Supermanagers: Recent Episodes
Fellow.app
Supermanagers, brought to you by the team at Fellow.app, is the podcast for managers and leaders who want to become better at leading teams and organizations.
Aydin Mirzaee, CEO at Fellow.app, interviews world-class executives about the habits, thought patterns, and experiences that have helped them become the leaders they are today.
Aydin and Kieran Klaassen (Cora) unpack Compound Engineering—treating every task as an investment so the next time is faster. Kieran shares his path from film composer to startup CTO and live-demos how he plans → prototypes → ships a feature using AI agents (Claude Code), then runs multi-agent reviews. They discuss why managers are primed to orchestrate agents, how to capture your own feedback patterns, and why there’s “no excuse not to have a prototype” anymore.Timestamps0:07 — “Every piece of work should be an investment.”2:15 — What Cora is: an AI Gmail layer that auto-archives ~80% and briefs you twice daily.3:32 — Launch notes & early user reactions.5:21 — The Claude Code pricing saga and “finding the limits.”8:06 — Compound Engineering defined (codify how you work so AI does it next time).15:01 — From “automation” to pattern-capturing systems; natural-language rules over brittle workflows. 22:03 — Demo kickoff: planning the “Invite friends” improvement inside Cora.26:11 — Rapid mockups from a screenshot + voice description; iterate in seconds.33:06 — Multi-agent planning: repo research, best-practices scout, framework researcher.41:01 — Human judgment on plans; simplify when encryption/perf add hidden complexity.50:00 — Feature running end-to-end; agentic PR + test flow; sub-agent code reviews.Tools & Technologies MentionedCora — AI inbox copilot for Gmail that prioritizes, summarizes, and drafts replies; batches the rest into twice-daily briefs.Claude Code (Anthropic) — Agentic coding/terminal assistant used for planning, building, and reviews.Monologue — Voice-to-text for quickly describing UI and generating mockups.Every.to — Partner/design/content hub Kieran collaborates with; also publishes his writing on Compound Engineering.GitHub + GitHub CLI — Issues, branches, PRs automated by agents from plan → code → review.VS Code (with Claude Code extension) — IDE setup for hands-on edits when needed.Anthropic Console Prompt Generator — Used to scaffold robust prompts/agents, then refined manually.Model mix for reviews (e.g., “GPT-5 Codecs,” “Claude Opus”) — Alternative model passes for plan/code critique.Fellow.ai — Aydin’s AI meeting assistant for accurate notes, actions, and privacy-aware summaries.Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
Content marketer and video lead Emily Kensley (Fellow) walks through a near-zero-friction workflow for creating polished product videos fast. She records clean, auto-animated screen demos with Screen Studio, fixes (or replaces) audio with Podcastle (Magic Dust + AI voices), and drafts scripts by riffing into a Fellow meeting then refining the transcript in ChatGPT. The result: 11-minute, brand-consistent tutorials produced in hours instead of days—repeatable by any team (marketing, CS, product, sales).Timestamps01:19 — Daily use of AI; from occasional to constant over last 6 months01:53 — What you’ll learn: a minimal-human, video-centric content workflow03:41 — Tool #1 intro: Screen Studio for screen recordings05:27 — Live capture of an AI meeting recap demo (click-through highlights, actions, decisions)06:23 — Raw → instant output: auto-smoothing cursor paths & smart zooms (no manual keyframes)07:23 — Host example: using Screen Studio for a Zapier + Fellow automation video07:44 — “Done is better than perfect”: quick crop fixes, branded backgrounds, cursor presets08:24 — Team presets = consistent brand across departments09:44 — Tool #2 intro & story: Podcastle rescues a day of bad mic audio10:59 — Podcastle audio editor: noise reduction, levelling, silence removal12:10 — Magic Dust AI demo: echoey room → studio-quality voice13:38 — AI Voices in Podcastle: when to clone vs. pick a preset (e.g., “Abigail”)16:12 — Long-form scripts → generated narration in minutes; edit/regenerate on typos17:54 — Brand consistency: shared voice so any team can ship VO18:29 — Putting it together: Screen Studio video + Podcastle narration19:24 — Finished example: Fellow YouTube settings walkthrough (11-minute tutorial)21:06 — Syncing visuals to VO: record screen while listening to the generated narration22:59 — Script creation workflow: Fellow call → transcript → ChatGPT → clean script23:34 — Full recap of the end-to-end pipeline25:01 — Repurposing: scripts → blogs, help center, CS clips; scale breadth of tutorials26:28 — Looking ahead: excitement about fast-evolving AI agentsTools & Technologies Mentioned (with quick notes)Screen Studio — Smart screen recorder that auto-smooths mouse movement, adds tasteful zoom/pan animations, and supports brand presets for consistent output.Podcastle — Audio suite used here to edit audio clipsMagic Dust AI: one-click studio-quality enhancement (denoise, de-reverb, leveling).AI Voices & Voice Cloning: generate narration from text; keep brand-consistent VO.Fellow — AI Meeting assistant used to host a solo “idea dump,” generate transcripts, AI recaps, chapters, and action items; doubles as the seed for scripts.ChatGPT — Refines raw Fellow transcript into a clean, concise voiceover script.YouTube — Publishing destination for finished tutorials.Zapier — Example in host’s Screen Studio demo (automation with Fellow).Google Meet / Zoom — Where the solo Fellow “recording” session can happen.Adobe (Premiere/After Effects) — Old manual workflow stand-ins (contrast to auto animations).Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
Eddie Yoon, Sr Director, Paid Media at NP Digital, shows how CMOs can spin up a full creative campaign in ~30 minutes using AI. He breaks down a rapid “three-tab” workflow—Meta Ad Library for competitive research, GPT for strategy and prompts, and an image generator (Reeve) for instant mood boards—then extends it into testing (Trial Reels, TikTok hooks), product R&D, and agentic pipelines. We also riff on why the next decade could normalize solo billionaire founders, how Netflix foreshadowed AI-driven content, and what real-time, stylized, monetizable media will look like.
Timestamps
1:07 Meet Eddie Yoon—NP Digital, paid social × creative × AI background.
1:49 “AI is redefining growth”: blistering company speed and scale.
2:16 The solo-founder era & agentic executive teams.
4:39 Enterprise example: HubSpot’s leadership going all-in on AI.
5:29 Founder example: Tyler at Beehive—shipping fast by listening + acting.
6:30 Design & media: Netflix’s early AI play; House of Cards data story.
11:29 The 30-minute campaign challenge—Eddie’s live plan.
12:53 The three tabs: Meta Ad Library → GPT prompts → Reeve mockups.
14:37 Copy/paste every active ad into GPT; ask for strategy synthesis.
16:06 Five “board-level” ideas; forcing a single high-acceptance pitch.
17:56 Image prompt for “Comfort 2.0” (eco-luxury, performance lifestyle).
20:27 Prompting hack: “200+ IQ” to push for originality (avoid clichés).
21:06 Locking on Comfort 2.0—“performance tech meets everyday life.”
23:06 Iterating the mood board; feeding outputs back into GPT.
23:30 If the client has the shoe already: do it all in AI (no photoshoot).
24:39 Rapid tests: ethnicity, angle, color; Instagram Trial Reels.
26:03 Beyond ads: full-funnel → product design & R&D with agents.
27:24 100-page competitor deep dives from public signals.
28:26 Scoring system (cutoff 85; 95+ are “winners”) to prioritize assets.
30:13 Spinning GPT outputs into 10 TikTok hooks for creators/founders.
31:32 Domain-tuned agents that deliver 90%-ready work.
33:13 What’s next: automatic video analysis and creative fixes.
34:13 Next 12 months: IP-driven brands, real-time stylized video, avatars.
35:43 Meta: capturing AI audio; partner via your agent in the future.
36:12 Why solo $1B is realistic (and $100M solos even more so).
Tools & Technologies Mentioned (with quick notes)
Meta Ad Library — Public index of active FB/IG ads; great for competitive creative research.
GPT — Used to analyze competitor ads, generate board-level strategies, image prompts, TikTok hooks, and run scoring frameworks.
Reeve — Static image generator (Midjourney-like) for fast mood boards and spec creative.
Midjourney — Alternative image generation tool for photorealistic concepts.
VO3 — Motion/video generation tool referenced for animated concepts.
Instagram Trial Reels — Organic test surface to gauge hooks/creatives with cold audiences before spend.
TikTok — Distribution + hook testing via short scripts for creators/founders.
Semrush — Search/keyword intel to complement social competitive analysis.
SocialPeta — Creative/spend intelligence (legacy use; less relied upon now).
AI Avatars & Agentic Flows — Persona-based creators and multi-agent pipelines to speed research, ideation, testing, and post-mortems.
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode, Alexandra Sunderland (VP of Engineering at Fellow) pulls back the curtain on how she runs engineering with agentic workflows that actually move the needle: background coding agents in Cursor that fix bugs while she’s in meetings, Claude + MCPs to query Linear and auto-generate reports in seconds, and Zapier pipelines that turn meeting transcripts into daily briefs, real-time project risk pings, sales insights, and even 1:1 growth trackers. The theme: make conversations computable, specialize agents narrowly, and wire every tool together so ops happen while you sleep.Timestamps1:11 — Background: 13+ yrs with Aydin; author of Remote Engineering Management.2:13 — What is an “agent”? Alexandra’s practical definition (automation + LLM).3:39 — Why specialized agents beat general ones (Sept 2025 reality check).5:25 — Cursor background agents via Slack VIP notifications—coding while she’s away.8:00 — Hackathon: hand-built dev productivity dashboard vs. Claude + Linear MCP.10:38 — Why use Claude here instead of Cursor: downloadable PDFs & exploratory insights.13:03 — Interface shift: logging into Linear/GitHub less; notify via Slack instead.14:21 — Plan: live workflows that leaders can copy.15:31 — Workflow #1: Daily Brief in Zapier (9:00 a.m. trigger → transcripts → CoS-style digest).18:00 — Slack example of the generated daily brief.20:22 — Workflow #2: Project Meeting Insights—real-time blockers & cross-team risks.22:00 — Prompting style (“best VP of Eng in the world”) and why it helps.26:40 — Idea: an “Alexandra agent” that drafts her responses.27:59 — Workflow #3: Sales call mining → bug/feature requests for Eng.29:14 — Next step: Cursor agents created via API—fixes ready for human review minutes after calls.30:23 — Rolling Cursor to product & success; non-engineers leverage code context.31:16 — Auto-drafting help center docs with Cursor that can browse.32:34 — Future: docs auto-update—or vanish into on-demand LLM answers.34:52 — Workflow #4 (WIP): 1:1 growth tracker—extract coaching, strengths, feedback into a living doc.37:41 — Sales coaching automation: enforce key phrases/objection handling.38:10 — Playbook: start with simple “yesterday’s conversations → insights,” then stack.39:24 — Next 12 months: tools connecting to each other, patterns across datasets.Tools & Technologies Mentioned (with quick notes)Cursor — AI-powered code editor with background agents (cloud-run) and Slack integration for async coding and fixes.Cursor Background Agents API — Programmatically spin up agents to implement bug fixes/features for later human review.Slack (VIP Notifications) — Marking the Cursor app as VIP ensures agent updates punch through Do Not Disturb.Claude — LLM used with MCPs to query data sources (e.g., Linear), generate PDFs, surface trends, and build ad-hoc reports.MCP (Model Context Protocol) — Standard to connect LLMs to tools/data (e.g., Linear) for live, permissioned operations.Linear — Issue/project tracker; source for ticket analytics (resolution rates, triage time, stage durations).Zapier — No-code automations; schedules, filters, formats, makes API calls, and runs AI by Zapier LLM steps.Fellow.ai — AI meeting assistant capturing summaries, actions, decisions; acts as an “AI chief of staff” across meetings.GitHub — Code hosting referenced as a UI Alexandra now visits less thanks to agentic workflows.Google Docs / Notion / Wiki — Destinations for auto-appending 1:1 growth notes and team principles.APIs (custom + vendor) — Zapier “Webhooks by Zapier”/custom API calls used to fetch transcripts and trigger agents.Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode, Aydin chats with brothers Emil and Cassy—founders behind Hoppier (snack stipends for teams) and Postbeam (an AI-native LinkedIn content engine). They show how transcripts, voice interfaces, and AI browsers can 10× content output and product velocity for small teams. Demos include: turning transcripts into LinkedIn posts, Postbeam’s “Marv” voice interview, Vercel v0 mockups, and Perplexity’s Comet browser agent. The theme: tiny teams, mighty outcomes—when AI is baked into every workflow.
Timeline & Timestamps
01:08 – Hoppier origin: ~1,200 customers, profitable, still founder-run.
03:57 – Why transcripts are gold for creating unlimited content.
05:06 – Demo: pulling a podcast transcript into Claude → strong LinkedIn post hooks.
08:55 – Volume matters: consistency wins; learning from creators like Pablo.
11:15 – Remix vs. original insights: two formulas for content that works.
14:38 – From process to product: Postbeam lands early paying customers.
16:26 – Inside Postbeam: sources, remixing, images, and multi-team member voices.
18:33 – Demo: Marv voice feature interviews you to capture authentic tone.
24:21 – Building with AI: using Vercel v0 for rapid UI mockups and team feedback.
29:16 – Aydin’s day job plug: Fellow.ai meeting assistant.
31:36 – Replit vs. V0 vs. Lovable: pros, cons, and caution for prod-grade apps.
35:58 – Comet browser demo: finding Toyota RAV4s on Marketplace with AI.
42:42 – Tiny but mighty: Postbeam (2 founders + Gen Z cousin) and Hoppier (7-figure biz with 4 ppl).
Tools & Technologies Mentioned
Claude (Anthropic) — Generates LinkedIn posts from transcripts.
ElevenLabs / YouTube Transcript Tools — For pulling transcripts.
Postbeam — AI LinkedIn content engine.
Marv (inside Postbeam) — Voice interview AI to capture tone.
Vercel v0 — Natural language → React UI mockups.
Replit / Lovable / Cursor — AI coding platforms, with tradeoffs.
Perplexity’s Comet Browser — Agentic browser for automated browsing.
Whisper Flow — Voice-first workflow automation.
Fellow.ai — AI meeting assistant.
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
Host Aydin Mirzaee welcomes Marquis Murray, productivity consultant and YouTuber, to share how AI agents are transforming day-to-day work. Marquis walks through live demos connecting Claude to Asana via MCP to auto-build projects from transcripts, generate executive-ready status PDFs, and create “AI teammates” in Asana that triage requests, draft briefs, write emails/blogs, and route approvals—keeping humans in the loop. Once you see it, you won’t go back to manual setup.
Timestamps
0:06 – Why manual project planning is over; AI compresses weeks into minutes.
0:17 – Introducing Marquis Murray.
0:43 – Starting the YouTube channel during lockdowns; documenting Asana learnings.
2:06 – From corporate to consulting; helping teams adopt Asana, HubSpot, Zoom, Slack.
4:05 – Making companies more productive with AI and integrations.
4:53 – Today’s plan: Claude + Asana + agents.
6:06 – Using Claude as a “central AI” via MCP.
8:17 – Building a Customer Appreciation Event project in Asana directly from Claude.
12:20 – Custom fields/sections: what connectors can and can’t create.
13:06 – Finished example: phases, tasks, owners, dates.
14:05 – Feeding transcripts and docs to generate realistic demo projects.
19:05 – “If you’re not doing this yet, start today.”
19:42 – Pulling Asana status into Claude and exporting a polished PDF.
23:34 – Exec-friendly reports: progress bars, metrics, priorities.
24:50 – Asana AI Studio: agents as virtual teammates.
27:23 – Auto-correcting human errors: naming, missing info, duplicates.
29:02 – Agents rename tasks, create briefs, draft assets.
35:42 – Agents gatekeep incomplete requests; ask for specifics.
37:13 – AI-generated campaign brief, email, and blog drafts.
39:08 – Human-in-the-loop approvals before going live.
43:01 – Triage demo: vague video request → structured follow-ups.
45:25 – Auto-created subtasks to collect missing details.
46:33 – “Easy mode” for building agents with natural language.
47:03 – Marquis’s wish: a true AI chief of staff that restructures your day.
48:56 – Where to find Marquis’s tutorials; wrap-up.
Tools & Technologies Mentioned
Asana — Project management platform; AI Studio builds rule/LLM agents (“teammates”).
Claude (Anthropic) — AI assistant used for brainstorming, MCP connections, summaries.
Perplexity — AI search and research assistant.
HubSpot / Salesforce / Jira — CRM/dev tools commonly integrated with Asana workflows.
Zoom & Slack — Core collaboration stack surfaced during remote shift.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) — Lets LLMs securely interact with external tools like Asana.
Fellow.ai — AI meeting assistant for accurate summaries, action items, and insights.
Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Canva — Connected apps Claude can use to orchestrate work.
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Ali Pourshahid, Chief Engineering Officer at Solace, to explore how he’s woven AI into his daily routines as a technology executive. Ali shares real demos of how he uses Solace’s Agent Mesh and other AI tools to:
Generate security-focused slide decks from Confluence in minutes
Schedule a 12-person leadership offsite without lifting a finger
Transform messy Word reports into polished heat maps for government updates
Automate customer support workflows across Jira, CRM, and internal systems
Ali also breaks down how Solace is productizing their internal AI system, why agent-to-agent communication (A2A) is critical, and how to build a culture of experimentation with “AI champions” inside your company.
This is a masterclass in how executives can stop just “keeping up” with AI—and instead lead the charge.
Timestamps
0:58 – What is Solace and Ali’s role as Head of Engineering
2:09 – Ali’s daily “AI deep hour” and why he treats it like a workout
3:19 – Prepping for a customer security call with AI + Confluence
5:14 – Auto-generated sequence diagrams and value slides in minutes
9:48 – Using Microsoft Copilot to instantly format professional slides
13:35 – AI as an executive assistant: scheduling a 12-person workshop
17:01 – Turning unstructured Word reports into project heat maps
20:07 – Building an AI champions group and lightning talks at Solace
25:05 – Solace Agent Mesh: event-driven architecture for agents
29:01 – Live demo: Automating Jira support tickets with agent workflows
33:33 – Scaling digital employees with orchestrator agents
37:08 – Why evals are critical for testing and deploying AI agents
39:05 – Ali’s habit: always ask “How can I do this better with AI?”
40:08 – What excites Ali most about AI in the next year
Tools & Technologies Mentioned:
Solace Agent Mesh – Multi-agent orchestration platform built by Solace
Confluence – Wiki where AI pulls technical details for slide prep
Claude & ChatGPT – LLMs used for connecting to internal tools
MCP (Model Context Protocol) – Framework for securely connecting AI to enterprise data
Microsoft Copilot – AI inside PowerPoint, Excel, and other Office tools
Mermaid – Visualization tool for generating diagrams and heat maps
A2A Protocol (Agent-to-Agent) – Open standard for agent communication donated by Google
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Maddie Engelmeier, AI leader at Motive, to dive deep into how her team is transforming employee productivity with AI. Motive has set an ambitious company-wide goal: boost productivity by 50%. Maddie shares the three-tier strategy behind this initiative, showcases real AI agents in action—from self-assessment tools to executive account summaries—and explains how Motive fosters an AI-native culture across 100,000 customers and 1.3 million drivers.
From using Glean to power performance reviews, to leveraging Notebook LM for instant enablement videos, Maddie gives a behind-the-scenes look at how AI is not just saving time but elevating effectiveness across the company.
Timestamps
0:00 – Setting the stage: Motive’s ambitious 50% productivity goal
1:04 – Maddie introduces Motive and her role leading AI initiatives
3:12 – The three-tier AI adoption framework (democratization, automation, transformation)
6:51 – Why Motive adopted Glean and how it evolved from search to an agentic platform
8:08 – Demo: Self-assessment agent for performance reviews
13:06 – How Glean pulls from Slack, Drive, Gmail & more to save recall time
15:19 – Probing reflection questions vs. copy-paste AI output
19:02 – Over 1,000 unique runs: thousands of hours saved in one cycle
19:27 – Stakeholder feedback agent explained
21:21 – Shifting from recall to reflection and effectiveness
23:50 – Demo: Executive account summary agent for customer insights
27:55 – Scaling AI internally: AI labs, Genius Bars & Slack communities
31:00 – Why AI is enhancing—not killing—creativity
32:07 – Notebook LM demo: from docs to enablement videos in seconds
35:27 – How weekly “snippets” create accountability and unblock teams
36:00 – Agents growing faster than employees—future of work projections
38:05 – Scaling adoption with big, relevant use cases
39:09 – Maddie’s outlook: building comfort with experimentation and collaboration
Tools & Technologies Mentioned
Glean – AI-powered enterprise search and agentic workflow builder, securely connected to company data sources.
Notebook LM – Google’s AI notebook that now generates enablement videos instantly from documents.
Salesforce, Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, Confluence – Data sources integrated into Motive’s AI agents for recall and analysis.
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
Ethan Hochberg and his partner have built three AI-powered X personas that rack up 200 million views annually—all while running a lean creative agency for AI and tech brands. These aren’t just vanity accounts; they’re distribution engines that feed into their core business.
In this episode, Ethan walks us through:
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How they blend AI content generation with a human touch to keep posts authentic and engaging.
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The Grok Deep Search workflow they use to find and validate influencers in minutes (a task that used to take days).
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A multi-step outreach strategy that personalizes every message for higher response rates.
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How to brainstorm and produce short-form video content with V GPT for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts—without a production studio.
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This is a masterclass in using AI tools not just to save time, but to elevate the quality of your marketing while running a “tiny team.”
Timestamps
02:45 – From AI Marketing Directory to running a creative agency
04:48 – Tiny teams, big results with AI workflows
06:25 – Demo 1: Grok Deep Search for influencer discovery
08:15 – Why influencer marketing is more relevant than ever
12:29 – Grok’s validation process: avoiding fake engagement
15:25 – Applying the workflow beyond influencers (newsletters, blogs, PR)
17:51 – Using AI to think strategically, not just automate
22:09 – The output: influencer tables in minutes
24:01 – Demo 2: Personalized outreach angle generator
28:01 – Applying this to PR and content partnerships
32:00 – Demo 3: V GPT for short-form AI video creation
37:40 – How much of your feed is already AI-generated?
40:00 – Matching viral templates to your niche for higher watch time
41:50 – Using AI video tools mainly for brainstorming content ideas
42:56 – How to connect with Ethan
Tools & Technologies Mentioned
Grok – AI chatbot from X with live access to the Twitter feed; ideal for influencer discovery and current-event research.
Grok Deep Search – Paid Grok feature ($8/mo with X Premium) that crawls hundreds of live sources for validated results.
ChatGPT + GPT Store – OpenAI’s platform for custom GPTs, used here to integrate with video creation tools.
V GPT – AI video generator with realistic avatars, captions, and voiceover.
CapCut (mentioned) – Popular editing tool; V GPT is positioned as a more advanced alternative for avatar-driven content.
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
Ethan's website: https://marketingguys.co/
Alex Lee joins the show to walk us through an end-to-end automated newsletter generator built using N8N, Airtable, and generative AI. From aggregating news and generating summaries to crafting branded HTML and distributing it via email, Alex shows how businesses can reduce newsletter production from 6 hours to 30 minutes. He also shares how Model Context Protocol (MCP) is enabling real-time access to company data, explains his decision-making process between using workflow automation tools vs. vibe coding, and previews what's next in AI-powered business automation.
Timestamps:
00:23 – Welcome Alex Lee: Career journey from SAP to Google to AI consulting
01:31 – How ChatGPT changed his mind about NLP
02:38 – Why Alex is focused on AI enablement for businesses
03:36 – Use case #1: AI-powered newsletter generator
04:49 – The manual pain of newsletter creation
06:12 – Why email is the best owned marketing channel
07:25 – Step-by-step demo: Aggregating articles, adding context, and generating drafts
09:09 – Human-in-the-loop editing and brand tone tuning
10:01 – HTML generation and branded email output
11:03 – Use cases beyond marketing: Internal custom newsletters
15:26 – Why Airtable powers the backend of the workflow
17:27 – Behind the scenes: N8N automation workflow overview
20:26 – Tool selection: When to use N8N vs. Zapier vs. Make
21:49 – Hosting your own N8N instance for cost efficiency
24:04 – How clients send the generated newsletter (Mailchimp, HubSpot, EasyMail)
27:12 – Vibe coding vs. workflow automation: which path to choose?
28:41 – Why Lovable stands out among V0, Replit, Cursor
30:19 – Benefits of prototyping and vibe coding for non-technical folks
31:24 – What is MCP and why it matters
33:05 – Example: Using Claude + MCP to search Google Drive and draft an executive summary
38:59 – AI-powered time tracking via calendar and file analysis
40:58 – What’s next: legacy system integration, coding agents, MCP standardization
42:39 – How to contact Alex
Tools and Technologies Mentioned:
N8N – Open-source workflow automation platform used to orchestrate the newsletter process
Airtable – Serves as the data layer and user interface for non-technical users
Claude (Anthropic) – Used for summarization, HTML generation, and MCP interaction
MCP (Model Context Protocol) – Enables AI models to access external systems like Drive and calendars in real time
Zapier, Make – Workflow automation tools considered depending on client preference
Lovable – No-code/low-code app builder that successfully integrates with Supabase and OpenAI
HubSpot, Mailchimp, EasyMail – Email service providers used to distribute the newsletters
Supabase – Backend database often used in vibe-coded apps
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Tom Crawshaw, founder of an AI automation agency, to explore how he built an AI SDR (Sales Development Rep) system that books over $200,000 in sales calls per month—completely automated and with no humans in the loop. Tom breaks down the tech stack, the flow of conversations, and why these two-way AI-powered chats sound so natural that they’re almost undetectable as bots. He also shares how this system scales personalized customer conversations at a fraction of the cost, and how similar workflows can be applied to everything from e-commerce abandoned carts to B2B demo follow-ups.
Timestamps:
1:15 – Tom’s background and pivot from email/SMS marketing to AI automation
2:57 – Why AI enables true two-way conversations at scale
4:06 – Building custom AI SDR agents vs. off-the-shelf chatbots
6:09 – Live demo: Booking a sales call through the AI SDR workflow
10:13 – How the system qualifies leads and handles objections
12:04 – Tech stack breakdown: Go High Level, N8N, Twilio, and A2P verification
17:02 – Under the hood: prompts, custom fields, and conversation logic
23:00 – Automating what 1,000 SDRs would do manually
27:04 – Costs: Running conversations at $0.25 each
29:25 – Other use cases: abandoned carts, B2B no-show follow-ups, e-commerce
34:00 – Context files: training AI on viral posts and high-performing copy
38:14 – Prompt Cowboy: turning lazy prompts into viral-ready content
40:29 – Where to follow Tom and learn more about AI SDR systems
Tools & Technologies Mentioned:
Go High Level – CRM platform used for SMS automation and pipeline management
N8N – Workflow automation tool connecting AI agents and custom scripts
Twilio – SMS and WhatsApp messaging infrastructure
A2P Verification – Compliance process required for sending business SMS in the US and Canada
OpenAI / Claude – LLMs powering natural language conversations
Prompt Cowboy – Tool for turning simple prompts into fully structured, optimized ones for better AI output
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode, Aydin sits down with Rob Williams, a former Chief Product Officer turned AI consultant, to explore the future of work, apps, and personal development—powered by generative AI. Rob demos Limitless, an AI pendant that helps him become a better human, and Claude Code, an agentic AI development environment that builds apps like a team of tireless developers. Plus, he shares his game-changing discovery-to-deliverable workflow that cuts a week’s worth of consulting into a single day.
Timestamps:
01:00 – Rob’s tech background and founding an AI consultancy
05:01 – Demo 1: Limitless AI pendant – the wearable mentor
08:19 – Rob’s daily AI automations for personal growth
10:28 – The privacy dilemma and how Rob handles it
13:35 – Society’s shifting comfort with constant recording
18:20 – Rewind: screen-tracking AI and quantified work
21:16 – Dystopia or augmentation? Competing views on AI ubiquity
27:02 – Demo 2: Claude Code – a real agentic AI dev experience
33:10 – Claude Code spins up dashboards from Excel in minutes
37:39 – Debugging and security auditing with Claude
40:20 – Rob’s gamified AI-powered habit tracker
41:47 – Claude Code for prototyping with dev teams
44:47 – Implications: Will dynamic apps kill the App Store?
47:00 – AI as the new operating system
50:26 – Future: UIs disappear, apps build themselves
52:00 – Demo 3 (Explained): Deep research AI for consulting workflows
54:00 – Talking for the AI: How Rob narrates calls for context
58:30 – Why you must rethink—not just speed up—your workflows
59:36 – Two more tips (in newsletter only!)
Tools & Technologies Mentioned:
Limitless (limitless.ai) – Wearable AI pendant that records, transcribes, and summarizes your day with daily automations and feedback loops.
Claude Code – Anthropic’s CLI tool for building full applications using agentic AI workflows, including dependency management and debugging.
Rewind – Screen-capturing app that logs your activity with searchable recall capabilities.
Fellow – AI meeting tool that transcribes and summarizes meetings. Used by Rob for work-related action tracking.
Typora – Markdown editor Rob uses to annotate and refine AI outputs.
Deep Research – Rob’s name for his long-context LLM-based analysis prompt stack, used for summarizing 20+ hour discovery projects.
RescueTime – Productivity analytics tool used to track app usage and categorize time spent.
👉 Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
What if your intern had a better executive assistant than your CEO? In this episode of TNW, Aydin sits down with Nick Sonnenberg—Wall Street veteran, bestselling author, and founder of Leverage—to explore how AI agents are radically transforming how work gets done. Nick demos a real AI-powered assistant that can handle email, prep meeting briefs, and even outperform human teammates. You'll hear how he structures agent orchestration, optimizes prompts as IP, and envisions a future where everyone at every level has a digital assistant.
