Built by People Leaders

In this insightful episode, Dr. David Leitner explores a concept often overlooked in leadership conversations: followership. He challenges the traditional belief that leadership alone drives success and explains why followership is an active, intentional choice that plays an equally powerful role in organizational performance.

Dr. Leitner breaks down the dynamic relationship between leaders and followers, emphasizing trust, mutual vision, and shared responsibility. He explains how strategic followership strengthens teamwork, improves organizational culture, and drives performance excellence.

This conversation also addresses cultural biases that glorify leadership while undervaluing followership and highlights how choosing to be a follower can lead to personal fulfillment, professional growth, and long-term impact.

This episode is essential listening for leaders, team members, managers, and anyone interested in personal development, servant leadership, and high-performing teams.

Key Topics Covered:

Leadership and followership dynamics

Strategic followership in organizations

Teamwork and organizational culture

Mutual vision and trust building

Servant leadership and energy management

Personal development through followership

Performance excellence and team effectiveness

Keywords:

Chapters:

#LeadershipDevelopment #Followership #Teamwork #OrganizationalCulture #ServantLeadership #PersonalGrowth #PerformanceExcellence #StrategicLeadership #WorkplaceCulture

In this powerful episode, Pavel Kovsharov shares his inspiring business journey from a corporate executive to a successful entrepreneur in the family entertainment industry. Starting his first business at just 16, Pavel reveals how entrepreneurship became his life’s calling and what led him to leave corporate life after a pivotal vacation.

Pavel dives deep into the realities of building and scaling a family entertainment business, navigating global challenges like the pandemic and war, and leading teams through uncertainty. He highlights the critical role of company culture, leadership principles, and adaptability in long-term business success.

This conversation also explores international expansion, market analysis, brand reputation, and personal growth as essential pillars for sustainable entrepreneurship.

Whether you are a founder, aspiring entrepreneur, or business leader, this episode offers practical insights on resilience, leadership, and building businesses that last.

Key Topics Covered:

Entrepreneurship and early business mindset

Transition from corporate executive to entrepreneur

Building and scaling a family entertainment business

Overcoming business challenges and global crises

Leadership principles and company culture

International expansion and market adaptability

Brand building and long-term personal growth

Keywords:

Chapters:

#Entrepreneurship #BusinessJourney #FamilyEntertainment #LeadershipDevelopment #CompanyCulture #InternationalBusiness #StartupLife #BusinessGrowth #PersonalDevelopment #FounderStories

In this episode, Sebastian Gerhardt, founder of Flee, shares his entrepreneurial journey and deep insights into improving developer experience in modern software organizations. He explains why developer productivity cannot be measured by output alone and how organizational structure, team culture, and feedback systems play a critical role in engineering success.

The conversation explores how CTOs and engineering leaders can identify friction points, foster open communication, and build high performing teams, especially in remote and distributed work environments. Sebastian Gerhardt also shares practical advice for adapting engineering management practices to the future of work.

Key Topics Covered

Developer experience and productivity in software teams

Why output based metrics fail engineering teams

Team culture and psychological safety

Feedback systems and survey driven insights

Organizational structure and engineering management

Remote work and the future of software development

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiangerhardt/

helloflea.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/helloflea

#DeveloperExperience #EngineeringLeadership #CTO #SoftwareDevelopment #TeamCulture #RemoteWork #EngineeringManagement #Productivity #FutureOfWork

In this powerful episode, Davidson Oturu shares hard-earned insights from years of working with startups and first-time CEOs. He breaks down why having a great idea is not enough to run a successful business and highlights the most common mistakes new CEOs make in execution, operations, and financial management.

David emphasizes the importance of understanding core business principles, building a leadership team with complementary skills, and defining company culture from day one. He also explores the critical relationship between CEOs and boards, the importance of aligning vision with stakeholder expectations, and why leadership must be treated as a continuous learning journey.

This episode is essential listening for founders, first-time CEOs, and startup leaders aiming to build sustainable, high-performing companies.

