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In this episode, you'll learn how to shift from one-on-one coaching to group leadership, how to reduce politics and knowledge gaps in large engineering teams, how to build a high-trust leadership environment, and how to implement an open-door policy for better team alignment.
Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction
[00:45] What leading leaders means
[01:30] Lessons from top CEOs on leadership
[02:15] Defining a small engineering organization
[03:00] Why politics emerge in growing teams
[03:45] The impact of trust and information gaps
[04:30] The challenge of repeating yourself as a leader
[05:15] Why large organizations create communication bottlenecks
[06:00] NVIDIA's leadership model with 60 direct reports
[06:45] How Airbnb’s CEO manages leadership without one-on-ones
[07:30] Group coaching vs individual coaching
[08:15] The benefits of shared leadership problem-solving
[09:00] How open feedback reduces internal politics
[09:45] Why peer support strengthens leadership teams
[10:30] Creating strong alignment among engineering leaders
[11:15] How shared context improves decision-making
[12:00] Why engineering leadership needs a structured approach
[12:45] The importance of experience in leadership roles
[13:30] How ad hoc one-on-ones still play a role
[14:15] Transitioning engineering leadership to a group model
[15:00] Why equalized voices improve engineering management
[15:45] Avoiding loudest voice domination in meetings
[16:30] Encouraging collaboration instead of top-down directives
[17:15] Setting up team-wide planning and retros
[18:00] Ensuring transparency in data and decision-making
[18:45] Teaching leaders how to think critically
[19:30] Preventing leadership silos with open discussions
[20:15] Helping new leaders adapt to group leadership
[21:00] Why weekly one-on-ones may still be necessary
[21:45] Balancing structured and flexible leadership approaches
[22:30] Implementing an open-door policy for transparency
[23:15] Why leadership alignment is critical for scaling
[24:00] Spotting and eliminating unchecked politics
[24:45] Supporting new leaders through mentorship
[25:30] Why strong engineering leadership improves team morale
[26:15] How to prevent groupthink in leadership teams
[27:00] Keeping leadership teams engaged and evolving
[27:45] Steps to successfully transition to a group coaching model
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Find more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube and check out Adam's CTO coaching company Synova Tech.
