Latest / Career Catalyst / Episode 9: Lauren Boros HS Principal to VP at Disney

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Episode 9: Lauren Boros HS Principal to VP at Disney · Career Catalyst

• Rory: Hey everybody. welcome to another episode of the Career Catalyst Podcast. My name is Rory Devine. today I have a great guest, someone that I've had circled on the calendar for a while. someone that lives near me in the South Bay and that I've known for a long time and have seen her her career kind of blossom. I want to introduce everybody, Lauren Boros. Hello, Lauren. How are you? Lauren Boros: Hi Rory, thanks for having me. Rory: I know this is a long time. You're a gizzy person, but I'm really glad we could get you on here. And the cat the career catalyst is excited to have somebody here, especially you know, I you are a rare person that I knew earlier on in your career and kind of watched you move up through the ranks. and I think people could learn a lot from you and and what you've implemented or curated in your career. So you know, I want to get your title correct, but you are the VP of streaming solutions for the Walt Disney Company, correct? Lauren Boros: Correct. Rory: And amazingly enough, you were also a high school principal, is that correct? Lauren Boros: Also correct. Those are two truths. Ready for my lie? Rory: You're gonna have to walk us. Teachers. We are you're gonna have to walk us through how you got from A to B to C to Z. Because I think there's there's some really valuable lessons and things that you've done very intentionally in your career that I really want to share. So first and foremost, I think you're definitely our first educator that is in the high school spectrum. So tell us what was pushing you, how did you get into high school education, principal administration, everything? Where did that start? Lauren Boros: Sure. I was raised in a in a family that was driven by social justice. some of my earliest memories are being on, you know, the lines of protests marching with my mom with signs. And so I always knew I wanted to work in something impactful, an industry that was positively impacting the future. at first I I thought that meant I want to be a doctor and I want to save lives. after an internship in the emergency room and fainting twice, it became clear that was not my destiny. but instead I learned about a program called Teach for America and thought, wow, that is an incredible way to have impact, to do something that matters, to do something that's bigger than myself, and and right after college and I'm in. So I did Teach for America right after school. again, not because I was wanting to be a teacher per se, but because I wanted to work in good. and so I was a seventh grade math teacher in Gary, Indiana, and realized that we would do these incredible things at our school in seventh grade and eighth grade, and then we would send kids to high schools and kind of cross our fingers that they stayed on that trajectory and had very little control when ultimately they Would hopefully go to college because that was really a pivotal point. So instead I said, I want to move closer to that pivotal point. and I wanted to move into high school. So I started working on the west side of Chicago, also in math, with ninth graders, and became the assistant principal of that high school eventually. And during that time, we were experimenting with new things, we were looking at different models, we were creating different partnerships, and we saw incredible results from using a type of instruction called Harkness or the Harkness method, which was developed at Phillips Exeter Academy. It is unlike what we typically picture as a classroom. It's small group, discussion-based, student-led learning, and we were seeing tremendous results. And we said, how might we create a school that does this wall-to-wall? Rory: Hmm. Lauren Boros: And that was when the idea of the Noble Academy was born. And we went through all of the hoops and the process to open the Noble Academy in Chicago in 2014. I had the incredible joy and honor to lead that school for five years. And at that point, A bunch of things were true. One, there was an incredibly deep bench of assistant principals that were gonna do awesome, awesome work. two, I had gotten to the point where I'm I'm a builder. I like bringing things from zero to one. I like taking something from nothing or an idea to through, you know, execution and fruition. and and we were in year five and we were doing tremendous work and we had hit cruising altitude and At that moment I realized there's probably a better cruising altitude pilot than this one. Rory: Mm-hmm. Lauren Boros: and and then I also was ready for my next challenge. I wanted to figure out what was gonna be next for me. So I went to business school at that point. and that brought my family from Chicago to California. We were in Northern California, I went to Stanford, and after Stanford was doing some consulting work for different groups, mainly in education technology, and realize that I really love being on and leading teams. I don't really love independent consulting where you put together a plan and cross your fingers