How do you know if you’re a good leader? In engineering, like any profession, leadership is so much more than just getting your team to do what they’re told. In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo and Shormila shift their focus to a broader topic: people management. Reaching beyond assessments and management styles, the two long-time leaders unpack their experiences so far. They explore the difference between managing contractors and direct reports, the importance of feedback delivery, and the need for empathy that flows in both directions—up and down the chain of command.

Their conversation winds through self-reflection, organizational structures, and the dearth of training for technical experts thrust into people-management roles as the only path for advancement. Along the way, they discuss how leadership evolves over time (and often through mistakes), why emotional intelligence takes deliberate work, and what makes people management uniquely demanding—especially when you’re delivering hard news while still remembering there’s a human on the other end.

They also dig into the realities of leading within complex systems: how to motivate and retain people across generations, why “tone from the top” shapes culture more than any slogan, and how leaders can adapt their style to the individual in front of them. Therapy, organizational design, and the impact of AI on early-career technical roles all receive their due consideration in a thoughtful, candid episode that recognizes leadership is a lifelong practice—not a just title.

Key takeaways

• The role of empathy in business, relationships, and company culture;
• Why self-reflection is essential to every leader’s development;
• Recognizing when to adhere to and when to throw out the org chart;
• Navigating disconnection from direct reports in enormous corporations;
• The negative impact of distilling rational reasoning as decisions descend from the top.

Quote

• “Creating corporate culture…all starts from the leader—the tone from the top.” - Shormilla Chaterjee

The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our community via LinkedIn:

• Follow Navigating Major Programmes: https://www.linkedin.com/company/navigating-major-programmes/
• Read Riccardo’s latest at www.riccardocosentino.com
• Follow Shormila Chatterjee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shormilac/
• Follow Riccardo Cosentino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cosentinoriccardo/