19. Holding Space for Dani Burns

19. Holding Space for Dani Burns

From Holding Space for Unicorns by Alicia Payne

June 22, 2025 · 37 min · Season 1 · Episode 19

About this episode

Alicia Payne interviews Dani Burns about her non-linear career path and the importance of mentorship and authenticity in leadership.

EPISODE 19! I finally had the pleasure of sitting down with Dani Burns for our 19th episode of Holding Space for Unicorns. Dani a product and business leader with a passion for building thoughtful products, high performing teams, and mentoring others. During our chat, we touched on the following topics: A career doesn't have to have a linear path to be great – From welding to product leadership, Dani’s journey has been all about following her curiosity. Passion is a compass – Let what excites you guide your next step. For Dani, that meant pivoting from M&A to product strategy. Mentorship matters – Be brave enough to ask. People are often more than willing to share their time and wisdom. Unmask to lead – Dani shares how shedding corporate armour helped her lead with authenticity, empathy, and strength. Redefining success – She doesn’t aim to be “special” — just real. Her philopsophy- If she can do it, others can too. Dani is currently Head of Product at Uptick and you can connect with her on Linkedin here About Alicia Payne Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia. Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and…

People in this episode

Host: Alicia Payne

Guest: Dani Burns

Topics covered

  • career paths
  • mentorship
  • authentic leadership
  • product strategy
  • success redefinition

Keywords

  • career
  • mentorship
  • leadership
  • product management
  • success

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Uptick

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