and hope it works. Rory: Mm-hmm. Lauren Boros: and at the same time a really at that she's a friend now, but at that time she was an acquaintance of an acquaintance. reached out and said, Hey, there's a a strategy role at Disney Studios. And I thought of you. Would you want an introduction? I said, wow, I I would, I'd love that. and what is the through line? I don't know yet, but I'm gonna figure it out before that interview, I'll tell you that. Rory: You know what? Life is live forward but learn backwards. I th all of this makes sense if you look back at your career from where you are now, but it you know, I in the moment at the cross section it never really does, so I get that. Lauren Boros: Totally. But I would say, Rory, like show me an industry that is more impactful in lives and the way we see ourselves and the way we see each other than media and entertainment. And it from Go, I wanted to work in a place of impact and I'm in that place, certainly. At the Walt Disney Company. Rory: connects better than Disney. No one will ever be able to catch it. I I I always say that. No matter how iconic other IP is, it's just Disney scene I have, you know, young kids now. You've you've you've met them. They it hits home. It's just Disney Disney Plus is just on RTV at all times. So I'm I get it. Lauren Boros: Certainly. And it matters the way that your kids see their culture and other cultures portrayed on screen. And it matters what their friends see on screen and how they perceive your kids. and that that really is impactful. And that's working in impact. And that's exactly where where I wanted to be, even if my little slice of Disney is so far removed from it all. so long story short, I was the Thrilled to join the studio technology team in content security. And Rory: Huh? Lauren Boros: I will I will quote my my first leader when he said, The reason I hired you is because you're an entrepreneur and I need you to take us from a team to an organization. And I said, I don't know how to do content security, but I do know how to do that. Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: and so on that team, which was a highly technical team of engineers with incredible expertise, I I was more strategy and operations and chief of staff and strategic advisor, Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: etc. And worked had had the immense pleasure of working with an incredible VP who mentored me and ultimately we we built, we did a lot of building of team. I think we hired 16 people, processes, operations, you know, strategic planning cycles, really putting putting everything in place for long term success. And then I said, okay, now what's next? I built. Now what's next? That is where we met. Rory: Mm-hmm. So that's what that's where we met. because I remember dis distinctly when we met, I was just a lowly staffer, you know, still working at studio tech, staffing for tech professionals. And I remember you said, I'm here and I'm helping with the onboarding. And remember thinking about while you're onboarding someone, I was like, This person is wildly underemployed if she is just doing onboarding. And I let her found out that you were like the chief of staff and everything else. But I remember the intro thinking, She seems much more capable than what she like as a just as a compliance and procurement person. no offense to that industry, obviously. But you know, knowing now as you explain the backstory of it, it's it it makes more sense that you were just so hands-on in everything that you do, that you were in that moment there to onboard somebody that needed help. Kudos to you. Lauren Boros: I mean, we did everything, you know, that's that's growing though, that's building, right? It's it's rolling your sleeves up and there's no job that's too little or below anybody. Like that's the the mindset of a founder and an entrepreneur. It's okay, someone needs to be onboarded and I need to figure out how to get them a computer, sure. I'm writing a five year growth plan for, you know, strategic whatever. Sure, all in the same day, you know. Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: That's that's just part of part of being lean and mean. Rory: Yeah, and and for our listeners, everyone should understand that when it comes to your career, you are your own entrepreneur, you are building your own business, your own brand. even if you're a founder, you're in sales, you're you're an entrepreneur, you have to wear a lot of different hats. And that's when you're building anything of import, you're gonna have to do a lot of different things. I think I'm seeing a through line there and and also you seem to be, you know, aligning with the right people. You know, I know the person you reference that you worked with at studios. I orbit around her currently in my current job and I'm I'm learn a lot from her anytime I'm in the same room with her. So and then you had a friend of a friend who got you into the strat from the strategy side to get you in the door at at Disney. That's you know, I'm seeing a through line here of you surrounding yourself with good people who have your best interest at hand as well. Lauren Boros: Certainly. It's all about