Le Podcast – Season One - Unlock the power of Emerging Leadership

Growing as a Software Engineer: Learning, Sharing, and Impact

Career growth in software engineering is often described as a matter of accumulating technical skills, mastering new tools, or moving into more complex systems.

In reality, the journey is more nuanced.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the pleasure of welcoming Emilien Macchi, Senior Principal Software Engineer at Red Hat, to discuss how learning and sharing have shaped his career.

Learning as a continuous practice

Emilien is a long-time contributor to OpenStack, having been involved nearly since the inception of the project. Originally from France and now based in Canada, he has built his career in distributed, open-source environments.

A recurring theme in our conversation is that learning never stops. And more importantly, learning rarely happens alone.

We discuss how practices such as:

peer reviews
pair programming
open discussions
and shared problem-solving

contribute not only to better code, but to better engineers.

Collaboration, including remote work

Emilien shares a perspective that may surprise some: he believes that collaboration can be easier and better in remote contexts.

We explore why remote work, when supported by the right practices, can:

improve focus
encourage clearer communication
and create more inclusive collaboration

This naturally connects with earlier conversations on distributed teams and asynchronous work.

Growing beyond technical skills

Of course, I also asked Emilien what he believes are the most important things to develop as a software engineer.

The answer goes beyond technical skills.

We talk about:

communication
curiosity
responsibility
and the ability to learn with others

These capabilities shape long-term impact far more than any specific technology.

A reflection on practitioner leadership

As Emilien was also one of the first people to leave a written review on Goodreads, I asked him what he thought of I am a Software Engineer and I am in Charge.

This led to a broader reflection on responsibility, ownership, and how engineers can increase both their impact and satisfaction at work.

A final thought

If you are a software engineer wondering how to grow without chasing titles or hype, this episode offers a grounded and inspiring perspective.

Growth, as Emilien shows, is less about standing out and more about learning, sharing, and contributing over time.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

May 9, 2020

Thirteen Rules for Building Strong Teams

Great teams are not defined by talent alone. They are shaped by clear expectations, shared responsibility, and leadership that shows up consistently.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the great pleasure of welcoming Jason McKerr, Engineering Leader for Management and Automation at Red Hat, to discuss his Thirteen Rules of a Team.

A practical leadership framework

I first encountered these rules during a mentoring conversation with a member of Jason’s team. What struck me immediately was how practical and grounded they were.

They are not aspirational slogans. They are decision rules — principles leaders and team members can rely on when things get difficult.

My objective for this episode was simple: to have Jason explain where these rules come from and how he uses them in practice.

The Thirteen Rules of a Team

Here are Jason’s thirteen rules for team members and team leaders:

Have fun.
Do good work. Make some money.
Take care of the people who work for and with you. The team comes first.
Take care of the user or customer.
Take care of the people you work for.
Rules 3 and 4 will do most of the work here. The boss always comes last.
It is the team’s obligation to challenge its leader.
You won’t get smacked down, you’ll get more respect. Do it appropriately and respectfully. In private.
Once the leader has made a decision, even if a team member disagreed before, it is now their responsibility to support that decision externally as if it were their own.
There is no such thing as a bad team, only bad team leaders.
If the team is struggling, it is still the leader’s responsibility to make it better.
It is the team leader’s job to protect the team from the outside so they can do their work.
Don’t ever say, “That’s not my job.”
Passing knowledge on is a core part of leadership.
Teach others. Share what you know.
It is a leader’s job to push power and loyalty down, not up.
See rule number one.

Rules that guide everyday leadership

What makes these rules powerful is not their originality, but their consistency.

They:

clarify responsibility
make expectations explicit
remove ambiguity when tensions arise

Jason also explains how he reviews these rules with new team members during onboarding, using them as a shared reference point from day one.

A final thought

Frameworks don’t replace leadership. But the right framework can support it.

If you are leading a team and looking for principles that are both demanding and humane, this episode offers a clear, actionable reference.

Listen to the episode to hear Jason walk through the rules, explain how they play out in real situations, and share how they support strong, self-managing teams.

As always, I would love to hear what resonates with you.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

April 26, 2020

OKRs in Practice: Learning, Focus, and Common Pitfalls

OKRs are often presented as a goal-setting framework. Something to roll out, track, and review.

Used well, OKRs are something else entirely: a learning practice that helps individuals, teams, and organizations focus on what really matters.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the pleasure of welcoming Bart den Haak to explore OKRs from a very practical perspective.

From startup practice to long-term learning

Bart is a software engineer who first encountered OKRs more than ten years ago in a startup context. Since then, he has continued to use OKRs across different environments and now advises companies on how to adopt them meaningfully.

