George B. Thomas
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What does it look like to build a values-led career, lead humans with heart, and still make room for rest? Today’s guest, Alana Lovett-Griffin, takes us there with honesty, clarity, and joy.
Origin to Ops
Alana began her professional journey as a school psychologist in K–12, leading multidisciplinary teams to support students with special needs. That experience sharpened her ability to listen deeply, weigh complexity, and build plans that meet people where they are.
Later, she stepped into the startup world, then into association life, and eventually to HubSpot, where she leads a team of Partner Development Managers who coach Solutions Partners to go to market, scale, and flourish on the platform.
Her path is not a straight line. It is a series of rooms where she learned new ways to serve. Today, she is four years into HubSpot, energized by the people, the work, the growth, and the possibility. Also on her radar: rest and family. She’s dreaming about a future sabbatical filled with sleep and travel with her two young kids.
“Success is inner peace. It is accepting the, humanity and the experience.” — Alana Lovett-Griffin
A Cost Paid
Early in tech, Alana noticed how often she was the only one who looked like her. As a Black woman, she sometimes chose to shrink to be seen as “reliable” and “low maintenance.” That changed. She did the inner work, owned her identity, and stopped making herself small.
“I am proud to show up as a black woman in a space where I am underrepresented.” — Alana Lovett-Griffin
The turning point wasn’t a perfect moment. It was a series of reflections, language shifts, and boundary-setting choices that made her leadership more honest and more freeing.
Alana learned some lessons the hard way. At the NFL Players Association, she had ideas and pushed them loudly. The ideas were strong. The approach didn’t fit the culture or the change cadence. She left. Later, at a blockchain-credentialing startup that was acquired, she tried to operationalize DEI during a volatile market and pandemic headwinds. The initiative stalled, the product was deprioritized, and the role no longer aligned with her values.
She reframed the setback: your position is not your value. Do the work that matches your values and the outcomes you care about. That clarity led her to HubSpot and to the peace she carries now.
Empowerment in Practice
Empowerment used to mean adding more. More titles. More pressure. More doing. Now, empowerment means becoming more herself, protecting peace, and leading from alignment. That shows up in how she manages people, how she sets boundaries, and how she creates.
A recent proud moment: she launched “That Girl, Reimagined,” posting candid reflections on limiting beliefs across LinkedIn and Substack. She put her voice out there, discovered how many others needed it, and kept going.
That is leadership. That is operations in motion: clarify the goal, reduce the friction, ship the thing.
Looking Ahead with HubSpot
Yes, AI. The fun part is not the buzz. It is the creativity. For Alana, AI is about freeing humans to do more human work. Less manual analysis. More coaching, strategy, and conversation. As a people manager, that resonates. Use the tools to augment your team so they can flourish, not to replace the heart of the work.
Alana’s story is a practical path for leaders who want both outcomes and inner steadiness:
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Own your identity so your presence has room to breathe.
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Match your work to your values so your energy is sustainable.
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Treat setbacks as data so your next move is smarter.
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Use tools to buy back time for the human parts of leadership.
Reflect & Act
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Where am I shrinking in rooms that need the full me?
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What work aligns with my values, and what needs to change this quarter?
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Which tasks can tech handle so I can coach, connect, and create?