the people. And, you know, I think networking feels like such a weird, dirty word to me for some reason. It shouldn't. But Rory: Stigmatized for sure. Yeah. Lauren Boros: for me it's really like following your curiosity to develop relationships. and you know, it's it's funny, actually one of the the first people at Disney with whom I networked, Is it I'm having dinner with her in two weeks and this was this was years and years ago and it was because she did a presentation, she was on a panel, and I just reached out cold and I said, When you said this, I lit up. and I would love to learn more about it. And she said, Sure, join one of my coffee chats because I'm sure I was one of tens of people who had reached out after the panel. And then after the coffee chat, I followed up and I said, Hey, I just saw this article that connected to something you said. and would love to chat about it. And she said, sure, let's get lunch. And now she's a dear friend. and and you know, you you never know where those relationships are going to lead if they're gonna be like quote unquote fruitful in terms of your career, but they will absolutely enrich your curiosity and introduce you to different parts of the organization. And and enrich your life, really, right? Like and and develop great friendships. And it's those things that, for example, when I was at the studios and developing relationships by following curiosity, right? I I wound up in her panel listening to what she was talking about because I was curious about diversity and representation, inclusion. It was, you know, other conversations or relationships through women's circles, for example, where I developed wonderful relationships with other women. And then from the studios, I I got a call from D to C that said, hey, we have this role and we'd love to talk to you about it. I have no idea where that connection came from. But I'm assuming it was someone passed my name to someone who passed it to someone because you follow your curiosity and somehow that web creates a a net a network that you get can Rory: Right. Lauren Boros: all onto, right? but that's like the the my second role at Disney when I moved into D to C and led a team called Strategic Projects didn't exist before I met that that leader. and had an amazing conversation and she came back and said, here's the role that that you know, I heard you, I heard what you like doing, I heard what you don't like doing, I heard what you're great at and what you don't want to do, and here's what I wrote for you. and it is charting your own course in that. In that way, and being very honest at a certain point, like this is what I really want to do, and this is what I really don't want to do. Rory: So that's really important to say because you are you, whether intentional or not, building a personal brand of this is what Lauren likes to do, this is what I what I'm chasing, this is what I want next. If that isn't vocalized, then people won't know it. And so maybe you were doing it on purpose, but either way, your reputation was preceding you and and what you were striving for. So I think that's really important to note, especially when trying to get promotions or even, you know, one of the more difficult conversations I have in my industry is when somebody wants to jump sections like I'm I'm in finance the last twenty years. I want to go into entertainment or I want to go into personal finance or and I'm dude have you worked in healthcare before? Do you know anyone there? No, I don't know anyone. I'm like, well no one's gonna take a a flyer on you if you haven't shown an interest or proven yourself or tried something on your own personal side. So I I didn't mean to interrupt but that's like a really, really important Lauren Boros: No, no, no drop. Rory: piece here as as you says as you're as you're curating a career. Lauren Boros: Yeah, I I think that that's really interesting b because I kind of did that, right? I was a high school principal and then I was like, yeah, I'm gonna Rory: Sure. Lauren Boros: go work in media and entertainment. What? and and would that would that leader have ever looked at my resume had I just cold applied to the Walt Disney Company? Absolutely not. And so it it truly is based on the relationships that you develop. One thing that that I had to deploy when trying to move from high school principal into anything else, really, was something that was was shared with me as an incredible piece of advice, which is I could describe what I did as a high school principal to a future employer by saying, you know, I recruited a founding class of about 200 students, I recruited founding teachers, I managed a budget of multimillion dollars. I created all of our sales materials to distribute to elementary schools. Our kids grew on average three points. We were, you know, had the most growth in of any school in our district. I could describe it all that way. Or I could say, I took an idea from nothing and I built something. We had a plan. We laid out the plan. We had goals and we achieved those goals. We were the highest performing in our category. We recruited customers of all different you know, students and teachers and staff, et cetera. We