This long-term perspective makes the conversation especially grounded. We talk less about theory and more about what actually works.

Revisiting the foundations of OKRs

Building on a previous episode where I shared an approach to creating great goals using OKRs and Impact Mapping, this conversation goes deeper into the fundamentals:

what OKRs really are
how they differ from other goal-setting approaches such as MBOs, Balanced Scorecard, Hoshin Kanri, or 4DX
who can use OKRs: individuals, teams, or entire organizations
where to start when introducing OKRs

Rather than treating OKRs as a one-size-fits-all solution, we explore how context matters.

Learning zones and common pitfalls

A key part of the discussion focuses on learning.

Bart explains how OKRs can help teams:

step out of their comfort zone
enter a learning zone
while avoiding the danger zone where pressure and fear take over

We also discuss common pitfalls:

turning OKRs into performance evaluation tools
confusing activity with impact
setting goals that are either too safe or too vague

Resonance with practitioner leadership

Bart’s approach resonates strongly with me and aligns closely with the ideas I explore in Changing Your Team From The Inside and I am a Software Engineer and I am in Charge.

In all cases, the underlying idea is the same: leadership is a practice, and tools only work when they support responsibility and learning.

More about Bart

If you want to explore Bart’s work further:

Bart is also currently working on a book about OKRs. I’ll be sure to share more when it’s available.

A final thought

OKRs don’t create clarity by themselves. People do.

Used with intention, OKRs can become a powerful way to focus attention, learn faster, and increase impact without falling into control or bureaucracy.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

April 18, 2020

The Myth of 10x Engineers: Growing Beyond Technical Skills

The idea of the “10x engineer” has been around for decades. It suggests that some engineers are inherently more productive, more impactful, or more valuable than others.

But is that really the right way to think about excellence in software development?

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the pleasure of welcoming Julien Danjou, an open source software hacker with more than 20 years of experience and the author of several books on Python.

Questioning the 10x engineer myth

I invited Julien to discuss the myth of 10x engineers and to share his perspective on how engineers actually grow their skills and impact over time.

Very quickly, the conversation moved beyond code.

According to Julien, while technical skills are important, two other dimensions are essential:

understanding the business, and
understanding the social component of work.

Beyond technical excellence

Great engineers do more than write efficient code.

They:

understand the context in which their work creates value
communicate effectively with others
collaborate across roles and disciplines
and take responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks

These capabilities multiply impact far more reliably than individual technical speed.

Examples you can apply immediately

One of the strengths of this conversation is how concrete it is. Julien shares examples drawn from real experience, all of which can be applied immediately by engineers who want to grow.

The discussion resonated strongly with me and aligns closely with the ideas Michael and I share in our book I am a Software Engineer and I am in Charge.

Further references

You can find more about Julien and his work here:

Mergify

A final thought

If you are an engineer looking to grow, or a leader wondering how to support excellence without relying on hero myths, this episode offers a grounded and practical perspective.

The real multiplier is not being 10x faster, but being 10x more connected to people, context, and purpose.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

April 10, 2020

The Anatomy of Peace: Leadership Starts With Who You Are

Many change efforts focus on behavior: what people should do differently, what processes should change, what practices should be adopted.

The Anatomy of Peace invites a deeper shift.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, John Poelstra and I explore the book The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute and what it teaches about leadership, responsibility, and inner stance.

From behavior to being

John first recommended The Anatomy of Peace in our previous conversation on how (not) to provide feedback. I read it twice and fell in love with it.

In Changing Your Team From The Inside, I write that change starts with you.

The Anatomy of Peace pushes this idea further:

Change starts with who you are.

Not with techniques. Not with intentions. With the way you relate to others, and to yourself.

A heart at peace or a heart at war

One of the core ideas of the book is the distinction between:

a heart at peace, and
a heart at war.

When our heart is at war, we tend to see others as:

obstacles
objects
or threats

When our heart is at peace, we see others as people, as human beings with their own needs, struggles, and intentions.

This inner stance profoundly shapes how we lead, collaborate, and respond to conflict.

Boxes, judgment, and responsibility

We discuss the idea of being “in the box”:
stories we tell ourselves such as I deserve, I’m better than, I need to be seen as, or I’m worse than.

These boxes justify our behavior and keep us stuck. We also explore how this maps well with Christopher Avery’s Responsibility Process, where responsibility increases as we move away from blame and justification.

The book reminds us that we always have a choice:

to honor or betray our senses and desires
to judge others or to become curious
to judge ourselves or to show compassion

Signals from the body and inner practices

Another powerful idea we discuss is how our body gives us signals when our heart is at war. Tension, discomfort, and reactivity can become cues to pause and reflect.

