TVOL - Tech Voices On Leadership

Ibrahim Ramku, Marius Hole

0.0 (0)
Careers
Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Tech Voices on Leadership. This show is all about creating a community of technical leaders who want to grow, share ideas, and navigate the transition from technical mastery to people leadership. Each episode dives into the emotional and practical sides of leading others. Hit subscribe and join us — we put heart and passion into bringing you content that supports your leadership journey.

Jul 15

011 - Leadership is about letting go.

🎙️ What happens when two technical experts become leaders? For Episode 11 of Tech Voices on Leadership, we had 2 special guests Simon Robert and Dakota Seufert-Snow. Simon is President at Novbox, leading a successful business in Canada and United States, while Dakota is an experienced leader and podcaster, hosting The Bearded I.T. Dad. The session was recorded in Vegas in person at Cisco Live. Thank you Cisco Insider for the recording studio. We explored what it really takes to move from solving technical problems to leading people. One message stood out throughout the conversation: Leadership is about letting go. As technical professionals, we're used to fixing every problem ourselves. But becoming a leader means trusting others, delegating responsibility, and accepting that your success is measured by your team, not by how many problems you solve personally. We also talked about: 🔷 Why hiring for attitude is often more important than hiring for technical skills. 🔷How mistakes should become learning opportunities, not reasons for blame. 🔷Building a culture where people feel safe to ask for help instead of struggling in silence. 🔷Why being yourself is one of the most important leadership qualities. 🔷The challenge of balancing work, family, and taking care of yourself as a leader. One quote that stayed with me was the reminder that you don't need to be the superhero anymore. Your job is to help your team become successful. It was an honest conversation full of practical leadership lessons that apply far beyond the IT industry. #tech #leadership #TVOL
Jul 1

010 - Zoë's journey into Leadership

What if becoming a better leader starts with understanding why people don't think like you do? In this episode of Tech Voices on Leadership, we welcomed our first guest, Zoë Rose, to share her journey from hiding in server rooms to leading large Security Operations teams. Zoë openly shares how childhood trauma, feeling different, and struggling to understand social expectations shaped both her career and her leadership style. What many colleagues perceived as being cold or uncaring was in reality someone trying to navigate a world of unwritten rules. Some of the topics we explored: 🔹 Why feedback should be tailored to the individual receiving it 🔹 How managers can unintentionally hold teams back by solving problems themselves 🔹 Situational leadership and empowering people to surpass their leaders 🔹 Self-leadership, impostor syndrome, and understanding what environments allow you to succeed 🔹 The importance of grieving plans that never happened and giving yourself permission to adapt to a new reality 🔹 Why comparing yourself to others is dangerous when you only see their highlights and not their struggles One quote that stayed with us: "You have to be in the right position for you." Leadership is not only about helping others grow. It is also about learning to understand yourself, communicating in ways others can receive, accepting your limitations, and realizing that sometimes a good role, a good company, or even a good manager simply may not be the right fit for you. #tech #leadership #TVOL
Jun 15

009 - Extreme Ownership

🎙️ What separates good professionals from the ones everyone remembers? In Episode 9 of Tech Voices on Leadership, we explore the concept of Extreme Ownership, inspired by the idea that leadership starts by taking responsibility, even when it would be easier to blame circumstances, processes, or other people. We discuss: 🔹 The difference between being responsible and truly taking ownership 🔹 Why ownership cannot be assigned, as it comes from within 🔹 How great leaders focus on improving systems instead of finding someone to blame 🔹 The role of clear communication, expectations, and accountability 🔹 Why the people who consistently go the extra mile often get the most interesting opportunities and growth One of the key takeaways from the conversation: 👉 You can assign accountability, but you cannot assign ownership. Ownership is what happens when someone sees a problem and decides to solve it—even when it's not explicitly their responsibility. It's a mindset that can transform teams, careers, and organizations.
Jun 1

008 - Tiny Actions. Massive Long-Term Impact

Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a month… and underestimate what they can achieve in a few years. In tech, leadership, fitness, relationships, or learning, the biggest transformations rarely happen overnight.They happen through small actions repeated consistently. ✅A few pages read every day. ✅A small lab after work. ✅One honest conversation. ✅One extra step toward discipline instead of comfort. The challenge is that compounding is invisible in the beginning. No instant gratification. No dramatic results. But over time? Those tiny actions become expertise, trust, confidence, health, and opportunities. In our newest episode, we discuss: ✅ The compounding effect of habits ✅ Why discipline matters more than motivation ✅ Delayed gratification in learning and leadership ✅How small daily actions shape long-term success
May 15

007 - The Emotionally Intelligent Leader

One of the biggest shifts from technical expert to leader is realizing that leadership is not only about expertise. It is also about emotions. In this episode of Tech Voices on Leadership, we discuss:✅ why great leaders pause before reacting,✅ how empathy builds trust✅ and why emotional intelligence often matters more than technical skill in difficult situations. One point stood out clearly: You cannot lead others well if you cannot lead yourself. Small habits like listening first, delaying emotional reactions, and understanding frustration instead of becoming defensive can completely change the outcome of conversations - with both teams and customers. Emotional intelligence is not about being soft. It is about being intentional. If you are leading people, building your career, or trying to create more influence in your organization - this episode is for you.
May 1