recruited all different customers from all over the city. We found a location. We managed a budget. I can talk about this in a way that you'd have no idea I was a a principal, right? I'm talking about making a plan, I'm talking about leading something. I'm talking about hiring. I'm talking about building something from scratch, getting people to buy into your vision. That is something that any hiring manager when interviewing someone can can relate to and say, dang, I want that on my team. But if I instead say, I I my our kids got three points growth on the SAT, I work in media and tech that has nothing to do with what we do. But if I say, hey, on our on our you know assessments, on the way that we measure our business. We were number one in our district. You know, that's a different way of sharing results that can translate. It's a skill and an accomplishment that can translate easily into any other world. Rory: That is a master class on how to write a resume right there. If anyone, I'm probably gonna clip that and put it on LinkedIn and say, don't ask me how to write a resume anymore. This is how it goes. Exactly right. Make it apples to apples, understand goal, what I was able to do, impact, all of that. That is that is very well said. And and and again, one of the reasons I was excited to have you on. And that's probably why people consider you for out-of-the-box ideas or starting new things, because you are. phrasing it and putting it in context in a way that otherwise you know people wouldn't look at it. So that's that's it. That's exactly what we're trying to convey here at this at this con during these conversations. so as you are making your way through Disney, I I'm gonna cue you here because we very famously during COVID we live nearby. We would do every once in a while we do a walk on the beach on the strand and you would catch me up on your work and I would catch you up on mine. and I'm gonna butcher this saying, but you you said When you apply for a job, and I need you to fix this for me, you only have two buckets in which to withdraw from. And you have personal or past performance, and then you have personal relationships. And I try to withdraw from both, especially when I'm applying for something internally. Now, that how badly did I butcher that? Is that close? Because it stuck with me for years. Lauren Boros: I mean it's not terrible. Hey, if that's how you perceived it and it was meaningful for you, then it's exactly how I intended it. Rory: well from there I can tell you in my since then, you know, because I have as a connector I t by trade, I found that I've been someone's applying for a job, I'm like, Hey, I know that person. Do you want me to write you a email on your behalf and tell them that you're like a great person to work with? And I've done that a lot and I don't think I ever would have thought to do that in the past. And it's become like common practice for me anytime I know someone personally that I can vouch for, especially if they're trying to jump industries. And we're living in a world now where some industries are ebbing and some are flowing and people are trying to move into those. So it's becoming more and more common. So you know, thank you for that as far as like the teacher becoming the student. I was I I learned a lot from that that thought process. Lauren Boros: I I think that when it's it's amazing that you offer to do that for people. And not everybody does, and very few people do, actually. And so it's Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: it's on the applicant to go and try and withdraw from personal relationships to deposit into that potential new job. And you know, someone said, Well, how how do you how do you do that? Do you just ask someone to write you a letter of recommendation or I said, well, and I I did that a lot. It's it's it's almost like like lobbying for yourself in a way, campaigning for yourself in a little bit. But Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: I remember I had a conversation with someone and I s I shared, I said, I I'm applying for this, for this role. And the person said, that's awesome. Like, good for you. You'd be so you'd be so great in that. And I said, you know, I said, I said, I I think I would too. I think that in terms of how it relates to your world, here's where I think I was talking to someone who works in our global business. And I was saying, you know, I think my experience taking something from domestic to global could be really applicable in that role, working with you. And he said, yeah, absolutely. Like that's exactly why your perspective would be so great in that role. And I said, if you find it appropriate, and maybe you don't, if you would shoot, you know, X a note saying so, I'd I'd really appreciate it. and that's it. Just Like in some way, because there don't there doesn't need to be 10 notes that say, I recommend this person for the role, right? But if someone from their role says, here's how hiring that person would serve me, now it's really meaningful and it's unique. And so then if if 10 come in, it's not, 10 Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: recommendations. It's okay, this is how it