We also touch on practices that support this inner work, such as:

Hoʻoponopono
meditation

These practices help create space between stimulus and response, allowing more intentional leadership.

Further resources

You can find more information and resources about The Anatomy of Peace on the Arbinger Institute website.

A final thought

Leadership is often described as something we do to or for others.

This episode is an invitation to see leadership as something that starts within:
with how we see others, how we relate, and who we choose to be in each interaction.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

April 4, 2020

Psychological Safety: Creating Teams Where People Can Speak Up

Psychological safety is a term coined by Amy Edmondson, author of The Fearless Organization.

At its core, psychological safety describes an environment where people feel safe to speak up, ask for help, take risks, and admit mistakes without fear of being blamed or rejected.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I explore why psychological safety is such a foundational condition for effective teamwork.

Psychological safety as a conversation starter

I first discussed psychological safety with my team when sharing Google’s work on Project Aristotle, which identified psychological safety as the most important factor in high-performing teams.

What made it powerful was not the conclusion itself, but the conversations it enabled. Psychological safety gave us a shared language to talk about:

fear and risk
mistakes and learning
inclusion and respect

Assessing psychological safety in a team

In the episode, I share a simple set of questions that can be used to assess psychological safety within a team. Each question can be answered on a scale from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”.

When someone makes a mistake on my team, it is often held against them
In my team, it is easy to discuss difficult issues and problems
In my team, people are sometimes rejected for being different
It is completely safe to take a risk on my team
It is difficult to ask other members of my team for help
Members of my team value and respect each other’s contributions

These questions are not a diagnostic tool. They are an invitation to reflect and to start meaningful conversations.

Beyond safety as comfort

Psychological safety is sometimes misunderstood as being “nice” or avoiding challenge.

In reality, it enables:

honest feedback
learning from mistakes
healthy disagreement
shared responsibility

Without psychological safety, teams tend to hide problems, avoid risks, and limit their contribution.

A final invitation

Psychological safety is not something you install. It is something you practice, through everyday interactions and leadership choices.

If this topic resonates with you, I would love to hear your feedback and experiences.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

March 21, 2020

Leading Distributed Teams: Collaboration Across Time Zones

Distributed teams are no longer a special case. For many organizations, they are the default.

And while tools make remote work possible, they do not automatically make collaboration easy.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, John Poelstra, Michael Doyle, and I explore what it takes to lead and work effectively in distributed teams.

A conversation across 15 time zones

This conversation took place while we were spread across 15 time zones:

John Poelstra in Portland, Oregon
Michael Doyle in Brisbane, Australia
and myself in Boston, Massachusetts

The episode is republished from John’s show, and the format itself reflects the reality we discuss.

Beyond efficiency

Rather than focusing only on efficiency, we explore distributed work as a leadership challenge.

We discuss:

how collaboration changes when people are not co-located
why clarity becomes even more important in distributed contexts
how trust is built when interactions are mostly asynchronous
what leaders need to let go of when teams are not physically present

Distributed teams make invisible issues visible. Assumptions, habits, and gaps in communication surface quickly.

Practices that support remote collaboration

Throughout the conversation, we share practical approaches to:

improve communication across time zones
reduce unnecessary meetings
create shared understanding through writing
support autonomy without isolation

These practices help teams stay aligned without resorting to micromanagement.

A final invitation

If you are working in or leading a distributed team, this episode offers grounded perspectives drawn from real experience.

If you would like to exchange ideas or approaches around remote facilitation and distributed collaboration, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to connect.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

March 10, 2020

Changing Your Team from the Inside: A Practitioner’s View on Leadership

Changing a team is often associated with authority, plans, or Changing a team is often imagined as a top-down initiative. A new structure. A new process. A new framework.

But in practice, some of the most meaningful change starts much closer to the work, through everyday leadership choices.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I share a conversation with John Poelstra about the ideas behind my book Changing Your Team From The Inside.

A conversation worth revisiting

This conversation was originally recorded on John’s show. John later suggested that we cross-publish it on our respective podcasts.

To do that, I had to re-listen to the episode. And I genuinely enjoyed it.

Yes, there is some ego involved in listening to yourself talk. Fittingly, ego is also one of the topics we explore in the episode.

What makes a team great

Beyond the book itself, the conversation explores broader questions such as:

what makes a team truly great
how leadership shows up in everyday interactions
how individuals can influence their environment without waiting for permission

We talk about leadership not as a role or a title, but as a practice that shapes how teams work together.

Leadership from the inside

A central idea throughout the episode is that changing a team does not require being “in charge”.

