In episode 36, Amber Hurdle tells us why personality assessments and self-awareness make us better leaders. Amber Hurdle is a leadership and personal branding consultant who is also the mind behind the Velvet Machete – a globally recognized, eight-week leadership program that helps leaders define & position their value. Amber has years of experience in the hospitality and construction industry, working with companies such as Fedex and Marriott International. She is also the author of The Bombshell Business Woman – a book about management, networking, and goal setting. In today’s episode, Amber unravels the meaning and strategy behind her signature Velvet Machette approach to coaching. She also shares how personality assessments can help leaders discover our strengths and weaknesses – so we can understand what areas to focus on. Tune in to learn why Amber prefers to bubble wrap people’s weaknesses.

In episode #35, Cameron Herold shares what is really important to leaders. Cameron is the best selling author of the books Double Double and Meetings Suck, as well as the founder of COO Alliance. Prior to COO Alliance, Cameron was the Chief Operating Officer of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? where he led operations and helped the company soar from two million in revenue growth to 150 million in just seven years. In today’s episode, we talk about the upside-down leadership pyramid, which places CEO’s at the bottom, not the top… and why an “old-school” leader wouldn’t survive in today’s business world. We also look closely at written communication... for example, how the messages we deliver and the messages that are received can become two different things. Tune in to hear how Cameron shares his approach to coaching and how so much of it is centered on teaching the soft skills of leadership.

In episode 34, Nick Stein sheds light on the people who make up our teams, and the intricacies that come along with leadership. Nick Stein is the Chief Marketing Officer at Top Hat, a SaaS scale-up that helps professors and students learn more through interactive content. Nick is a results-driven marketing leader and has led teams at Vision Critical, as the SVP of Marketing and also spent some time as the Senior Director of Marketing at Salesforce. In this episode, Nick talks about the importance of being honest as a leader and why letting people know where they stand is a healthy choice for you, them, and your entire team. We also explore why hiring should be approached through a relationship lens, rather than a transactional one... and why those who believe in your company’s values and mission are more likely to be great team members. Tune in to this episode to explore the characteristics of high performing teams and if your team is on the right track to becoming one.

In episode #33, Amy Sandler lets us know what it takes to be challenging and caring. Amy Sandler, the Chief Content Officer at Radical Candor – an organization co-founded by Kim Scott and Jason Rosoff to help leaders learn the art of feedback. Prior to Radical Candor, Amy filled senior roles in marketing at the Young President’s Organization, Vistage, and the University of California in LA. In today’s episode, Amy explains how walking on fire (yes, real fire) six times took her out of her comfort zone and also... what it taught her about leadership. Amy and Aydin talk about how empathy, aggression, and insincerity play out at work and what we need to keep in mind when we provide critical feedback and also praise to our teams. Listen to this episode to better understand the importance of knowing and respecting the people we work with.

In episode 32, Farhan Thawar shares his biggest goal as a leader. Farhan is the Vice President of Engineering at Shopify. Prior to Helpful and Shopify, he was the VP of Engineering at Xtreme Labs, which was then (also) acquired by Pivotal – where Farhan took on the role of Chief Technology Officer of Mobile in 2013. Apart from an extensive career in Engineering, Farhan is an angel investor, writer, and speaker. In fact, he was named one of Toronto’s 25 Most Powerful People in 2010. In today’s episode, Farhan talks about why, as leaders, we should get involved with our team’s work and continue to practice tactical skills (such as coding) to build trust, empathy, and strong relationships. Tune in to hear about Farhan’s rich career in the world of engineering and his insights about management, hiring practises and the value of speed at work.

In episode 31, John Weigelt explains why the largest goal of management should be to get the best out of people... and reminds us that gentle nudges and words of feedback have more power than we think in helping our teammates do their best work. We also explore strategies that John uses to convince large institutions to adopt new ways of operating and doing business, which is no easy job! John Weigelt is the National Technology Officer at Microsoft Canada. Working closely with the government, education officials, and health care communities, John plays a key role in implementing Microsoft’s strategic policies and technology efforts across the country. Prior to this role, John worked for the Department of National Defense and was the Senior Director of Architecture, Standards, and Engineering at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. John is also a TedX speaker. (If you haven’t yet, we recommend watching his talk on Enabling Canada’s Economy Digitally.)

In episode 30, Cate Huston shares with us, the skills we need to work in remote and distributed team environments. Cate Huston is the Engineering Director of Mobile at DuckDuckGo. Prior to her current role at DuckDuckGo, Cate was the Head of Developer Experience at Automattic, Director of Mobile Engineering at Ride.com, and a Software Engineer at Google – experiences that have led her to live and work remotely in places such as China, Colombia, the US, Canada, and Australia. Tune in to this episode to learn remote best practices that you can adopt, such as leveraging asynchronous communication to let your team consume important information.

In episode 29, Bruce Tulgan identifies what it takes for teams to be able to collaborate confidently, make good decisions, and as a result, produce excellent work. Bruce Tulgan is the Founder and CEO of Rainmaker Thinking, an organization that has helped hundreds of leaders at companies such as American Express, AT&T, IBM, and Mercedes Benz build a culture of “strong leadership”. Bruce has authored over 20 books about management and leadership… and most recently published a book titled The Art of Being Indispensable at Work. Tune in to hear why, as leaders, we should schedule regular meetings to drive alignment and set priorities with our team.

In episode 28, Sarah reflects on some “bad boss behaviour” she has witnessed in her career… and shares how behaviour affects output. Sarah Milstein is the Senior Director of Engineering at Mailchimp, where she leads and coaches product teams. In this interview, Sarah talks about why diagnosing the conversations we have with our team matters… and why learning to listen and understand is often better than only reacting and responding. Tune in to hear all about Sarah’s leadership journey and the lessons learned along the way!

In episode 27,  Marcus reminds us that intentionality must come along with remote work. Marcus Wermuth is the Engineering and Product Manager at Buffer, a social media growth, engagement and management platform. Marcus is an advocate for remote work and is deeply passionate about helping managers build effective, distributed teams. Marcus talks about why hiring a team that is distributed around the world isn’t a bad idea and how he makes it work. We talk about asynchronous meetings and making sure your meetings are bi-directional and personal. Tune in to hear why we must remember to include humanness and personality in our work systems and structures because we are working with humans, and not avatars.