What You'll Learn:
-
Why every employee (not just execs) should have their own AI assistant
-
How AI agents can be “managed” like employees—with hierarchy and QA
-
The role of MCP (Model Context Protocol) in unlocking personalized, high-context automation
-
Why context is king in building truly useful AI workflows
-
Why prompt libraries should be treated like company IP
Timestamps:
00:00 – Imagine if interns had better EAs than execs
01:00 – Nick’s background: From high-frequency trading to AI consulting
02:20 – The origin of Leverage and the obsession with efficiency
03:10 – Inbox Zero, RAD framework, and AI-powered email agents
04:50 – What is MCP and why it matters
06:20 – The CPR framework: Communicate, Plan, Resource
08:30 – Orchestrator agents and agent
11:00 – QA as the new job for every role
12:00 – Why execs are adopting AI faster than junior employees
13:40 – The “Sniper Agent” and building executive briefs
16:00 – Personalized, context-rich email drafting
20:00 – Prompt optimization strategy as a business asset
22:30 – Real-time battle card generation and agent chaining
23:30 – Custom summaries using frameworks, not just transcripts
24:00 – Behind the scenes: building and deploying agents
Tools & Technologies Mentioned:
Claude – Anthropic’s AI model, used here with MCP and custom agents
MCP (Model Context Protocol) – Allows secure access to private data and agent orchestration within AI platforms
Asana – Project management tool integrated with agents
Zapier / NADN / Crew AI – Automation platforms for building AI workflows
Perplexity – Used to scan public web/news as part of the AI brief generation
Coda / Notion – Popular tools for knowledge capture, now evolving into AI-integrated workflows
HubSpot – CRM used to integrate and personalize AI-generated content
Fellow – AI meeting intelligence tool for smarter call summaries
Nick's website: https://www.getleverage.ai/
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
Solon Angel is the founder of MindBridge and now Remitian, and he’s been at the forefront of applying AI to deeply unsexy but powerful domains like accounting and tax compliance. In this episode, he shares the origin story of MindBridge, how a DeepMind demo changed his life, and what it’s like to build a modern startup where AI plays the role of a product manager, podcast producer, and even financial advisor. Solon also demoed his newest AI agent that proactively manages tax remittances before late fees hit. If you're wondering what the future of AI-powered businesses looks like, this is a masterclass.
Timestamps:
00:00 — The DeepMind demo that inspired Solon
01:00 — Solon’s background and the early days of MindBridge
03:00 — The “dumb rule” state of AI in financial auditing
04:30 — Selling AI to skeptical accountants in 20150
6:00 — The staggering cost of late tax fees ($60B/year!)
08:00 — Remitian: an AI agent that pays your taxes for you
10:00 — Why Fellow is a core part of how Remitian runs
11:30 — How AI helps eliminate the need for a product manager
13:00 — Rewriting 3 years of code in 3 months with AI
16:00 — The shift in what matters: creativity over code
18:00 — Calorie-tracking app Cal AI and teen founders
19:00 — Solon’s AI-powered investment tool (+21% YTD)
20:00 — Live demo: AI agent managing tax payments
23:00 — Future vision: AI offering instant tax loans
25:00 — How Remitian uses Notebook LM for internal podcasts
27:00 — AI updates for board members in 10-minute clips
28:00 — Notion AI’s “research mode” vs. “ask” mode
30:00 — Predicting the rise of startups for content auto-archiving
33:00 — Solon’s final thoughts: beating billion-dollar firms with AI
Tools & Technologies Mentioned:
Fellow – Used for meeting AI transcripts, pre-reads, and knowledge sharing
Notebook LM (Google) – Turns transcripts into internal podcasts
Notion AI – Used for deep research, summarizing objections, and discovering product insights
Slack – Centralized communication, connected with other AI tools
Cursor – AI coding tool used to rewrite years of code in months
Soft Type 2 – Mentioned in relation to efficient AI-based prototyping
Cal AI – Food photo calorie tracker built by a 17-year-old founder
ChatGPT Vision – Used by Solon to interpret emotions via facial expressions
Custom AI Trader – Built by Solon for sentiment-based trading, outperformed the market
Remitian's AI Agent – Calls users, checks funds, splits tax payments, and offers loans
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode, Aydin sits down with Greg Shove, CEO of Section, to unpack how AI isn't just a productivity tool—it's a new cognitive layer for modern organizations. Greg shares how Section pivoted from executive education to AI enablement after a single eye-opening session with ChatGPT. He dives deep into what it really takes to embed AI into workflows, culture, and decision-making—and why “talking to AI” is now mandatory at his company. From building a company-wide second brain with Claude to simulating board meetings with GPT, Greg offers a masterclass in practical AI integration.
Timestamps:
1:35 – Greg’s background: from flameouts to $250M in exits
2:00 – Section’s pivot from exec ed to AI enablement
3:01 – The 6-month internal resistance to AI
4:50 – Why training isn’t enough: the real AI challenge is change management
6:07 – Why treating AI like regular software is a strategic mistake
8:26 – What successful AI deployments have in common
10:02 – Lessons from Shopify, Duolingo, and Fiverr on AI expectations
11:45 – The price of AI is too low—why that might change
14:03 – AI vs. analyst time: “an hour becomes a minute”
15:31 – Section’s 25% productivity gain with AI
18:58 – Measuring productivity impact without perfect data
21:24 – Clever metrics: output per headcount, OKRs, AI shoutouts
24:51 – Using Claude as a company “second brain”
26:11 – Greg’s AI desktop setup: Perplexity, GPT, Claude
27:43 – The Section Expert: maintaining company context for AI
29:27 – “Working with Greg” manual: how to humanize your AI input
31:00 – The difference between values and operating principles
34:42 – Roleplaying board members with AI before real board meetings
36:05 – Claude vs. ChatGPT vs. humans: who gave better board insights?
41:00 – AI for owner-operators: create your own board
42:26 – What Greg’s most excited about: how AI unlocks new opportunities
44:08 – Where to find Greg & Section + listener discount
Tools & Technologies Mentioned:
Claude (Anthropic): Used to build a company-wide second brain and simulate board member personas
GPT (OpenAI): Used as a daily thought partner and board advisor
Perplexity: A go-to AI for fast, accurate information lookups
Section Expert (Claude project): A centralized AI project workspace housing all of Section's key documents for brainstorming
ProfAI (Section’s product): An AI-powered coach designed to teach people how to use AI effectively
ChatGPT for Teams: Mentioned as a better, paid alternative to free-tier tools
Gemini Pro: Noted for its screen-sharing and future context-awareness potential
Copilot (Microsoft): One of several LLM tools tested during board simulations
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
What if your AI agent could send emails, check your calendar, and even text people on your behalf—all securely and with your permission? In this episode, Aydin and guest co-host Alexandra from Fellow talk with Sam Partee, co-founder of Arcade, about how AI agents are actually becoming useful in the real world.
Sam breaks down how Arcade enables LLM-powered agents to act on your behalf across tools like Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, and more, without sacrificing security. He also shows us how he automates his own workflows, from email triage to iMessage replies, and shares how tools like Cursor and Claude are reshaping how engineers work day-to-day.
Whether you're technical or not, this episode is packed with actionable insights on what it means to work in an AI-native company—and how to start doing it yourself.
Timestamps
0:00 – The future of agents impersonating people
01:20 – Meet Sam Partee and his background in high-performance computing
02:50 – What Arcade is and how it powers AI agents
05:10 – Use case: ambient social media agents
06:50 – “YOLO mode” vs. human-in-the-loop agent workflows
07:30 – Building a lean AI-native company
08:00 – Engineers are now 1.5x more productive—with caveats
12:00 – Why the whole team (PMs, QA, etc.) should use tools like Cursor1
4:00 – How Markdown became the LLM-native format
17:00 – Sam’s iMessage agent and calendar automation
18:45 – His AI-powered inbox (email triage + drafting)
21:00 – Live demo: using Slack assistant “Archer” built with Arcade
24:00 – How non-technical people can use these tools too27:00 – Cursor vs. Copilot: What’s better?
30:00 – Cursor agent mode and example developer workflows
34:00 – Vector databases and prompt design
35:00 – Using LLMs to redesign error handling and generate docs
38:00 – Advice for teams adopting AI: start by building
Tools and Technologies:
Arcade – Let AI agents act on your behalf (email, Slack, calendar, etc.) with secure OAuth.
Cursor – LLM-native IDE with full-codebase context. Ideal for AI-assisted development.
Claude – Chat interface + agent orchestration, paired with Arcade.
LangGraph – Multi-agent orchestration framework with human-in-the-loop support.T
ailScale – Secure remote networking; enables Sam to access agents from anywhere.
Twilio – Used for SMS reminders and notifications.
Obsidian + Markdown – Sam uses Markdown + AI for personal notes and research.
GitHub Copilot – Used in tandem with Cursor for inline suggestions and PR reviews.
Subscribe to the channel for more behind-the-scenes looks at how top teams are rethinking work with AI.
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode, Edmundo Ortega, partner at Machine & Partners, joins to explore how AI is transforming the way we build and ship software. He shares real-world use cases—from cutting document processing time by thousands of hours to prototyping apps with tools like Bolt in under 15 minutes.
We also dive into:
• How non-technical team members can now contribute to development
• How Ed uses Claude to write in his own voice
• Why leaders should think beyond cost savings to unlock AI’s full potential
Whether you're a developer, founder, or team leader, this episode will reshape how you think about building with AI.
Timestamps
00:00 – The promise of AI beyond cost savings
01:10 – Edmundo's background and the founding of Machine & Partners
04:40 – How Machine & Partners identifies and builds AI use cases
05:45 – Personal shift to an AI-powered workstyle
07:00 – Building internal tools using Bolt
09:20 – Demo: Creating a chart parser app using Bolt
12:00 – Claude vs. ChatGPT for writing with custom instructions1
5:15 – Use case: Automating document extraction for analysts
21:00 – Workflow transformation with AI and report generation
25:15 – PMs using AI to prototype and inspire devs
33:00 – AI's impact on team structure and dev productivity
38:24 – How to get in touch with Ed and his advice for the next 18 months
Tools & Technologies Mentioned
• Bolt (bolt.new)
• Claude 3.7 (Anthropic)
• ChatGPT / GPT-4.5
• Cursor (AI coding assistant)
• Chart.js• Google Sheets
• OpenAI API
• Replit
• N8N
• Make.com
• Gumloop
• Relay
• SectionSchool.com
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Sukhpal Saini, founder of Engyne, to dive into how AI is reshaping the way we build products, market them, and even manage our personal networks. Sukhpal shares how he prototypes with AI, automates content creation, and turns conversations into distribution-ready assets. From building 30+ products to launching a Canva app for LinkedIn carousels, this episode is packed with actionable insights.
Timestamps:
0:00 — Intro: Welcome to This New Way
1:30 — The AI curiosity wave and why people are hungry for tactical content
4:00 — Suk’s journey from IBM, Apple, and Saks to 30+ side projects and Engyne
5:45 — The shift from building in Figma to building 5 real prototypes with A
8:00 — Using Replit and ChatGPT to get fast, real customer feedback
13:00 — How marketers can build lead gen tools without engineering
16:30 — Will we have fewer engineers in the future?
19:00 — Demo #1: Nexus — Using AI to query your own network
22:00 — Why personal productivity tools no longer require SaaS subscriptions
24:50 — Demo #2: A Voice of Customer app to analyze transcripts and shape messaging
29:00 — Demo #3: Carousel Studio — Turn your ideas into LinkedIn carousels with a Canva app
35:00 — The power of creating from your unique opinion, not AI-generated fluff
37:00 — Engyne’s vision: Become a mini media machine
39:00 — Closing thoughts and future predictions for AI-powered solo businesses
Tools and Technologies Mentioned:
Replit – A browser-based coding environment that lets you write, run, and deploy software quickly. Suk uses it to rapidly prototype multiple product ideas in minutes.
ChatGPT – OpenAI’s conversational AI model, used to generate code, iterate on features, and assist in product development.
Claude – An AI assistant developed by Anthropic, used similarly to ChatGPT for coding and ideation.
Prisma – A modern ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tool for Node.js and TypeScript, used in Suk’s Voice of Customer app to manage the database.
OpenAI API – The underlying API that powers GPT models like ChatGPT, allowing users to integrate AI functionality into their custom apps.
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In this episode of This New Way, Aydin talks to Rob, co-founder of Heartee Foods, co-founder of Assent and longtime AI practitioner, about how he’s integrating AI into every corner of his mushroom farming business — from training systems and voice-driven data entry to hiring pipelines and grant applications. Rob shares how his team replaced costly software with internal tools powered by LLMs, dramatically accelerating operations and unlocking new insights. If you're curious how AI can power real-world logistics and training — this one's for you.Timestamps:00:00 – Intro: Rob’s background in machine learning and startup journey01:15 – Building Heartee Foods and pivoting from software to farming03:00 – Voice-based data collection for daily farm operations04:50 – Replacing forms with AI-powered voice inputs06:00 – Creating an internal LMS using LLMs and video training07:40 – Why traditional audits now take 2 hours instead of 2 weeks10:00 – The power of voice in AI interfaces and workplace design12:00 – Using AI to build and query internal documentation systems13:45 – Why LLM-powered search beats traditional search16:30 – Building internal software faster than ever before20:00 – How Rob uses AI to evaluate job candidates using transcripts24:00 – Demo: Ranking resumes with NotebookLM28:00 – Using LLMs to draft government grant applications34:00 – Automating grant budgeting and narrative writing with AI36:00 – The future of coding: From dev-led to voice-initiated workflows38:00 – Rob’s advice to leaders: “Just start using it”Tools & Resources Mentioned:Fellow – For recording and transcribing interviewsAnthropic Claude / GPT-3.5 – Used to build internal toolsNotebookLM (Google) – Used to rank resumes and answer hiring questionsCursor – AI coding tool for faster software developmentSiri (macOS voice dictation) – Used for hands-free data entry and draftingCustom LMS with LLM integration – Built in-house to replace third-party toolsSubscribe at Thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step AI workflows.
Subscribe at www.thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In this episode, Aydin chats with Irosha de Silva, the founder of Marketrics, about how AI is transforming customer support from passive documentation to real-time, visual, and agentic assistance. They discuss how they met through an AI networking tool called Bordy, how Irosha transitioned from running a software agency to launching an AI-powered startup, and how tools like Grok and GitHub Copilot are changing the game for fast-moving teams. Irosha also demos how Marketrics works—revealing a future where SaaS tools can support users visually and contextually, without human intervention.
TIMESTAMPS
0:40 – How Aydin and Irosha met through Bordy, an AI networking agent
2:50 – Irosha’s tech background and software agency journey
4:55 – Going “all in” on building a product in AI6:15 – The frustrating customer support moment that sparked Marketrics
8:20 – How Marketrics uses agentic AI to improve customer support
10:00 – The impact of AI on company-building today
11:45 – How startups can now reimagine any function with AI
12:45 – Tools Marketrics uses: GitHub Copilot, Grok, ChatGPT
14:00 – How AI is helping founders actually get things done (like LinkedIn posts!)
16:00 – Irosha’s process for turning notes into a high-performing post using Grok
21:10 – Live demo: How Marketrics works with Canva as an example
27:00 – Reimagining support: From reading docs to real-time visual guidance
30:00 – Why user patience is dropping in the AI era
31:00 – What excites Irosha most about the next 12 months of AI
32:50 – How to connect with Irosha
Tools & Resources Mentioned
Bordy – AI networking agent that introduces professionals via email
Marketrics – Irosha’s AI-powered customer support platform (marketrics.ai)
Grok – AI tool (by xAI) Irosha uses to generate real-time LinkedIn posts
GitHub Copilot – AI code assistant used by Markettrics’ dev team
ChatGPT – Used alongside Grok for content creation and support
Cursor – Another AI coding tool briefly mentioned by Aydin
Nvidia GTC Conference – Where Irosha gathered content for his LinkedIn post
Subscribe at www.thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In episode 6 of This New Way, Fredrik Thomassen and Phillip Maggs walk us through how Superside—a global creative services company—has fundamentally transformed its workflows using generative AI. From automating asset production to embedding AI directly into tools like Figma, Superside is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in creative automation. We also get a live demo of their “brief-to-draft” workflow and discuss how AI is reshaping the talent landscape.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:52 – What Superside does and its global scale
2:10 – Phil’s role and what “Director of Generative AI Excellence” means
4:08 – The turning point: DALL·E and Superside’s AI transformation
8:00 – How they approached AI experimentation via “shadow projects”
10:54 – Testing AI-created assets alongside human work
13:20 – How talent profiles are changing with AI
19:00 – Where AI is most disruptive: video production
22:00 – Live demo: from brief to hundreds of personalized assets
32:00 – In-tool editing and automation directly in Figma
36:00 – Image-to-video transformation with Runway
41:00 – What’s next for Superside and the creative industry
46:30 – Final thoughts: what Fredrik and Phil are most excited about
TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES MENTIONED:
DALL·E – AI image generation
MidJourney – Creative image ideation
Stable Diffusion – Open-source image gen
ChatGPT / GPT-3.5+ – Prompt writing and copy support
Figma – Design collaboration with custom AI plugins
Runway ML – AI video generation
Zapier – Workflow automation
Superspace – Superside’s internal platform
Foul – Model inference layer
Node-based AI orchestration – For prompt chaining and bulk generation
Subscribe at thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In episode 5 of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Liam Martin, co-founder of Time Doctor and Running Remote, to explore how AI is reshaping team productivity, SaaS economics, and the future of work. Liam shares how his team replaced $40K/year worth of employee engagement software with open-source AI tools — and how their internal R&D lab, Chainsaw, is building the future of workforce analytics.
You’ll hear how Time Doctor uses AI to reclassify productivity metrics by job role, how AI has changed their approach to product-market fit, and why they’re betting on proprietary agents as the next evolution of workplace tools. Liam also shares his personal tech stack, insights on open-source AI models like DeepSeek, and how he's replacing Google with LLMs in his day-to-day workflow.
You’ll walk away with practical ideas for how to reduce SaaS spend, empower your R&D teams, and get ahead of AI's disruptive force in remote work and beyond.
Click here to check out the AI-generated timestamps, episode summary and transcript.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the episode with someone who will benefit from listening.
. . .
TIMESTAMPS
00:36 Liam’s McGill story and how he accidentally left academia
02:45 The early days of remote work and building Time Doctor
05:57 What Time Doctor actually does (and how AI is changing it)
08:08 How AI reclassified productivity by job type
11:03 Could product-market fit collapse due to AI?
13:44 Building the Chainsaw team
20:02 Replacing Google with LLMs
24:35 Why proprietary AIs might need to be “pushy,” not polite
28:03 Don’t wait for economics — just solve the problem
29:45 What’s coming next in the AI cost curve
35:58 GPT customizes slide decks based on personality types
39:07 Build complex no-code apps with just a prompt using Lovable
43:46 Engineers may be more disrupted by AI than customer service
TOOLS & RESOURCES MENTIONED
AI Tools & Models
DeepSeek OCR → replaced paid OCR tools, cutting costs by 90%
Do Browser (Chrome extension) → automates browser actions like a human
LM Studio → runs open-source LLMs like DeepSeek and Claude locally
Claude (Anthropic) → used for AI-based task delegation
OpenAI GPT-4 / Operators → tested against open-source alternatives
Internal Innovation & AI Systems
Chainsaw R&D Team → focused on building from scratch, not optimizing
Workforce Analytics with AI → redefining productivity dynamically by role
AI-driven feature decisions → testing new models before looking at ROI
OCR Video Analysis → used to assess best vs worst execution of tasks
Philosophies & Frameworks
“Build a chainsaw, not a sharper axe” → rethink, don’t just improve
“Solve one customer’s problem perfectly” → from Y Combinator playbook
Personal AI-first workflows → replacing search with LLMs
Subscribe at www.thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.
In episode 4 of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Andrew Waitman, CEO of Assent, to explore how a billion-dollar B2B SaaS company is transforming operations, product development, and team productivity with AI. Andrew shares how Assent went from under $1M to nearly $200M ARR, became one of the earliest adopters of GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise, and how they now embed AI-driven OKRs across every team.
You’ll hear real use cases: from summarizing messy trip reports, generating synthetic bills of materials for secure testing, and accelerating supplier document reviews — to measuring impact on productivity and profitability. Andrew also offers actionable insights on how to drive AI adoption across teams, how CEOs should personally lead the AI charge, and which tools he uses daily to stay ahead.
You’ll walk away knowing how to start small, scale fast, and turn AI into a measurable force multiplier across your org.
Click here to check out the AI-generated timestamps, episode summary and transcript.
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. . .
TIMESTAMPS:
00:35 Andrew’s background and Assent’s growth journey
02:37 The scale: 18,000 suppliers, 200 compliance topics
05:07 The post-ChatGPT transformation and Vista Equity OKRs
06:09 Early adoption of GitHub Copilot & ChatGPT Enterprise
08:51 Trip report improvements using AI synthesis
09:35 Generating synthetic bills of materials for safe testing
12:26 Where AI drives efficiency: entity resolution, part matching, document validation
13:12 Measuring AI’s impact: productivity, quality, and profitability
17:32 Expanding customer success capacity without adding headcount
20:37 How to drive company-wide AI adoption (hackathons, Slack, evangelists)
24:10 Andrew’s personal AI workflows & deep research routines
TOOLS & RESOURCES MENTIONED:
AI Tools & Platforms
- GitHub Copilot (Microsoft) → adopted early for engineering
- ChatGPT (OpenAI, including Enterprise license) → used across teams for synthesis, rewriting, summarization
- Perplexity AI (Pro) → used for deep research reports
Internal AI Use Cases & Systems
- Synthetic bills of materials → generated using AI to safely test software without exposing sensitive customer data
- Automated document review → handling millions of supplier documents for compliance
- Entity resolution → using AI to match the right supplier or part across massive datasets
- Part resolution & document validation → automating complex checks in the supply chain
Company-Wide AI Adoption Tools & Methods
- OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) → embedded AI goals at company, team, and functional levels
- AI hackathons → internal competitions to inspire creative use cases
- Slack channels → for sharing, evangelizing, and discussing AI applications internally
Personal CEO Tools & Workflows
- Perplexity deep research → running 12–15 deep research reports per day
- AI summarization & rewriting → e.g., turning multi-page trip reports into professional one-page summaries
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In episode 3 of This New Way, Aydin sits down with Philippe Dame, CPO of Recollective, to unpack how AI is transforming qualitative market-research, sales operations, internal knowledge-sharing, and day-to-day productivity.Phil walks through the product pivot that turned Recollective’s vast unstructured data into an “AI-first” insights engine, then demos a stack of no-code automations — from AI-powered lead scoring in Google Sheets to a self-serve Vertex AI search that makes every doc, deck, and Gong call instantly searchable.You’ll hear concrete play-by-plays, see cost breakdowns , and learn how to start small, scale fast, and turn AI into a force-multiplier across your org.
Timestamps:
00:35 Phil’s background and early web-tool days
01:44 Pivot to Recollective and focus on market-research tech03:18 Why hybrid qual + quant research matters
03:58 Unstructured data → perfect AI playground
04:50 “Roadmap reset” after ChatGPT pressure
06:00 How the team up-skilled on LLMs & vector DBs
08:12 First AI features: summarization → theme extraction → comparisons
09:05 Making space for AI work without derailing commitments
10:10 Company-wide AI wins: sales data mining & lead scoring
13:08 Relay + Google Sheets workflow for automated enrichment
16:18 Running internal “AI office hours” to drive adoption
17:05 Staying current: newsletters, trials, and cost control
20:25 Seat-based vs. usage-based pricing—Phil’s take
23:04 Perplexity as Phil’s go-to research sidekick
24:50 Cutting the “collaboration tax” with self-serve AI answers
27:24 Live demo: Recollective’s Ask-AI tab & verbatim citations
31:28 Segment @mentions for instant comparative analysis
37:04 Emotion tagging and drilling into negative feedback
38:30 Building an internal Vertex-AI search in one afternoon
42:23 Agent Builder setup walkthrough
44:34 Relay use-cases: lead workflows, news scraping, stand-up bot
53:23 n8n migrations: 4,000 Gong calls plus on-the-fly analysis
56:30 OpenAI Playground & Notebook LM for ad-hoc knowledgebases
1:02:20 Google AI Studio multimodal experiments (free)
1:04:04 Start simple—one use-case, one stakeholder, iterate
Tools & Resources Mentioned:
AI / LLMs & Model-Playgrounds
- ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- OpenAI Platform & Playground
- Claude (Anthropic)
- Perplexity Pro- Google Gemini (Workspace)
- Google AI Studio
KnowledgeBase & Search
- Vertex AI Agent Builder / Search (Google Cloud)
- Notebook LM (Google)
- Internal Vertex-powered “ask-AI” portal
Automation & Workflows
- Relay (no-code workflow tool with AI steps)
- Zapier (reference point)
- n8n (open-source automation + AI agents)
Data, CRM & Sales Enablement
- Google Sheets
- Salesforce
- Outreach
- Gong (call recordings)
Collaboration & Productivity
- Slack (AI channel, human-in-the-loop flows)
- Notion (company intranet)
- Google Drive & Google Calendar
- RSS feeds + custom “Article Extractor” scraper
Core Product
- Recollective (Phil’s qualitative-research platform with built-in AI features)
Developer / Engineering Utilities
- Cursor IDE (AI-assisted coding, briefly cited)
Subscribe at Thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step AI workflows.
In episode 2 of This New Way, Felipe Izquierdo, CEO of Quest, explains how a small, boot-strapped team runs both an educational game studio and a cohort-based learning program by leaning on AI for almost every function — prototyping multiplayer math games in hours instead of weeks, automating high-touch parent emails, and even building a 24/7 “executive-coach” phone agent from scratch.
Along the way he shares the exact stacks (Cursor, Replit, Zapier, Anthropic, Twilio, 11 Labs) and design choices that let three people operate like fifty.
Timestamps
00:00 Felipe’s path from non-technical founder to AI-assisted coder
01:28 What Quest does and why AI keeps the team lean
03:28 How AI shrinks game-prototype cycles from weeks to hours
08:34 Daily workflow: Cursor, Replit, Super Whisper voice coding & Mac dictation
14:00 Learning to code faster via screenshot-driven ChatGPT tutoring
16:58 Show & Tell #1: Zapier + Anthropic email-drafting pipeline (live demo)
30:59 Show & Tell #2: Building and calling “Maximo,” a voice executive-coach agent
41:48 Future bets: voice as the primary UI and AI-only workflows
Resources & Tools Mentioned:
Coding & Prototyping: Cursor, Replit, Devin (reference), GitHub PR reviews
Voice / Dictation: Super Whisper (Mac), macOS built-in dictation, 11 Labs Voice & Conversational AI, OpenAI Real-Time API
Automation & LLMs: Zapier (Zaps), Anthropic Claude, Google Sheets / Airtable, Twilio (SMS & voice)
Products & Links:
Quest math & strategy games – joinquest.com
AI executive coach “Maximo” – meetmaximo.com
Subscribe at Thisnewway.com to get the step-by-step AI workflows.
Welcome to the very first episode of This New Way. We’re kicking things off by flipping the mic and letting Manuela Bárcenas interview Aydin Mirzaee, our podcast host, about why we’re retiring Supermanagers and launching this new, AI-centric show.
In this episode, Aydin describes how adopting AI feels like onboarding a new teammate, how he steered Fellow’s pivot from manual meeting workflows to an AI meeting assistant, and demos two of his favorite tactics:
- Turning a 60-second voice memo into a polished board-report section with ChatGPT
-
Using Fellow’s Ask Fellow and Copilot to auto-draft mandates and PRDs straight from meetings and customer calls
-
You’ll also hear the cultural plays — company-wide hackathons, “show & tell” town halls, and even a ChatGPT-every-new-tab browser hack — that helped Aydin get the whole team moving faster with AI.
We wrap up with a teaser of future guests who are smashing targets and reinventing product management with AI tools.
Timestamps:
01:01 Looking back – 5 years of Supermanagers and why a change is needed
01:41 New revolution – From remote-work disruption to the AI era
02:26 Big reveal – Retiring Supermanagers and launching This New Way
03:03 Format upgrade – Video, YouTube/Spotify, and on-air show-and-tell demos
03:58 Why it matters – Managing humans and AI agents will soon be core leadership skill
05:35 About Aydin – Founder background & current role as CEO of Fellow
06:38 Fellow’s AI pivot – Turning a manual meeting tool into an AI meeting assistant
08:59 CEO advice – Hackathons and cross-functional learning to kick-start adoption
10:31 Creating AI culture – Weekly town-hall demos normalize AI-assisted work
11:31 Personal hacks – ChatGPT-on-new-tab, screenshot explainers, and habit breaking
14:44 Demo 1 – Voice memo ➜ board-report section via ChatGPT “Projects” workflow
20:38 Demo 2 – One-on-one recap ➜ company-wide mandate memo with Fellow AI
23:46 Demo 3 – Customer interview ➜ detailed PRD/requirements doc in minutes
26:46 Impact – Better communication, higher expectations, and faster output
28:35 Future outlook – Doing “1,000 % work” with 100 % resources
Resources and Tools mentioned:
- ChatGPT desktop app (voice mode) & GPT-4o-01 model
- ChatGPT “Projects” for reusable style guides
- Chrome extension that opens ChatGPT on every new tab
- Fellow AI Meeting Assistant: Ask Fellow, Copilot, Redaction features
- CrewAI – multi-agent orchestration platform (via Greg Eisenberg video)
- Slack – channel posts of AI-generated memos
- YouTube creators (e.g., Greg Eisenberg) for discovering new AI workflows
In episode 26 of season 2, we sit down with Topaz Adizes, award-winning filmmaker, founder of The Skin Deep, and author of 12 Questions for Love. Topaz has spent years exploring the transformative power of deep human connection and asking the right questions. In this episode he shares how leaders can create safe spaces for authentic conversations, build trust within teams, and harness group dynamics to unlock creativity.
Topaz emphasizes the importance of “the space between humans” - the emotional gaps and differences that AI cannot replace. He also introduces practical tools to foster open dialogue and strengthen workplace relationships. Through powerful stories and a five-act framework for structuring conversations, Topaz shows leaders how to cultivate vulnerability, navigate conflict, and drive meaningful collaboration.
Tune in to discover how asking better questions and creating intentional spaces can elevate your leadership and bring your teams closer together.
Whether you’re a new manager or a seasoned executive, this episode offers actionable advice for building resilient, human-centered organizations.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:17] From filmmaker to exploring the emotional human experience
[05:47] Creating space and asking better questions for transformative conversations
[08:30] How humans can differentiate themselves from AI in the workplace
[12:28] A five-act framework for designing deeper conversations
[17:17] Building trust in new teams by creating safe spaces
[19:47] Using The AND card deck to improve team communication and connection
[22:27] The role of physical and virtual spaces in shaping team dynamics
[25:40] The future of relationships in an AI-driven workplace
[32:47] Balancing creativity by separating brainstorming, execution, and analysis
[37:18] Why leaders must “prime vulnerability” to foster openness in teams
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here:
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/topaz-adizes
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Topaz on LinkedIn
Check out Topaz’s films
Check out The And card decks
Read Topaz’s book: 12 Questions for Love
Read Arthur Aron’s 36 Questions to Fall in Love study
Check out The Skin Deep
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In this episode of the Supermanagers podcast, we sit down with Zabeen Hirji, former Chief Human Resources Officer at RBC, to explore the evolving role of organizational purpose and leadership in modern times.
