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We often think great leadership is about having all the answers and staying composed under pressure. But what if the real key to leading a high-performing team is being open about your mistakes?
In this episode, Kim Wylie reflects on two decades of leadership experience at Google, Farfetch, and scale-ups—sharing what actually builds trust and performance when you’re stepping into a new team.
We talk about:
• Why trying to be the perfect manager backfires
• How Kim built psychological safety in a team that didn’t trust her at first
• How to handle resistance to new ways of working in distributed teams
• The team rituals she uses to foster connection, even across regions
• What to do when your team gives you negative feedback
• The neuroscience of why solving everyone’s problems is not good leadership
• And how even senior leaders still struggle with imposter syndrome
This is a masterclass in human-centred leadership—with practical tools, real stories, and the kind of honest reflection most leaders wish they heard more often.
🧠 Some Takeaways
“If you’re a manager and you’re always solving everyone’s problems, you’re robbing them of that dopamine hit.”
“One of the biggest lessons I learned is that being vulnerable builds trust—and trust drives performance.”
“People need to see that how you show up on day one is how you’re going to keep showing up.”
🔗 Links & Resources
Follow Kim on LinkedIn
Watch the full video interview on YouTube
Subscribe to the podcast for more real stories and practical leadership insights.
Connect to me and ask me about coaching!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
From Google to high-growth scaleups to the boardroom, Maya Moufarek has spent 20+ years helping founders scale their businesses. As the founding CMO of Pharmacy2U, she helped grow the UK’s largest online pharmacy to a scale equivalent to opening a new pharmacy every 2.5 days. Today, she’s a fractional CMO, board member, and angel investor, helping startups build scalable, profitable growth engines.
In this episode, Maya shares:
• 🚀 Scaling from startup to industry leader: How Pharmacy2U grew and the challenges they faced
• 🤝 Cross-functional leadership: Why aligning senior teams (“first teams”) is critical in scaleups
• 🔥 Lessons from Google & AMEX: What big tech taught her about stakeholder management
• ⏳ Surviving near-failure: What she did when the company was running out of cash
• 🏦 Navigating board & investor relations: How to handle tough conversations at the top
• 🌍 Building a portfolio career: How Maya balances operator, investor, and board roles
Where to Find Maya:
🌍 Website: MarketingCube.co
🔗 LinkedIn: Maya Moufarek
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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Being a scaleup leader can feel like herding cats.
- You’re growing, that’s great.
- But your growth brings problems.
- You have more people but they get less done.
- Autonomy used to work, now there is misalignment.
- People get in each other’s way and slow things down.
Is the solution less autonomy? Or is that too restrictive?
Cliff Hazell has the answer.Cliff worked with Spotify to grow from 700 to 5000 people. So he knows a thing or two about scaleups.
✅ Have better meetings
✅ Focus on a #1 priority
✅ Introduce Flight Levels.
Flight Levels operationalise strategy - they get people out of each other’s way to get more done.
And if this is a new concept for you, then you’ll want to watch this episode where Cliff and I go deep into this whole topic.
👉 How to find the sweet spot between autonomy and alignment.
👉 Why an outsider is better at unblocking bottlenecks than you.
👉 Why most meetings are unfortunately cr*p.
👉 How Flight Levels solve all this?And if you'd like to connect with Cliff, you can find him on LinkedIn or at cliffhazell.com-------
If you haven't already joined my weekly newsletter for tips and strategies in your inbox, you can join here.
Connect with me in LinkedIn.
Check out my YouTube channel.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Christian Meinerding is the Co-Founder and CEO of HiveMQ, a company he founded 11 years ago.
He told me about his experience growing a business from scratch, raising a €40 million series A for a total of €50 million raised and growing the team to almost 200 people.
When Christian started out, his process of using OKRs was simple and straightforward. However, as his company grew, they started to notice ever increasing problems, and as a result had to make some pretty critical shifts in their OKR thinking.