006 - The hidden skill of leaders - Networking

In this Tech Voices on Leadership episode, we explore one of the hidden skills of great leaders: networking. We dive into: ✅ Why networking is not about collecting contacts - but building real relationships ✅ How introverts and extroverts approach networking differently ✅ Why trust and long-term relationships matter more than quantity ✅ How networking inside your organization can be just as important as external networking ✅ Why helping others without expecting something back often creates the biggest opportunities We also share practical reflections from real leadership experiences: How do you create meaningful connections when time is limited? And how do you build a network that supports both your team and your own growth? If you are leading people, building your career, or trying to create more influence in your organization - this episode is for you.
Apr 15

005 - Objectives and Key Results

In this Tech Voices on Leadership episode, we explore OKRs — Objectives and Key Results and how they can help leaders create focus, alignment, and measurable progress. We dive into:✅ Why having too many goals is often the real problem✅ How OKRs differ from traditional KPIs (and why that matters)✅ The importance of transparency across teams and leadership layers✅ How to set ambitious goals without creating frustration✅ Common pitfalls like “gaming the metrics” — and how to avoid them We also share practical reflections from real-world leadership:How do you prioritize when everything feels important?And how do you make sure your team understands why their work matters? If you are leading teams, driving strategy, or trying to create more focus in your organization — this episode is for you.
Apr 1

004 - Leading yourself before others

In this Tech Voices On Leadership episode, we dive into the everyday challenges of managing priorities, handling pressure, and making better decisions in a busy work life. We discuss: ✅ Why saying “yes” too often can create hidden stress over time ✅ How to prioritize what actually matters — and challenge what doesn’t ✅ The importance of reflection before reacting (especially in difficult situations) ✅ Why discomfort and impostor syndrome are often signs of growth ✅ Practical ways to build habits that support better decisions and communication If you are leading teams, projects, or simply working on becoming more intentional in your daily work — this episode is for you.
Mar 15

003 - Continual Improvement

In this episode, we take a practical ITIL concept — the Continual Improvement Model — and stress-test it in a place most people don’t expect: leadership growth and personal development. One of us was introduced to the model during leadership training without even knowing it was ITIL. Later, while studying ITIL 4 for a Cisco partnership requirement, the “mystery framework” clicked into place: seven deceptively simple questions that turn vague intentions into real change. We walk through how the loop works in practice — defining a clear vision, establishing an honest baseline, choosing measurable actions, checking progress, and keeping momentum without burning out. Then we go one level deeper: Why do improvement plans fail even when they make perfect sense? We connect the dots between continual improvement and habits, consistency, distractions, and identity, pulling in examples from certification journeys, fitness routines, and the real-world friction that derails good intentions. If you’ve ever had a goal you genuinely wanted — but struggled to execute — this one will give you both a framework and a mirror. By the end, we leave you with a question worth sitting with: What’s one healthy habit you’d build — even without a grand goal attached?
Mar 1

002 - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

In episode two, we unpack The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — and why it’s less a “leadership book” and more a practical guide to self-leadership. We talk about what happens when your circle of concern starts hijacking your brain, how to shift from reactive firefighting to proactive influence, and why time management is really energy management — especially when the pressure stacks up. Along the way, we dig into the urgent/important matrix, value-based leadership (including the “funeral” thought experiment), and the difference between merely hearing people and actually understanding them. Expect candid stories from technical life — on-call calls that weren’t really emergencies, long troubleshooting nights that magically resolve after sleep, and the reminder that you never fully know what someone else is carrying. If you lead technical teams (or want to), this one is for you.
Feb 15

001 - Tech Expert to Leader

Your first leadership role can feel like getting your driver’s license — technically approved, but still white-knuckled behind the wheel. In Episode 1, we talk about the transition from technical expert to leader: the identity shift, the emotional impact, and why people are the most complex “systems” you’ll ever work with. We also explore how to avoid becoming the bottleneck, how to lead without controlling, and why great leadership often starts with curiosity instead of answers.
Feb 2

INTRO - Tech Voices on Leadership

From long study nights to leading teams and global expert communities — this episode introduces the two voices behind Tech Voices on Leadership. Marius shares how a paid CCNA course in 2004 became the turning point from “IT as a hobby” to a 20-year career spanning CCIE/CCDE and community leadership. Ibrahim brings the other half of the story: 15 years across networking and security, a relentless learning habit, passing some of the toughest certifications in the industry, and the real-world challenge of being both a technical contributor and a people leader. They met at Cisco Live, kept the conversations going, and realized something: the hardest problems aren’t with the zeros and ones - they’re the ones involving humans. If you’ve ever moved from being “the expert in the room” to the person responsible for helping others succeed, this is where the journey starts. techvoicesonleadership.com

12 Episodes

Welcome to Tech Voices on Leadership. This show is all about creating a community of technical leaders who want to grow, share ideas, and navigate the transition from technical mastery to people leadership. Each episode dives into the emotional and practical sides of leading others. Hit subscribe and join us — we put heart and passion into bringing you content that supports your leadership journey.

Creator

Ibrahim Ramku, Marius Hole
Years Active

2026
Episodes

12
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Ibrahim Ramku, Marius Hole
Show Website

TVOL - Tech Voices On Leadership