Zabeen shares insights from her extensive experience managing a global workforce of 80,000 employees across 40 countries. She emphasizes the importance of regularly revisiting an organization's purpose to align with shifting internal and external environments.
Aydin and Zabeen discuss how AI is reshaping the workplace, and AI's potential to augment human capabilities, automate mundane tasks, and enhance productivity. They also touch on the increasing importance of maintaining a base knowledge alongside AI adoption, advocating for a blend of human employees and AI agents managed with enhanced skills.
Tune in to explore these valuable insights and more, as Zabeen Hirji and Aydin Mirzaee provide a roadmap for thriving in a rapidly transforming work landscape. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the Supermanagers podcast and share it with your friends and fellow managers.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[00:00] Purpose-driven leadership: Insights from Zabeen Hirji
[05:48] Promoting transparency and experimentation in organizations
[11:08] Convergence of human and AI agents
[14:01] Revolutionizing knowledge work: Streamlined data processing
[20:03] Balancing profits and sustainability: A purpose-driven approach
[25:29] Aligning roles with organizational purpose and values
[33:58] Empowering leaders for impactful third act journeys
[35:09] Creating impactful opportunities through wisdom and connections
[38:39] Embracing lifelong learning for personal growth
In episode 24 of season 2, we sit down with Alan Todd, an entrepreneur, executive learning expert, and advocate for cohort-based leadership development. Alan brings decades of experience in helping organizations build learning cultures that harness collective intelligence and foster team resilience. He is known for his work in developing innovative leadership programs and creating environments where individuals and teams thrive through meaningful dialogue and psychological safety.
In this episode, Alan discusses the principles behind building effective cohort-based learning teams and how this approach leverages collective intelligence for organizational success. He explains the importance of balancing System 1 and System 2 thinking to enhance decision-making and team problem-solving. Alan also delves into the concept of connecting people to their purpose and creating sustainable competitive advantages through continuous learning and development.
With real-life examples and actionable takeaways, Alan outlines how leaders can inspire curiosity and embed psychological safety into team dynamics, encouraging open dialogue and diverse perspectives. He also shares his insights on “team-of-teams” leadership and how facilitating conversations across departments can lead to more cohesive and innovative organizations.
Tune in to gain valuable insights from Alan’s strategies on fostering learning cultures, building resilient teams, and leading with empathy.
This episode is ideal for leaders and team members who are passionate about creating environments where everyone can actively learn, grow, and succeed.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:15] The transformative effect of cohort-based learning
[06:48] System 1 vs. System 2 thinking and their roles in decision-making
[09:34] Psychological safety
[12:50] The importance of “teaching them to long for the sea”
[16:27] Diverse thinking and leveraging interaction
[20:41] Build learning organizations
[24:03] The “team-of-teams” leadership approach
[29:15] Unanimous consensus is rare
[34:50] Connecting people to purpose
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/alan-todd-udemy
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Alan on LinkedIn
Check out cohort based learning on Udemy Business
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 23 of season 2, we sit down with David Weiss, CEO of Weiss International, an expert in leadership development, innovation, and navigating complex organizational challenges. David’s experience as an author, speaker, and executive coach has equipped him with unparalleled insights into how leaders can thrive amid uncertainty and foster team environments that drive innovation and engagement.
In this episode, David dives into the essential qualities leaders need today, focusing on the power of emotional intelligence and how to lead effectively when ambiguity is the norm. He explores how fostering open dialogue and creating collaborative spaces can unlock a team's creative potential. David also shares practical strategies for helping leaders at all levels develop the resilience and agility needed to adapt to ever-changing business landscapes.
With actionable takeaways and real-world examples, David explains how leaders can close leadership gaps, inspire their teams, and harness the collective intelligence of their organizations to solve complex problems. He emphasizes the importance of developing emotional maturity and facilitating conversations that lead to impactful decision-making.
Tune in to learn David’s proven frameworks for leading through change, building innovative cultures, and enhancing your leadership toolkit for the future.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone committed to expanding their leadership capacity and fostering team success.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:22] The importance of emotional intelligence and why it’s essential for modern leadership
[08:15] Building resilient teams
[12:38] Strategies for facilitating open dialogue
[16:45] Closing leadership gaps and empowering leaders at every level
[21:10] How to approach leadership when faced with ambiguity
[26:07] Embedding innovation into team culture
[30:23] Real-life examples of leaders successfully navigating complex challenges
[32:50] The role of emotional maturity in making decisions
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/david-weiss-weiss-international
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with David on LinkedIn
Check out Weiss International
Check out David’s books
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 22 of season 2, we sit down with Charlie Gilkey, founder of Productive Flourishing, a professional training and coaching company/community dedicated to helping individuals and teams achieve their best work. Charlie is an author, executive coach, and workplace consultant known for his expertise in organizational development, change management, and leadership strategies.
In this episode, Charlie unpacks essential team habits that can transform how teams operate, from addressing common workplace challenges, like the "broken printer problem," to fostering better communication and alignment. He introduces powerful concepts such as the "air sandwich" and explains how to identify and overcome cultural debt that holds teams back from success. Charlie also shares insights from his books Start Finishing and Team Habits, detailing how to build strong, cohesive teams that thrive on purpose and productivity.
With practical examples and actionable advice, Charlie emphasizes the importance of retrospectives, proactive problem-solving, and creating a culture where every team member contributes to continuous improvement. He challenges the notion that only managers can instigate change and highlights the potential of non-managers to drive team success.
Tune in to discover Charlie’s frameworks for improving team habits, developing sustainable work practices, and creating an environment where teams can excel.
This episode is a must-listen for leaders and team members looking to foster a culture of growth, innovation, and resilience!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:11] Military to executive coach
[07:12] Have ever heard of an “air sandwich”?
[11:56] The “broken printer problem”
[17:42] Prioritizing “Quadrant 2 time” for teams
[23:33] Importance of regular retrospectives
[29:24] How to identify meeting inefficiencies
[34:41] Team habits that empower every member
[38:25] Your team is stronger than you give them credit for
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/charlie-gilkey-productive-flourishing
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn
Check out Productive Flourishing
Check out Charlie’s book Team Habits
Check out Charlie’s book Start Finishing
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 21 of season 2, we sit down with Charlene Li, New York Times bestselling author and expert in digital transformation and disruptive leadership. Known for her impactful books, including The Disruption Mindset, Open Leadership, and Groundswell, Charlene shares insights from her latest book, Winning with Generative AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success, which provides a strategic approach to harnessing the potential of generative AI as a leader.
In this episode, Charlene dives into the art of leading through disruption and creating growth-focused, purpose-driven organizations. She explores how leaders can shift from maintaining the status quo to actively pursuing change that aligns with future customer needs. Charlene also shares her unique framework for identifying “Big Gulp” moments — decisions that challenge leaders to embrace risk confidently — and practical methods to make AI a transformative force within teams and companies.
With real-world examples and actionable strategies, Charlene breaks down the three critical questions every leader should ask to stay aligned with evolving markets and build a resilient organization. She also shares stories from her career, and her journey from Harvard Business School to becoming a sought-after advisor for top executives.
Tune in to learn Charlene’s strategies for leading in a rapidly changing world, leveraging AI for competitive advantage, and fostering a company culture ready to tackle future challenges.
This episode is packed with wisdom for anyone looking to lead change, think strategically, and future-proof their organization!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:04] Vulnerability makes you a better leader
[07:30] The connection between growth and disruption
[09:02] “Big G” versus “small g" growth
[11:33] Building a disruption-ready organization
[17:23] 3 questions every employee should be able to answer
[23:42] “Big Gulp” moments in decision-making
[28:49] The importance of decision-making preparedness
[29:59] Generative AI is an accelerating force
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/charlene-li-quantam-networks-group
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Charlene on LinkedIn
Check out Quantum Networks
Check out Charlene’s latest book, Winning with Generative AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 20 of season 2, we sit down with Shivani Berry, CEO and founder of Arise Leadership, a program dedicated to helping women advance in their careers and excel in leadership roles.
In this episode, Shivani delves into the key leadership skills that professionals must master to succeed, including strategic influence and getting buy-in from dominant personalities. She also explores the importance of becoming a "feedback magnet" and the power of using reflection to overcome imposter syndrome.
With practical examples and actionable insights, Shivani explains how leaders can create a culture of development within their teams and organizations. She also shares her personal journey of transitioning from tech management to founding Arise Leadership, and the challenges she faced along the way.
Tune in to learn Shivani’s unique frameworks for leadership growth, strategies for navigating complex work environments, and how to unlock your full potential as a leader.
You’ll find this episode valuable if you’re looking to improve your leadership skills and drive success in your organization!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[02:41] Mastering strategic influence is critical for leadership
[06:36] Getting buy-in from dominant personalities
[09:15] Building trust and credibility
[12:45] Why leaders fail to get buy-in and how to avoid them
[18:46] Techniques for effective reflection
[19:28] How to consistently receive high-quality feedback
[32:18] Senior leadership challenges
[34:02] Turning self-doubt into leadership strength
[41:10] How organizations can support and accelerate the growth of women in leadership
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/shivani-berry-arise-leadership
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Shivani on LinkedIn
- Check out Arise Leadership
- Read Shivani's article “The Best Leaders are Feedback Magnets — Here’s How to Become One”
- Read Radical Candor by Kim Scott
- Listen to Kim Scott on the Supermanagers Podcast
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
- Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
- Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 19 of season 2, we sit down with Aaron Hurst, a serial social entrepreneur and author of The Purpose Economy. Aaron is an expert on the science of purpose and fulfillment and has dedicated his career to helping individuals and organizations discover their purpose.
In this episode, Aaron shares his insights on building a purpose mindset within teams and the importance of fulfillment at work, as well as offers practical strategies for leaders, including storytelling, reflection, and creating space for employees to find meaning.
Throughout the conversation, Aaron dives deep into the science of purpose, offering compelling data from his research at NYU and PwC, and shares how leaders can implement these findings to foster engagement and growth in their organizations.
Tune in to learn how Aaron’s experience and research can help you create a more meaningful and fulfilling workplace, and discover why adopting a purpose-driven leadership style can lead to higher performance and satisfaction across your team.
You’ll find this episode valuable if you’re a leader looking to cultivate purpose in your organization and empower your team to thrive both personally and professionally!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[02:15] Aaron's early entrepreneurial journey and family influence
[07:15] Purpose mindset vs transactional mindset
[09:20] Importance of hiring people with a purpose mindset
[11:30] How reflection and gratitude can create meaning at work
[16:05] Storytelling to drive team alignment and purpose
[19:10] The science behind purpose and why it matters in organizations
[22:50] Organizational strategies for fostering purpose and meaning
[29:00] Challenges in scaling teams and dealing with failure
[37:30] Using a portfolio approach to building multiple businesses
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/aaron-hurst-the-purpose-economy
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Aaron on LinkedIn
Read Aaron’s book The Purpose Economy
Learn more about Aaron’s organization: Taproot Foundation
Check out Aaron’s company Imperative
Check out Aaron’s platform Board.Dev
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 18 of season 2, we sit down with Patrick Ewers, founder of Mindmaven and author of Radical Delegation. Patrick is an expert on productivity and relationship building, and in this episode, he shares his powerful strategies for freeing up time and increasing impact as a leader.
Patrick discusses his concept of radical delegation, which allows leaders to regain 10 to 12 hours a week by delegating tasks more effectively. He emphasizes the importance of investing in relationships, explaining that strong relationships are key to success, yet often overlooked due to their lack of urgency.
Patrick also dives into the concept of positive alacrity, the simple but transformative habit of voicing positive thoughts immediately to strengthen relationships and improve workplace culture.
Tune in to learn how Patrick's innovative approach to delegation and relationship building can help you become a more effective and impactful leader!
You’ll find this episode valuable if you’re a leader looking to optimize your time, develop relationships, and delegate tasks effectively for long-term success.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:42] How to free up time and increase productivity
[06:07] Patrick's mistake when trusting his gut in relationships
[09:46] The importance of body language and face-to-face communication
[14:34] The purpose of radical delegation
[18:58] Using an Engagement Manager for effective delegation
[22:07] Follow-up emails and dictation tools will build stronger relationships
[31:58] Inbox shadowing to increase efficiency
[39:10] Building trust with an engagement manager can enhance long-term productivity
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/patrick-ewers-mindmaven
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn
Read Patrick’s book Radical Delegation
Check out Patrick’s company Mindmaven
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 17 of season 2, we sit down with Jerry Colonna, the CEO of Reboot.IO and author of Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong. Jerry is known for his radical approach to leadership and self-inquiry, and in this episode, he shares his insights on how leaders can create conditions of belonging within their organizations. He explores the concept of radical self-inquiry, emphasizing the importance of making the unconscious conscious to break free from recurring patterns that hinder personal and professional growth.
Jerry also delves into the power of empathy in leadership and how fostering real conversations can lead to more inclusive and supportive work environments. Through practical examples, Jerry discusses the importance of leaders taking responsibility for their role in shaping the culture of their organizations. He encourages leaders to look inward, challenge their belief systems, and actively create conditions where everyone can belong.
Tune in to learn how Jerry's philosophy can help you build a more inclusive and empathetic workplace. This episode offers profound insights for leaders looking to deepen their understanding of themselves and their role in creating a more connected and human-centered organization.
You’ll find this episode valuable if you’re a leader aiming to foster belonging, lead with empathy, and create a culture that embraces real conversations!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:10] Discussing radical self-inquiry
[03:47] Radical self-inquiry’s importance in leadership
[07:01] Overview of Jerry’s new book, Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong
[11:40] Creating conditions for belonging in the workplace
[16:38] The challenge of empathy and inclusion in the workplace
[18:41] How a CEO can foster an inclusive culture
[25:25] Dealing with divisiveness in organizations
[33:80] Stop thinking you have to have all the answers
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jerry-colonna-reboot
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Jerry on LinkedIn
- Read Jerry’s NEW book Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong
- Read Jerry’s book Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up
- Check out Jerry’s company Reboot.IO
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
- Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In episode 16 of season 2, we sit down with Brian Gottlieb, author of Beyond the Hammer and a visionary business leader who scaled his home services company from a $3,000 startup to a $150 million enterprise. Brian shares his unique approach to leadership, focusing on hiring to your weaknesses and empowering others to fill the gaps where you fall short. He dives deep into how he built a culture of development, transforming his company into a training organization where employees are constantly learning and growing.
Brian also emphasizes the importance of problem-solving systems — creating scalable solutions that allow teams to work autonomously and solve issues without micromanagement. Through powerful examples from his own journey, Brian explains how leaders can build systems that enable sustainable growth and foster employee development.
Tune in to learn how Brian's leadership philosophy, rooted in empowering others and leading with purpose, can help you build a strong, high-performing culture in your organization.
You’ll find this episode valuable if you’re a leader looking to hire effectively, develop talent, and create scalable systems for long-term success!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[02:45] Brian’s journey from a $3,000 startup to a $150 million company
[06:19] The importance of hiring to your weaknesses
[10:25] Brian’s epiphany about focusing on people development
[12:20] Transitioning a company to a training organization
[14:02] The Harvard Business School executive program
[19:01] Creating a manager training program to drive alignment and growth
[24:01] Using stay interviews to retain employees and gain feedback
[27:30] Aligning a business with clear mission and vision statements
[29:12] How daily huddles helped streamline communication and management
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/brian-gottlieb
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Brian on LinkedIn
- Read Brian’s book Beyond the Hammer
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
- Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
- Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In this episode, we sit down with Adam Coffey, a seasoned CEO with over 21 years of experience leading private-equity-backed service companies. Adam shares his journey from his military career to becoming a leader in the private equity world, where he has overseen 58 acquisitions and facilitated billions of dollars in successful exits.
In episode 15 of season 2, Adam delves into the critical lessons he's learned about leadership, including the importance of building a strong culture and being transparent as a leader. He discusses the concept of the 'Happy Meal effect' in startups and how it applies to scaling companies effectively. Adam also emphasizes the need for leaders to adapt to different stages of growth and highlights the value of ongoing learning and self-improvement.
You’ll gain insights into navigating different growth stages, the importance of hiring and empowering great people, and the role of a CEO in inspiring and leading a team. Adam's practical advice on performance management and building a transparent culture offers actionable strategies for leaders looking to enhance their organizations.
You’ll find this episode valuable if you're looking to elevate your leadership skills, build high-performing companies, and motivate your team.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[00:46] Adam Coffey’s books
[04:56] Lessons from the military and General Electric (GE) on leadership and discipline
[06:52] Transitioning from CEO roles to consulting and teaching
[09:30] Defining the role of a CEO and the importance of company culture
[12:14] The 'Happy Meal effect' in startups and growth companies
[17:45] The importance of employee engagement and performance management
[28:38] Transparency in leadership and making tough decisions
[32:41] Building a strong company culture and engaging employees
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/adam-coffey
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Adam on LinkedIn
- Read Adam’s book The Private Equity Playbook
- Read Adam’s book The Exit Strategy Playbook
- Read Adam’s book Empire Builder: The Road to a Billion
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
- Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
- Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In this insightful episode, we sit down with Amy Edmondson, one of the world’s leading management thinkers. As the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, she is an expert in psychological safety and organizational learning.
In episode 14 of season 2, she discusses the importance of creating environments where team members feel safe to speak up and how this psychological safety is essential for learning and innovation. She also explores the balance between psychological safety and accountability, emphasizing that these concepts are not in opposition but rather complementary in high-performing teams.
You’ll gain valuable insights into how to foster a culture of inquiry, the role of clear goals in team performance, and practical steps for turning around fearful organizations. Amy’s examples from companies like Pixar and Southwest Airlines offer concrete illustrations of how these principles can be applied in real-world settings.
You’ll find this episode valuable if you're looking for actionable advice for leaders looking to enhance their team’s psychological safety, accountability, and overall performance.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[02:13] Leadership mistakes and psychological safety
[05:26] The role of psychological safety in organizational learning
[08:58] Balancing psychological safety and accountability
[14:07] Characteristics of high-performing teams
[18:09] The impact of clear goals on team performance
[24:12] Turning around a fearful organization
[30:22] Lessons from Pixar and Southwest Airlines
[39:38] Tips for leaders on mastering the art of asking good questions
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/amy-edmonson-harvard-business-school
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Amy on LinkedIn
- Read Amy’s book The Fearless Organization
- Read Amy’s book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
- Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
- Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Onesto, a visionary business leader and the founder of KAE.ai, an innovative AI-based HR platform. Anthony shares his extensive experience in empowering startups and tech companies to unlock their full growth potential. As the Chief People Officer at Suzy, a leading market research software company, and the author of "The New Employee Contract," Anthony provides a wealth of knowledge on leadership, delegation, and the evolving workplace.
Anthony addresses the unique characteristics and expectations of the Gen Z workforce, emphasizing their need for stability and proactive approaches to social issues. He also discusses the transformative impact of AI on business practices, highlighting how tools like ChatGPT are revolutionizing communication and efficiency.
Listeners will gain valuable insights into effective team management, the importance of understanding personal strengths, and the balance of autonomy and trust in leadership. Anthony's approach to meetings and his AI-first philosophy offer practical strategies for enhancing organizational productivity.
This episode will be valuable to you if you're looking to revolutionize your approach to leadership, delegation, managing Gen Z employees, and leveraging AI in the workplace!
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Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:28] Leadership mistakes and autonomy
[05:13] Importance of understanding personal strengths in delegation
[06:14] The role of brain awareness training in leadership
[09:02] Levels of autonomy and their application in team management
[14:34] Characteristics and expectations of Gen Z employees
[17:24] Gen Z's need for stability and their proactive approach to social issues
[24:39] Importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in attracting Gen Z talent
[30:22] The impact of AI on communication and efficiency in HR practices
[34:28] Are all your meetings necessary?
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/anthony-onesto-suzy
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn
Read Anthony’s book “The New Employee Contract”
Read Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In this episode, Eytan Bensoussan, CEO and co-founder of NorthOne, a business banking platform for small businesses, shares his experiences. He has had a diverse career path, including time at McKinsey & Company to co-founding NorthOne.
In episode 12 of season 2, he delves into the importance of understanding team motivations, effective hiring practices, and the intricacies of decision making. He provides an in-depth look at his use of issue trees for breaking down complex decisions and emphasizes the significance of gut instincts in leadership.
Eytan also discusses his approach to feedback and performance management, highlighting the balance between frequency and effectiveness. Eytan's insights into building resiliency and maintaining mental health offer valuable strategies for leaders facing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
Tune in to learn from Eytan's experiences and receive actionable advice on transforming feedback culture, empowering team members, and building strong leadership systems.
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Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:11] Navigating employee expectations
[10:22] Issue trees and their importance in decision making
[16:17] Using an external network for decision validation
[21:09] Adjusting feedback methods based on seniority
[25:55] Monthly feedback sessions and synthesizing input
[30:47] Team meetings and daily stand-ups
[34:59] Strategic resets and adapting roadmaps
[41:16] Building confidence through past experiences
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/eytan-bensoussan-northone
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Eytan on LinkedIn
- Learn more about North One
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
- Connect with Aydin on LinkedIn
Follow Fellow on LinkedIn
In this episode, our host Aydin Mirzaee sits down with Matt Verlaque, COO of SaaS Academy and co-founder of High Speed Ventures. Matt’s unique career journey spans over a decade in firefighting and emergency services before venturing into technology and entrepreneurship. He shares how his experiences have shaped his approach to leadership and management, emphasizing the importance of servant leadership and continuous improvement.
In episode 11 of season 2, Matt delves into the critical aspects of building cohesive teams and the significance of investing in people over tasks. He discusses the evolution of team dynamics and the necessity for adapting systems as companies grow. Matt provides actionable insights on conducting effective one-on-one meetings, giving and receiving feedback, and maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life.
Matt also introduces the concept of building unbreakable businesses and the common pitfalls founders face, particularly around pricing and self-worth. He shares his strategies for creating robust operational systems that scale with the company and highlights the importance of having a structured approach to quarterly planning and goal setting.
Tune in to explore Matt’s techniques and insights that have contributed to the success of multiple startups and his current role at SaaS Academy.
This episode offers a wealth of actionable advice for leaders looking to enhance their management practices, build strong team cultures, and lead with intention and impact.
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Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:53] Leadership differences in firefighting and tech
[07:48] Navigating seniority, advocacy, and building rapport
[11:51] Common mistakes CEOs and founders make
[18:46] Establishing team structure and communication as the team grows
[20:25] Balancing transparency and effective communication
[27:11] Quarterly planning and goal setting
[34:33] Efficiently setting goals and priorities in meetings
[38:01] SaaS Academy’s upcoming book "Software as a Science"
[40:46] Leaders should bring out greatness in others
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/matt-verlaque-saas-academy
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
- Read Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan
- Learn more about SaaS Academy
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
In this engaging episode, we sit down with Mark Macleod, a seasoned CFO, VC, and angel investor whose career has significantly impacted high-growth technology companies. Mark takes us through his extensive experience, from his roles at FreshBooks and Real Ventures to founding SurePath Capital Partners. He shares invaluable lessons on the evolution of the CEO role, emphasizing the critical aspects of communication, team building, and financial management.
In episode 10 of season 2, Mark explores the importance of maintaining boundaries and preventing burnout, offering practical advice on time management and self-care. He introduces the concept of the 24-hour rule for decision-making and discusses the necessity for CEOs to shift from working in the business to working on the business. Mark's insights on creating optionality for startups and navigating uncertain times provide listeners with robust strategies to enhance their leadership skills.
As a coach to high-growth company CEOs, Mark brings a unique perspective on balancing professional demands with personal well-being. He highlights the importance of being authentic and designing roles that align with your strengths and passions. Mark's ability to distill complex ideas into actionable advice makes this episode a must-listen for anyone aiming to excel in leadership positions.
This episode is filled with practical tips on preventing burnout, managing time effectively, and building high-performing teams. Tune in to gain Mark's wisdom on leading with intention and navigating the challenges of high-growth environments.
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Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:31] Career experiences and leadership, mistakes
[07:55] The Importance of pausing and avoiding panic
[11:45] The CEO's role in communication, vision, and values
[14:18] Burnout and time management as a leader
[21:58] Calendar audits = key to avoiding burnout.
[23:53] Design your role for personal happiness
[29:30] The roles and focus areas of a CEO
[34:23] Dealing with uncertainty and layoffs
[39:42] Be your authentic self to avoid burnout
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mark-macleod-startup-ceo-coach
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Mark on LinkedIn
- Listen to Mark’s podcast: The Startup CEO Show
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
In this insightful episode, we sit down with Jessica Zwaan, COO of Talentful, whose impressive career journey spans roles in HR and operations across leading tech and SaaS companies. Jessica shares her transition from HR to the COO role, discussing the significant learnings and challenges faced along the way. She delves into the importance of commercial acumen within HR, the necessity of being outcome-driven, and how curiosity can shape effective leadership.
In episode 9 of season 2, Jessica provides an in-depth look at how she structures meetings to ensure transparency and accountability, including her unique approach to the weekly business review meetings. She emphasizes the need for HR to adopt a more product-oriented mindset and shares practical examples from her experience at Whereby, where innovative solutions to operational challenges significantly improved organizational efficiency.
As a hands-on Chief Operating Officer with a background scaling technology, e-commerce, and SaaS businesses, Jessica brings a wealth of experience to her roles. She is a regular panelist and speaker at local and international events, sharing her insights on business operations, culture influence, and how she thinks about companies as commercial products.
This episode is packed with actionable advice on transforming HR functions, fostering a culture of curiosity, and building strong leadership teams.
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:30] Making the transition from HR to COO
[07:12] Purposeful career moves
[12:00] Challenges in HR roles
[17:57] The impact of organizational structures on HR functions
[22:30] The importance of open transparency and peer accountability in meetings
[27:27] Building workforce autonomy and reducing parental culture
[33:30] Incentivizing employees and practical solutions to business problems
[38:21] Being “mostly right” as a leader
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jessica-zwaan-talentful
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn
- Read Built for People by Jessica Zwaan
- Learn more about Fellow.app - AI meeting management software
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
In this special C-Suite Roundtable episode of Supermanagers, host Aydin Mirzaee brings together 4 top executives from diverse industries to tackle one of the biggest challenges in modern workplaces: meeting efficiency. This episode features Michael Koenig, CEO at Tucows, Rebecca Kacaba, CEO at DealMaker, Jeffrey Sullivan, CTO at Consensus, and Matthew O’Riordan, CEO at Ably.
Michael shares his innovative meeting approach at Tucows, a company spanning domain names, fiber internet, and telecom SaaS. He discusses the importance of flexible meeting policies and how implementing structured meeting frameworks like EOS Level 10 meetings can transform organizational productivity.
Rebecca delves into DealMaker's mission to revolutionize capital raising. She emphasizes the shift towards asynchronous communication and the critical role of effective tooling in managing meetings and team collaboration.
Jeffrey talks about the complexities of managing global teams and how the transition to remote work has necessitated a more intentional approach to meetings and asynchronous workflows. He highlights the creation of a living document that codifies Consensus’ remote work practices and meeting policies.
Matthew shares Ably's journey from an office-based to a remote-first organization, focusing on the challenges of meeting inefficiencies. He explains how implementing consistent tools and structured processes has been transformational, allowing for quicker decision-making and more effective collaboration across global teams.
Tune in to episode 8 of season 2 to explore these leaders' insights and strategies on optimizing meetings, fostering asynchronous communication, and enhancing productivity in remote and hybrid teams. This episode offers a wealth of actionable advice for leaders looking to improve their organization's meeting culture and overall efficiency.
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:06] Guest introductions
[09:39] Guests share their biggest meeting pet peeves
[12:44] How meeting policies at Tucows evolved
[14:47] The transition to remote work
[17:05] Asynchronous communication
[24:18] Practical strategies for improving meetings.
[28:18] Creating meeting policies is collaborative
[35:30] Meeting templates and structures.
[43:04] The benefits and challenges of maintaining meeting policies
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/csuite-roundtable-reducing-meeting-bloat
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Read Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
- Connect with Michael Koenig on LinkedIn
- Connect with Rebecca Kacaba on LinkedIn
- Connect with Jeffrey Sullivan on LinkedIn
- Connect with Matthew O’Riordan on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Fellow (AI meeting management platform)
Ken’s role as COO at Hostaway, a SaaS startup transforming the vacation rental industry, showcases his innovative approach to remote work and leadership. In discussion with host Aydin Mirzaee, Ken delves into the diverse experiences that have shaped his career, including pivotal positions at Hotjar and his unique journey as a digital nomad. His transition from traditional corporate environments to leading fully remote teams illustrates his commitment to transparency, deliberate decision-making, and culture-driven hiring.
A cornerstone of Ken’s leadership philosophy is fostering an environment where communication and transparency are prioritized. He highlights Hostaway’s structured use of tools like Slack, emphasizing the importance of clear guidelines for synchronous and asynchronous communication. Ken also touches on the significance of building purposeful remote work rituals and the strategic benefits of hiring for culture add rather than culture fit.
In episode 7 of season 2, Ken emphasizes the importance of effective team management through deliberate processes. His insights into remote work dynamics, cultural values, and global team distribution provide listeners with valuable strategies to implement in their own organizations.
Tune in to explore Ken’s techniques and insights that have contributed to Hostaway’s success as a fast-growing, fully remote company with a team located across 40+ countries.
This episode offers a wealth of actionable advice for leaders looking to enhance remote work practices, build strong team cultures, and lead with intention and impact.
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:58] Ken’s journey as a digital nomad
[07:12] Scaling success as former COO of Hotjar
[08:20] Balancing family life and remote work while traveling
[11:17] Remote vs. hybrid, and in-office work
[15:40] Hostaway’s approach to distributed teams and hiring across 40+ countries
[19:57] Synchronous vs. asynchronous communication
[24:30] Why transparency matters in operations
[32:21] Importance of culture add over culture fit
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/ken-weary-hostaway
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Ken on LinkedIn
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Albert’s role as CTO & SVP of Engineering at Rippling is marked by an impressive blend of technical expertise and leadership experience. In discussion with host Aydin Mirzaee, Albert delves into the diverse experiences that have shaped his career, including pivotal positions at Segment, Mesosphere, and Cloudflare. His journey from engineering roles to top-tier management illustrates his deep commitment to hands-on leadership and continuous improvement.