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You can find Christian here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goetzchr/
Or on his website: https://www.hivemq.com/
Follow me on LinkedIn: Richard Russell | LinkedIn
Want insider access to expert tips and strategies like this every week right in your inbox? https://richardrussell.co/#subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
This week I'm joined by Marc Sniukas. Marc is a strategy advisor and he helps CEOs and leadership teams design and execute better strategy.We discuss why strategy can become a big complex monster and how to prevent that.
And Marc reveals the three simple steps of strategy - understanding the context, making decisions, and taking action - and how you can use these to steps to creat your own better strategy today.
-------------Are you subscribed to my YouTube channel yet? https://www.youtube.com/@richardarussell
Want insider access to expert tips and strategies like this every week right in your inbox? https://richardrussell.co/#subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Team meetings feeling lacklustre and unproductive?
Do they often turn into lengthy sessions of updates that leave everyone feeling bored and frustrated?
The problem is most likely that you're using a people-driven approach in your meetings. They typically mean:
Roundtable updates People bored and not engaged No focus on plans and problem solving.In this episode, I explain how you can use an Agenda-Driven approach to transform your meetings so they're more productive and collaborative.
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Want insider access to expert tips and strategies like this every week right in your inbox? https://richardrussell.co/#subscribe
Are we connected on LinkedIn yet?
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Zoltan Vardy is a startup mentor who helps B2B tech founders struggling with sales to sell and market to enterprise clients.
We had a great discussion about:
Not adapting for every client to actually help them make a choice. Choosing your battles Goal setting for sales when you don't have any idea what a realistic number would be Shiny object syndrome...and a few more things besides.
If you enjoyed this episode, you can subscribe to my newsletter at https://richardrussell.co/#subscribe and follow me on LinkedIn.
If you'd like to connect with Zoltan, you can find him here on LinkedIn, and at zoltanvardy.com/podcast where you can download his free video guide.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Many of my clients have had a bad experience of OKRs before working with me. And I noticed that the reasons they had been failing were the same.
So I dug out all my past client notes, went through them meticulously gathering the most common mistakes, and finally complied this hit list of the Top 10 Tips to make sure you implement your OKRs right.
Want insider access to expert tips and strategies like this every week right in your inbox? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: https://richardrussell.co/#subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
What remote working teams lack is remote collaboration - a place where people informally put forward ideas, get input, rework them, agree, disagree and come to an agreement!
To create this, we need a fresh approach - something other than Zoom meetings.
Online meetings are formal and agenda driven - they don’t lend themselves to the informality of problem solving discussions. And that's where the Strawman Document comes into play.
So join me this week as we explore exactly what the Strawman Document is, and discover how you can use it to elevate your remote team's productivity and cohesion.
If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to my newsletter to get more tips and strategies every week - www.richardrussell.co/subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Unless you plan HOW you’re going to execute on your OKRs after you’ve set them, you probably won’t achieve them.
But this is where I see a lot of my clients stumbling and making one of these mistakes:
They set OKRs and think they’re done.
Setting and forgetting is like buying that online course, watching all the videos…
…and doing nothing.
2. They write a monster 20-page plan.
You want feedback and input for others.
No one is going to critique something and give you good feedback if you have poured your heart and soul into the plan. It looks too finished.
Here’s my solution:
👉 𝐀 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝟏-𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 👈
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
It seems logical.
You've got company level OKRs and team OKRs, so it would make sense to have individual OKRs, right?
Wrong. Because...
They undermine the benefit of cross-functional alignment you get from company and team OKRs. Managers are tempted to use individual OKRs as a performance measurement tool. Too many OKRs means you don’t focus on what you need to do and the trade offs you need to make to win. Instead it will seem like you can do it all!So, what should you do instead? And is there no place for individual OKRs at all?
Get answers to these and my deep dive into the pitfalls of individual OKRs in this week’s episode.
Want insider access to expert tips and strategies like this every week right in your inbox? https://richardrussell.co/#subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Too often a business strategy consists only of 6 or 7 strategic pillars. So when it comes to writing OKRs, people have difficulty. Why? Because pillars don't tell you what to do next. They don't help you work out what the steps are to achieve your goals.
To do this you need a strategy that has a narrative - a story.
In this episode of Scaleup Leaders, I'll tell you exactly what this means, why it's important, and how to write your own strategy hero story.