would work globally, and this is how it would work with the content team, and this is how it would work with product who seems to have another perspective on it too. And and you're kind of building your case through all of the relationships that you've built by following your curiosity. Rory: Mm-hmm. And even more so now with all the enhanced AI resumes and and misleading out there and slop for someone to to speak for someone, I've worked with this person, this was a real thing, this is how I made this work. And I think because of that, they could intersect very well and solve some problems for us here. That means more that that's like the real tender that we're using right now in the world, because of of all the misinformation. So I think even when you s when you first told me about that three or four years ago, that certainly wasn't the case. But now it's more important than ever. So so so moving into how did you get to the position you're in now? How was that because I think that was the next step in your career, is that right? Lauren Boros: Correct. Yes. So I moved. So I was at D to C, working with Disney Plus and with Hulu and and leading a small strategic projects team. And during my time there, we launched Disney Plus with ads. And so my team became very familiar with the ad sales team, in ad sales finance and in ad product, and was often connecting teams between that ad sales side and the D to C side, whether it's programming or D2C finance, et cetera, and and facilitated those connections. we were hope we were we were launching sponsorships on Disney Plus, which is now what what my team does, and developed great relationships across that team. and then they had a leadership change. And so we started working with the the deputies on that team. and then, you know, fast forward six months, I get on a one-on-one that I have with someone who is again like tangential to my role, but more so a pal, and I was curious and I asked to learn and and then we ended up meeting monthly and she arrived and she said, I'm s I'm sorry I'm a little bit late. I was I was interviewing for this role's backfill. And I I said, huh. I said, should I be that role's backfill? Almost kidding, Rory. And she said, That's an interesting idea. I said, Well, that's a thought that's gonna fester now. and thought about it. And and I I kind of sat down and said, Okay, what are the three headlines? What are the three reasons why I could be the perfect person for this role? And Interviews had already started, clearly, because she was running from one. and I reached out to to the team and I said, Here are the reasons that I think I could be great in this role and would you be open to a conversation? And then I was able to join the applicant pool and go through the process, and and ultimately ended up in this role, which I love, love, love. I work in our ad sales organization within client partnerships. and my team is Streaming Solutions. and so we do all sponsorships on Disney Plus and Hulu content. So anytime a brand wants to partner with us and leverage our IP on our platform, whether that's product placement or integrations or media sponsorships or custom content and co-marketing spots. That is that's my team. Rory: Yeah, and and sometimes you have tall some not all your ideas make it to the t to the screen, but some of your integration ideas are amazing. And I would take a note, just you know, most people interview or go for a job and they're kind of on the defensive. Here's my background, here's why I'd be a fit. You, I can hear it, are more proactive about Here are the problems your team currently has that I could solve. And here's why. Here's how I see it from my perspective. That completely changes, it puts the manager, you know, this person's already thinking about having the job. They're already moving past the interview. I think, you know, you are blazing a path in your own mind of of how to solve these problems. I think that's really important. You know, you know, I I when I interview for jobs, I come in with like a 30, 60 put day. Well, here's 30, 60, 90, what I would do. I always like whenever I interview, like, here's what I here's what I know about your company, here's what I'm really good at, here's how I could fix your problems. I never go in and be like, I led my team and did this. I did this. All of that is already on a resume. It's on LinkedIn. I'm sure they've heard me talk about myself at some point on a podcast, right? But you're doing you the way you say it out loud too is just here is some, you know, from my perspective, here's what I see. And really invaluable. I don't know if it's reflexive for you or intentional, but you seemingly do it. really well and I just wanted people here, people who listen to this to hear the story, especially students entering the workforce, because you know, you if you just read off your major and your interests to an interviewer, they're gonna be, you know, they're gonna, you're gonna blend in a little bit too much to in order to stand out, it's you know, here's what I can bring to your company if you hire someone like me. Cause it's certainly not about what you've done, it's about what you're going to do. Lauren