Tools for Tech Leaders

Mattermost
  • 5.0 (2)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Welcome to Tools for Tech Leaders, a podcast where C-Suite Executives and Tech Leaders connect with ideas that resonate and are useful in their professional lives.

  1. JAN 7

    Why Emotional Regulation Is Your Most Critical Leadership Skill with Ed Batista

    Most leadership challenges aren't actually about strategy or execution—they're about emotion regulation. Executive coach Ed Batista, who has conducted nearly 10,000 coaching sessions over two decades at Stanford GSB, reveals why mastering your emotional responses is the meta-skill that determines leadership effectiveness. Drawing from extensive work with founder CEOs and tech executives, Ed explains how unregulated emotions create procrastination, communication breakdowns, and team dysfunction—even when leaders have brilliant strategic insights. He shares practical frameworks for self-coaching, the real purpose of journaling (it's not what you think), and why "force isn't power" when your authority grows. Learn how to recognize when your communication style needs recalibrating as your company scales, build psychological safety without walking on eggshells, and develop the emotional awareness that separates effective leaders from those who flame out. Ed also discusses his AI coaching experiment "Edbot" and the future of augmented leadership development. Essential listening for any leader who wants to understand the invisible currents that actually drive organizational performance.

    1h 5m

  2. 12/05/2025

    Real Estate Leadership Lessons With Dupree Scovell of Woodbine Development

    Real estate investing attracts tech entrepreneurs seeking diversified income, but most underestimate the operational complexity. Dupree of Woodbine Development Corporation reveals the economic fundamentals that separate successful hotel investments from expensive mistakes to brand selection and partnership structures. He shares why his company transformed hiring practices to prioritize cultural fit over credentials to build longevity in a high-turnover industry. Tech leaders and aspiring real estate investors gain actionable frameworks for evaluating hotel opportunities and building organizations where cultural alignment drives sustainable performance.

    1h 6m

  3. 07/24/2025

    Build Infrastructure, Not Features: Farhan Thawar (Shopify)

    Shopify VP of Engineering Farhan Thawar reveals how to build and scale high-performance engineering teams in the age of AI. Drawing from his experience managing over 1,000 engineers remotely, Farhan shares Shopify's unique approach to weekly demos over burndown charts, their controversial decision to hire 1,000 interns in 2025, and why they're moving back to a monorepo architecture. Learn how Shopify's leadership stays deeply involved in project details through their intensive monthly review process, why they built custom internal tools instead of adopting industry standards, and how they're preparing their entire organization for an AI-first future. Essential insights for engineering leaders navigating rapid growth, remote work challenges, and the fundamental shifts happening in software development.

    1h 8m

  4. 07/09/2025

    What Serial Entrepreneurs Know That Others Don't: Rajat Suri (Lyft, Presto, Lima, Tribe)

    Serial entrepreneur Rajat Suri, who co-founded Zimride/Lyft and took Presto public, shares hard-won lessons from 20 years of scaling companies. Discover how he completely changed his career trajectory from wanting to be a doctor to entrepreneurship, why technical founders must branch out beyond engineering, and the surprising origin story of ride-sharing that started with a lonely drive in a family van. Rajat reveals his counterintuitive management philosophy that replaced executive meetings with detailed written reports, explains how he pivoted Presto from restaurant tablets to AI voice technology before the ChatGPT boom, and discusses what it's like transitioning from public company CEO back to a startup founder. Essential insights for technical leaders on building transparent organizations, navigating the physical-to-digital transformation, and why automation is taking longer than everyone expected.

    54 min

  5. 06/12/2025

    Why AI Guardrails Don't Work: Cybersecurity Mental Models With Sounil Yu (Knostic AI)

    Every AI guardrail gets broken, but that's not the real problem. Cybersecurity framework creator Sounil Yu reveals why traditional security approaches fail in the knowledge age and how enterprise AI deployments create dangerous "oversharing" vulnerabilities that most organizations don't even recognize. Learn the DIKW pyramid framework for understanding AI risks, discover why your security team's "allergy patterns" are sabotaging productivity, and understand the prisoner's dilemma forcing every organization to accelerate AI adoption despite known dangers. Essential insights for executives navigating the gap between AI opportunity and enterprise security reality.

    33 min

  6. 05/28/2025

    How Tech Leaders Can Navigate AI's Transformation with Y Combinator's Michael Seibel

    Michael Seibel, partner emeritus at Y Combinator, reveals how founders can thrive in the rapidly changing AI landscape by discarding outdated assumptions and embracing new possibilities. Drawing from his experience supporting thousands of startups, Seibel explains why traditional office hours remain critical for redirecting founder focus and unlocking transformative insights. He shares compelling examples of how AI is revolutionizing healthcare and financial services by eliminating rote tasks rather than replacing expertise. Leaders will gain practical frameworks for evaluating AI opportunities, cultivating technological fearlessness in the next generation, and maintaining perspective during the decade-long journey of building lasting companies.

    1h 5m

  7. 05/15/2025

    Rethinking Digital Resilience with Kyndryl's Kris Lovejoy

    Digital infrastructure is at a critical turning point. Kris Lovejoy, security & resiliency global practice leader at Kyndryl, reveals why organizations must fundamentally reimagine their approach to security in an era of unprecedented volatility. Discover why some financial institutions are reversing course from public cloud, how European technology sovereignty efforts are reshaping global tech strategy, and why conventional security practices built for stability are failing in today's rapidly evolving threat landscape. Lovejoy shares concrete strategies for securing critical infrastructure using modular, adaptable security frameworks that can respond to evolving threats and supply chain disruptions. A must-listen for executives navigating the transition from traditional security models to resilient digital operations in an era where five-year plans become obsolete every six months.

    56 min

  8. 04/30/2025

    How Top Leaders Balance Urgency vs. Importance: Building Cultures That Last With HR Veteran Melanie Hughes

    HR executive Melanie Hughes reveals why most leaders fail at creating lasting cultural change by focusing on what's urgent instead of what's important.  Drawing from 20+ years of experience at startups and Fortune 500 companies, she shares practical frameworks for developing high-potential talent, making strategic decisions that stick, and implementing just enough structure to accelerate growth without creating bureaucracy.  Tech executives will gain actionable insights on creating environments where both introverts and extroverts can contribute meaningfully, using engagement surveys strategically, and building organizational resilience through purposeful leadership development.

    58 min
See All (22)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to Tools for Tech Leaders, a podcast where C-Suite Executives and Tech Leaders connect with ideas that resonate and are useful in their professional lives.

Information

  • Creator
    Mattermost
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Tools for Tech Leaders