inherits
  • Irene's mother: an immigrant who took odd jobs, went to teach at a local Chinese school, and became an award-winning educator rewriting curriculum across Northern California
  • Christina's mother: told she couldn't get a PhD with a child, and what happened when she said "we'll try it"
  • Meeting people where they are — Irene's approach to developing talent, and why coaching has to feel like an offering
  • How Irene will know at the twelve-month mark whether Pave Her Way is working

Timing beats a head start. This year's data was clear: searches launched in January and February ran the cleanest and drew the strongest pools, while roles posted before Thanksgiving mostly meant spinning wheels and multiple slates. Pre-source in the fall, but launch with intention.

Negotiate the whole pie, not just salary. Post the range (it's the law in over 20 states, and it's the right thing to do), benchmark against what people actually earn rather than what gets posted, and coach candidates to name their one or two highest-leverage asks instead of stacking six. And once you've shaken on it, honor it. Walking back a deal is the fastest way to burn the credibility you'll need on Day One.

New episodes are back in your feed later this summer.

Listen on your platform of choice:

Hire Ground is the essential podcast for K12 school and nonprofit leaders who are serious about hiring, retaining and developing high performing teams. This podcast brings together thought leaders, executives, and board members for honest conversations about leadership, hiring, governance, and what it really takes to build a thriving organization from the ground up.

Hire Ground is hosted by Christina Greenberg - founder and CEO of Edgility Search and 20-year veteran of executive search and nonprofit talent - and was co-created with Josh Czupryk, founder of Josh’s K12 Jobs Blast.

Follow along and join the conversation on LinkedIn.

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