A cornerstone of Albert’s leadership philosophy is fostering an environment where both innovation and quality are prioritized. He highlights Rippling’s strategic planning processes, including the importance of setting clear, actionable goals and maintaining flexibility to adapt to new information. Albert also touches on the future of HR software, emphasizing the integration of AI and the critical role of understanding employee data to drive better business outcomes.
In episode 6 of season 2, Albert emphasizes the significance of effective project management through mechanisms like blitz meetings, which streamline decision-making and ensure efficient execution of critical initiatives. His insights into leadership, team dynamics, and the evolving landscape of HR technology provide listeners with valuable strategies to implement in their own organizations.
Tune in to explore Albert’s techniques and insights that have contributed to Rippling’s success as a fast-growing technology company, valued at over $13 billion.
This episode offers a wealth of actionable advice for leaders looking to drive innovation, maintain quality, and lead with intention and impact.
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:26] Advice for aspiring leaders
[07:09] The importance of being hands-on leader
[11:58] Planning and prioritization in a rapidly growing company
[19:03] Utilizing Quality Weeks
[29:50] Strategic planning and setting goals
[34:48] The future of HR software and the role of AI
[40:40] Underrated leadership advice
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/albert-strasheim-rippling/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Read The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
- Connect with Albert on LinkedIn
- Join the Supermanagers Slack community
Vitaly’s journey from COO to CEO of StackAdapt, a thriving programmatic advertising company, is marked by substantial role diversification and a refined approach to leadership. In discussion with host Aydin Mirzaee, Vitaly highlights the nuanced differences between the roles.
👉 Visit our website to get all the details: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/vitaly-pecherskiy-stackadapt/
As COO, operational efficiency and internal management were his forte. However, stepping into the CEO role required a shift towards more strategic decision-making and external representation of the company.
Understanding that effective leadership requires reliance on his management team, Vitaly speaks about empowering this team. He emphasizes hiring a chief of staff and an executive assistant to better distribute tasks that pertain to decision-making and execution, allowing him to focus on overarching company goals and culture.
A cornerstone of Vitaly’s leadership philosophy is the importance of company culture, which he identifies as a dynamic rather than static element within the organization. He candidly shares an anecdote about a positive customer service experience that reshaped their office greetings, subtly yet significantly influencing the company’s culture. This story highlights how small changes can have far-reaching effects on an organization's atmosphere and employee morale.
In episode 5 of season 2, Vitaly notes that leadership is not just about leading others but also about continuous self-development and fostering an environment where both employees and the company thrive. His experiences and strategies shine a light on the path to being an adaptive, thoughtful, and impactful leader. As the podcast episode concludes, listeners are left with actionable insights and the encouragement to reflect, adapt, and lead with intention and innovation.
Tune in to explore Vitaly's techniques and insights that helped propel a bootstrapped company to monumental success, now operating with over 1100 employees across 10 countries.
Rob Khazzam's tenure on Uber's first international launch team provided invaluable lessons that continue to shape his leadership as CEO of Float.
At Uber, Rob experienced an environment marked by an unwavering focus on talent, a bias for action, and relentless execution. Amidst the intense and fast-paced environment, Rob also recognized the importance of being willing to think really big and go for it.
Rob Khazzam is the CEO and Co-Founder of Float, a revolutionary fintech company helping companies simplify spending through a corporate card and spend management software. Prior to becoming a founder, Rob worked at Uber for 5 years in international expansion and general management in Eastern Europe and Canada.
In episode 4 of season 2, Rob shares his journey of intense growth from launching Uber in different countries to founding and leading Float. He emphasizes the importance of communication, organization, and reflection in becoming a better manager. Rob also discusses the culture at Float, focusing on values such as talent density, risk tolerance, urgency, customer obsession, and a culture of learning and growth. He shares his insights on hiring excellent talent and the importance of resilience and passion. Rob encourages leaders to stop coddling their teams and instead lead with transparency and context.
Tune in to hear all about Rob’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:11] Going from private equity to Uber
[08:48] How to know when to seize the rocket ship
[15:20] Accountability and focus: key drivers at Uber
[19:57] The problem with unproductive meetings
[23:21] Organizational growth and improved management
[29:05] Building a culture of talent and customer obsession at Float
[33:11] Hiring for culture and continuous growth at Float
[38:24] The importance of risk tolerance in startups
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/rob-khazzam-float/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Rob on LinkedIn
Follow Rob on X
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
Join the Supermanagers Slack Community
Mark Frein, COO of Oyster, discusses how he approaches his role as a multifunctional executive. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the scope and responsibilities of the job, rather than the title.
Transitioning from a single-function to a multifunctional executive, like a COO, requires a significant shift in how you operate. According to Mark Frein, whether it's navigating a discussion on service metrics one moment and pivoting to product innovation the next, being able to adapt and change at a moment's notice is vital.
Mark Frein is a seasoned leader and the Chief Operating Officer at Oyster. With decades of experience in the tech industry, including roles as Chief People Officer and a professor in academia, Mark has established himself as a dynamic force driving organizational growth and operational excellence.
In episode 3 of season 2, Mark offers valuable perspectives on effective goal setting, prioritization, and the power of hypothesis-oriented goals in driving success. He delves into prioritizing job scope and responsibilities over titles and shares insights on aligning people practices with business objectives. Mark explores the challenges of fostering cross-functional collaboration and highlights the importance of fostering a cohesive team environment. Drawing from his expertise as an executive coach, he discusses the role of HR in a business context and the significance of systems thinking and multidisciplinary approaches in leadership. Mark also addresses the evolving landscape of remote work in 2024, advocating for inclusivity and equal opportunities in distributed work environments.
Tune in to hear all about Mark’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:02] Context switching as a multifunctional executive
[09:25] Shiny object syndrome
[14:28] Creating cross-functional collaboration
[20:19] Executive coaching in leadership
[28:11] Systems thinking and multidisciplinary approaches
[33:50] The state of remote work in 2024
[39:04] The never-ending craft of being a manager
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mark-frein-oyster/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn
Follow Mark on Medium
Check out the book Range by David Epstein
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
There’s a secret formula behind fostering innovation, driving success, and creating positive work environments in large corporations.
Optimism, coupled with curiosity and kindness, are traits that leaders must embody to create synergies, boost efficiency, and improve working relationships in their organizations. According to Mauro Porcini, these underrated characteristics allow leaders to see progress, stay motivated and overcome any obstacles.
Mauro Porcini is a visionary leader and the first-ever Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo. With a distinguished career spanning renowned organizations like 3M and Philips Design, Mauro has been at the forefront of infusing design thinking into corporate cultures worldwide. He hosts the podcast ‘In Your Shoes With Mauro Porcini,’ where he explores the creative minds shaping our world. Mauro is also an accomplished author, with his latest book, "The Human Side of Innovation,” has earned accolades for his insights into innovation, design, and leadership.
In episode 2 of season 2, Mauro Porcini discusses the importance of dreaming big and creating space for innovation within organizations. He shares his experience implementing the 15% time approach in PepsiCo, allowing employees to work on passion projects. He also highlights the importance of dreaming big and executing ideas through prototyping and experimentation. Mauro also discusses insights from his book, 'The Human Side of Innovation,' which highlights the importance of people in driving successful projects. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of love for the people served, love for what one does, and love for the people surrounding us as key drivers of success and happiness.
Tune in to discover Mauro’s wealth of insights in creating a culture of innovation and kindness in your organizations!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[07:49] Surrounding yourself with inspiring people
[15:15] ‘The Human Side of Innovation'
[25:26] The 15% time rule
[30:55] The importance of optimism, curiosity, and kindness in business
[44:27] The three dimensions of love in the workplace
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mauro-porcini-pepsico/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Mauro on LinkedIn
Follow Mauro on Instagram and X
Read Mauro’s book ‘The Human Side of Innovation: The Power of People in Love with People’
Check out Mauro’s podcast In Your Shoes With Mauro Porcini
Join the Supermanagers Slack community
There’s no such thing as a bias-free workplace.
According to Kim Scott, leaders must proactively look for and root out bias, prejudice, and bullying in the workplace. Rather than waiting for these behaviors to escalate into harmful situations, she advocates for a shared commitment in your organization to dismantle bias, prejudice, and bullying head-on as it arises.
Kim Scott is a co-founder and the renowned bestselling author of the books ‘Radical Candor’ and ‘Radical Respect.’ She has been a CEO coach at renowned tech companies like Dropbox, Qualtrics, and Twitter. Before her coaching career, Kim was a faculty member at Apple University and led the AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google.
In the first episode of season two, Kim Scott discusses the importance of creating conditions for your employees to do their best work. Reflecting on her own experience, Kim candidly shares the invaluable lessons gained from early leadership missteps, including failing to be an upstander for marginalized women and overlooking her own biases and prejudices. Sharing insights from her newly revamped book ‘Radical Respect,’ Kim offers practical strategies for leaders to recognize and address bias, prejudice, and bullying in the workplace. She emphasizes the need for establishing a shared vocabulary, norm, and commitment across your organization to publicly address bias, whether in remote or in-person work settings. Finally, Kim explains the business case for addressing bias and bullying, as diverse workforces perform better and retaining diverse talent is crucial for success.
Tune in to discover Kim’s tactical and effective strategies for fostering a culture of radical respect in your organization! And don’t forget to pre-order Kim’s latest book Radical Respect, coming out on May 7, 2024.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:36] Restructuring ‘Just Work’ into ‘Radical Respect’
[10:16] Distinguishing between bias, prejudice, and bullying
[18:13] Disrupting bullying without overstepping
[23:14] Preventing bias and prejudice in the workplace
[26:55] Creating a shared commitment to disrupting bias
[33:35] Communicating standards in ways people can hear them
[39:49] The business case for addressing bias and bullying
[44:37] Kim’s underrated leadership advice
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/kim-scott-bestselling-author-of-radical-candor-and-radical-respect/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Follow Kim on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Medium
Pre-order Kim’s new book Radical Respect
Listen to Kim’s podcasts Radical Respect and Radical Candor
Check out Kim’s book recommendations:
- Robertson Davies
- Orlando by Virginia Woolf
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Learn more about Project Include
Striking the right balance between growth and stability is a challenge faced by many large organizations today.
It's essential to anticipate and adapt to market changes, and according to Joe Militello, one way to do this is by firmly anchoring your people strategy with your business strategy.
With over twenty years of management experience, Joe Militello is a seasoned people leader in the tech industry. As the Chief People Officer at PagerDuty, Joe oversees the entire People organization, including HR, talent development, recruiting, and diversity and inclusion. He has a proven track record of helping renowned technology companies scale and reach their market potential. Prior to PagerDuty, Joe held senior leadership roles at Pivotal Software, EMC, and even served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.
In episode #188, Joe dives into his expertise in seamlessly integrating the people strategy into every functional unit of your organization, from recruitment to executive development. Drawing from his wealth of experience, Joe emphasizes the importance of reflecting on and refining strategy based on factors like the increasing need for generative AI or market fluctuations. He also shares his insights into building high-performing teams, managing individuals with more experience, and leading teams consciously above the line.
Tune in to discover Joe’s secrets to achieving responsible growth, predictability, and profitability through strategic people strategy!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:45] Early management mistakes
[10:55] The art of managing people with more experience
[15:30] Above the line vs. below the line leadership
[20:16] Anchoring people strategy in business strategy
[28:08] Incorporating AI into people strategy
[34:00] Training people in their flow of work
[40:22] Final words of wisdom
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/joe-militello-chief-people-officer-pagerduty-rethink-people-strategy/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
Follow Joe on X
Learn more about Conscious Leadership
Check out Fellow’s 1-on-1 coaching template and meeting guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
Imagine the remarkable success of a team that has been together for years. They know each other inside out, work seamlessly, and achieve incredible results.
But what if you don't have that luxury?
There’s a hidden shortcut to cultivating team bonding and mimicking the dynamics of long-standing teams in record time. Tony Martignetti explains that it’s all about building genuine connections.
Tony Martignetti is a trusted advisor, leadership coach, author, podcast host, and TEDx speaker. As the Chief Inspiration Officer at Inspired Purpose Partners, Tony draws on over 25 years of experience in leadership roles and coaching global leaders. He is the author of two insightful books, 'Campfire Lessons for Leaders' and 'Climbing The Right Mountain,' and is passionately dedicated to empowering leaders to unearth their true potential and navigate change with confidence.
In episode 187, Tony reveals practical tactics for building deeper connections with your team, unlocking high performance, and finding leverage in your work to maximize impact and avoid burnout. He also introduces his CORE methodology, a powerful framework designed to help both employees and leaders embrace their individuality, express their true selves in the workplace, and cultivate deeper, more genuine connections. By making intentional efforts to build team bonding, leaders can foster trust, feedback exchange, and the identification of blind spots.
Tune in to gain Tony’s invaluable insights on reigniting connection and meaning in your workplace!
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TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:49] Learning from early missteps
[10:32] Reigniting spark with ‘Campfire Lessons for Leaders’
[18:46] Building deeper connections
[24:06] The CORE framework
[32:39] Leveraging collective strengths
[38:47] Defining success and ‘Climbing The Right Mountain’
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/tony-martignetti-leadership-advisor-how-to-make-impact-without-burnout/
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Tony on LinkedIn
Read Tony’s book Campire Lessons for Leaders
Read Tony’s previous book Climbing The Right Mountain
Listen to Tony’s podcast The Virtual Campfire
Watch Tony’s 2M viewed TEDx Talk
Check out Fellow can improve team meetings
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/susan-odle-operational-change-expert/
70% of all change management efforts actually fail within organizations.
With such a high failure rate, it's crucial to understand how to be part of that successful 30%. According to operational change expert Susan Odle, successfully implementing change requires buy-in, accountability, and clear timelines throughout the entire organization.
Susan Odle is the founder of 8020CS, a company that specializes in change management to drive growth, profitability, and efficiency. With over 25 years of global experience, Susan has helped businesses of all sizes, ranging from start-ups to $800M companies, navigate complex change and achieve tangible results in company growth, stability, and shareholder returns. In her book, "Successful Change," Susan provides a powerful blueprint for successfully navigating the complexities of business transformation.
In episode 186, Susan discusses how to operationalize successful change to positively impact top-line revenue and bottom-line profitability in organizations. She also emphasizes the importance of evidence-based leadership and pragmatic problem-solving, offering practical advice that listeners can apply to their own teams and organizations.
Tune in to hear Susan’s actionable advice on how to help you and your team thrive in times of transformation!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:24] Avoiding analysis paralysis
[11:59] The 30% success club
[17:34] Leading with pragmatism, not your ego
[25:51] Evidence-based management and leadership
[33:21] The five-gate framework of operationalizing change
[37:18] Being kind and human
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Susan on LinkedIn
Check out Susan’s company 8020CS
Read Susan’s book Successful Change
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jennifer-paxton-tech-people-leader-amplify-your-employer-branding-strategy/
This approach doesn't just create an environment that attracts and retains top talent; it’s fundamental in positioning yourself as an exceptional leader. Jennifer sheds light on navigating these complexities to create a workplace culture that resonates with both current and prospective employees.
Jennifer Paxton is the Senior Director of People and Talent at Roofr and a prominent leader in the tech industry. She has extensive experience establishing HR frameworks at high-growth startups like Privy, LevelUp, and Smile.io. Prior to joining Roofr, Jennifer co-founded Jamyr, a platform revolutionizing how recruiting teams utilize employee-generated video content.
In episode #185, Jennifer unpacks the nuances of building high-performing teams by creating clear career paths and leadership training customized to individual employees. Her insights also offer actionable strategies to elevate your employer brand and amplify your company culture.
Tune in to hear Jennifer's expert advice on cultivating an authentic employer brand and positioning your organization as a leader!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:45] When to trust your gut (and when to not)
[12:26] Developing career ladders in startups
[18:47] Tailoring manager training for leaders
[25:55] Investing in employer branding
[29:17] Tactics and tools for amplifying company culture
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines and 1-on-1 meeting templates
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jacob-morgan-leadership-futurist-author-leading-with-vulnerability/
By adopting one straightforward strategy, leaders can achieve up to six times higher approval ratings from their employees.
Embrace vulnerability.
However, this goes beyond being honest about mistakes or uncertainties. Jacob Morgan explains that it's about coupling that openness with competence and actionable plans for improvement— turning vulnerability into a strategic asset for growth.
Jacob Morgan is a 5x bestselling author, respected keynote speaker, and professionally trained futurist. His latest book ‘Leading with Vulnerability’ explores the tangible advantages of vulnerable leadership and offers practical tips to embody this quality. With his extensive background in advising the world’s top organizations, Jacob has established himself as a leading voice on leadership, employee experience, and the future of work.
In episode #184, Jacob unpacks how vulnerability can serve as a superpower for leaders, enabling them to build trust and transform their organizations. Drawing from his comprehensive research of interviews with over 100 CEOs and 14,000 employees, Jacob explores the "vulnerable leader equation," the importance of learning proactively from failure, and the organizational benefits of vulnerability.
Tune in to hear about Jacob’s expert insights on how vulnerability can be your greatest strength in leadership!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[06:20] The vulnerable leader equation
[12:52] Proactively learning from failure
[18:37] Leading with vulnerability
[25:02] The ROI of embracing vulnerability org-wide
[29:50] Building trust through vulnerability
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Read Jacob’s bestseller Leading with Vulnerability
Check out Jacob’s website
Connect with Jacob on LinkedIn
Follow Jacob on X
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/michael-bungay-stanier-the-coaching-habit-on-how-to-work-with-almost-anyone/
You can transform every working relationship into a source of personal and professional growth.
It starts with building the best possible relationship you can have with your team members. Michael Bungay Stanier highlights how elevating everyday working relationships to their highest potential can amplify and encourage better performance.
Michael Bungay Stanier, also known for his bestseller 'The Coaching Habit,' returns to Supermanagers to discuss his new book ‘How to Work with (Almost) Anyone’ where he delves into the art of strengthening every working relationship you have for the better. Michael has been a guiding force in shaping and forging effective management and leadership habits.
In episode #183, Michael delves into the intricacies of building relationships, emphasizing safety, vitality, and repairability. He also touches on the crucial concept of 'keystone conversations'—dialogues focused on how team members can work together effectively rather than just on the work itself.
Michael's practical approach aims to enhance team dynamics, improve personal interactions, and create a more productive, enjoyable workplace.
Tune in to discover Michael’s advice on how to cultivate the best possible relationships in your workplace!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:04] How to Work with (Almost) Anyone
[11:25] The qualities of a best possible relationship
[22:35] Taking the initiative
[26:59] How to have a keystone conversation
[34:19] Investing in the relationship
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Read Michael’s new book How to Work with (Almost) Anyone
Read Michael’s book The Coaching Habit
Check out the Best Possible Relationship website
Subscribe to Michael’s How To Do Stuff That Matters newsletter
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines and 1-on-1 templates
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here:
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/steven-rogelberg-winning-advice-for-energizing-1-on-1-meetings-how-to-crush-dead-space-and-navigate-the-status-update-trap/
Have you ever thought canceling your 1:1 meetings with your directs might not be a big deal?
Think again — they may be the key to unlocking the full potential of your team and leadership excellence. Steven Rogelberg illustrates this crucial aspect of leadership and shares insights on how to optimize these 1:1 meetings to foster team growth and individual development and transform the larger organizational landscape.
Steven Rogelberg is a leading organizational psychologist with a wealth of knowledge on team effectiveness, leadership, and workplace dynamics, and the Chancellor's Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
His new book, ‘Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings’ presents key research-backed strategies to elevate 1:1s to the benefit of you, your directs, and your organization. With years of experience consulting for top-tier companies, he brings a rich perspective on enhancing workplace dynamics for peak performance.
In episode #182, Steven Rogelberg discusses the importance of 1:1s, avoiding the status update trap, and clear steps on structuring these meetings to foster meaningful conversations.
Tune in to hear Steven’s expertise on how you can elevate your management skills and reshape your meeting habits!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:57] The importance of 1:1 meetings
[11:29] Status update trap
[19:04] Investing the time
[25:34] The four steps of 1:1s
[33:39] Dealing with resistance and dead space
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Steven on LinkedIn
Read Steven’s new book Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings
Read Steven’s book The Surprising Science of Meetings
Read Andy Grove’s book High Output Management
Check out Fellow’s one-on-one meeting software and one-on-one meeting templates
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/tonille-miller-transformative-leadership-nurturing-talent-overcoming-burnout
Have you ever wondered how great leaders manage to transform their teams and organizations while prioritizing the growth of their employees?
Just like plants need the right environment to flourish, employees thrive in a workplace where their growth is prioritized. Tonille Miller, through her expertise in leadership and organizational dynamics, sheds light on how to unlock employees’ thriving and high performance as a competitive edge.
Tonille Miller is the founder of EXT and author of "The Flourishing Effect," and is a prominent organizational psychologist and consultant with a deep understanding of human behavior, high performance, and organizational dynamics. With a background in consulting, she brings a multifaceted perspective to fostering thriving work environments. Tonille, with over 15 years of experience, advises Fortune 500 companies, leading consulting firms, and high-growth start-ups. She is a respected figure in business transformation, leadership, and employee experience.
In episode #181, Tonille discusses the art of delegation as a tool for development, the transformative power of feedback in shaping company culture, and the importance of investing in employee growth to achieve organizational success.
Tune in to hear all about Tonille’s leadership journey and her insights into unlocking high employee satisfaction and performance!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:24] Delegating is a gift for development
[10:39] The Flourishing Effect
[14:15] Transforming culture
[19:18] Role of feedback in cultural transformation
[25:15] Connecting the dots for your team
[34:11] Investing in employee development and growth
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Tonille on LinkedIn
Learn more about EXT
Read Tonille’s book The Flourishing Effect
Check out Fellow’s one-on-one meeting software and one-on-one meeting templates
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/whitney-johnson-growth-as-a-default-setting/
Have you ever had a star employee whose performance suddenly dropped and you didn’t understand why?
Everyone experiences the S curve of job satisfaction. The 3 points in the “S” are always a launch point, sweet spot, and mastery. When employees reach mastery, they get bored and less motivated because they’re not getting the same amount of dopamine from performing the job as before.
A former award-winning Wall Street stock analyst, Whitney Johnson applies her understanding of momentum and growth in stocks to people. In her words, “you have to be willing to disrupt yourself”.
Whitney Johnson is the CEO of Disruption Advisors, a leadership development company, helping you grow your people to grow your business. A Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author, she was named by Thinkers50 as one of the ten leading business thinkers in the world. She is a keynote speaker and a popular lecturer for Harvard Business Publishing’s Corporate Learning. In 2017, she was selected from more than 17,000 candidates for the initial cohort of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches, and was named the #1 Talent Coach.
In episode #180, Whitney explains how learning is the oxygen of human growth, how to deal with bored employees, the value of getting a coach, and why we need to disrupt ourselves.
Tune in to hear all about Whitney’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:40] Micromanagement on Wall Street
[09:30] Team member growth (the S curve framework)
[18:00] What happens when your employees get to mastery
[25:00] The innovator’s dilemma
[30:16] Disrupting ourselves leads to growth
[36:00] Surprise and delight
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Whitney on LinkedIn
Check out Disruption Advisors
Read Whitney’s book Disrupt Yourself
Listen to Episode 80 of Disrupt Yourself
Listen to the Disrupt Yourself podcast
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines feature
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/q-hamirani-paper-diagnosing-gaps-and-building-a-digital-mentor
This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to leverage the power of AI to improve their management.
In episode #179, Q Hamirani breaks down how leaders can use ChatGPT more effectively, the innovative ways AI can serve as a mentor, offering guidance and support to leaders and teams, and how AI is revolutionizing job processes and people operations, enhancing efficiency and decision-making.
We also uncover the pivotal role AI plays in fostering authentic communication, a critical element in today’s business landscape, the importance of authenticity, especially in remote work culture, and tackle the challenges of effective communication in remote teams, offering insights into how AI tools can bridge gaps and strengthen team dynamics.
An accomplished leader, advisor, speaker, and executive coach, Q Hamirani is renowned for his expertise in people strategy and business operations. His background encompasses a wealth of experience across startups, venture growth, private equity, management consulting, and Fortune 100 companies. As the Chief People & Communications Officer at Paper, he excels in overseeing public relations, internal and external communications, and talent recruitment.
Prior to Paper, Q joined Airbnb in 2018 as its inaugural global people operations leader. He was instrumental in shaping Airbnb's people and talent operations, guiding the company through pivotal stages, including hypergrowth, pandemic responses, workforce restructuring, IPO, and the evolution of the workplace. A highlight of his tenure at Airbnb was the development of the Digital Nomad program in 2020, a precursor to Airbnb's groundbreaking Live & Work Anywhere initiative.
Tune in to hear all about Q’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:00] How custom GPTs are changing management
[10:41] Using AI as a mentor
[16:38] How AI can improve job processes and people operations
[22:31] AI’s role in improving authentic communication
[32:56] Importance of authenticity in remote work culture
[38:15] Effective communication in remote teams
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Q on LinkedIn
Check out Q’s PeopleGPT community
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/leah-tharin-the-resilient-leaders-reality-check-planning-for-change-and-adjusting-your-course
How do you balance future planning while maintaining flexibility to adapt to changes?
In episode #178, Leah Tharin shares her insights from working in tech and start-ups for over 20 years. She covers how to lead your team through constant change, aligning your team with team goals, and why you should allow people to try a job before they commit to it.
You'll learn her framework for "reality checks," which she calls periodic evaluations that prevent you and your employees from getting off course. She also reveals how to avoid burnout and costly mistakes in the hiring process, planning for resilience, and mitigating risks.
Leah Tharin is a product leader, content creator, advisor, and startup founder. She has been in tech for over 2 decades and has founded 4 startups. Previously the Head of Product at jua.ai and Product Lead at Smallpdf, she is now a Portfolio Advisor at Notion Capital and Advisor to NorthOne and Paddle. Specializing in B2B product-led growth, she shares her experiences and features industry leaders on her website and YouTube channel.
Tune in to hear all about Leah’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:24] Leading versus managing a team
[10:07] Different ways to get team members aligned
[20:47] It’s very hard to predict anything
[26:25] How to handle hiring outcomes
[30:40] Allow people to try jobs before committing [37:30] When to pause the hiring process
[40:25] It takes a lot less than you think to be a good leader
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Leah on LinkedIn
Visit Leah’s website
Read Leah’s Product Led Growth Guide
Subscribe to Leah’s newsletter
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/justin-mcsharry-dropbox-stepping-into-transformation-lessons-in-designing-management-training-that-sticks
Are there opportunities for managers to support each other through difficult situations at your company?
In episode #177, Justin McSharry shares his insights from working in leadership development for over 10 years. He highlights the importance of having internal peer groups for managers, the different elements required to build a successful management training program, and how companies should invest in their managers - regardless of company size.
In this episode, Justin also advises on tactics to help your company handle new business areas or large business transitions, drawing from his first-hand experience with Dropbox's shift towards an AI-first approach.
Justin McSharry is an experienced leadership development expert. Having previously worked as Head of Learning and Leadership Development at Quantcast, he has now been working in a similar niche for over 4 years at Dropbox. The 4 main pillars Dropbox focuses on regarding their leadership development are executive and HiPo development, manager and team development, onboarding, and employee development. Today, Justin is the Senior Director of Learning and Leadership Development at Dropbox.
Tune in to hear all about Justin’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:00] Early management mistakes
[10:10] Leveraging feedback as a leader
[19:20] How to run management peer groups
[25:28] How companies should go about investing in managers
[31:00] AI and learning within companies
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Justin on LinkedIn
Read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Read The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Read Zone to Win by Geoffrey A. Moore
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/maranda-dziekonski-datasembly-assessing-for-fit-onboarding-for-impact-transform-new-hires-into-revenue-drivers
Are there any similarities at your company between how new customers and new employees are onboarded?
In episode #176, Maranda Dziekonski shares her innovative approaches to onboarding. She highlights how viewing new employees through the same lens as new customers can revolutionize how companies integrate new team members, ensuring they become impactful contributors from the outset.
Maranda is an experienced team builder with a passion for setting up the right teams, systems, processes, and overall infrastructure to take companies to the next level. Currently the SVP of Customer Success at Datasembly, she has over 20 years of experience building world-class operations. She also has extensive experience scaling teams in early and mid-stage startups. She has been honored as a Top 100 Customer Success Strategist, Top 25 Customer Success Influencer Judge, Top 25 Influencer, and sits on numerous boards.
Maranda sheds light on the nuances of assessing for cultural fit and provides invaluable insights on how to effectively align new hires with company goals, foster a culture of continuous learning, and transform the onboarding experience into a powerful tool for business success.
Throughout the episode, Maranda offers practical advice and strategies for leaders looking to optimize their team's performance and drive significant revenue growth.
Tune in to hear all about Maranda’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:15] Early mistakes managing in tech
[10:20] Building customer success operations
[18:12] Best practices for getting everyone in your company trained on your product
[25:58] Making it easier for employees to prioritize work
[32:02] Customer success team owning revenue
[34:50] Leading productive one-on-ones
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Maranda on LinkedIn
Check out the Engineering Leaders Ebook
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/gary-bolles-rethinking-leadership-the-characteristics-of-a-successful-team-guide
What’s the difference between a “guide” and a “manager”?
Gary Bolles shares why he prefers calling all people leaders team guides and how this simple reframe is revolutionizing leadership in a world of exponential change.
He also explains how different organizations are adopting unique approaches to their organizational structures, such as leaderless organizations and improving synchronicity within teams.
Gary Bolles is a world-renowned specialist on disruption and the future of work. He is the Chair for the Future of Work at Singularity University and a partner in Charrette LLC, where he advises on digital economy adaptation. He also co-founded eParachute.com, a website that provides assistance for job seekers and career changers, and he wrote the best-selling book "What Color Is Your Parachute?" His diversified background includes positions in technology journalism, strategic innovation, and consulting for companies such as Google and Nokia. His work focuses on lifelong learning, adaptation, and the mechanics of disruptive change.
In episode #175, Gary Bolles breaks down how to future-proof your leadership and shares examples to help you transform your organizational culture, guide your team, and adapt to constant change.
