Diana Langston completed her Certificate of Business Excellence (COBE) with a heightened sense of confidence and strength in her leadership abilities as a woman in the ranks of high tech.
“Completing the COBE program gave me confidence to pursue my dream of being an exec and to push myself outside of my comfort zone, become a more empathetic people leader, and evolve my craft and strategic skills as a product leader. I’ll be forever grateful for the self-awareness and growth this program brought into my life. I can’t wait to see where the future leads me!” she says.
Diana is currently Sr. Director of Product at Iterable, maker of a customer communication and engagement platform where she oversees a team of eight product managers, and a large portfolio of products for the organization’s Messaging team. Diana was instrumental in building the team from the ground up. She now provides day-to-day oversight for solving the challenges that marketers and consumers face in interacting with their customers, wherever they are, in real-time and on a personalized basis.
A Lifelong Learner
Diana has always loved to learn and is regularly taking courses and workshops to increase her knowledge and skills, both professionally and personally. “Learning is innately part of who I am. I’ve always had to embrace new things and expand my skill set throughout my career, especially being in product – I love that about my work. On a personal level, I look to embrace things that bring me peace and happiness. I recently picked up acrylic painting, and for me, it’s another avenue for self-reflection and enjoying quiet moments of solitude.”
In 2019, Diana found herself at a professional crossroad. She was ready to move into a leadership role, which she knew would require an evolution of self-awareness and growth, and she wanted support in learning how to make the transition.
UC Berkeley Stood Out
Being a native Californian and growing up in the Bay Area, Diana had always aspired to attend UC Berkeley, and when comparing UC Berkeley's executive education programs to other top universities, she says UC Berkeley stood out. “Berkeley was above the rest. The programs sounded fantastic, and I admire their history of challenging norms, accepting diversity, and being a voice for change. My dream of attending UC Berkeley shifted into focus and became a reality,” she explains. “Attending UC Berkeley at this stage in my life and career has made the experience more meaningful to me.”
COBE Journey
Diana’s first program was Women’s Executive Leadership. “I found it so inspiring that I signed up for the full COBE process at the end of the course.” The course helped her understand how to build presence, exude confidence, project her voice, and operate effectively. “This course empowered me with confidence to go after what I want, and let go of previous stage fright. I was able to discover my voice in a new way, and embrace who I am as a leader.”
Diana took High-Impact Leadership online. “It was fantastic. I loved the energy, level of engagement, and storytelling techniques we practiced.” Diana says she learned, modified, and incorporated meeting techniques to build connection and meaning within her own team. “That was particularly useful since I work at a company that is 100 percent remote,” she explains.
In the Product Management program, Diana was moved by the innovation session with Dr. Peter Wilton. “This program was so inspiring – I still reflect on it often. It opened my mind to new ways of thinking about disruptive innovation and reframing within an existing, competitive marketspace, and the jobs-to-be-done frameworks that Dr. Sara Beckman taught us were invaluable.”
“Artificial Intelligence was a fantastic program!” She says that as a product leader, she must understand where technology is headed to make informed decisions. “I enjoyed diving into the capabilities, strengths, and shortcomings of AI technologies. The program provides the tools you need as a leader to really think about AI strategically for your business.” Diana says the program also helped her learn how to keep ethics and privacy at the forefront of AI decision making.
An Amazing Experience
In closing, Diana says her experience was “… nothing short of amazing. I’ve met a lot of fantastic people. I’ve expanded my network, but most of all, I have loved being around other people who are choosing to learn and evolve.”
