Kelly Vaughn
Engineering leader. modernleader.is
- Flying from ATL (near record cold) to LAX (near-record high) tomorrow and packing for this trip is very confusing
- Anyway, I have unfortunately found another thing to monetize
- Just wrapped up my final cohort of Engineering Leadership in the AI Era yesterday. Grateful to have taught this course 10 times (7 times through Maven). But I have new course ideas that demand my attention now! You can still take the self-paced course here: course.modernleader.is/courses/mana...
- (spends hours working on a blog post and shares on linkedin) linkedin: you get 912 views. don't ask for more.
- 3 weeks post-op tomorrow 4 weeks until the next surgery 10 weeks until I can stop washing my compression leggings every single day
- We’re still figuring out how to incorporate AI into our day-to-day. The risk with “AI-ifying everything” is that we strip away the parts of work people actually enjoy. The good news: this is solvable. Here’s my take on where we are in the AI adoption journey: www.modernleader.is/p/what-happe...
- Tomorrow's newsletter is a good one 👀 Sign up to receive it tomorrow morning: modernleader.is
- Today: mourn yet another preventable execution Tomorrow: increase shareholder value
- New on After Burnout: The mental math of taking time off afterburnout.co/p/medical-le...
- I think I’ll be a mummy for Halloween this year. By the time I’m done with all 3 surgeries, I’ll certainly have enough ACE wraps to cover my whole body
- Well that was a heartbreaking end
- If you’re wondering what I’ve been doing while on medical leave…
- I’ve talked a bit about having lipedema on here (a connective tissue disorder that causes a buildup of fat that can’t be burned by diet and exercise and has to be surgically removed). I’m 7 days post-op #1 of 3 surgeries - nearly 5L removed. I’m still very swollen but I have actual calf definition!
- Post op day 7 Good news: I can now walk up stairs Bad news: I cannot walk down stairs
- Post op day 3: swollen legs make for a great table
- 72 hours post-op and I’m trying really hard to not be productive. I’ve read 2 books, watched all of Heated Rivalry, and I’m almost caught up on The Traitors. I still have 10 more days of intentional do-nothingness. Who knew recovering from surgery would be a mental game too?
- 48 hours post op. Swelling is really starting to kick in and it doesn’t feel super great but I knew it was coming. Still walking around every 2-3 hours and drinking a ton of water.
- New on The Modern Leader this week: While “good communication” is an important skill, it should be treated as table stakes and not the one to highlight. I cover three others that are worthy of your attention. www.modernleader.is/p/the-skills...
- The 2026 Reset Challenge officially kicks off tomorrow! If you’re signed up, Day 1’s email will be in your inbox at 6am ET. If you’re not signed up, you still have time! 👉 modernleader.is/reset
- First and final race before surgery next week!
- Happy Mayor Mamdani day to those who celebrate
- Officially 7 days until surgery! 1 week! Time has flown by
- It may technically be a holiday tomorrow, but Modern Leader All Access members will still get their January leadership playbook! Get yours (and past playbooks) by signing up for All Access: modernleader.is/upgrade
- Seeing folks interact with and share my content makes me so incredibly happy 🥹