Tune in to hear all about Gary’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:06] LinkedIn Learning
[10:00] The difference between a guide and a manager
[19:40] Modern approaches to management
[24:37] Culture transformation strategies
[27:47] Benefits of leaderless organizations
[32:36] 4 questions to determine if your organization is in synchrony
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Gary on LinkedIn
Read The Next Rules of Work by Gary Bolles
Explore Singularity University’s Leadership Development & Innovation Programs
Check out Fellow’s meeting guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/fredrik-thomassen-superside-speed-is-safety-lessons-on-business-building-and-local-decision-making
Does your team hesitate to move quickly?
Are you concerned that by completing tasks too quickly, they'll overlook crucial details?
Fredrik Thomassen, CEO and Co-founder of Superside, thinks you should be more scared of the opposite. In his words, “speed is safety”.
In episode #174, Fredrik explains why speed, kindness, and truth-seeking are core values at Superside and helped the company scale to over 700 employees in 8 years. He also explains why focusing on “unblocking” employees is crucial in a high-growth environment and how to do so gracefully.
Fredrik has a diverse background. Prior to his current role as the CEO and Co-founder at Superside, he was the CEO and Co-Founder at Zalora, Indonesia’s largest fashion e-commerce company. He also worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Company and as a Journalist at Agderposten. He has served in the Royal Norwegian Navy as well.
Fredrik is passionate about decentralized organizations, organizing company values, and how to constantly improve how companies work on a large scale.
Tune in to hear all about Fredrik’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:06] Superside is creative-as-a-service
[10:35] Reinforcing “speed is safety” in the company
[19:10] Finding kindness in the hiring process
[25:00] Prioritizing unblocking employees
[31:00] Running effective staff meetings
[34:04] If you try too hard you won’t do it
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Fredrik on LinkedIn
Check out Superside
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/adrienne-barnard-mainstay-when-change-is-on-the-horizon-strategies-for-increasing-team-readiness
Do you know the difference between offering feedback and providing coaching?
Adrienne describes how coaching may be a better way to communicate with team members as it “focuses you on growth versus change.”
She also explains how to discern between giving feedback and coaching your team. She shares lessons learned from implementing management training, and recommends her favourite resources for managers.
Adrienne Barnard has led and managed multiple key programs to enhance the employee lifecycle, from talent acquisition to retention and growth. She is passionate about questioning standard practices and embracing new ways of doing things in order to achieve better outcomes for organizations and their people.
With over 18 years of experience in people and talent roles, at companies like Telaria, ASICS Digital, and now Mainstay, she has a proven track record of delivering results that align with business strategy and vision.
In episode #173, Adrienne Barnard breaks down how to successfully execute management training programs, give feedback to staff that fosters growth, lead teams through constant change, and put employee wellness first.
Tune in to hear all about Adrienne’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:05] Knowing how to give feedback
[09:05] Coaching versus feedback
[18:40] Putting management training programs into practice
[22:55] Who develops management training content?
[26:50] Where to start with developing as a manager
[30:00] Focusing on employee wellness
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Adrienne on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Cy Wakeman - expert on reducing drama in the workplace
- Try Fellow’s Meeting Cost Calculator for free
- Listen to the Manager Tools podcast
- Listen to the Co-Founder of Manager Tools, Mark Horstman, on the Supermanagers Podcast
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/dr-marie-helene-pelletier-developing-a-resilience-plan-for-success-managing-workplace-demands
Resilience is a business buzzword, but it can be difficult to define what it looks like in a team setting without actionable advice.
One of the best ways for leaders to foster resilience is by creating a resilience plan to manage workplace demands.
Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier shares how her experience as a workplace psychologist has impacted the way she approaches resilience, and how your team can benefit from fully comprehending it.
Throughout her career in business management and psychology, Dr. Pelletier has spearheaded the dialogue surrounding leadership resilience and workplace health. With her extensive background in corporate, insurance, governance and public sectors, she brings national and international perspectives on mental health and resilience.
She is a bilingual practicing psychologist with over 20 years of experience and holds a Ph.D. and MBA from the University of British Columbia. She has presented and authored and co-authored a number of industry and academic publications and has won numerous academic and industry awards.
In episode #172, Dr. Pelletier discusses tips from her new book, The Resilience Plan, how priming is a scientifically proven way to form new habits, and how to manage when facing stress in the workplace.
Tune in to hear all about Dr. Pelletier’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:10] Psychologist to executive coach
[06:30] Own all parts of what you’re doing
[13:00] Create plans for resilience
[26:26] Managing workplace stress
[30:10] Benefit from prioritization
[34:45] How to use priming techniques
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Pre-Order Dr. Pelletier’s new book The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health
Follow Dr. Pelletier on LinkedIn
Check out Fellow’s meeting cost calculator
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/chester-elton-taking-workplace-habits-home-leadership-lessons-for-life/
The power of gratitude and small acts of appreciation can build trust and loyalty within teams.
Managers often underutilize the tool of gratitude and recognition in their efforts to build trust and morale among their teams.
Chester discusses the blurring of lines between work and personal life, emphasizing the importance of setting good guardrails and aligning personal values with company values to create a positive customer experience.
Chester Elton is a #1 New York Times Bestselling business author, organizational culture, employee engagement, and leadership expert. One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, he has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. His work is supported by research with more than one million working adults, revealing the secrets to develop a high-performing team.
In episode #171, Chester explains how important it is to reflect on your work as a leader daily and get into the habit of gratitude to improve your leadership and management, both in work and with your family. He even shares some tactical ways to use gratitude to strengthen your personal relationships.
Tune in to hear all about Chester’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:18] Gratitude stones and hockey
[12:20] How to give praise
[22:20] Gratitude ritual for kids
[32:18] You don’t make the time, you find the time
[37:00] Mental health in the workplace
[43:43] How do you measure your life
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Subscribe to Chester's newsletter The Gratitude Journal
- Preorder Chestor's new guided journal, The Gratitude Habit
- Read Leading with Gratitude by Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick
- Read The Carrot Principle by Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick
- Read Anxiety at Work by Chester Elton, Adrian Gostick, and Anthony Gostick
- Read How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen
- Read The Good Life by Robert Waldinger
- Read Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
- Listen to the HR Leaders podcast hosted by Chris Rainey
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/shane-parrish-positioning-for-success-clear-thinking-with-shane-parrish
How do you know when you’ve made the right decision?
Shane Parrish shares what inspired him to start taking decision making more seriously and embark on the journey to improve how clearly he thinks. He also gives listeners the tools to make clear thinking simple, make better decisions, and improve their leadership skills.
Shane Parrish is the founder of Farnam Street, the world's most-read blog on clear thinking. Shane's podcast, The Knowledge Project ,has been downloaded over 35 million times and his newsletter has over 500,000 subscribers. Shane's work has been featured in nearly every major global publication, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.
In episode #170, Shane breaks down clear thinking into actionable steps, discusses how to think more independently, shares what the 13 sources of advantage are and why managers should focus on talent curation when looking to expand their teams.
Tune in to hear all about Shane’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:50] Inspiration to get better at decision making
[11:40] 13 sources of advantage
[19:14] Talent collecting
[31:10] How to think independently
[39:39] Mental models
[44:30] Turn desired behavior into default behavior
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Read Shane’s first book The Great Mental Models Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts
Read Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish
Check out the Farnam Street Blog
Listen to The Knowledge Project Podcast
Subscribe to Shane’s “Brain Food” newsletter
Read The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Check out Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines Feature
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/barbra-gago-pando-leveling-up-your-talent-a-framework-for-intentional-career-progression
How do you know who to promote and when to promote them?
Barbra Gago shares what inspired her to create a tool that allows managers to make career progression more transparent and intentional. She also shares how beneficial standardizing employee progression is for your company.
Barbra Gago is the founder of Pando, and has a rich history as an early-stage CMO, driving pre-Series A companies like Miro, Greenhouse, and Culture Amp to success. Recognizing the flaws in traditional performance management, Barbra is redefining the field.
In episode #169, Barbra explains how to facilitate “just-in-time” promotions, thinking about employees from an “employee lifetime value” perspective, and how to apply other strategies traditionally used for business building to strengthen your team.
Tune in to hear all about Barbra’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:28] You can’t treat everyone the same
[12:00] Hiring people when you’re not the expert
[17:17] Reinvent the way you think about employee performance
[22:40] Bubbling up the corporate ladder
[31:10] Career levels versus titles
[38:08] Make performance evaluations more fair
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Barbra on LinkedIn
Check out Pando
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/ali-asaria-tulip-implementing-the-icelandic-workweek-a-new-approach-to-flexibility-and-freedom
Most managers focus on avoiding bad things when they should be focusing on creating good things.
In this episode, Ali Asaria discusses the importance of having the hard conversations that eliminate poor alignment, and how to ensure employees remain motivated by a sense of creativity and autonomy.
Ali Asaria is a Canadian technology entrepreneur who has founded several companies including Well.ca and his latest venture, Tulip, an enterprise retail technology company. He is also the original creator of the most popular BlackBerry game, BrickBreaker. Ali has many years of experience leading teams of over 200 people.
In episode #168, Ali explains how important it is to experiment with your team’s leadership and management practices. He also shares how this experimentation can help you discover things within each team that help the entire company succeed.
Tune in to hear all about Ali’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:50] There’s no secret formula
[09:53] Implement management lightly
[15:00] Icelandic work week
[25:00] Discovering the lack of trust
[34:40] Getting your team aligned
[39:23] Using AI to solve problems
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Ali on LinkedIn
Download Fellow’s meeting cost calculator
Read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Read Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
Subscribe to the Raw Signal Group Newsletter
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/vijay-pendakur-unlocking-peak-performance-the-roi-of-investing-in-dei
DEI is not about shrinking one person's slice of pie, but rather expanding the pie for everyone.
In this episode, Dr. Vijay Pendakur discusses the importance of shifting the conversation from diversity to relevance and complexity. We also touch on the distinction between talent attraction and talent acquisition, emphasizing the significance of telling an authentic talent story in the right spaces.
Dr. Vijay Pendakur has held Vice President and C-level roles at Zynga, VMware, and Dropbox. Dr. Pendakur possesses strong domain expertise on how organizations can adapt to changing trends, from the changing demographics of Generation Z to the rapidly evolving landscape of managing hybrid teams. Dr. Pendakur serves on the institute teaching faculty of the Race and Equity Center, at the University of Southern California, and was recognized as a top DEI leader by Channel Futures in 2021 and Untapped in 2022.
In episode #167, Dr. Pendakur shares why equity and inclusion are not just buzzwords but are crucial for unlocking peak performance in teams.
Tune in to hear all about Dr. Pendakur’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:50] Culture eats strategy for breakfast
[08:38] Don’t always trust your gut
[17:15] Dynamism is essential as a leader
[26:30] How to implement DEI
[30:30] Inclusion + belonging = performance
[37:16] DEI is a generative model
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Dr. Pendakur on LinkedIn
Read Resonant Leadership by Annie McKee and Richard Boyatzis
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/amanda-blesing-credibility-killers-in-the-workplace-how-to-not-diminish-your-power
Do you ever say sorry when you’re late to a meeting?
It’s easy to be apologetic to our coworkers, but this can disempower you as a person. There are a few alternatives to ensure you stay empowered while being courteous, such as “thank you for waiting for me to begin”.
Amanda Blesing dives into how to not diminish your power in the workplace, and eliminate credibility killers. She also explains how people can fall into a mindset that forces them to pay the “loyalty penalty” and why this mindset is so dangerous.
Amanda Blesing is a leading author, speaker, mentor and corporate trainer and creator of The Ambition Revolution program, who consults busy and ambitious professionals. She has over 25 years of leadership experience, and was previously CEO of SOCAP Australia. She’s spent time working with clients such as Atlassian, ANZ, and Suncorp. She’s coached over 2000 women to overcome societal limitations and take charge of their success.
In episode #166, Amanda shares her experiences as an executive coach to help you be a more present leader who is a champion for career growth of those on your team.
Tune in to hear all about Amanda’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:00] Being a present leader
[11:50] Self promotion tactics
[17:50] How to be heard
[26:00] The “We’ve got enough women” mentality
[31:00] Credibility killers
[37:38] Well-meaning poor advice
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Amanda Blesing on LinkedIn
Check out Amanda’s books
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jason-smith-klue-scouting-for-entrepreneurial-talent-when-to-hire-generalists-vs-specialists
Do you ever think about the importance of the types of people your company hires?
When hiring, many companies focus on the experience of their candidates. While this plays a large role, who a person is and their level of entrepreneurial talent could be even more important.
Jason explains the nuances of hiring the right fit for your company, breaking down the distinction between generalists and specialists. He also shares how to get your company ahead by leveraging AI and developing relationships with your competitors.
Jason Smith is a product driven, sales and marketing centric tech entrepreneur. He has been the cofounder, investor or early employee of 5 start-ups. He’s led sales, marketing, product and services teams, advised great companies like Mobify (acquired by Salesforce.com) and Strutta (acquired by LX Ventures) and received E&Y's Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year for the Pacific Region. He is currently the CEO and Cofounder of Klue, an AI-powered Competitive Enablement platform.
In episode #165, Jason shares his experiences as an entrepreneurial leader to help you delegate, hire and manage better.
Tune in to hear all about Jason’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:10] Delegation reluctancy
[09:30] How to know when to have a tough conversation
[14:40] Hiring entrepreneurial people
[20:40] Ambiguous interview questions
[26:00] Looking at a candidate’s past
[30:00] Develop relationships with your competitors
[36:00] Company-wide AI day
[41:00] Being the bouncer of your company
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Jason on LinkedIn
Check out Fellow’s new Meeting Guidelines feature
Read No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/james-carr-the-outcome-driven-engineer
How often do you approach your daily tasks with clear intention?
There's a prevailing notion in many businesses that prioritize "output" over "outcome". But what if this mindset inadvertently redirects our focus and dilutes our intentionality?
James explains that, “Every action is a vote for who you intend to be.” This philosophy revolves around aligning each action with the desired outcome based on set intentions. Moreover, James sheds light on the significance of acknowledging 'invisible work'—the countless, often overlooked tasks that fill our days.
James Carr is an engineering leader with over 20 years of experience building and running distributed systems, leading high performing teams, and collaborating across functions. He has worked in various positions at CARFAX, Monetate and Zapier, and is currently the Director of Engineering at Care.com.
In episode #164, James shares his advice for using ChatGPT for job applications, being an ideal team player, and what to “lean in” on as an engineering leader.
Tune in to learn more about James’ leadership journey and the invaluable lessons he’s gathered along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:00] Focus on outcome not output
[09:30] What to lean in on as an engineering leader
[16:25] Change work by using intention
[23:28] Quality vs quantity
[26:00] Using ChatGPT for job applications
[31:00] What’s the deal with cover letters
[36:50] What an ideal team player looks like
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with James on LinkedIn
Read Making Work Visible By Dominica DeGrandis
Read The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
Join the Rands Leadership Slack Group
Listen to Michael Lopp’s (Rands’ founder) Supermanagers Episode
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/shanee-ben-zur-crunchbase-fear-of-failure-and-hiring-sporks-the-startup-growth-guide
How often do you celebrate failures?
Don’t let the fear of failure stop your organization from reaching its full potential.
Shanee Ben-Zur explains that “Companies that are overly risk averse are doomed to sameness,” which is a fate much worse than failure. She also shares how other types of fears can negatively impact your organization such as the fear of commitment.
Shanee Ben-Zur is a customer-obsessed marketing leader with 15 years of experience leading teams across all areas of marketing. She has worked in various positions at Dropbox, PlayStation, NVIDIA, and Salesforce.Today, Shanee is at Crunchbase as their Chief Growth and Marketing Officer.
In episode #163, Shanee shares her advice for going from peer to manager, learning what your values are, and why you should hire sporks - not spoons.
Tune in to learn more about Shanee’s leadership journey and the invaluable lessons she’s gathered along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:06] Going from peer to manager
[11:30] Learning what your values are
[16:30] Share the milestones you’ve reached
[22:50] How to get people to speed up
[27:20] Take measured risks
[35:33] Help them with the hurdles
[39:10] Hire sporks and not spoons
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Shanee on LinkedIn
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/carol-leaman-axonify-beyond-the-bad-news-leading-with-a-plan-of-action-and-assurance
How transparent is your leadership team about company information?
In an age where transparency can make or break trust, many leaders still wrestle with pulling back the curtain, especially when it comes to sharing sensitive company details such as finances. But what if withholding information is more perilous than sharing it?
Axonify’s CEO, Carol Leaman, delves into why she views the repercussions of not sharing this information as a greater threat. She offers actionable strategies to promote transparency and over-communication across all areas of a company and provides insights on how to motivate your employees.
Carol Leaman is an award-winning thought leader with an impressive track record of successfully leading tech companies. Before becoming the CEO and Co-Founder of Axonify, she served as the CEO of PostRank Inc. (acquired by Google) and held CEO positions at tech firms RSS Solutions and Fakespace Systems.
In episode #162, Carol discusses her experiences with boomerang employees, creating value for employees, motivating teams, and the decision-making process of hiring internally versus externally for roles.
Tune in to learn more about Carol’s leadership journey and the invaluable lessons she's gathered along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:00] How to motivate your people
[12:05] Why not share company info with employees
[17:40] How to internally over-communicate
[26:50] Encouraging people to come back to the office
[31:40] Boomerang employees
[38:50] Hiring internally vs externally
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Carol on LinkedIn
Listen to Liz Wiseman’s Supermanagers Episode
Read Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
Get your 1:1 meeting guide
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the episode resources here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/sabrina-leblanc-surveymonkey-are-you-being-the-bottleneck-or-building-the-bridge-lessons-on-cross-functional-leadership
How would you rate your organization's cross-functional communication?
Alignment at the leadership level and being aligned on the goals and incentives that you're driving towards is where it all begins.
Sabrina dives into how to approach friction between two cross-functional departments, why healthy conflict should be encouraged, and how to promote a growth mindset at work.
Sabrina is an expert in cross-functional communication and teamwork. She gives actionable strategies to improve cross-functional collaboration within an organization, utilizing a growth mindset to achieve organizational and team goals.
Sabrina Leblanc is the VP of Customer Success at SurveyMonkey where she’s been an employee in various roles since 2014. As VP of Customer Success, she successfully orchestrates cross-functional initiatives to accelerate customer adoption, drive renewals, and unlock expansion revenue within SurveyMonkey. She also has over a decade of experience spanning finance, business development, sales, and customer success.
In episode #161, Sabrina shares her experiences with mentors, leading DEI initiatives, how to listen to your team, and leading during rapidly changing times.
Tune in to hear all about Sabrina’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[06:00] Trying to solve it yourself backfires
[12:00] Improving communication between teams
[19:30] The value of mentorship
[26:10] How to find mentors
[32:30] Building a growth mindset culture
[38:48] How to lead in rapidly changing times
[45:50] Trusting your instincts
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Sabrina on LinkedIn
Listen to Michael Watkins on Supermanagers
Listen to Kim Scott on Supermanagers
Listen to Alexandra Sutherland on Supermanagers
Read The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Read The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins
Read Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
Check out the episode resources here 👉 https://fellow.app/supermanagers/joanna-lord-reforge-is-that-true-managing-the-small-stuff/
Are you only focusing on the fires affecting your team?
We often overlook the things that may not need our instant attention. We know it’s important not to distance ourselves too far from the work of our team, yet we can put too much focus on those urgent things, leaving little room for anything else.
In episode #160, Joanna Lord explains how important it is to focus on the small stuff as leaders to prevent it from turning into the big stuff.
We also chat with her about the impact of emotional intelligence on leadership, the “is that 100% true” exercise, the importance of focus, how to hire, and of course, the craft of marketing.
Joanna Lord is an Executive in Residence at Reforge and former CMO of Skyscanner, where she helped scale the company to over 100 million users per month. Prior to that, Joanna was CMO at ClassPass for four years, leading their marketing, brand, creative and product marketing. She's also a public board director, independent board member, advisor and consultant for consumer companies.
Tune in to hear all about Joanna’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:00] The benefits of an executive coach
[08:00] The impact of emotional intelligence
[11:11] Is that 100% true exercise
[18:35] Being a later life convert of focus
[25:15] The craft of marketing
[31:15] When you’re asked something you should know the answer to
[33:24] Things that make a difference in hiring
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Read The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- Connect with Joanna on LinkedIn
- Follow Joanna on Twitter
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
Check out the episode resources here 👉 https://fellow.app/supermanagers/erik-qualman-step-into-your-story-embracing-discomfort-and-the-hell-yes-principle/
Do you feel like everything in your life is happening to you or for you?
It’s easy to feel like you have no control over how things at work happen - especially as a leader. All the moving parts involved in each day make it difficult to distinguish what you have a say over and whether or not you get to do what’s a “hell yes” for you.
In episode #159, Erik explains how to change your perspective as a leader for the best, the difference between multitasking and switch tasking (plus the difference between them) and the impact AI will have on leadership.
We also explore the art of saying no and chat about the unique life experiences that have brought him to where he is today.
Erik Qualman is a bestselling author with 5 #1 Bestselling books on Innovation and Digital Transformation in 8 languages. He’s also a renowned motivational speaker and has spoken in over 55 different countries worldwide, reaching over 50 million people. He is currently a professor of Digital Leadership at Northwestern University, and his materials are used in over 500 universities.
Tune in to hear all about Erik’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:50] Early mistakes in leadership at Yahoo
[10:17] Things happening to you vs for you
[20:18] The difference between multitasking and switch tasking
[27:45] The impact of AI on leadership
[38:40] The art of saying no
[41:00] How are you doing on a scale of 1-10?
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
-
Connect with Erik on LinkedIn
-
Follow Erik on Twitter
-
Read The Focus Project
-
Listen to the Super U podcast
-
Read What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube
- Check out Erik’s website
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the episode resources here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/cristina-cordova-linear-problems-vs-side-quests-navigating-challenges-head-on/
Every company has unique needs when it comes to growth.
As a leader, it can be difficult to know what the next step is based on your company’s needs. Every company has its own context, problems and culture that uniquely affect what it needs to scale.
In episode #158, Cristina shares her experience working at Stripe and Linear, focusing on how she manages company growth, unique hiring practices, and what to do when your team presents you with problems (AKA side quests).
We also touch on work trials: what they are, how to go about executing them, and the benefits of implementing this practice within your company.
Cristina Cordova is the Chief Operating Officer at Linear. Prior to Linear, she worked at Stripe and spent 7 years growing their Partnerships organization and leading a business unit. After Stripe, she joined Notion as Head of Platform & Partnerships, where she led their growth team focused on the self-serve business.
Tune in to hear all about Cristina’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:11] Not being vulnerable is a mistake
[10:08] Hiring people straight out of school
[19:30] How to respond to problems
[24:22] Work trials and the hiring process
[30:00] Tips for starting teams from scratch
[35:40] Insight into growing a team
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
-
Connect with Cristina on LinkedIn
-
Follow Cristina on Twitter
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the episode resources here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jossie-haines-follow-the-leader-how-to-be-the-example-and-transform-engineering-teams/
Preventing burnout in your team starts at the top.
As a leader, it’s important to model the behaviour you want to instill in your team. If you’re feeling burned out and not sure about taking the vacation you need to take it. That’s what you’d want any member of your team to do so they can perform at 100%.
In episode #157, Jossie explains how leaders can discourage burnout, improve their empathy and eliminate bias when working with different teams.
We also touch on how to earn the respect of your team and the things we come face to face with on the journey of becoming a more inclusive leader.
Jossie Haines has over 22 years of experience in the tech industry as an award-winning software engineering leader at the forefront of emerging consumer technology across Silicon Valley, including leadership roles at Apple, Tile, Zynga, and American Express.
Today, Jossie is the CEO and founder of Jossie Haines Consulting where she offers coaching and consulting services with the underlying goal of retaining more women in tech.
Tune in to hear all about Jossie’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:41] Early mistakes
[09:20] How to know you got enough buy-in
[18:04] Earning respect from the people you work with
[24:10] Improve empathy and reduce bias
[30:11] Manage burnout in your team better
[35:20] Setting the example for your team
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Read Drive by Daniel Pink
- Listen to Michael Watkins, Author: The First 90 Days on Supermanagers
- Take Harvard’s implicit bias test
- Connect with Jossie on LinkedIn
- Follow Jossie on Twitter
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the episode resources here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/meagen-eisenberg-lacework-driving-change-forward-how-to-achieve-buy-in-as-a-marketing-leader/
Getting buy-in from your team can be a difficult task.
Getting buy-in from those who aren’t your direct reports? Nearly impossible.
In episode #156, Meagen explains the importance of being able to influence those who you collaborate with outside of your team and how to collaborate across functions within your organization effectively.
Meagen Eisenberg is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Lacework. She also has previous CMO experience from working in this role at both TripActions and MongoDB. She is also a board member for G2 and has acted as an advisor for companies like Loom and Productboard.
Tune in to hear all about Meagen’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:15] Early mistakes - give feedback in real time
[08:20] Roleplaying feedback
[12:12] Communicating during exits
[19:02] Technology overload
[23:06] Collaboration across functions
[26:50] Systematic culture of feedback
[34:00] Leveraging various aliases
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Meagen on LinkedIn
- Follow Meagen on Twitter
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
Check out the episode resources here 👉 https://fellow.app/supermanagers/karen-catlin-be-a-door-opener-not-a-gatekeeper-inclusivity-and-leadership/
Curiosity is a management quality.
Good managers are curious about their teams goals, what they are trying to achieve, and they do not make assumptions.
In episode #155, Karen outlines the difference between gatekeepers and door openers and underscores the importance of guiding rather than directing.
Karen Catlin is a leadership coach and an acclaimed author and speaker on inclusive workplaces. Her client roster includes Airbnb, DoorDash, Google, Intel, Intuit, LinkedIn, and many others.
Tune in to hear all about Karen’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:20] Constructive feedback is an art
[11:00] What is glue work?
[21:45] Saviour mentality within organizations
[28:45] Gatekeepers versus door openers
[31:00] Guiding people without bias
[34:45] Be curious, not furious
[37:00] Shaping an inclusive culture
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Read Better Allies by Karen Catlin
- Subscribe to 5 Ally Actions newsletter
- Connect with Karen on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
Check out the episode resources here 👉 https://fellow.app/supermanagers/tim-armandpour-pagerduty-developing-organizational-resiliency/
Accountability is crucial regardless of the position you hold within an organization.
This accountability is one of the ways teams can embrace resiliency as changes inevitably happen, such as new technology like AI.
In episode #154, Tim explains how he fosters resiliency within his team, and discusses the challenges organizations face when implementing changes.
We also touch on how to handle employees who resist change and how to hire resilient employees so this resistance doesn’t become an issue in the first place.
Tim Armandpour has over 20 years of experience leading in the engineering world. Prior to his current role, he worked in leadership roles at Yodlee, Zong and PayPal.
Today, Tim is the CTO at PagerDuty, helping leaders throughout the company develop a resilient workplace that embraces change.
Tune in to hear all about Tim’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:22] Getting things wrong in leadership
[12:24] Accountability in different positions
[17:30] Benefits of matching resilient teams and systems
[26:45] What does AI mean in tech resiliency
[31:35] Handling resistance to change
[37:08] Hiring resilient employees
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
-
Register for Fellow + AI LIVE
-
Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/esther-derby-honor-the-past-present-and-people/
Middle managers are often under-utilized and can play a very strategic role within organizations.
See the role of the middle manager as connecting the contextual knowledge from the top of the organization with the day-to-day operations at the bottom. They can be extremely valuable when they work across the organization.
We also touch on change and the resistance to it. Esther shares her ideas for implementing successful changes in businesses.
In episode #153, Esther tackles her rules for positive, productive change and discusses the challenges organizations face when changes need to be implemented.
Esther Derby has over 40 years of experience leading and observing organizational change within a wide variety of organizations, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Today, Esther is a consultant, advisor, speaker, and author, helping leaders develop a workplace where everyone contributes to positive change.
Tune in to hear all about Esther’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[05:48] Status’s effect on relationships
[11:35] Change starts from where you are
[15:00] The people are not the problem
[19:28] The role of the middle managers
[24:30] What are white space roles
[30:45] Put your fingerprints on it
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- https://estherderby.com/
- Read 7 Rules for Positive Productive Change
- Read Humble Inquiry and Humble Consulting by Edgar Schein
- Connect with Esther on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources mentioned here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/bill-tingle-the-interplay-between-leadership-power-and-relationship-building/
As a leader, a certain level of power is needed to be effective.
In episode #152, Bill Tingle shares how he defines and accumulates power as a leader and how he utilizes it to improve the quality of teams.
Bill Tingle has over 30 years of experience working with technology professionals to advance their leadership skills. Some of his past clients include LinkedIn, Tripadvisor, EY and Stripe.
Today, Bill is an executive coach, helping leaders get their teams back on track through communication and strategy.
Tune in to hear all about Bill’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[08:20] Developing soft skills
[15:10] Accumulating power
[18:20] Deep dive into defining power
[23:20] Clear communication
[27:43] The 5 language constructs
[31:20] Ask questions
[37:30] AI and change management
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- https://www.tingleleadership.com/
- Connect with Bill on LinkedIn
- Read The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉Check out the resources here : https://fellow.app/supermanagers/manuela-barcenas-alexandra-sunderland-fellow-app-special-inbetweenisode-celebrating-3-years-of-supermanagers/
This is a special episode. An ‘inbetweenisode’ if you will.
We’re celebrating 3 years of powerful and impactful episodes with leaders from all walks of life by sharing short clips of conversations over the years that have made a lasting impact on today’s special guests, Manuela and Alexandra from Fellow.app! Find the episodes and resources mentioned throughout this episode below.
Tune in to hear all about the past 3 years and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:30] How Supermanagers impacts Fellow
[07:00] Tamar on the definition of being done
[13:34] Melissa and Johnathan on being a boss
[22:19] David on connecting people to your mission
[29:15] Heidi on instilling the growth mindset
[36:34] Liz on knowing when to let someone fail
[46:36] David on empowering your team through delegating
[51:58] The common mistakes managers make
EPISODES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Episode 136 with Tamar Bocovici
- Episode 41 with Melissa and Johnathan Nightingale
- Episode 69 with David Robinson
- Episode 95 with Heidi Hauver
- Episode 134 with Liz Wiseman
- Episode 100 with David Sacks
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Melissa and Johnathan Nightingale’s newsletter Worldsbestnewsletter.com
- Read David’s book The Substance of Leadership
- Read the Beautiful Oops kids book by Barney Saltzberg
- Read Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
👉 Check out the resources here: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/patrick-pichette-inovia-capital-the-tao-of-management/
Is personal development an afterthought for you or your team?