Boros: Absolutely. Absolutely. And nobody I'm the people that I want to hire are the people that have thought about our business in a way that I might not have yet. Rory: Yes. Lauren Boros: right? Like I and and in an interview, that's exactly what you want to get across that you've thought about it, here's a different way of looking at it, here's a new perspective, right? Like I I always think about framing lack of experience as a fresh perspective. Right. It's not that I'm not experienced there. It's that, you know what, my background's different. I'm gonna bring a f a fresh perspective to this. because it's true, it's val it's it's not it's not smoke and mirrors, right? Like it's it's valuable. Exactly. Rory: That's great. So it's very true. Like if you want more of the same, go hire someone else. That's that's like a very powerful statement. Cause I'm sure everyone is looking to change and transform right now. So so I so I always have a couple questions to wrap this up. one is what advice would you give a 21-year-old one? Lauren Boros: specifically to me, my gosh. I'm like, I tell myself to eat healthier, stop going out so late. Rory: What is what is the or just the twenty year old version of yourself coming up right now. Lauren Boros: okay, I I would say one deep breath because your your first job, your next job is not your last. And find something that is tangential to something that interests you. So I'll give you what an example of what I'm talking about. When I was first gonna start at the Walt Disney company within studio technology and content security, again, very technical expertise, not my background, and candidly, not necessarily my interest, right? I said to a friend of mine, I'm really excited about that I, you know, got a job offer, but how am I gonna get excited about content security? And he said something brilliant. He said, You're not. What you're gonna get excited about is being at Disney and all of the different places that you're gonna learn in an incredible company that has incredible internal mobility. And this role is not your forever role. No role is your forever role, right? So you're gonna get excited about your future from that vantage point. And I thought that that's that's what I wish I knew a long time ago. That my Rory: Wow. Lauren Boros: next role is not my forever role. My next role is but a lily pad along the way. Rory: that's really good. do you have a book that you're reading or one that you would recommend to our group, to our listeners? Or and and Lauren Boros: gosh. Rory: I also asked that of a TV show, so it's kind of a two-parter. Lauren Boros: Okay, Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: right now I'm reading historical fiction and so I don't that's not the one that I want to be leaving people with. Here's what I'll say. Okay. if you have any aspiration for leadership, I would highly recommend Patrick Lincioni's books. he writes in allegory. and will the five dysfunctions of a team the ideal team player and really creates these paradigms or these templates that you can apply to your industry or your role whether you're a leader or not to create an amazing workplace and a culture because we know that that trumps strategy you know all day long Rory: It's strategy all day, yeah. Lauren Boros: huh culture eats strategy breakfast lunch and dinner Rory: Yeah. Lauren Boros: and and so That's where I I would say learned learned the most about how to create a culture where people feel seen and valued and and enjoy enjoy their work. Rory: Amazing. Okay. And any T V shows you're watching? It doesn't have to be on Disney. Don't feel obliged to to push the company product. Lauren Boros: I mean, I have to watch all of our stuff for my job. So it's very hard Rory: That's fair. Lauren Boros: to watch elsewhere. I love Furious right now on Hulu. I will plug our stuff because I think our stuff is amazing. I'm also deep in Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which Rory: Mm. Lauren Boros: you know, the drama is just so juicy and keeps it's the gift that keeps on giving. Rory: I mean people people in the South Bay are talking about both of those. I I last last party I was at, th those two came up, so you're right on you're right on let's take on target. Lauren Boros: Amazing, amazing. And then I also love Ted Blasso and I'm enjoying the the season about the women's league. Rory: Okay. Yeah, I I always tell everyone I'm like if it doesn't have a singing animal in it, I haven't seen it yet. So that's all I'm that's where I am right now. so I'm I'm useless in that space. But this is great. for those of you where can we find you if people want to get in touch with you after hearing this? Lauren Boros: on LinkedIn. Easy. On LinkedIn. Lauren Boros. Rory: Awesome. and then you can find this podcast at the Career Catalyst Podcast at Apple iTunes. You can find us on the YouTube channel, Career Catalyst Podcast. And then also we stream everything from our website at the ITCareAcademy.com. Lauren, this was as good as I was expecting it to be. Thank you so much for coming. Lauren Boros: thank you so much for having me. Such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Rory: Excellent.