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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.

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