It shouldn’t be!
A strong sense of purpose fuels motivation and provides team members with the determination to seize the day.
In episode #150, Patrick Pichette discusses the crucial role of effective processes and routines that facilitate effortless flow and alignment within a team.
Patrick Pichette is a technology leader with over 30 years of experience, having guided prominent companies like Google, Twitter, McKinsey, Sprint Canada, and Bell Canada through digital transformations and periods of intense growth. As Google's CFO from 2008-2015, he was instrumental in the company's strategic growth and the creation of Alphabet, overseeing nearly 150 acquisitions, including Nest and Motorola. Pichette also served on Twitter's board from 2017-2022, chaired the board from 2020-2021, and co-facilitated the company's $44B sale to Elon Musk in 2022.
In this episode, Patrick shares his blueprint for building high-performing teams, creating development plans, and trusting your team.
Tune in to hear all about Patrick’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:35] Becoming a super individual contributor
[09:40] Don't make development an afterthought
[16:50] Developing world-class employees
[21:20] Creating a development plan
[25:20] Routines are the Tao of management
[35:32] Lessons learned as the Chairman at Twitter
[40:32] Capture diversity immediately
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Follow Patrick on LinkedIn
- Follow Patrick on Twitter
- Read Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production by Taiichi Ohno
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jay-powers-the-paradox-of-leadership-motivate-and-inspire-vs-control-and-demand/
Leaders often feel like they’re being watched. Because they are!
Actions speak louder than words.
If you are not getting the performance you are looking for out of your team, the first place you should look is in the mirror.
In episode #149, Jay Powers shares how he handles the weight of leadership, manages stress, and builds trust within teams.
Jay Powers has over 30 years of deliberate leadership development that includes 21 years of wartime service in Special Forces. Today, Jay is a Leadership Instructor helping build high performing teams and creating positive workplace cultures.
Jay shares valuable insights from his past, emphasizing the importance of healthy habits like sleep, fitness, nutrition, maintaining relationships, and having a spiritual aspect to help with stress management.
Tune in to hear all about Jay’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[5:40] New manager mistakes
[16:25] How to build trust
[26:14] Improving stress management
[30:20] Importance of sleep
[31:45] Getting people out of panic mode
[37:50] The paradox of leadership
[42:20] Empowering people to a place of discomfort
[42:08] Parting words of advice
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Check out Legion Consulting
- Follow Jay on LinkedIn
- Read The Speef of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/oji-udezue-typeform-reinventing-leadership-in-the-ai-era/
Should leaders be afraid of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Rather than focusing on the fear, try using them on a regular basis. AI tools will give you superpowers!
In episode #148, Oji shares insights on how leaders can unlock the full potential of their teams and become effective shepherds of talent.
Oji Udezue is the Chief Product Officer at Typeform. He has years of experience leading product, design, data and content teams. Prior to Typeform, Oji led product teams at Atlassian, Calendly, and Twitter!
Throughout the episode, we explore the inevitable influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on team dynamics and work structures. We also emphasize the importance of customer calls and how Oji capitalizes on his writing prowess in leadership.
Tune in to hear all about Oji’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[06:00] New manager mistakes
[9:53] How can I build trust quickly?
[15:30] Approaching AI
[20:48] Cadence of changes in a team
[24:30] Prioritizing customers
[29:00] Reinforcing team behaviour through rewards
[31:02] Selecting vs. nurturing good managers
[40:13] Parting words of advice
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Follow Oji on Twitter
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/nathan-trueblood-practicing-transformational-leadership-how-to-drive-change-through-influence/
Transformational leadership has a positive effect on mental health.
Leaders who adopt a transformational approach inspire others by encouraging team members to engage in creative thinking and tailoring their approach to the individual needs of each employee.
In episode #147, Nathan explains how to drive change within organizations by practicing transformational leadership.
Nathan Trueblood has many years of experience including working at companies like Box, Yahoo, EMC, Hadoop, OpenStack. He’s a technologist, product leader, founder and mentor. Today, he is the founder of Trueblood Advisory.
Tune in to hear all about Nathan’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:45] Distributed systems
[11:25] Delegating a problem versus task
[16:15] What is transformational leadership?
[20:46] Transformational leaderships and product teams
[24:17] Leading through influence
[32:11] Coalition of the willing
[37:46] Design alliances
[40:40] Doing a calendar audit
44:57] Parting words of advice
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Read Daisy Grewall’s article
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/liane-davey-trust-is-a-four-layer-cake-why-we-cant-avoid-uncomfortable-conversations/
Team misalignment can often disguise itself as trust and dynamic issues. So how can managers and leaders ensure their teams are aligned and trust one another?
In episode #146, Liane explains the conflict debt that occurs when we avoid necessary, uncomfortable conversations. Liane Davey is the author of the book “The Good Fight” and is known as the “teamwork doctor” and has over 25 years of experience working with hundreds of team to help them achieve high performance.
Liane shares how she approaches dysfunctional teams, why trust is a four-layer cake, and why there is no such thing as being fair as a manager.
Tune in to hear all about Liane’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[4:19] Conflict debt
[17:55] One-on-one meetings
[21:25] Dysfunctional teams
[26:34] Trust building
[37:03] Being fair as a manager
[40:09] Returning to office
[46:05] What is worth fighting for?
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- https://www.lianedavey.com/
- Watch her video on 1 Yes and 3 Less
- Follow Liane on Twitter
- Read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/reggie-marra-kent-frazier-showing-up-fully-human-the-value-of-understanding-yourself-as-a-leader/
Everything is a story. And we have the power to revise and rewrite our stories at any time.
In episode #145, Reggie and Kent emphasize the importance of revising, emphasizing, and contextualizing our stories to serve our personal growth and development. Reggie Marra and Kent Frazier are the founders of Fully Human, an interdisciplinary collective of practitioners dedicated to serving the well-being and evolution of human beings.
They explain what integral coaching is and how this coaching methodology focuses on the whole human expression, and not just a part of it.
Reggie and Kent also speak on the importance of language in building relationships and creating successful teams, including the concept of voice dialogue.
Tune in to hear all about Reggie and Kent’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:34] Integral coaching
[13:12] Fully Human
[17:52] Internal versus external world
[29:21] Operating systems
[34:52] Voices dialogue
[41:12] Reggie’s book
[42:40] Parting words of wisdom
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- http://fullyhuman.us
- Read Healing America’s Narratives by Reggie Marra
- Read Know Thyself by Stephen M. Fleming
- Read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mike-manzi-official-sales-from-good-to-great-building-a-winning-sales-team-and-culture/
Everyone wants more sales, but what does it take to build a high-performing sales team?
In episode #144, Mike shares his wealth of knowledge on a range of topics, from how to create a winning sales culture to the importance of instilling values in your team.
Mike is a renowned sales leader, coach, and influencer. Previously, he was the VP of Sales at Time Doctor and has been a senior sales leader at various organizations.
Today, he coaches other organizations on how to build high-performing sales teams and is also an influencer on social media, particularly on TikTok, where he has millions of views, and shares sales and leadership knowledge with his audience.
Mike reveals how being insecure can actually be a superpower, and why some of the top performers he's worked with have been both overconfident and insecure.
Mike also shares a treasure trove of tactical advice, including how he conducts his one-on-ones and his secret to coaching sales reps to become top performers.
Tune in to hear all about Mike’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:31] Early mistakes
[8:46] High performing teams
[19:08] Building a winning sales culture
[25:23] One-on-one meetings
[33:39] Coaching
[41:44] Mike’s Social Media
[42:42] Resources
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Follow Mike on TikTok
- Connect with Mike on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to the Supermanagers TLDR newsletter
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/majeed-mogharreban-speaking-is-a-mindfulness-practice-a-playbook-for-becoming-a-better-storyteller/
Good communication requires us to be fully present and aware in the moment.
In episode #143, Majeed shares how communication can be a mindfulness practice and ways to become a better storyteller.
Majeed Mogharreban is the founder of the Expert Speaker Institute, the premier resource for experts to grow their business with public speaking. Majeed has spoken at the United Nations twice and has worked privately with celebrities, politicians, an olympic gold medal winner, CEOs and top entrepreneurs.
Throughout the episode, Majeed uses the power of storytelling to further drive his point as we cover communication styles, workplace culture, and getting to know people better.
Tune in to hear all about Majeed’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:44] Hiring based on price
[9:00] Storytelling for leaders
[16:47] Storytelling tips for leaders
[18:33] Articulating the company mission
[31:38] Communication styles
[40:43] Expert Speaker by Majeed Mogharreban
[43:18] Leadership starts with self leadership
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Contact Majeed for a keynote speech: Majeed@expertspeaker.com
- Follow Majeed on TikTok
- Watch How Leaders Tell Stories
- expertspeakerbook.com
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/rukmini-reddy-hug-the-elephant-how-the-svp-of-engineering-at-slack-approaches-communication/
Trust is like a jar of marbles.
Each marble in the jar can represent a positive interaction that helps build trust between two people.
However, just as easily as marbles can be added to the jar, they can also be removed. Negative experiences or actions can quickly deplete the trust that has been built.
In episode #142, Rukmini Reddy shares how she is purposeful with her leadership and communication style to build strong relationships.
Rukmini Reddy is the SVP of Engineering, Platform at Slack with over five years of experience building successful, driven teams at the VP level.
Rukmini shares how and why we should hug the elephant, rather than point at it, meaning having candid conversations and creating psychological safety to discuss difficult topics and acknowledge the emotional toll of change.
Tune in to hear all about Rukmini’s leadership journey, building team alignment, and becoming a more influential person.
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jon-fasoli-mailchimp-is-what-youre-doing-what-you-should-be-doing-absolute-vs-relative-decisions/
Is what you are doing what you should be doing?
In episode #141, Jon differentiates between absolute versus relative decisions and how to bring new ideas to life.
Jon Fasoli is the Chief Product, Design & Data Officer at Mailchimp. Before his current role with Mailchimp, Jon was Intuit’s Small Business Segment leader, where he spent the last 15+ years building software for small business owners.Jon shares the "build method," which categorizes decisions as big, medium, or small, allowing for like-for-like comparisons and leading to fast, real decision-making.
He also talks about allocating time for new projects, including the use of horizon frameworks to set common metrics and prioritize projects.
Tune in to hear all about Jon’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/nick-sonnenberg-leverage-how-do-you-think-about-time-the-psychology-of-value-per-hour/
Leadership needs to buy into changes in the company for them to work effectively.
Changes don’t stick when leadership has the philosophy of ‘do as I say, not as I do’.
Nick Sonnenberg is the Founder and CEO of Leverage, a fully remote business efficiency consulting company. He's also a columnist for Inc. Magazine and recent author of a Wall Street Journal best-selling book.
Nick’s recently released book "Come Up for Air," provides a framework for companies to use systems and tools to improve productivity and avoid drowning in work.
In episode #140, Nick emphasizes that time is not equal, and every hour on the calendar may not have the same value. Instead, each time slot has its own unique value.
We also dive into behaviour change in an organization, optimizing for a team, and hiring as a last resort.
Tune in to hear all about Nick’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/felicia-bochicchio-unbounce-climbing-new-heights-with-value-based-leadership/
Having a people-first philosophy does not mean neglecting the health of your business.
Investing in people is a smart business decision.
In episode #139, Felicia talks about Unbounce's "people first" philosophy, which involves creating an environment where everyone can bring their best selves to work, learn collectively, and grow together to create their best work.
Felicia Bochicchio has over 25 years of experience helping companies scale in high-growth environments. She joined Unbounce as Chief Revenue Officer in June 2018 and was promoted to President in 2020 after the company raised its first major round of funding, a $52 million deal. Today, she is the CEO of Unbounce.
Felicia also talks about the importance of assessing whether people coming into the company share the company's values, rather than training them on the values.
Tune in to hear all about Felicia’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/raj-sarkar-how-to-leverage-the-art-of-feedback-to-transform-your-career/
Feedback can send somebody in the wrong direction.
So it’s important to be thoughtful in the messaging and delivery.
In episode #138, Raj Sarkar emphasizes the importance of feedback throughout his career journey and how you can leverage it to grow.
Raj Sarkar is an Advisor for many different startups and has worked with companies like Amazon, Cisco, Google, Atlassian, and 1Password.
Raj offers tactical tips on giving and receiving feedback and shares his rule of 3. We also discuss high performing teams and what it takes to build psychological safety.
Tune in to hear all about Raj’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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Episode show notes and resources
Communication and transparency are crucial in teams. Uncertainty and lack of information can create anxiety, mistrust, and disengagement among employees.
In episode #137, Spencer shares how he communicated with his teams during an acquisition and how he structures his 1:1 meetings with intentionality.
Spencer Norman, the Vice President of Engineering at Privy, oversees the distributed engineering teams of the ecommerce marketing platform. Before joining Privy, Spencer held leadership positions at Mailchimp (acquired by Intuit) and Reaction Commerce.
Spencer provides guidance on creating a sense of safety within your team when delegating new responsibilities and explains the comfort, stretch, and panic framework.
Tune in to hear all about Spencer’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[04:23] Avoiding a management role
[9:50] Collaboration stack
[13:33] One-on-one meetings anatomy
[28:51] Skip level one-on-ones
[33:25] Managing through an acquisition
[42:28] Delegation and psychological safety
[46:20] Lean into your influence
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/tamar-bercovici-box-go-beyond-fixing-it-how-the-vp-of-engineering-approaches-high-stake-change/
Whenever something is unclear, there is always an element of risk.
Leaders can de-risk situations by getting extremely clear on the goal and purpose of the project.
In episode #136, Tamar shares her approach to mission-critical projects and how to approach high stake changes.
Tamar Bercovici is the VP of Engineering at Box, where she scaled the cloud content management and file-sharing service to handle millions of queries per second searching hundreds of billions of records.
Tamar shares her story of rising through the ranks at Box and her experience throughout different levels of leadership.
Tune in to hear all about Tamar’s career journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jason-warner-redpoint-ventures-voices-votes-and-vetos-who-is-making-the-100-million-dollar-decisions/
It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day processes. But what’s most important is having good system processes and decision making skills.
In episode #135, Jason Warner explains the true role of senior leaders within organizations and who should be making the decisions.
Jason Warner is the Managing Director at Redpoint and was previously the CTO at Github. Jason is an active speaker, writer, and advisor on cloud computing, technology and leadership and host of the podcast Developing Leadership.
Jason shares the signals he’s seen in great engineering teams and how he uses the confidence, competence spectrum.
Tune in to hear all about Jason’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/liz-wiseman-becoming-a-genius-maker-multiplying-your-teams-potential/
Take the attention off of yourself, and how much you’re getting done and really focus on what the team needs.
In episode #134, Liz dives into tactical management advice, being a multiplier versus a diminisher, and the problem with people who are too helpful.
Liz Wiseman is the CEO of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm, and the author of several bestselling books, including "Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter." With over two decades of experience, Liz has worked with leaders at organizations such as Apple, Disney, Intel, and Nike, helping them to develop their leadership skills and drive organizational success.
Liz shares how to become a genius maker and ensure you aren’t overutilizing yourself and underutilizing your team.
Tune in to hear all about Liz’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[03:49] Being over-utilized as a leader
[17:06] You get 51% of the vote
[18:59] Hard versus soft opinions
[21:03] Multipliers vs diminishers
[30:35] Become the genius maker
[39:17] How strong is your team?
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/steve-cadigan-linkedin-culture-is-a-competitive-advantage-how-to-approach-the-changing-psychology-of-the-workforce/
The psychology of the workforce has shifted.
How can leaders and organizations approach this?
In episode #133, Steve Cadigan shares how to lead from respect, build trust, and create growth opportunities and how organizations can re-engineer roles and build alumni communities to retain top talent in today's rapidly changing workforce.
Steve Cadigan is most known for scaling Linkedin from 400 to 4000 in 3.5 years as the first CHRO hire. Steve has worked in 5 different industries and 3 different countries while also leading dozens of acquisition integrations all over the world.
Steve shares his insights on the importance of having mentors and the right people around you. He also talks about being technically superior in executive functions and how hiring on what people can learn rather than what they know can lead to delivering growth experiences.
Tune in to hear all about Steve’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/dan-martell-saas-academy-are-you-a-transactional-or-transformational-leader-how-to-build-frameworks-for-success-and-design-your-time/
Experience is not as important as potential. Building frameworks for success for high-potential entry-level people in leadership and management positions allows for growth within an organization.
In episode #132, Dan Martell gives tactical advice on optimizing your time and energy as a leader, and how to avoid being a transactional manager.
Dan Martell is a serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, and Founder and CEO of SaaS Academy, where he coaches over 1000+ SaaS founders, including clients like ClickFunnels, Proposify, and Carrot.
Dan’s leadership style focuses on defining clear outcomes and metrics for success while using a "begin with the end in mind" approach.
He also shares tactical tips on creating the perfect week, performing an audit of your time, and how to optimize and balance your energy.
Tune in to hear all about Dan’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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. . .
TIME-STAMPED SHOWNOTES:
[04:10] Transactional management
[16:33] Building frameworks
[21:34] How to spend your time in 2023
[29:42] The camcorder method for delegation
[36:35] ICE score
[41:47] Showing up energized
[45:12] Understand the value of your time
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Learn more about Dan Martell
- Order Dan’s book Buy Back Your Time
- Connect with Dan on LinkedIn
- Read High Output Management
- Read One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/cameron-herold-coo-alliance-every-ceo-needs-a-great-coo-understanding-the-second-in-command/
What exactly is the role of Chief Operations Officer?
In episode #131, Cameron Herold explains the often misunderstood executive position of COO and why CEOs need one.
Cameron Herold is the founder of COO Alliance and Second In Command Podcast. He’s known to be The CEO Whisperer and engineered 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s growth from $2 Million to $106 Million in revenue, and 3100 employees in just six years. He's also the author of six books.
Cameron dives into hiring internally versus recruiting external COO candidates and the process for both. He also explains communicating and building relationships between CEOs and COOs and how to find the perfect balance.
Tune in to hear all about Cameron’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/dave-mcjannet-hashicorp-from-zero-to-scale-how-to-pick-a-market-find-the-people-and-build-the-systems/
Companies move through different growth phases and require unique strategies along the way.
Dave first joined HashiCorp when there were just 30 employees. Today, there are over 2,500 people globally!
In episode #130, Dave McJannet shares his top insights and lessons learned from taking a company from zero to scale.
Dave McJannet is the CEO of HashiCorp, and has over 20 years of experience in product management, operations, finance, and marketing. Prior to HashiCorp, Dave worked at GitHub, Hortonworks, Microsoft and SpringSource.
Dave explains how he builds high-performing teams, his time horizons for executives, and how he tests for systems thinking in the hiring process.
Tune in to hear all about Dave’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/lena-reinhard-hypergrowth-in-engineering-organizations-how-to-hire-grow-and-support-the-atomic-unit-of-a-team/
Maintaining a high performance culture during a period of hypergrowth is hard.
Performance management is neglected, hiring standards decrease…
In episode #129, Lena Reinhard shares her tactical approach to building the habit of strategic thinking and maintaining a high standard.
Lena has over 13 years of experience supporting engineering leaders and building high-performing, globally distributed engineering organizations in hypergrowth. She was the former VP of Engineering at CircleCI and Travis CI.
Lena shares her playbook for growth, what being a strategic leader means, and the STABB framework.
Tune in to hear all about Lena’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/hillery-hunter-ibm-strategic-thinking-fire-fighting-and-balcony-moments-how-to-make-time-for-it-all/
When was the last time you had a ‘balcony moment’?
A balcony moment is when you take a step back, go up to the balcony, look down and observe what you and everyone else are doing.
In episode #128, Hillery Hunter shares exactly how she is purposeful with her time, her process of prioritization, and all the lessons learned throughout her 17 years at IBM.
Hillery Hunter, GM, Industry Clouds & Solutions; CTO, IBM Cloud, began her career with IBM in 2005 and was appointed an IBM Fellow in 2017.
Tune in to hear all about Hillery’s leadership journey, experience with mentorship and tactical management advice!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mike-adams-grain-leading-with-authenticity-acting-with-vulnerability-how-to-navigate-different-wants-with-your-team/
What should you do if what you want is completely different than what your team wants?
In episode #127, Mike Adams shares how he deals with managing a fully remote team while hating remote work.
Mike Adams is the Co-founder and CEO of Grain, a communication platform for teams that helps capture video snippets with ease.
Mike shares stories of how he showed vulnerability and chose to lead with authenticity and the impact it had on his team. He also explains the importance of knowing your audience as a leader.
Tune in to hear all about Mike’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/ben-eubanks-lighthouse-the-real-definition-of-workplace-flexibility-and-how-to-achieve-it/
Workplace flexibility has a broader definition than you think.
As leaders, we often assume we know what flexibility means to people, but flexibility is more than where you work.
In episode 126, Ben Eubanks shares insights from his research to break down the true meaning of flexibility, work democracy and workplace autonomy.
Ben Eubanks is the Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse, which has been serving HR, talent, and learning professionals with practical research and advice for over the last 10+ years.
Tune in to hear all about Ben’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/tony-jamous-oyster-building-a-human-centric-organization-emotional-safety-location-freedom-and-massive-diversity/
If you want to build a company, how would you build it? What would the conditions be for building that company?
In episode #125, Tony said he wanted emotional safety, flexibility, and massive diversity.
Tony Jamous is the CEO and Founder of Oyster HR, an employment platform that helps you hire, pay, and care for a truly global team.
Tony wanted to be open about human needs and designed a workplace that emphasized trust, transparency, and engagement. He took his past experiences and strategically built Oyster with purpose.
Tony shares the behind-the-scenes of scaling Oyster, how they use asynchronous communication to truly allow flexibility, and how he pictures the future of work.
Tune in to hear all about Tony’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/alexandra-sunderland-fellow-retrospectives-public-channels-and-asynchronous-meetings/
Why does everyone need to have retrospective meetings?
There needs to be space to talk about long-standing issues that don’t come up day to day in the workplace.
In episode #124, Alexandra shares the power of async meetings and exactly how she runs her not-so-typical engineering retros.
Alexandra Sunderland is a Senior Engineering Manager at Fellow and author of Remote Engineering Management. Alexandra has worked for over a decade in both hybrid and remote roles, ranging from startups to public corporations.
Alexandra also shares why communication should be default to open and how she manages a culturally diverse team.
Tune in to hear all about Alexandra’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/rob-zuber-cto-circleci-how-to-retain-talent-and-run-skip-levels/
How often do you ask your team what’s on their mind? Asking what matters to them can tell you a lot about the organization, and if everyone is working toward the same mission.
If everyone has a different answer, then something may be off.
In episode #123, Rob Zuber explains why having skip-level conversations is so powerful in ensuring there is team alignment and mutual understanding.
Rob is a three-time founder and five-time CTO. Today, he is the CTO of CircleCI, a continuous integration and continuous delivery platform that can be used to implement DevOps practices.
Rob goes on to explain his process with skip-level meetings, his role of being a CTO, and what failing gracefully means to him.
Tune in to hear all about Rob’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jackye-clayton-textio-raising-the-bar-from-day-1-why-talent-acquisition-and-dei-go-hand-in-hand/
Have you ever had such a great interview experience that you’ve wanted to tell your friends to apply, just so they can experience it?
That’s the goal at Textio.
In episode #122, Jackye explains how she sets the bar from the very first interview with candidates.
Jackye Clayton is the VP of Talent Acquisition and DEIB at Textio and was named one of the top recruitment thought leaders that you must follow by iMocha. She’s also the co-host on The Inclusive AF Podcast.
Jackye explains the beauty of having diverse thoughts and how to know whose voice is missing from the table.
Tune in to hear all about Jackye’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/john-gleeson-motive-a-compass-is-better-than-a-roadmap-becoming-a-manager-of-managers/
When an organization is experiencing hyper growth, it can be difficult to remain aligned.
That’s why having a north star is crucial in guiding the team in the right direction.
John Gleeson is the Vice President of Customer Success at Motive (formerly KeepTruckin). John joined Motive when there was only 50 employees. Today, there are over 3,000 people.
In episode #121, John shared his insights on leveraging data to ask better questions, his philosophy of understanding the why behind decisions, and the importance of building context org-wide.
Tune in to hear all about John’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/brian-elliott-how-slack-svp-approaches-culture-and-provides-flexibility/
Middle managers don’t have it easy.
They actually have worse stress levels than anybody else, including individual contributors and executives.
In episode #120, Brian shares many results and interesting statistics done from pulse surveys at Future Forum on the way people are working.
Brian Elliott is the Executive Leader of the Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack to enable leaders to redesign work to be better for people and organizations. Prior to Slack, Brian was General Manager of Google Express, Google’s full stack commerce platform.
Brian shares how managers are coping and what kind of strategies are actually working, what is workplace culture and how to offer real flexibility.
Tune in to hear all about Brian’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mike-murchison-ada-the-habits-of-purposeful-leaders/
How can you ensure consistency in the workplace?
By using frameworks, building systems, and sharing feedback.
In episode #119, learn how Mike uses an async mindset to increase productivity, clarity and decision-making with his team.
Mike Murchison is a 5 time founder and today he is the CEO and cofounder of Ada, the leading Artificial Intelligence platform for enterprise customer service teams.
We dive into tactics like Start, Stop, Continue, and a feedback session between Ada’s executive team that you may find interesting!
Tune in to hear all about Mike’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jevan-soo-lenox-insitro-building-a-cohesive-culture-how-you-bring-people-into-an-organization-is-how-you-set-them-up/
If the workplace culture isn’t being lived, it doesn’t really matter, does it?
Managers are responsible for bringing the culture to life.
Jevan Soo Lenox, Chief People Officer at Insitro, dives into the importance of building a cohesive culture across an organization and shares ways in how to do that.
Jevan also shares the systems and processes he uses as a CPO and the importance of efficient onboarding for longterm success.
Tune in to hear all about Jevan’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
. . .
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https://fellow.app/supermanagers/rajkumari-neogy-rewiring-management-how-the-brain-comes-into-play-with-leadership/
What does neurobiology have to do with leadership?
Everything!
In episode #117, Rajkumari Neogy shares how the left and right hemispheres of the brain communicate in the workforce and how to use resonant language.
Rajkumari is an epigenetic coach and executive consultant focused on the intersection of neurobiology, culture and empathy in today’s business world. She has worked with high-powered, worldwide organizations for more than two decades, training leaders at Google, Facebook, Adobe, Indeed, Slack, Salesforce and numerous others.
We also dive into transgenerational trauma, inclusive leadership and second-hand trauma.
Tune in to hear all about Rajkumari’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
It’s easy to feel productive when checking off time-sensitive tasks.
But are you focusing on impact?
In episode #116 Chase explains how to ensure impact, unite employees around work, and prevent isolation all while in a remote organization.
Chase Warrington is the Head of Remote at Doist, a remote-first team of 93 people representing 41 nationalities in 39 countries and 75 cities.
Chase also explains Doist’s remote culture, how they approach meetings and leverage asynchronous communication.
Tune in to hear all about Chase’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/mychelle-mollot-solace-focus-on-the-how-not-just-the-what/
Can you coach negative team members to be more positive?
Yes! But lean towards helping them communicate effectively, rather than changing their perspective.
Mychelle Mollot is the Chief Marketing Officer at Solace and has over 25 years of experience as a leader.
On episode 115, Mychelle emphasizes the importance of creating an uplifting environment with all team members.
We chat about how most managers focus on the what and not on the how, and why focusing on the wrong thing can lead to toxic environments.
Tune in to hear all about Mychelle’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/chris-williams-how-microsofts-former-vp-of-human-resources-optimizes-clarity-vision-and-feedback/
How can you almost guarantee failure?
By not having a clear vision.
On episode #114, Chris Williams, former Microsoft Vice President of Human Resources, shares the power of clarity and vision.
Chris was responsible for 32,000+ employees, a $2.2 billion a year payroll, over $300 million a year in benefits, and led 1,000+ HR employees worldwide. He worked directly with Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and the board of directors.
Chris shares feedback’s half-life and why instantaneous feedback is best.
He also explains why he dislikes regular team meetings and when meetings should be scheduled.
Tune in to hear all about Chris’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/bilal-aijazi-polly-why-creating-systems-of-continuous-feedback-is-a-requirement-to-scale/
In order to have a positive and productive workplace, there should be a culture of continuous feedback and engagement.
Bilal Aijazi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Polly, an app that captures instant feedback.
On episode 113, Bilal shares the importance of feedback in a remote world and why it is a requirement in order to scale a company.
He also shares what doorknob questions are and why managers need to really listen to them.
We talked about engagement versus collaboration, staying connected in a virtual world, and hiring remote workers.
Tune in to hear all about Bilal’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/karen-mangia-salesforce-dont-hog-all-the-problems/
How can you create choices for and with your employees? Why is that important?
“Choice is what moves us from limited to limitless.”
Karen Mangia is the Vice President, Customer & Market Insights at Salesforce and author of four books.
In today’s episode, Karen talks about the value of leadership and how transparency and trust are linked.
She also talks about how to create choices for and with your employees and why that is crucial when leading a team.
Lastly, Karen dives into the difference between divesting and investing and she shared 3 questions she asks herself when prioritizing.
Tune in to hear all about Karen’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/roger-martin-think-to-win-the-difference-between-strategy-and-planning/
Are you being strategic or are you just planning?
At least 90% of all the strategy that goes on in the world is planning, not strategy.
Roger Martin is a trusted strategy advisor, author of A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Managerial Effectiveness, and previously named the world’s #1 management thinker by Thinkers50.
In today’s episode, Roger shares the common problems with manager effectiveness and what he has seen change over the last four decades in the industry.
We also talked about being more strategic before acting and the difference between strategy versus planning.
Roger also shared more about enabling management system and how to prioritize for strategic benefit.
Tune in to hear all about Roger’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/matt-martin-clockwise-leading-in-a-volatile-economy-how-to-create-sustainable-work/
What impacts employees in having a positive or negative attitude about their workplace?
Hint: it’s not just salary!
Matt Martin is the CEO and Co-founder of Clockwise, a tool that optimizes your team’s calendars to create more time in everyone’s day.
In today’s episode, Matt shares his insights on growing in a volatile economy and how to show up for your team in times of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt).
He also talks about team engagement buckets and the different factors that affect job attitudes and what leads your team to having a positive or negative attitude at work.
Matt gave us an inside look at his leadership style, different meetings Clockwise hosts on a weekly basis, and he even shared his top time management tips for managing his calendar.
