TED Chief Program & Strategy Officer: Career Growth Secrets ‼️ GUEST!! Monique Ruff-Bell | Ep. 447

If your career path feels like a loop instead of a launchpad, this candid convo is your blueprint for building something smarter on purpose. Jay Schwedelson and Monique Ruff-Bell - Chief Program & Strategy Officer, TED - get into how to stop waiting for permission, add new lanes to your skill set, and turn curiosity, courage, and "how can I help?" into real leadership opportunities. ㅤ Connect with Monique on LinkedIn and use her Linktree to dig into her talks, leadership insights, and ways to learn from her work. ㅤ Best Moments: (01:09) Monique traces a 25 year journey across events, media, and fintech into a TED leadership role created specifically for how she operates. (02:57) The lightbulb moment where she rejects a single lane career and starts intentionally stacking cross functional skills to become executive ready. (06:09) A playbook for embedding with sales, joining calls, shaping packages, and becoming the revenue partner everyone wants on their side. (09:01) How offering help first naturally turns senior relationships into real mentorship and sponsorship without the cringey formal ask. (14:30) The story of jumping too fast for a new role, why it backfired, and how it reshaped how she evaluates growth and red flags. (16:32) Behind the scenes at TED on why powerful talks are built around one sharp idea, supported by story, rigor, and serious coaching. ㅤ Check out Jay’s YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson Check out Jay’s TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelson Check Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/