Key Topics Covered

Common mistakes made by first-time CEOs

Why ideas alone do not build successful businesses

Business strategy and execution fundamentals

Team building and leadership composition

Company culture and long-term success

CEO and board alignment

Leadership development in startups

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsonoturu/

#StartupAdvice #FirstTimeCEO #LeadershipDevelopment #CompanyCulture #StartupSuccess #BusinessStrategy #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #FounderLeadership

In this insightful episode, Simon Mulder shares his journey from software engineering to becoming a global HR leader. He explores how leadership styles evolve across large corporations and fast growing scale-ups, the real challenges behind mergers and acquisitions, and why many organizations struggle with integration and alignment.

Simon Mulder also draws powerful parallels between parenting and leadership, emphasizing transparency, adaptability, and long-term thinking. From corporate culture to continuous learning and strategic decision-making, this conversation offers practical insights for leaders navigating the future of work.

Key Topics Covered

HR leadership and organizational development

Corporate culture in scale-ups vs large enterprises

Leadership styles across growth stages

Mergers and acquisitions challenges

Parenting principles applied to leadership

Continuous learning and future-ready organizations

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmulder/?originalSubdomain=nl

#HRLeadership #CorporateCulture #FutureOfWork #LeadershipDevelopment #ScaleUps #MergersAndAcquisitions #OrganizationalDevelopment #ContinuousLearning #StrategicLeadership #PeopleLeadership

In this episode, Veiko Valkiainen explores the concept of self-managed organizations and how they are reshaping leadership, decision-making, and workplace culture. The conversation breaks down the principles of self-management, the role of Holacracy, and why clear role boundaries are critical for success.

We dive deep into decentralized decision-making, team dynamics, and the challenges organizations face when shifting away from traditional hierarchies. Veiko also shares why autonomy and empowerment are becoming essential skills for the modern workforce and how organizations can adapt responsibly.

This episode is a must-listen for leaders, founders, HR professionals, and anyone curious about organizational design and the future of work.

Key Topics Covered  

Key Takeaways  

Chapters  

00:00 Exploring Self-Managed Organizations

04:42 Understanding Self-Management

08:06 Practical Applications of Self-Management

11:28 Holacracy: A Model for Self-Management

19:45 Decision-Making in Self-Managed Organizations

25:19 Team Dynamics in Self-Management

32:46 Challenges and Risks of Self-Management

36:36 Preparing for the Future of Work

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veiko-valkiainen/

#FutureOfWork #SelfManagement #Holacracy #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganizationalDesign #WorkplaceCulture #TeamEmpowerment #DecentralizedLeadership #ModernWorkplace #PeopleFirst

In this episode of Build by People Leaders, we’re talking about the seat at the table — and why it’s built, not given.

For years, HR leaders have worked to be recognized as true business partners, not just support or administrative functions. While progress is happening, there’s still a critical gap — especially when it comes to AI.

According to IBM’s 2025 CEO Report, only 1% of CEOs expect HR to support their company’s AI transformation. That number should stop us.

AI is already reshaping how we work, how we lead, and how organizations build capability. If HR and People leaders are not at the core of this shift — preparing leaders, designing systems, and shaping new ways of working — then who is?

This episode sets the tone for why Build by People Leaders exists:

Because the seat at the table isn’t given.

Welcome to Build by People Leaders, a podcast brought to you by Aidra.AI, an AI coach for leaders in tech, and hosted by Darya Rudnik, team architect and executive leadership coach.

This podcast is created for in-house HR leaders, people partners, founders, and executives who are building the people side of fast-growing organizations.

On this show, you’ll hear real stories — not just frameworks — from internal leaders shaping culture, scaling leadership, and aligning people strategy with business impact.

Our guests work in tech, fintech, SaaS, and other growth-focused sectors, sharing how they earn trust, drive change, and build teams that fuel performance.

If you care about leading from within and shaping how organizations are built, you’ll feel at home here.

This is Build by People Leaders.