Tune in to hear all about Matt’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/melissa-rosenthal-clickup-achieving-productive-outcomes-how-to-unlock-creativity-within-your-team/
Has your team ever experienced creative blocks?
How can managers help their teams remain aligned and productive?
In today’s episode, Melissa dives deep into what it takes to lead creative teams while staying aligned and being a creative unblocker.
Melissa Rosenthal is the Chief Creative Officer at Clickup, an all-in-one project management platform - and one of Fellow’s integrations!
Melissa also shares how she defines productivity within her teams and what their creative process looks like.
She also shares the behind-the-scenes of ClickUps iconic Superbowl ad and how that came to fruition.
Tune in to hear all about Melissa’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/zack-onisko-dribbble-lessons-from-a-bootstrapped-startup-team-building-divergent-thinking-tiger-metrics/
Trust your team to take things off your plate.
How do you do that?
By delegation, sharing your legos, and avoid being a bottleneck.
Zack Onisko is the CEO of Dribbble, a community where designers share, grow, & get hired.
On episode 108, Zack talks about his transition from individual contributor to management and how to determine what to delegate.
Zack also shared his insights on the culture at Dribbble and his strategy for hiring senior experts.
Lastly, Zack shares his strategy for using tiger metrics, separating emotion from design, and divergent thinking.
Tune in to hear all about Zack’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/carly-brantz-digitalocean-reaching-a-constant-state-of-improvement-how-to-build-confidence
Start a listening tour early on in your career to build and maintain relationships in the workplace.
Carly Brantz is the Chief Marketing Officer at DigitalOcean, a cloud services provider for small businesses.
On episode 107, Carly shares how she created connections in a scaling company and why curiosity is important in management.
Carly also shared how she encouraged a constant state of improvement with her team through hiring, skill development, and collaboration.
Lastly, we talked about creating confidence in a team and the best way for executives to build trust with employees across all levels while remaining approachable.
Tune in to hear all about Carly’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/liam-martin-time-doctor-running-remote-teams-applying-the-hierarchy-of-communication/
Distance bias can play a huge role in hybrid offices.
So, what is the cheat code to hybrid? All management should be fully remote.
Liam Martin is the Co-Founder of Time Doctor and the world’s largest remote conference, Running Remote.
In episode #106, Liam shares his thoughts on hybrid work and the impact of distance bias.
Liam also explains his rule of 3 during the documentation process and his hierarchy of communication.
Tune in to hear all about Liam’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/cristina-georgoulakis-776-give-away-your-legos-how-to-hire-smart-people-get-out-of-their-way/
Don’t assume your high-performing employees can handle everything!
Get out of their way, but check in regularly.
Cristina Georgoulakis is the Founder Outcomes Partner at 776, a venture capital firm founded by builders.
On episode 105, Cristina shares how she approaches task-relevant maturity with her team while considering competence versus confidence.
She also talked about balancing a company's triple bottom line - the mission, people and metrics, and what a mini-board meeting is.
Tune in to hear all about Cristina’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/joel-beasley-modern-cto-aligning-expectations-vs-reality-how-to-create-successful-environments/
Do the job descriptions match the reality of the workplace?
Joel Beasley is the host and author of Modern CTO, a book and podcast for Chief Technology Officers to share their experiences.
On episode 104, Joel shares the leadership traits that stand out and how important it is for CTOs to be technical.
Joel also talks about how he creates a great environment for his team and how he formed his hiring process to ensure alignment between expectations and reality.
Joel discusses how leaders can get better at self-discipline, creating momentum within a team, and managing trials and failures.
Tune in to hear all about Joel’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/russ-laraway-author-the-big-3-of-leadership-how-to-develop-engaged-employees-and-better-business-results/
Managers are failing everywhere. Let’s change this.
Russ Laraway is the Chief People Officer for Goodwater Capital and the author of his new book When They Win, You Win.
On today’s episode, Russ discusses the difference between good and bad advice, and what the ‘big 3’ is for manager effectiveness.
He also talks about employee engagement and how its measured.
Last but not least, we talked about ‘coaching the boss’ and what the ideal number of direct reports is for managers.
Tune in to hear all about Russ’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/erin-thomas-upwork-making-the-workplace-more-human-how-everybody-wins-with-dei/
How do you get a whole organization behind the ‘why’?
Erin Thomas is the VP, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Upwork, the world's work marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals around the globe.
On today’s episode, Erin shares exactly how Upwork doubled their Black employee representation in just two years.
She shared what programs were put in place to ensure trust-building and employee development, and how she got the whole organization behind the why.
Erin discusses the impacts a hybrid workplace has on diversity and she shares what hiring tactics organizations can implement to ensure equal opportunities.
Tune in to hear all about Erin’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/brendan-ittelson-zoom-the-success-and-failures-of-a-product-launch/
Are you launching what the customer needs or what you want?
In episode #101, Brendan asks, “are you drinking your own champagne?"
Brendan Ittelson is the Chief Technology Officer at Zoom.
Brendan shared what it takes to scale an organization and how he problem-solves by finding the root cause.
He explained his multi-step approach to how he works with his teams and how to quickly get up to speed in a new role.
Tune in to hear all about Brendan’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/david-sacks-craft-ventures-from-paypal-mafia-to-viral-startups
We asked David about the famous “PayPal Mafia” – and how he was able to recruit all these talented people…
Subscribe to our newsletter to gain access to the exclusive content and his answer here: https://fellow.app/newsletter/
David was part of the infamous Paypal Mafia, the founder of Yammer, and today is the general partner at Craft Ventures.
David shares some incredibly useful information for CEO’s, managers, founders, anyone who is interested in taking their organization to the next level.
David shares his take on introverted leadership, how he tamed the growth at his past hyper-growth companies, when to throw out processes and so much more.
Tune in to hear all about David’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/karen-hebert-maccaro-morning-brew-being-an-unflappable-leader-human-centered-management/
True or false: leaders must remain calm and cool under every circumstance.
Fact: managers shouldn’t always appear stoic or unflappable.
On episode 99, Karen Hebert-Maccaro, General Manager of Education at Morning Brew, shares why extreme unflappability is not necessarily a good thing.
Karen also shares the metrics managers should focus on and how it impacts their image of success.
Lastly, we dive into her four-step delegating framework to ensure effective task management.
Tune in to hear all about Karen’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jen-hope-coach-overcoming-imposter-syndrome-how-to-use-emotional-regulation-and-waterfall-habits/
Is imposter syndrome being oversimplified in the workplace?
Jen Hope specializes in coaching startup leaders and teams to maximize professional and personal outcomes.
On episode 98, Jen dives into interacting with extroverts and introverts in the workplace and how to lean into their communication style.
We talked about emotional regulation, how managers can tap into their leadership potential, and why imposter syndrome is sometimes oversimplified at work.
Jen also speaks about habitual thinking, re-labelling our experiences and how to navigate through burnout by implementing waterfall habits.
Tune in to hear all about Jen’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/david-hanrahan-eventbrite-hold-the-mirror-dont-paint-the-picture-how-to-lead-an-experienced-team-and-coach-underperformers/
How can you show your team that there is room for improvement?
Hold the mirror up, but don’t paint the picture.
David Hanrahan is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Eventbrite with over 20 years of experience building strong HR teams across organizations including Niantic, Zendesk, and Twitter.
In today’s episode, David shares why you should hire as senior as possible for new positions and what it means to ‘hold the mirror, but don’t paint the picture’.
We also talk about manager training, pre and post-pandemic operations at Eventbrite, and what he learned from participating in a company-wide async week.
Tune in to hear all about David’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/patrick-ewers-mindmaven-the-gift-of-being-heard-how-to-nurture-relationships-and-have-impactful-conversations/
Voicing your positive thoughts about someone else could be the most powerful relationship habit.
This is called positive alacrity.
Patrick Ewers is the founder and CEO of Mindmaven, an executive coaching firm that’s worked with 100’s of leaders.
In today’s episode, Patrick talks about the superpower of fellowship and the importance of taking care of relationships, which is often never urgent on our to-do list.
He also shares the most powerful relationship habit we should all incorporate inside and out of work to have a lasting positive impact on people.
Lastly, we talk about watercooler conversations and how to develop deeper and more meaningful conversations with our colleagues by firing the second dart.
Tune in to hear all about Patrick’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/heidi-hauver-shinydocs-when-you-mess-up-fess-up-why-self-awareness-is-a-leadership-superpower/
How often do you stand up and say, “Oops, I messed up.”?
The next time you mess up and fess up, you will have more trust and credibility with your team.
Heidi Hauver, Vice President, People Experience at ShinyDocs, reminds us that you don’t need to be the smartest person in the room. You need to cultivate a great environment and bring the right people together.
In episode 95, Heidi shares why self-awareness is a leadership superpower and the best ways leaders should be giving and getting feedback.
We also talked about the similarities between leadership and parenting, and the different lessons she learned that everyone can apply to their teams.
Lastly, we covered having a growth mindset in both children and adults, and the practice of active listening.
Tune in to hear all about Heidi’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/dan-greene-impossible-foods-hiring-training-learning-the-3-elements-of-building-high-performing-teams/
What makes high-performing teams? According to Dan, you need 3 foundational elements.
Dan Greene is the Sr. Vice President of North American Sales and Growth at Impossible Foods. Dan also led large teams and revenue-generating business units at Google and Twitter, and has served over 11 years as a Navy fighter pilot.
In episode 94, Dan shares the three elements of building high-performing teams: Hiring, Training and Learning.
Dan also talks about how he learned to lead with data, and not just instinct, and when it is important to bring decision-making to the table.
Tune in to hear all about Dan’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/lloyed-lobo-boast-if-its-perfect-its-too-late-why-you-should-give-up-tasks-and-delegate-projects/
Are you only shipping projects when they’re perfect?
If it’s perfect, it’s too late!
Lloyed Lobo is the Co-founder and President of Boast.AI and also chairs the annual TractionConf.io.
In episode #93, Lloyed shares why the more you give up as a leader, the better.
We also talked about creating a community of practice first rather than product, and Lloyed shared his CAMPER framework around community building that you can implement into your strategy.
Tune in to hear all about Lloyed’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/michael-bungay-stanier-author-the-best-managers-dont-rescue-they-coach/
How many times have you told your team the answer to their problems rather than ask them questions?
We’ve all done it!
Today’s guest is Michael Bungay Stanier, founder of Box of Crayons and author of “The Coaching Habit” & “How to Begin”.
In today’s episode, Michael dives deep into what it really means to coach. We discuss performance versus development-based coaching, and the 3 principles to be more coach-like.
Michael also talks about the advice monster and why most leaders try to rescue and protect their team.
We also talk about how to incorporate coaching into the everyday and why every goal comes with mosquitoes.
Tune in to hear all about Michael’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/anna-curzon-xero-does-your-team-bring-you-bad-news-how-to-know-if-you-have-a-reward-or-fear-based-culture/
How often does your team bring you bad news? And how do you react to it when they do?
Anna Curzon is the Chief Product Officer at Xero, and also previously led internet banking at ASB.
In episode #91, Anna talks about the “Xero Magic” and how as leaders, we should bring our “most authentic selves” to work.
She also shares how leaders can be sure they’ve provided enough clarity to their team and how to distinguish if you have a reward versus fear-based leadership style.
Tune in to hear all about Anna’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
What steps should you take if you are on the fence about hiring a candidate?
Nick Dimitrov, former Amazon Bar Raiser, teaches companies how to hire the best-quality talent that consistently raises their bar.
In episode #90, Nick talks about how leaders can acknowledge and eliminate hiring biases. He also shares who should have the final call on hiring decisions based on the size of a company.
We also talk about defining the bar of an organization and how smaller businesses can compete for talent with large corporations.
Tune in to hear all about Nicks’s hiring habits and the lessons learned along the way!
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/paul-parisi-svb-stop-telling-people-what-they-should-be-doing/
Don't assume employees want to continuously grow in a company!
Today’s guest is Paul Parisi, former President of Paypal Canada and today, the Head of Silicon Valley Bank Canada.
In this episode, Paul shares how philosophy and psychology play a powerful part in leadership.
Learn the differences between motivating a team versus motivating individuals and how leaders can create organizational alignment.
Tune in to hear all about what being a strategic leader means, how to make time in your calendar for future thinking, and how to talk to people on an individual level.
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/scott-williamson-gitlab-can-you-take-a-problem-from-beginning-to-end/
It’s important to know how to manage the synthesizers on your team. But first, let’s understand who synthesizers are and how they work.
Scott Williamson is the Chief Product Officer at GitLab.
In episode 88, Scott breaks down what it means to be a servant leader and how to manage synthesizers.
We also discuss the difference between KPI’s and OKR’s, and how leaders can use those two methods to provide clarity and focus for their team.
Tune in to learn about the signals Scott watches for to determine where blockers are and he even goes into detail about what a first-class hiring process looks like at Gitlab.
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/remi-guyot-blablacar-you-wont-have-all-the-answers/
What does it really mean to be intellectually honest and how do you disassociate from ideas?
Rémi Guyot is the Chief Product Officer at BlaBlaCar. Rémi is also the author of a biweekly newsletter titled Mind Fooled, where he writes about leadership, design, and how the mind works.
In today’s episode, Rémi explains what it means to be intellectually honest – and how dissociating from ideas can help your team make better decisions.
Rémi also breaks down why the KIST (K-I-S-T) method is wrong, and why it’s our responsibility as managers to digest complex problems before delegating them to our team.
Tune in to hear Rémi’s advice on how to help someone on your team, when you don’t have the answers to their questions.
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/colleen-mccreary-credit-karma-dont-be-the-ceo-of-happiness/
Taking responsibility and ownership is a crucial skill for leaders, but what if there are certain things leaders shouldn’t be fully responsible for?
Today’s guest is Colleen McCreary, the Chief People, Places, & Publicity Officer at Credit Karma.
In this episode, Colleen talks about leading people through acquisition and how managers can lead their team through the turbulence of a big change.
Colleen shares the different strategies she used, like weekly emails and an off-the-bus package, in order to retain a good company culture and navigate changes as smoothly as possible.
Lastly, we talk about why Colleen is NOT the CEO of Culture but rather the product manager of systems and tools.
https://fellow.app/supermanagers/jennifer-goldman-wetzler-optimal-outcomes-stop-playing-the-blame-game/
How do you react in times of conflict? Or, have you ever stopped to even notice?
Today’s guest is Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler, CEO of Alignment Strategies Group, and author of “OPTIMAL OUTCOMES: Free Yourself from Conflict at Work, at Home, and in Life”... which is exactly what we discuss in today’s episode.
In this episode, Jen shares what her personal process of reflection looks like and how having a morning and night reflection document can help you improve your life.
We also dive into conflict habits, conflict mapping, and what leaders can do to help resolve conflict on their teams.
Tune in to hear about the characteristics of the world's best negotiators and what everyone needs to claim in order to show up as their best selves.
Shownotes + resources: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/paul-sloane-are-you-a-lateral-or-vertical-thinker/
How do you think outside of the box and why is it a leadership superpower?
Paul Sloane is a leading Innovation Consultant and author of over 20 books (including The Innovative Leader).
In this episode, Paul tells us about being an open-minded leader and how open-mindedness can break thinking patterns in order to become more innovative.
Paul shares how leaders can think laterally, rather than vertically, in order to keep up with a world that is constantly changing. And he even gives us some tips on how to run a successful brainstorming session with your team.
Tune in to learn what the difference between a manager and a leader is and how transformative thinking will help problem-solving.
Show notes + resources: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/peter-anderton-internal-alignment-change-yourself-change-your-team/
Do you know the two rules of leadership?
Peter Anderton is an Executive Coach who helps directors and their teams go further and faster by creating clarity in their goals.
In this episode, Peter walks us through his two rules for leadership, and which one is most important.
Peter also explains why leaders need to inspire their teams to own projects and instill confidence within them so they can come up with solutions to problems.
Show notes and resources: https://fellow.app/supermanagers/steven-goldbach-geoff-tuff-authentic-is-better-than-decisive/
Leaders must be decisive, it’s part of the job. But what if authenticity mattered more?
In episode 82, Steven Goldbach and Geoff Tuff, co-authors of “Provoke: How Leaders Shape the Future by Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws” explain why authenticity triumphs decisiveness. Steven is the Chief Strategy Officer and Geoff, the Principle of Consulting at Deloitte.
Tune in to hear their insights on human behaviours and experiences and how those aspects tie into leadership.
In this episode, we also cover why experimentation will give you better answers than studying and why leaders should pair curiosity with action.
Chaos isn’t usually something we want to attract or even mimic? But what if it can help leaders embrace change?
Hamza Khan is the bestselling author of "Leadership, Reinvented", “The Burnout Gamble” and is a global keynote speaker – whose TEDx talk “Stop Managing, Start Leading” has been viewed nearly two million times!
In this episode, Hamza explains what a happiness audit is, how it helped him reach his goals, and how you can recreate one yourself.
Tune in to episode 81 to dive into the four hallmarks of inertia and what leaders should do once they see these signs in their organizations.
Coaching may be your intention, but what if you are actually being a motivational micromanager?
Dr. Julia Milner is a professor of leadership at EDHEC Business School, a leadership researcher, and powerful TEDx speaker.
In this episode, Dr. Milner tells us why leaders shouldn’t give advice and what they should aim to do instead.
We also dive into coaching tactics you can implement with your today starting now and how to identify if you are a motivational micromanager.
Tune in to hear Dr. Milner share how you can test for empathy during the hiring process and why empathy is important in a virtual world.
For any team to work efficiently and well, ownership is important. As a leader, how do you motivate your team intrinsically?
Kevan Lee, is the VP of Marketing at Oyster, with previous experience as the VP of Marketing at Buffer and Interim Head of Marketing at Polly.
In today’s episode, Kevan shares why he uses intrinsic motivation with his team and how he offers feedback to encourage more positive behaviour.
We also talk about how parenting philosophy can be tied into management and why asking questions, rather than direct decision-making, often leads to the same conclusion but with more team growth.
Tune in to hear why Kevan uses a lighter-weight approach to decision-making and how he tries to reduce the number of stakeholders for a more efficient process.
As leaders, transformation and great results are what we strive for. But what do we need in order to get there?
Hamish Thomson is the Former Regional President and Global Brand Head for Mars Inc. Today, Hamish is the Author of ‘It’s Not Always Right to be Right’.
In today’s episode, Hamish shares why hiring people who think exactly like you is a mistake and why you need diversity of thought on your teams.
We also learn about the power of curiosity and why willingness and new perspectives can lead to transformational results.
Tune in to hear why leaders need to honour the past, respect the present and provide hope for the future.
In episode 77, Matt Davey shares how to frame meetings as ceremonies and obstacles as opportunities.
Matt Davey is the CXO (Chief Experience Officer) at 1Password.
In today’s episode, Matt walks us through how he experiments with meeting formats as a rapidly-growing team.
We also talk about why Matt labels himself as an optimist and how that helped him during his time as Chief Operating Optimist.
Tune in to hear about the different ways to increase engagement and collaboration as a remote organization and why it’s important to help your team form bonds.
In episode 76, Steven Rogelberg shares the mood of the meeting.
Steven Rogelberg is the author of The Surprising Science of Meetings.
In today’s episode, Steven talks about why energy matters in meetings and how leaders can improve listening, positivity, and engagement with a display of high energy and gratitude.
We also talk about framing meeting agendas as a set of questions to answer to help improve being a good steward of others' time.
Tune in to hear what social loafing is and how a bad meeting leads to meeting recovery syndrome.
In episode 75, Renee Solorzano shares how to onboard and coach your team to their full potential.
Renee Solorzano is the Director of Product Design at Faire and has previously worked at Airbnb, General Assembly, and Squarespace.
In this episode, how she balanced friendship and management when building relationships with her team as a new manager.
We also talk about coaching direct reports to deliver their full potential and how to guide your team into asking themselves the right questions to get optimal results.
Tune in to learn how a fast-growing company like Faire approaches onboarding and how you can implement those processes.
In episode 74, Paul Lem tells us why most of the goals we set are wrong.
Paul Lem is the author of Master Life Faster, a book full of his learning that he wanted to share with others, including his kids.
In this episode, we dive deep into the Pareto principle and how to decide which items are worth pursuing.
We talk about coaching, goal setting, uncovering bottlenecks to achieving great things.
Tune in to hear how the weak win wars and how to become an expert on anything.
In episode 73, Phylicia Jones shares why it is important to have a point of view even if it disrupts someone else’s.
Phylicia Jones is the Senior Director of Global Talent Development at PagerDuty. She is also the creator of PagerDuty’s Learning Weeks to help internal teams learn new skills.
In this episode, we uncover why leaders should use the acronym W.A.I.T. We also dive into data and what to do after you have received feedback so you can turn it into actionable steps.
Let us know what you think of this episode by using the hashtag #Supermanagers on social media.
In episode 72, Kim Scott tells you how to get sh*t done fast and fair at work.
Kim Scott is the author of the famous management book Radical Candor, and most recently, Just Work.
In this episode, we talk about how managers can create a culture of feedback and drive results collaboratively.
We also dive into decision-making and why telling people what to do just doesn’t work. Kim also shares how to incorporate a growth mindset when it comes to making mistakes and why feedback can sometimes be masked as bias, prejudice, and bullying.
Tune in, you are in for a good one!
In episode 71, Jerry Colonna teaches you how to attain radical self-inquiry through the challenges of leadership.
Jerry Colonna is the CEO of Reboot.io and author of “Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up”.
In this episode, we talk about asking questions as a leader and how to examine reasons and choices in a unique way.
We also talk about how to free yourself of negative behavior and dive into a lot of concepts and ideas like ghosts in the machine and hashtag #GetCurious.
Tune in to this really unique interview and feel your manager mindsets expand as Jerry asks questions that truly allow you to become more self-aware.
In episode 70, Colin Bryar shares how Amazon improved their hiring process with Bar Raisers and why they ditched Powerpoints during decision-making meetings.
Colin was previously known as Jeff Bezo’s right-hand man during his time as Vice President of Amazon. Today, he is the co-author of “Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon.”
In this episode, Colin shares the importance of leadership principles and how to implement them.
We also talk about why narratives provide clarity of thought and Colin’s experience writing, reviewing, and exploring them.
Tune in to hear how Colin spent his time at Amazon and the types of meetings he had as a leader.
In episode 69, David Robinson shares why managers must get laser-focused on their standards.
David Robinson is a former Commanding Officer at the United States Marine Corps. Today, he is the CEO of Vertical Performance Enterprise.
In this episode, David explains what a leadership triad consists of and how you can implement each factor to empower your team.
Tune in to find out if you have a high-performing team and how leaders can define standards of performance.
In episode 68, Sarah Gretczko dives into positive reframing and explains why this skill can be used with anyone, from toddlers to business professionals.
Sarah is a future of work enthusiast and the Executive Vice President, Chief Learning & Insights Officer at Mastercard.
Tune in to this episode to learn why the future of work is human, and how you can keep a human element in a digital workforce.
We also learn about reverse mentorship, and how to apply behavioural science in the workplace.
In episode 67, Gary Rogers breaks down how to be a great public speaker and why it is such a common fear for most of us.
Gary is America’s leading Public Speaking Skills Coach. He has over 40 years of experience helping leaders at organizations like Procter and Gamble and Coca-Cola improve their communication.
In this episode, we cover the consequences of not being a good communicator and how this can impact your career in the long run.
Tune in for tips on gaining confidence to become an effective speaker, both in person and virtually.
In episode 66, Kathy Klotz-Guest helps you realize whether or not you are nurturing innovation or if you are sending “shut up” signals.
Kathy Klotz-Guest is a storyteller, humor in business expert, and Founder of Keeping It Human.
In this episode, we talk about the conversations leaders should be having with their team... and how improv can create psychological safety.
We also explore having a template mentality and how leaders should get creative with their approaches in order to build more trust.
Tune in for an entertaining and valuable episode and to learn about the difference between a “Yes, and” and a “Yes, but” mentality.
In episode 65, Dave Bailey explains how managers can use questions as a powerful tool.
Dave has co-founded multiple VC-backed tech businesses, including Ezlearn, Delivery Hero, and Spotnight. Now, as a Founder Coach, his goal is to provide other entrepreneurs with the practical skills that he wished he had.
Dave tells us why staying curious a little bit longer can always get you to the root of the real issue... and why most problems aren’t what they initially seem!
We also talk about goal-setting, OKRs, and how leaders can work backward with initiative.
Tune in for a conversation to learn how to get to the root of issues and set goals that inspire bold action.
In episode 64, Eli Fathi shares why every team should be structured and what an unstructured team looks like.
Eli Fathi is a passionate leader with over 43 years of experience in companies including Telexis, OrbitIQ, Fluidware, Mindbridge.
In this episode, Eli explains the difference between leading with carrots versus leading with sticks and why leaders should eat last.
We also talk about Eli’s leadership style of leading from the front and what it means to have an ‘eyes on, hands off’ approach to managing.
Tune in to hear all about Eli’s impressive entrepreneurship career that has led him to co-found seven startups.
In episode 63, Kieran Flanagan shares the three categories of people that make up fast-growing companies, and which categories leaders fall into!
Kieran Flanagan is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Hubspot – where he leads a team of over 160 marketers!
In this episode, Kieran shares why you’re in trouble if your team is a direct reflection of you and explains why you shouldn’t hire people that are just like you.
We also talk about team structures, owning goals, and how teams can merge skill sets to create pods.
Tune in for a great episode about team design and how it can be your number one growth lever.
In episode 62, Daniel Terhorst-North explains why, contrary to popular belief, managers don’t manage people, but instead, are the individuals in charge of designing environments and systems of work where employees can be more productive.
We also cover why stand-up meetings are not meant for status updates and the one question that needs to be asked on a daily basis.
Tune in to hear Daniel explain the consequences of delayed feedback and learn a new model to help your team understand intent.
In episode 61 Ryan Bonnici shares why managers should show and tell their teams what their expectations are and how to balance relationships with results.
Ryan has led teams at companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, Hubspot, G2, and now... he is the Chief Marketing Officer at Whereby.
In this episode, Ryan discusses delivering specific feedback and his best practices to scale teams through delegation and autonomy.
Tune in to hear all about Ryan’s technique for inbound recruiting... and even gives us an overview of Whereby’s meeting habit
In episode 60, JP Chauvet explains the importance of tying in workplace culture with outcomes to create high-performing teams.
JP Chauvet is a hands-on executive with years of experience in companies like Atex and Nstein Technologies. Today, he is the President of Lightspeed.
In this episode, JP shares how he uses data to set benchmarks and an inside look at his weekly business review meetings with his team.
Tune in to hear what JP learned early on in his management career that has impacted his servant leadership today.
. . .
Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
In episode 59, Karen Eber dives into the science of storytelling, how it can shape culture and why leaders need to understand the power of a great story.
Karen is a passionate leader with over 20 years of experience at companies like HP, Deloitte, and General Electric – where she held positions such as Head of Culture, Chief Learning Officer, and Head of Leadership Development.
In this episode, Karen explains why most new managers default to the management style that makes them feel comfortable... instead of taking into consideration what their team may need.
Tune in to hear how we can become more consistent leaders through self-reflection... and how to give people meaningful recognition at work.
In episode 58, Smruti Patel talks about building trust through clarity and vulnerability and the importance of how information flows within an organization.
Smruti Patel is the Head of Engineering at Stripe, where she leads Latency, Efficiency, Access & Attribution, & Performance... as well as the Data Platform organization.
In this episode, Smruti shares three key factors that influence productivity... and a way to check the pulse of your team and overall org performance.
Tune in to hear Smruti’s insight on how to achieve a culture of constant evolution and how to think in systems.
In episode 57, Kyle Lacy shares how to communicate ideas in an effective way and why he believes the best ideas come from irrationality.
Kyle Lacy serves the marketing team at Lessonly as the Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to Lessonly, Kyle grew his leadership skills at ExactTarget, Salesforce, and OpenView.
In this episode, Kyle discusses servant leadership and the difference between job growth and career growth.
Kyle also shares how he encourages cross-collaboration with his team and why you should always be looking towards the future.
Tune in to hear all about Kyle’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode 56, Chetana shares how the way you walk, talk, and even how free or busy your calendar is matters when it comes to your team’s perception of you.
Chetana is an experienced product design leader who has led large-scale design and research at companies such as Yahoo, Netflix, and Scribd. Today, Chetana is the Director of Product Design at Coursera.
In this episode, we cover how to become a better storyteller and how Chetana builds empathy with cross-functional teams.
Tune in to hear Chetana’s journey from a direct report to a manager.
In episode 55, Danielle shares how we can improve our emotional intelligence through cross-pollinating our teams.
Danielle has had an impressive leadership career at GitHub, where she’s now the Director of Engineering. Before joining GitHub, she had previously worked at Twilio as a Front End Web Developer and Diversity Co-Chair.
We talk about the differences between ask versus guess culture and how managers can make it as easy as possible for their teams to express their opinions.
Tune in to hear how Danielle explains how she runs skip-level meetings and goal-setting processes with her team.
In episode 54, Eugene Eric Kim tells us why we always need to be looking for our replacement and how impactful a person in power can truly be.
Eugene Eric Kim is the co-founder of two change consultancies and has been able to work with thousands of leaders around the world… from C-level business leaders and social activists... to rocket scientists… and spies!
Today, Eugene runs a training program called Collaboration Muscles & Mindsets at Faster than 20.
In this episode, Eugene talks about why wanting to do more can be harmful and explains why specifics are crucial in goal-setting.
Eugene also shares a practical one-minute drill for managers and leaders to practice flexing their listening muscles.
In episode 53, Hareem Mannan shares how to build a portfolio of influence that can impact an entire organization and how to pay attention to potential rather than requirements.
Hareem is the Director of Product Design and Group Product Manager at Segment.
In this episode, Hareem shares her journey from being an individual contributor to becoming a manager and how that process was not a career upgrade, but instead a whole new role!
You will also hear Hareem’s insights on how she embraces experimentation as a manager and switching her hiring approach led her to experience a game-changing unblocker!
Tune in to hear all about Hareem’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode 52, Pat Kua shares how and why you should be multiplying others on your team (and what that means!)
Pat Kua is a technology leader with over 20 years of experience and the author of the Level Up leadership newsletter. Today, Pat is the author of three books and runs the Tech Lead Academy, offering online training for technical leaders.
In this episode, we talk about sustaining your role to avoid burnout and the difference between managing things and leading people.
Tune in to this episode to hear Pat’s early management mistakes and what he has learned throughout his leadership career.
