Best Manager Ever Best Manager Ever: Charlie Coglianese - The Struggle is Real, But So is the Growth
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Oct 1, 2025 Charlie Coglianese, CTO at Paloma Learning and former founder of Schoolrunner, shares insights on leadership and talent development in edtech. He emphasizes the importance of spotting potential through trajectory rather than just outcomes. Charlie introduces the idea of 'productive struggle,' balancing challenge and support for team growth. He discusses managing founder-executive dynamics and highlights the necessity of clear goals to motivate teams. His approach fosters an environment of trust, encouraging innovative thinking and personal development.
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Lead By Doing Necessary Work
- Do pitch in as whatever role helps the team succeed, even small tasks like fixing bugs or running financial reports.
- Use those tasks to keep senior people engaged while letting others grow into bigger work.
Boredom Is The Biggest Flight Risk
- Boredom kills retention more than title limits; keep people learning to keep them.
- Give high performers new, meaningful work rather than only promoting titles.
Design Your Role Around What Energizes You
- Do design your own leadership role around tasks that energize you and delegate the rest.
- Delegate things you dislike or are worse at, but keep tasks that give you energy where useful.