It requires:

attention to how work is done
responsibility for how we show up
and the willingness to experiment and learn

This is what Changing Your Team From The Inside is really about.

A final invitation

If you are looking for practical ways to improve how your team works, without waiting for a reorganization or a new mandate, this episode is a good place to start.

Give it a try, and let us know what you think.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

March 6, 2020

Why Shared Language Matters: How Terms Shape Collaboration

Many collaboration issues are attributed to disagreement, lack of alignment, or resistance.

In reality, they often start much earlier, with something far more subtle: using the same words to mean different things.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the great pleasure of welcoming Michael DeLanzo to explore why coming to terms with terms is such a critical leadership practice.

A misunderstanding that sparked the conversation

The idea for this episode came from a feedback exchange following the podcast episode How to Create Great Goals?.

As a listener, Michael initially disagreed with the level of abstraction and scope I was proposing for goals and objectives. As we discussed further, it became clear that the disagreement was not about intent or quality, but about definitions.

We were using the same words, goals and objectives, with different meanings. Once we clarified our respective definitions, the apparent disagreement disappeared.

Clarifying terms as a leadership act

This led us to a broader realization: clarifying terms is the starting point for any meaningful collaboration.

Without shared definitions:

conversations drift
decisions become fragile
frustration accumulates silently

Clarity of language creates clarity of thought and action.

Communication modes matter

We also explore how different communication modes influence understanding:

written versus spoken communication
synchronous versus asynchronous exchanges

Each has strengths and risks, and misunderstanding often arises when the mode is chosen by habit rather than intention.

Cultural and language differences further amplify these challenges. As the quote often attributed to George Bernard Shaw puts it:
“Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.”

Thinking, meetings, and time well spent

The conversation touches on the difference between passive thinking and critical thinking, and why writing can be a powerful tool to support deeper reflection.

We reference ideas such as:

“Meetings are the last resort, not the first option”
“Five people in a room for an hour isn’t a one-hour meeting, it’s a five-hour meeting”

We also discuss practices used at companies like Amazon and Twitter, where written documents replace slide decks and create space for shared understanding and better decision-making.

A question to close

Michael ends the episode with a question from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow:

A bat and a ball cost $1.10.
The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?

It’s a simple question that reveals how easily assumptions slip in when we don’t slow down and examine our thinking.

A final thought

When collaboration feels hard, it’s tempting to look for better tools, better processes, or better alignment.

Sometimes, the most impactful move is much simpler: slow down and clarify the words you are using.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

January 26, 2020

How (Not) to Give Feedback: Responsibility, Ego, and Relationships

eedback is often presented as a skill or a technique. Say the right words. Use the right framework. Follow the right steps.

And yet, feedback conversations still go wrong.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the great pleasure of welcoming John Poelstra to explore a very personal experience around providing feedback and the deeper dynamics at play.

Feedback is more than a message

One of the key distinctions we explore is the difference between:

the content of the feedback, and
how that feedback is delivered.

What is said matters, but how it is said, and how people show up in the conversation, often matters more.

Ego, expectations, and responsibility

A large part of the conversation focuses on the role of ego in feedback.

We explore questions such as:

what happens when feedback challenges our self-image
how expectations and unmet needs shape our reactions
who is responsible for the experience we have during feedback conversations

Rather than placing responsibility on one side, this episode highlights how responsibility exists on both ends of the interaction.

Feedback as a relationship

John introduces a powerful idea: feedback is not a one-off event, but part of an ongoing relationship.

The “dance” between people, their history, and how they relate to each other all influence how feedback is received and interpreted. When feedback becomes polarized or framed as a win–lose exchange, it almost always makes things worse.

Showing up differently

A recurring theme in the episode is that how you show up in a feedback conversation makes a significant difference.

Presence, intention, and curiosity often have more impact than any technique.

A final thought

If you have ever struggled to give feedback without creating tension or defensiveness, this episode offers a deeper lens.

It invites you to move away from techniques and toward responsibility, relationship, and awareness of how you show up with others.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

January 20, 2020

Rock Stars and Superstars: Supporting Growth Without Losing Stability

High performers are often described as “stars”. They deliver results, bring energy, and raise the bar for everyone around them.

And yet, if not supported carefully, they can also create imbalance, dependency, or frustration inside a team.

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the great pleasure of welcoming Frank Jansen to explore how leaders can support high performers while building strong, resilient teams.

Rock Stars and Superstars

Our conversation builds on a distinction introduced by Kim Scott in her book Radical Candor.

Rock Stars are a source of stability.
They are highly skilled, reliable, and happy to contribute at a high level over time.
Superstars are a source of growth.
They want to learn fast, change things, and move to their next level of impact.