In episode #51, Daniel Saks shares why it’s important to encourage failure and risk, and allow for others to share their lessons learned.
Daniel Saks is the President and Co-CEO of AppDirect. He is also the host of the Decoding Digital Podcast.
In this episode, Daniel also talks about what peak performance philosophy means and how your team members can perform at their best.
Tune in to hear about Daniel’s productivity hacks and his habits that help improve cognitive capacity.
In our 50th episode of Supermanagers, Harley Finkelstein shares how he builds highly effective teams.
Harley began his first company selling and designing t-shirts when he was just 17 years old. He pursued his law career and worked at a Toronto law firm before deciding to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship. Today, Harley is the President of Shopify.
In this episode, Harley shares how vulnerability is a super power and also talks about self awareness and delegation.
Harley also discusses how he leaves breadcrumbs while recruiting and why you always need to be on the search for great leaders.
Tune in to our 50th episode to hear from Harley Finkelstein!
In episode 49, Mark Horstman shares how to become a trustworthy manager.
Mark Horstman is the Co-founder and Host of Manager Tools, a podcast with more than 1500 episodes.
With an impressive career history, Mark has been an Army officer, a sales and marketing executive at Procter and Gamble and has delivered his training in The White House.
In this episode, Mark emphasizes the importance of being trustworthy as a manager... and how trust is measured by the quantity and the quality of your communication.
Mark also shares why new positions should be hard to fill and having more one-on-ones will result in less management and more time in your calendars.
Tune in to hear all about Mark’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode #48, Amanda Goetz explains why you must ruthlessly prioritize your time and your energy.
Amanda Goetz is the former VP of Marketing at The Knot and today she is the Founder of House of Wise, a luxury CBD brand for women.
In this episode, we talk with Amanda about the importance of clarity and the necessity that is, Directly Responsibility Individuals for campaigns and projects.
Amanda also explains her “What by When” tactic for operational excellence... and why OKRs are crucial to the success of your team.
Tune in to learn how Amanda ruthlessly prioritizes to stay in a state of flow and shares her Start, Stop, Continue framework for giving and receiving feedback.
In episode 47, Ross Mayfield shares how you can run meeting pre-mortems to ensure your time is spent efficiently.
Ross is the Product Lead for Integrations at Zoom, and an expert in remote work with over 20 years of experience working with distributed teams.
Ross shares how he experiments within his organization, like deciding on a vacation policy or even ‘how to be a manager’ through discussions and involvement of the company.
We also dove into his hyper-efficient meeting tactics and why everyone should have a 15-minute reflection blocked out in their calendars.
Tune in to hear how you can blend asynchronous and synchronous work and to learn about the deciding factors of when to even book a meeting.
This week, we're taking a break from our usual format to share some exciting news, give you a sneak peek of what's coming on Episode #50, and share 9 book recommendations for managers and leaders!
Whether you're a first-time manager or an experienced leader, these 9 management books will help you lead with confidence and advance in your career.
The Making of a Manager (Julie Zhuo)
High Output Management (Andrew Grove)
Radical Candor (Kim Scott)
First, Break All The Rules (Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman)
Mindset (Carol Dweck)
The Manager’s Handbook (Alex McCaw)
Who (Geoff Smart)
Lean In (Sheryl Sandberg)
Smarter, Better, Faster (Charles Duhigg)
In episode #46, David Hoang shares how you can develop your own leadership tree and why everyone needs a Hype Doc.
David Hoang is a design leader, educator, and angel investor. David is currently the Product Design Director at Webflow and previously led Product Design and Research at One Medical.
In this episode, we talk about balancing employee happiness while ensuring the greater good of the company… and how career conversations are crucial in hyper-growth organizations.
Tune in to hear all about the different types of management, leader roles, and the difference between managing, coaching, and mentorship.
In episode #45, Russ Laraway shares how you can build a coaching culture and lead by example.
Russ Laraway is a well-versed leadership expert who has over 20 years of leadership experience in positions at Google, Twitter and Candor Inc. Today, Russ is the Employee Experience Evangelist at Qualtrics.
In this episode, Russ shares how companies can improve their diversity by ensuring that every voice is heard (including your own)... and how to create a team culture where you welcome dissent.
We also talk about why leading by example never goes out of style and why you should know your direct reports dream job.
Tune in to hear Russ’s knowledge of the power of feedback as coaching and how to measure leadership
In episode 44, Joe tells us why hiring athletes, not quarterbacks, will help scale your marketing teams.
Joe Martin is the VP of Marketing and Strategy at CloudApp - an instant video and image sharing platform.
In this episode, Joe talks about the importance of one-on-one meetings... and explains how quarterly development conversations can be a better approach than yearly performance reviews.
We also talk about Joe’s tips to write resumes that stand out… and the idea of “asynchronous weeks” – something that Joe and his team at CloudApp tried recently.
Tune in to hear Joe’s insight on what it means to be a good manager and why transparency from above is important.
In episode #43, Alice Ko walks us through creating psychologically safe teams and shares tips on how you can individualize your approach to management.
Alice Ko is the Director of Marketing Communications at Procurify.
Alice is a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach and a Chartered Professional Accountant ~~-~~ two career paths we discuss in this episode.
We talk about the importance of creating psychological safety within your team... and why you shouldn’t use a blanket management approach.
Alice also shares great acronyms to improve communication styles, such as RWR, TS and CATTE.
Tune in to hear all about creating strong teams and efficient communication in a remote world.
In episode #42, Darren Murph shares how remote work empowers people at work, and also in their everyday lives.
Darren Murph is the Head of Remote at Gitlab - a company that is famously known for being one of the largest all-remote companies in the world.
Prior to Gitlab, Darren was the Managing Editor at Engadget and the Director of Global Communications at Dolby Laboratories. He also holds a Guinness World Record as the planet's most prolific professional blogger!
In today’s episode, Darren offers an inside look at life at Gitlab, their core values, and what it means to be transparent by default.
We also talk about the concept of hiring to fill your weak spots and how, as leaders, we can unblock our direct reports and empower them to do great things.
Tune in to hear how you can improve your craft as a manager and take remote learning to a whole new level.
In episode 41, Melissa and Johnathan Nightingale emphasize what the manager title exactly entails and how to own the role.
Melissa and Johnathan are founders of Raw Signal Group, best-selling authors of "How F*cked Up Is Your Management? An Uncomfortable Conversation About Modern Leadership" and editors of The Co-Pour.
Before all that, Melissa has been a startup warrior, previously holding executive roles at Wattpad and Edomo … and was also Mozilla’s first Director of Global Public Relations. Johnathan, on the other hand, has built and operated entire organizations, all while helping improve diversity. He was previously VP of Firefox for Mozilla and CPO at Hubba.
In today’s episode, they shared lessons learned from their early management mistakes and why setting expectations is one of the most impactful things we can do as leaders.
Last but not least, Melissa and Johnathan explained how to help your team with burnout and “borrow from your future self”.
Tune in to hear all about Melissa and Johnathan Nightingale’s management journey and the takeaways they learned along the way!
In episode 40, Simon Stanlake highlights the importance of fulfillment and trust within a team.
Simon Stanlake is the SVP of Engineering at Procurify – the leading spend management and procurement software platform. Prior to Procurify, he was the VP of Technology at Hootsuite and the CTO at TradeBytes Data Corp.
In today’s episode, we covered the difference between a charismatic leader and a great leader and which one Simon aspires to be.
Lastly, we also explored why he holds back on sharing what needs to be done in order to maximize his team's learnings and why it’s okay to break things in order to ship features.
Tune in to hear all about Simon Stanlake’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode 39, Job Van der Voort helps us better understand the world of remote work.
Job is the co-founder and CEOat Remote.com andthe host of the Remote Work Podcast – a podcast we recommend if you’re new to managing distributed teams!
On today’s episode, we talk to Job about the difference between being a micromanager and a manager who values detail.
We also explore the benefits that come with working remotely, and what happens to the marketplace of talent when location is no longer required.
Last but not least, Job shared his perspective on the best practices that leaders should follow when hiring people in different countries.
Tune in to hear all about Job’s remote work playbook and the powerful insights he has to offer!
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Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
In episode 38, Katie Wilde tells us what hiring and onboarding look like for an all-remote team.
Katie Wilde is the Vice President of Engineering at Buffer.
As an Engineering Leader, Katie is guided by two missions: crafting productive teams and delivering a world-class software product.
In today’s episode, we talk to Katie about her early days at Buffer and her experience working in a holacracy environment (a system where there are no assigned roles).
We also explore the concepts of defined management and deliberate feedback – and the impact both things can have on our teams. Lastly, we talk about what hiring and onboarding look like in a remote company and the unique approach that Buffer takes with potential candidates!
Tune in to hear all about GUEST’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode 37, Jonathan Ronzio explains why outdoor adventures and entrepreneurship are not so different after all.
Jonathan Ronzio is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Trainual, a platform that helps businesses get systematized through digital playbooks.
Jonathan is an award-winning storyteller and documentary filmmaker and has spoken on stages around the world about adventure, creativity, and the importance of getting comfortable with uncertainty.
In today’s episode, we talk to Jonathan about how his outdoor adventures have influenced his leadership style – as well as the decisions he makes when it comes to storytelling and marketing.
We touch on topics like trust, communication, and determination – and why these things don’t just help you to survive outdoor adventures, but leadership and entrepreneurship too!
Tune in to hear Jonathan’s point of view on why fear is a healthy thing and how embracing what scares us, helps us grow.
In episode 36, Amber Hurdle tells us why personality assessments and self-awareness make us better leaders.
Amber Hurdle is a leadership and personal branding consultant who is also the mind behind the Velvet Machete – a globally recognized, eight-week leadership program that helps leaders define & position their value.
Amber has years of experience in the hospitality and construction industry, working with companies such as Fedex and Marriott International. She is also the author of The Bombshell Business Woman – a book about management, networking, and goal setting.
In today’s episode, Amber unravels the meaning and strategy behind her signature Velvet Machette approach to coaching.
She also shares how personality assessments can help leaders discover our strengths and weaknesses – so we can understand what areas to focus on.
Tune in to learn why Amber prefers to bubble wrap people’s weaknesses.
In episode #35, Cameron Herold shares what is really important to leaders.
Cameron is the best selling author of the books Double Double and Meetings Suck, as well as the founder of COO Alliance.
Prior to COO Alliance, Cameron was the Chief Operating Officer of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? where he led operations and helped the company soar from two million in revenue growth to 150 million in just seven years.
In today’s episode, we talk about the upside-down leadership pyramid, which places CEO’s at the bottom, not the top… and why an “old-school” leader wouldn’t survive in today’s business world.
We also look closely at written communication... for example, how the messages we deliver and the messages that are received can become two different things.
Tune in to hear how Cameron shares his approach to coaching and how so much of it is centered on teaching the soft skills of leadership.
In episode 34, Nick Stein sheds light on the people who make up our teams, and the intricacies that come along with leadership.
Nick Stein is the Chief Marketing Officer at Top Hat, a SaaS scale-up that helps professors and students learn more through interactive content.
Nick is a results-driven marketing leader and has led teams at Vision Critical, as the SVP of Marketing and also spent some time as the Senior Director of Marketing at Salesforce.
In this episode, Nick talks about the importance of being honest as a leader and why letting people know where they stand is a healthy choice for you, them, and your entire team.
We also explore why hiring should be approached through a relationship lens, rather than a transactional one... and why those who believe in your company’s values and mission are more likely to be great team members.
Tune in to this episode to explore the characteristics of high performing teams and if your team is on the right track to becoming one.
In episode #33, Amy Sandler lets us know what it takes to be challenging and caring.
Amy Sandler, the Chief Content Officer at Radical Candor – an organization co-founded by Kim Scott and Jason Rosoff to help leaders learn the art of feedback.
Prior to Radical Candor, Amy filled senior roles in marketing at the Young President’s Organization, Vistage, and the University of California in LA.
In today’s episode, Amy explains how walking on fire (yes, real fire) six times took her out of her comfort zone and also... what it taught her about leadership.
Amy and Aydin talk about how empathy, aggression, and insincerity play out at work and what we need to keep in mind when we provide critical feedback and also praise to our teams.
Listen to this episode to better understand the importance of knowing and respecting the people we work with.
In episode 32, Farhan Thawar shares his biggest goal as a leader.
Farhan is the Vice President of Engineering at Shopify.
Prior to Helpful and Shopify, he was the VP of Engineering at Xtreme Labs, which was then (also) acquired by Pivotal – where Farhan took on the role of Chief Technology Officer of Mobile in 2013.
Apart from an extensive career in Engineering, Farhan is an angel investor, writer, and speaker. In fact, he was named one of Toronto’s 25 Most Powerful People in 2010.
In today’s episode, Farhan talks about why, as leaders, we should get involved with our team’s work and continue to practice tactical skills (such as coding) to build trust, empathy, and strong relationships.
Tune in to hear about Farhan’s rich career in the world of engineering and his insights about management, hiring practises and the value of speed at work.
In episode 31, John Weigelt explains why the largest goal of management should be to get the best out of people... and reminds us that gentle nudges and words of feedback have more power than we think in helping our teammates do their best work.
We also explore strategies that John uses to convince large institutions to adopt new ways of operating and doing business, which is no easy job!
John Weigelt is the National Technology Officer at Microsoft Canada. Working closely with the government, education officials, and health care communities, John plays a key role in implementing Microsoft’s strategic policies and technology efforts across the country.
Prior to this role, John worked for the Department of National Defense and was the Senior Director of Architecture, Standards, and Engineering at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
John is also a TedX speaker. (If you haven’t yet, we recommend watching his talk on Enabling Canada’s Economy Digitally.)
In episode 30, Cate Huston shares with us, the skills we need to work in remote and distributed team environments.
Cate Huston is the Engineering Director of Mobile at DuckDuckGo.
Prior to her current role at DuckDuckGo, Cate was the Head of Developer Experience at Automattic, Director of Mobile Engineering at Ride.com, and a Software Engineer at Google – experiences that have led her to live and work remotely in places such as China, Colombia, the US, Canada, and Australia.
Tune in to this episode to learn remote best practices that you can adopt, such as leveraging asynchronous communication to let your team consume important information.
In episode 29, Bruce Tulgan identifies what it takes for teams to be able to collaborate confidently, make good decisions, and as a result, produce excellent work.
Bruce Tulgan is the Founder and CEO of Rainmaker Thinking, an organization that has helped hundreds of leaders at companies such as American Express, AT&T, IBM, and Mercedes Benz build a culture of “strong leadership”.
Bruce has authored over 20 books about management and leadership… and most recently published a book titled The Art of Being Indispensable at Work.
Tune in to hear why, as leaders, we should schedule regular meetings to drive alignment and set priorities with our team.
In episode 28, Sarah reflects on some “bad boss behaviour” she has witnessed in her career… and shares how behaviour affects output.
Sarah Milstein is the Senior Director of Engineering at Mailchimp, where she leads and coaches product teams.
In this interview, Sarah talks about why diagnosing the conversations we have with our team matters… and why learning to listen and understand is often better than only reacting and responding.
Tune in to hear all about Sarah’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode 27, Marcus reminds us that intentionality must come along with remote work.
Marcus Wermuth is the Engineering and Product Manager at Buffer, a social media growth, engagement and management platform. Marcus is an advocate for remote work and is deeply passionate about helping managers build effective, distributed teams.
Marcus talks about why hiring a team that is distributed around the world isn’t a bad idea and how he makes it work. We talk about asynchronous meetings and making sure your meetings are bi-directional and personal.
Tune in to hear why we must remember to include humanness and personality in our work systems and structures because we are working with humans, and not avatars.
In episode 26, Hiten Shah reveals the difference between culture fit and work flow fit.
Hiten is a multi time founder, building and growing his own companies such as Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics and Quick Sprout. He also co-hosts The Startup Chat, a podcast about startup life, insights and advice.
In this episode, Hiten reflects on his first engineering hire and explains the importance of assessing talent accurately during the interview process to make sure they can succeed with you, in the environment you have created.
We also talk about identifying slow moving teams, why managers need to be in tune with what their teams actually know (and what they don’t), and how founders can transfer their unique talents and skills to their teams.
Tune in to hear Hiten share why environment fit matters to build a well oiled team.
In episode 25, Lenny Rachitsky shares a groundbreaking framework to improve your planning processes and performance reviews.
Lenny is an expert in product management and has a wealth of knowledge about company growth, people, and management in the technology world. Previously a product lead at Airbnb, he is currently known for writing a weekly newsletter read by thousands of product leaders.
In today’s episode, we talk to Lenny about the importance of unblocking your team by providing them with knowledge and support… so they can do the best work possible.
We also explore decision-making and why, as leaders, we need to reframe change as an opportunity.
Finally, Lenny walks us through his “W framework”, a step-by-step strategythat can help your team better understand logistics and responsibility.
In episode 24, Camille Fournier (Managing Director of Platform Engineering at Two Sigma) talks about the art of managing technical teams... and why leaders should always strive to develop and improve their own skills.
Camille’s previous roles include being the Chief Technology Officer at Rent the Runway... a VP and Technical Specialist at Goldman Sachs... and a Software Engineer at Microsoft.
In addition to a vast portfolio in the technology world, Camille is the author of two great management books; The Manager’s Path and 97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know.
Listen to this episode to learn about the importance of structure, repetition, and managing stress as a leader.
In episode 23, Andrew Waitman reveals why leadership meetings need structure, but also flexibility.
Andrew Waitman is the CEO of Assent Compliance… the global leader in supply chain data management and one of Canada’s top growing companies.
Tune in to explore the concepts of agility and adaptability and why structure is such an important aspect of strategy, leadership and of course, team management.
We also explore why running leadership meetings with purpose comes with exploring the victories, insights and puzzles of business.
In episode 22, Leslie Miley asks us to rethink how we invest in inclusion and uplift our teams.
Leslie Miley has an impressive career history leading Engineering teams at Slack, Google, Twitter and Apple... as well as being the first Chief Technology Officer with the Obama Foundation.
Tune in to this episode to learn why as leaders, we must move away from performative allyship, and instead… rebuild the trust that has been broken due to racism that is built into systems, processes, and workplace culture.
Leslie also shares how important culture is and why learning and respecting the culture of those we work with, creates strong relationships.
Press play and let us know your biggest takeaways from this episode!
In episode 21, Erin Bury shares how she brings optimism to her leadership and how we can balance positivity with the challenges that come with business.
Erin Bury is the Co-Founder and CEO of Willful, a Toronto based startup building the online estate planning platform for today's generation.
Prior to founding Willful in 2019, Erin held senior roles at BetaKit and wrote for publications such as The Globe and Mail and Business Insider. She also led her own creative marketing agency, Eighty Eight, where she worked with clients such as Lyft, Telus, and Sony Pictures Television.
Erin recognizes that empathy, awareness and connection are key aspects of being a leader, no matter what kind of business you are leading, be it service based or product based.
Listen to this episode to remember just how important our actions are as leaders and how they directly impact our teams and our culture at work.
In episode 20, Michael Litt reminds us how important it is to exercise our minds, so we can execute our missions and our values as leaders. We talk about how leadership changes as your business grows, the importance of communication and structure to keep tasks on track and having empathy and compassion for your team.
Michael Litt is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vidyard - the online video platform that helps businesses such as SalesForce and Marketo unlock the power of video. Michael is also a Tedx speaker and has been named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.
As CEO, Michael strives to build a team of fantastic developers and evangelists that are dedicated to the company mission.
Tune in to hear about what building a business has taught Michael about leadership and management.
In episode 19, Patrick Campbell reflects on his journey as a first time founder and manager.
In this episode, you will hear about Patrick’s early career building days working at Google and the US Defence Department, as well as what life was like when he decided to go all in and build ProfitWell in 2012.
Patrick is the Founder and CEO of ProfitWell, the software company that helps subscription model businesses like Canva, MasterClass, Classpass, Vice and Prezi (and more) with their monetization and retention strategies.
Tune in to this episode to hear Patrick share the importance of building a culture of feedback and how important mission driven businesses can be.
In episode #18, Melinda Briana Epler defines the concept of allyship and what it means and looks like to be a good ally in the workplace.
Tune in to learn why it is necessary to be and feel uncomfortable when doing anti-racist work and how to have conversations that promote safety and equality, and interrupt one’s that don’t so you can make changes and create more equal spaces at work.
Melinda is the founder and CEO of Change Catalyst, a San-Francisco-based advising company with the mission to build inclusive ecosystems. She is also a startup advisor and TEDx speaker who speaks actively about white privilege, diversity and inclusion in tech, and how to lead with empathy as an ally.
Melinda has over 25 years of experience developing business innovation and inclusion strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies and global NGOs. Since the launch of Change Catalyst, she has worked with more than 340 community partners and 450 tech companies -- and her work has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Black Enterprise, The Times, and many other publications.
Listen to this episode to learn how as a manager, you have the power to build diverse and inclusive teams and how doing so will elevate your organization’s health, productivity and profitability.
In episode #17, Bo Brabo joins Aydin to talk about how leadership, team culture and everyday behaviours at work collide in the military and in the corporate world.
Tune in to hear all about Bo’s journey that has carried him through the military, presidential offices and the corporate world and learn about the similarities that can be identified when teams and their leaders align their behaviours with their values.
Since retiring from the U.S. Army as the Chief of HR Operations with the White House Communications Agency …. and as a Presidential Communications Officer for President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, Bo has served in several executive positions as Vice President of Human Resources.
Bo is also the author of “From The Battlefield, To The White House, To The Boardroom” -- a book where he shares his experiences from years on the military battlefield and a decade in the White House, and is also the co-host of the Bo and Luke show, a podcast all about doing better so you can be better.
Listen to this episode to learn how the needs of leaders and their teams don’t change much, even when their workplaces do!
In episode 16, Shane Murphy-Reuter explores the important qualities and behaviours that make a successful leader and as a result, a successful team.
Shane is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Intercom and has just celebrated fifteen years in marketing.
Listen as we talk to Shane about moving to remote work during the COVID-19 crisis, how to balance work and play with your team, and the importance of consistency when leading and managing.
We also explore how Shane has adjusted processes and behaviours to ensure he is making quality decisions for himself, his team and of course, marketing for Intercom.
In episode #15, Jean-Michel Lemieux invites us to explore what and who it takes to lean into leadership. We also discuss the importance of knowing when to lead and when to follow, the extraversion myth and what it means to treat your team as a “connected network of brains”.
Jean-Michel is the Chief Technology Officer at Shopify and has an impressive career history. Prior to joining Shopify, he served as the Vice President of Engineering at Atlassian and led a team of over 150 engineers in his role as Chief Architect for Rational Team Concert, a division of IBM.
Jean-Michel is also the creator of Shopify’s exclusive leadership handbook.
Tune in to hear all about Jean-Michel’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode #14, Kirstine Stewart explains the surprising difference between a leader and a boss. We also discuss what it means to have a leadership mindset (even if you’re not a manager), and why female representation in leadership roles is so important for all modern companies and corporations.
Kirstine is an Executive Committee Member and Head of Shaping the Future of Media at the World Economic Forum. Prior to joining the WEF, she occupied C-suite positions in two successful technology companies, served as Head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and led Twitter’s North America Media team.
Kirstine is also the author of “Our Turn”, a book that helps women discover their leadership potential.
Tune in to hear all about Kirstine’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In Episode #13, Alex MacCaw describes the frameworks and best practices that managers should adopt to constantly improve their leadership skills. We also talked about Clearbit’s impeccable agreements and how they can help you improve communication and collaboration across departments.
Clearbit is a San Francisco-based business intelligence company that has raised more than 17 million dollars in funding – and serves as the data backbone to thousands of businesses such as Slack, Stripe, Intercom, and Adroll. As the co-founder and CEO, Alex puts an immense focus on leadership and personal development. In fact, he recently announced Clearbit’s mission to become the best-managed company in the world - and as part of this mission, he published a great book titled The Manager’s Handbook.
If you’re someone who loves personal growth and, like Alex, are always looking for ways to improve at your craft, this episode is for you.
In episode #12, David Sakamoto shares a framework to build and scale high-performing teams, as well as best practices to onboard new team members at rapidly growing companies.
We also talk about the importance of monthly career conversations, and why leaders should be the last ones to voice their opinion during team meetings.
David has over 20 years of experience building and scaling customer success teams.
He is the VP of Customer Success at Gitlab – the world’s largest all-remote company, which is currently valued at 2.75 billion dollars.
Previously, he was Head of Customer Success for the Americas at Cisco and the Vice President of Services and Customer Success at EVault.
Recently, David won an award for being one of the top 150 Global Customer Experience Thought Leaders and Influencers of 2020.
Tune in to hear all about David’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode #11, Michael Watkins discusses some of the strategies that new leaders can adopt to be successful in their roles and climb up the learning curve.
We also talked about the self-doubt phase, and why almost 90% of leaders deal with the urge to prove themselves when they start a new job -- something that Michael calls the “action imperative”.
Michael Watkins is the author of The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at all Levels.
He is an expert on executive onboarding and accelerating transitions, a professor at Harvard University, and a contributor to the Harvard Business Review.
Tune in to hear all about Michael’s leadership philosophy!
In episode #10, Vlad Magdalin shares a template to run effective and inclusive company-wide meetings - as well as some great tips to make the hybrid remote model work for your company.
We also discuss Webflow’s dual mission - and the biggest dilemma that Vlad faced as he scaled the team.
Vlad is the CEO of Webflow, a software company empowering people to create websites without the need to code.
Tune in to hear all about Vlad’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode #9, Lara Hogan shares best practices to understand your team’s core needs and create predictability in times of uncertainty.
We also discuss the difference between mentorship, coaching, and sponsorship – and how you can become a better sponsor and coach for your team.
Lara is a coach for leaders in tech and the author of Resilient Management, Designing for Performance, and Demystifying Public Speaking.
Prior to founding Wherewithall, she spent a decade leading teams as the VP of Engineering at Kickstarter and an Engineering Director at Etsy.
Tune in to hear all about Lara’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!
In episode #8, Michael Lopp (Rands) talks about the power of scheduling regular one-on-one meetings and asking clarifying questions to identify unengaged employees.
We also discuss the concept of Manager Readmes and how they can help you build more efficient and positive working relationships.
Michael is the author of Managing Humans, Being Geek, and The Art of Leadership. He has been writing for over 17 years, sharing his insights on management, culture, and technology through his blog, Rands in Response.
During his career, Michael has led rapidly growing teams at companies like Netscape, Pinterest, Slack, and Apple.
Tune in to hear Michael’s advice and best practices for other managers and leaders!
In episode #7, Guy Kawasaki talks about his experience managing Apple’s evangelism team, the lessons he learned working with Steve Jobs, and the German concept of being a Mensch – and how it can help you identify and hire great leaders.
Guy was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh computer in the 1980s. During his time as Apple’s Chief Evangelist, he worked closely with Steve Jobs and popularized the concept of evangelism marketing.
Today, Guy is the Chief Evangelist of Canva, a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, and the author of more than ten books, including Wise Guy and The Art of the Start.
Tune in to hear all about Guy’s leadership philosophy!
In episode #6, Sam Zaid (CEO of Getaround) shares a playbook you can use to identify and hire great leaders. We also discuss the RACI framework and how Getaround is using this and another set of rituals to help new managers be effective right away.
Prior to Getaround, Sam founded Apption, an enterprise software consultancy, and 360pi, the leading retail price intelligence platform that was acquired by MarketTrack and Vista Equity in 2016.
Sam holds numerous patents and inventions, is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, a Microsoft Code Award winner, and a Goldman Sachs Most Intriguing Entrepreneur.
Tune in to hear all about Sam’s leadership journey and the frameworks that have helped his company succeed!
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In episode #5, Tara Robertson (Head of Customer Marketing at SproutSocial) talks about the power of focusing on your team’s strengths.
She also shares some great insights on how to overcome imposter syndrome, find great mentors, and deal with the challenges of managing a remote team.
Prior to joining SproutSocial, Tara was the VP of Marketing at Hotjar.
Tune in to hear all about Tara’s journey as a marketing and sales leader, and the lessons learned along the way!
Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to leave a review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
In episode #4, Eran Aloni (COO of Gong.io) shares tips on how to get your team aligned and why accountability is critical to leading teams.
We also talked about how Gong.io uses operating principles to guide their team and what signals you can watch for to know you’re ready to implement them in your company.
Eran has over 20 years of experience building and scaling enterprise solutions. Previously, he was COO and VP of Product at Adobe EchoSign, VP of Product at Influitive, and VP of Product Marketing at Clarizen.
Tune in to hear all about Eran’s leadership journey and lessons learned along the way!
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In episode #3, Michele Romanow (co-founder and president of Clearbanc) talks about the importance of building a culture of radical candor, trusting employees to make data-driven decisions, and hiring empathetic people.
Michele is a serial entrepreneur who started five companies before the age of 33. A Dragon on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, she previously co-founded SnapSaves (which was acquired by Groupon in 2014) and Buytopia.ca (a platform with 2.5 MILLION subscribers that acquired six of their competitors).
Michele is considered one of the “One-Hundred Most Powerful Women in Canada” and was listed as the ONLY Canadian on Forbes Magazine’s “Millennial on a Mission” list.
Tune in to hear all about Michele’s habits and leadership lessons!
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In episode #2, Sara Varni (CMO of Twilio) talks about the importance of understanding your team’s motivations, setting clear expectations around KPIs, and empowering people to develop professionally within your organization.
Prior to joining Twilio, Sara was a leader at Salesforce – where she grew from product marketing manager, all the way to SVP of Marketing.
Tune in to hear all about Sara’s leadership journey!
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In episode #1, David Cancel (CEO of Drift) shares his insights and practical advice to implement Servant Leadership, Skip-Level Meetings, and Learning Loops in your organization.
David is a five-time founder, two-time CEO, and best-selling author of “Conversational Marketing”. He was named the top-ranked CEO by USA Today and is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard.
Tune in to hear all about David’s leadership philosophy!
Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to leave a review and share the podcast with your colleagues.
There’s only one thing that differentiates average teams from world-class, high-performing organizations. You guessed it. Great managers. Or as we’ll call them in this podcast… Supermanagers.
Supermanagers create an environment that attracts the best employees... and most importantly, retains them. They invest in their employees’ growth and are always learning new tactics and strategies to improve their management capabilities.
The good news for you is that supermanagers are made, and not born. And you can become one by listening to the world-class leaders that will share their advice and best practices in this podcast – brought to you by Fellow.app.