(During this episode I reference an image of strategic pillars. You can see the image here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18BfeftsF59JShI2IzWnJCTC18mKKE55L/view?usp=share_link )
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Nick Burne is on a mission to help nonprofits large and small grow their fundraising on social platforms with his company, GivePanel.
Nick started GivePanel in 2019 with one employee. Fast forward to 2023 and he now employees 30 people across 5 countries.
Join me as I chat to Nick about his incredible journey, and discover the Highs and Lows he has experienced building his business and being the CEO!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Nikos Kryvossidis is the best manager I never had
(he was my boss’s boss at Google, so not technically my manager)
He had a knack for inspiring great loyalty among his team
…protecting them from bureaucratic overload
And helping them be efficient and productive.
In our conversation, we discuss
✅ Is CTO a technical or a business role?
✅ How does Nikos collaborate with other executives as a CTO? What works and what doesn’t?
✅ How do you get started in a new CTO role?
✅ What are Nikos’ views on OKRs
…and much more.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Join me and Michal Bohanes on this episode as we go back to basics with OKRs.
We’ll be covering
✅ exactly what OKRs are
✅ why you should use them to track your goals
✅ how they fit in with your company strategy and vision
✅ and exactly how you can get started with implementing them.
Finally, we’ll also look at what alternatives to OKRs exist for companies to use to keep themselves on target for their goals.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Join me to learn what OKRs are, why use them, how to use them and how to get started. We'll go through the basics of OKRs and break some of the most common misconceptions that hold people back.
At the end of this episode, I'll be offering some serious discounts to my Scaleup Leaders Operating System program, and give you a sneak preview of the four critical rhythms every leader must drive to deliver results and scale - the framework that the Scaleup Leaders Operating System is built upon.To get in touch:
richardrussell.co
linkedin.com/in/richardarussell
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Ever been in a situation where your team is in conflict with another team, perhaps over shared resources, and you can't resolve it?
Here's how to make progress using a simple document and meeting format that will not only unblock the stalemate, but increase your management's confidence in empowering you to make these decisions in future.
Stalemate Buster Template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VPELQYuUdTpPlC0ceFDAhMuYOwDGXbtivolfXkg9Aso/edit?usp=sharing
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
Ben Legg is the co-founder of The Portfolio Collective, a company that helps people build portfolio careers and helps companies hire fractional talent. He works with startups, investors and thought leadership.
In our interview he talks to me about side hustles – something he’s been doing since his teens – building your portfolio of careers and eventually ditching the day job.
Find out when you should be thinking about starting a side, why it’s a good idea in this time of job uncertainty, and how to go about it in the most optimal way.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
In this episode I go through my 5-step process for the execution of OKRs.
You've got your OKRs set up, and now it's time to do the work and actually execute them.
In this episode I cover:
Planning - A basis for change
Reviewing - Iterate and socialise
Weekly Meeting - Create momentum and course correct
Weekly Review - Capture problems and wins
Weekly Recognition - celebrate the wins!
The Scaleup Leader is a podcast about helping fast-growing tech companies scale better and execute faster with OKRs
I (Richard Russell) am an ex-Amazon & ex-Google product tech lead.
Connect with me on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/richardarussell
And subscribe to my twice monthly email on www.richardrussell.co/subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com -
These are questions I collected over the last weeks from comments and questions asked by future and current clients.
0:04:20 - My CEO is incompetent. What should I do?
0:10:10 - How can I use OKRs to measure productivity objectively?
0:15:13 - My product and engineering team isn't trusted by the rest of the organisation. How do I create trust?
0:28:33 - Can OKRs work in a hybrid, remote or in-person environment?
0:32:12 - In a multi-level organisation, it takes too long to set OKRs at each level and align them with each layer above. What should we do?
The Scaleup Leader is a podcast about helping fast-growing tech companies scale better and execute faster with OKRs
I (Richard Russell) am an ex-Amazon & ex-Google product tech lead.
Connect with me on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/richardarussell
And subscribe to my twice monthly email on www.richardrussell.co/subscribe
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scaleupleaders.substack.com - Visa fler