Both profiles are valuable. Problems arise when leaders expect everyone to behave the same way or reward only one type of contribution.

Supporting growth without creating heroes

Frank shares how he supports the growth of people in his team without creating a hero culture.

We discuss:

how to recognize different aspirations without ranking people
how to build diversity of profiles and strengths
how to avoid over-relying on a few individuals
how to make growth a collective topic rather than an individual negotiation

The goal is not to control talent, but to create conditions where people can grow responsibly.

Creating a fearless, self-managing team

A central theme of the conversation is the idea of a fearless organization.

Frank explains how he works to create an environment where:

people feel safe to speak up
responsibility is shared rather than centralized
the team is able to manage itself
results emerge from collaboration, not pressure

When these conditions are in place, performance becomes sustainable and teams can achieve remarkably strong results.

A final thought

Supporting high performers is not about giving special treatment. It is about understanding different motivations and designing an environment where both stability and growth are valued.

If you are leading a team with strong individual contributors and wondering how to help them thrive without weakening the collective, this episode will give you practical perspectives and concrete inspiration.an even record the answer together!

Where to listen:

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

December 14, 2019

Do Cultural Differences Really Block Agile Adoption?

When agile adoption struggles, cultural differences are often the first explanation that comes up.
Different countries. Different mindsets. Different ways of working.

But are cultural differences really the problem?

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I explore this question with Jérôme Bourgeon, an agile coach at Zenika, based in Singapore.

Looking beyond national culture

Jérôme and I share a similar conviction: national culture is rarely the real blocker when agile practices fail to take root.

What we see far more often is that:

trust does not yet exist
beliefs remain unchallenged
and the local company culture works against the change

Building trust, in particular, can take very different amounts of time depending on context. But that difference is not primarily explained by nationality.

What really influences agile adoption

In our conversation, we discuss several elements that have a much stronger influence on agile adoption than country-level culture:

Company culture matters more than national culture
Jérôme refers to Frederic Laloux’s model from Reinventing Organizations to explain how organizational worldviews shape behavior.
Beliefs matter more than practices
What people believe about work, authority, learning, and responsibility has a direct impact on how agile practices are interpreted and adopted.
Trust is a prerequisite, not a byproduct
Without trust, frameworks remain mechanical and fragile.

Using Appreciative Inquiry to move forward

We also explore the power of Appreciative Inquiry as a way to approach change differently.

Rather than focusing on what is broken or missing, Appreciative Inquiry helps teams:

build on what already works
surface what people care about
and create movement without forcing alignment

This approach is particularly useful when working across perceived differences.

Accepting meaningful differences

Not all differences need to be resolved or normalized. Some differences are deeply important to people and deserve to be respected.

Agile adoption becomes more sustainable when teams can:

accept these differences
make them visible
and design ways of working that acknowledge them

A final invitation

If you are working in a multicultural environment or facing resistance to agile adoption, this episode offers a different lens.

Instead of asking “What culture are we dealing with?”, it invites a more useful question:
“What beliefs, relationships, and conditions need attention right now?”

If this topic resonates with you, feel free to reach out and share your experience or propose a question for a future episode. We can even record the answer together.

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

June 30, 2019

Category: Le Podcast – Season One

Learning as a continuous practice

Collaboration, including remote work

Growing beyond technical skills

A reflection on practitioner leadership

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

A practical leadership framework

The Thirteen Rules of a Team

Rules that guide everyday leadership

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

From startup practice to long-term learning

Revisiting the foundations of OKRs

Learning zones and common pitfalls

Resonance with practitioner leadership

More about Bart

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

Questioning the 10x engineer myth

Beyond technical excellence

Examples you can apply immediately

Further references

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

From behavior to being

A heart at peace or a heart at war

Boxes, judgment, and responsibility

Signals from the body and inner practices

Further resources

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

Psychological safety as a conversation starter

Assessing psychological safety in a team

Beyond safety as comfort

Further reading

A final invitation

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

A conversation across 15 time zones

Beyond efficiency

Practices that support remote collaboration

A final invitation

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

A conversation worth revisiting

What makes a team great

Leadership from the inside

A final invitation

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

A misunderstanding that sparked the conversation

Clarifying terms as a leadership act

Communication modes matter

Thinking, meetings, and time well spent

A question to close

Further reading

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

Feedback is more than a message

Ego, expectations, and responsibility

Feedback as a relationship

Showing up differently

Further reading

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

Rock Stars and Superstars

Supporting growth without creating heroes

Creating a fearless, self-managing team

A final thought

Le Podcast – Season Two

Le Podcast – Season One

Looking beyond national culture