How To Evolve Your Style When Your Team, Culture, or Market Changes, with James Davies

Jan 8, 2026

In this discussion, James Davies, CEO of Kinetic Data, explores how to evolve leadership styles in dynamic environments. With over a decade in the tech sector, he emphasizes the importance of trust as a foundation for effective leadership. James advocates for servant leadership, fostering a supportive culture through empathy and transparency. He shares insights on staying calm under pressure by collaborating with his team and highlights the critical role of overcommunication in ensuring strategic alignment. His experiences provide a roadmap for navigating change in organizations.

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INSIGHT

Trust As The Nonnegotiable Foundation

Trust is the foundational 'square' that ensures every subsequent decision holds together.
James Davies says losing trust destroys your ability to lead and deliver results.

ADVICE

Avoid Shortcuts That Erode Trust

Protect and preserve trust by avoiding shortcuts, hiding information, or sugarcoating bad news.
James Davies advises that even well-intentioned concealment erodes the foundation of leadership.

ADVICE

Lead With Empathy And Support

Lead with empathy by remembering you've been in frontline roles and understanding constraints.
James Davies recommends proactively supporting people so they can do their best work.

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In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with James Davies about how to evolve your style when your team, culture, or market changes.

James Davies is the Chief Executive Officer of Kinetic Data, a Minneapolis-based software company focused on empowering organizations to deliver unified digital experiences across complex technology ecosystems. With over a decade at Kinetic, James has helped evolve the company from its workflow roots into a leader in digital experience platforms serving both enterprise and government sectors. Before assuming the CEO role, James served in multiple operational and leadership capacities, shaping the company’s growth strategy, culture, and partner ecosystem. Under his leadership, Kinetic Data reorganized around four key pillars—Growth, Product, Success, and Operations—creating an agile, scalable structure designed to drive collaboration and efficiency. James is known for his transparent and people-first leadership style, often communicating directly with employees through his “Friday Thoughts” updates—open reflections on company direction, lessons learned, and team progress. His approach blends operational discipline with an emphasis on empowerment and trust, traits that have earned him recognition for cultivating both performance and authenticity inside growing tech organizations An advocate for sustainable growth and innovation, James is passionate about bridging the gap between legacy systems and modern experiences—particularly within government and large-scale enterprises. He also champions the “low-code revolution,” believing that empowering small teams to build and adapt workflows quickly is key to organizational agility. A graduate of James Madison University, James credits his alma mater with shaping his collaborative, team-first mindset. Outside of work, he’s known for drawing leadership parallels to his love of restoring classic Toyota Land Cruisers—symbols, to him, of durability, reliability, and purpose-driven engineering.

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