Growing Pains

From authority to influence. From achievement to meaning.

After 25 years at BCG, Marcin Kotlarek had reached a level many leaders spend their careers pursuing.

Today, he leads Race For The Baltic, working across business, government, science and civil society to create change without relying on formal authority.

In this episode of Growing Pains, Marcin and Ewa Hutmacher explore:

• What success taught that ambition couldn't• Why success gave Marcin the freedom to redirect his ambition• What changes when leadership shifts from authority to influence• How to align stakeholders with very different priorities• Why hard work and value creation are not the same thing• What small teams can teach large organizations about alignment and empowerment• Why purpose only matters when it translates into action

A conversation about leadership, influence, ambition and what happens when success is no longer the destination, but the platform for deciding what truly matters.

Hur upptäcker du ett hot innan det blir uppenbart?

Det är en fråga som författaren, futuristen och föreläsaren Stefan Engeseth har utforskat under mer än 30 år.

I den här dialogen med Ewa Hutmacher och Stefan delar han med sig av insikter från hundratals intervjuer med forskare, innovatörer och ledare världen över. Samtalet kretsar kring varför framgångsrika organisationer ofta missar signalerna som borde få dem att agera tidigare.

Vi pratar om varför företag blir Fat & Happy, hur blind spots uppstår i ledningsgrupper, varför olikheter är avgörande för bättre beslut och hur organisationer kan behålla sin utvecklingshastighet när marknaden förändras.

Vi utforskar också vad ledare kan lära av naturens attack- och försvarsstrategier, varför konsensus ibland bromsar innovation och hur företag kan undvika att fastna i sin egen historia.

Ett tankeväckande samtal om strategi, organisationskultur och framtidens konkurrenskraft.

Om: Stefan Engeseth

Most leaders believe they understand how work gets done.

But much of what people do every day remains unseen.

In this episode, Ewa Hutmacher sits down with Chris Littlefield — employee appreciation expert and conflict resolution specialist — to explore what happens when the work behind the work isn’t visible.

Because when people don’t feel appreciated or recognized, tension builds, frustration builds, and communication can begin to break down over time.

Chris challenges a common assumption:that appreciation is about what we say.

Instead, he describes it as a skill — the ability to see, understand, and acknowledge what others contribute.

And that shift matters.

Because what leaders recognize shows people what they actually see — and what they don’t.

So the question is: what are you not seeing today?

Learn more about Christopher Littlefield

Raising capital is often seen as a milestone. In reality, it marks the beginning of a more complex phase of leadership.

In this episode of Growing Pains, Ewa Hutmacher speaks with Joey Hayes — founder of thru. and angel investor in more than 65 startups — about what happens after the round closes.

Together, they explore a pattern seen across many companies: founders turn inward, communication slows, and the network behind the capital remains largely underutilized.

Rather than focusing on funding itself, this conversation looks at what leadership requires once it is in place — and why access to support does not automatically translate into action.

If the people around you are willing to help — what is preventing you from engaging them?

About the guest

Joey Hayes is the founder of thru. and an angel investor in 65+ startups. After experiencing the impact of founder isolation firsthand, he now focuses on helping founders activate the network behind their capital.

LinkedIn: Joey Hayes and thru.To learn more about Joey and thru., please visit: www.comethru.co

When there’s finally no one left to impress, leadership changes.

Executive coach Annmarie Higgins and host Ewa Hutmacher explore what happens beneath senior leadership roles — where responsibility is high, expectations are constant, and honest reflection becomes rare.

A grounded conversation about:

* Loneliness at the top

* Values under pressure

* Why mindset shifts before behavior

* The transformation power of coaching CEOs and C‑suite leaders

No performance hacks. No leadership theatre.Just a real conversation about leadership when the mask no longer helps.

A question to sit with: What are you no longer willing to ignore — even if it comes at a cost?

Learn more about Annmarie Higgins at LinkedIn or hopstoneltd.com

Most leadership teams don’t lack intelligence or good intentions. What they lack is the courage — and the structure — to name what everyone already sees.

In this episode of Growing Pains, Ewa Hutmacher is joined by Gustavo Razzetti — culture strategist, bestselling author, and CEO of Fearless Culture, for a candid conversation about false harmony: the quiet agreement that makes teams feel aligned while real issues remain untouched.

We explore why leaders confuse politeness with alignment, how silence at the top is often misread as consent, and why teams don’t get stuck because they disagree — but because they stop believing that speaking up will change anything.

Drawing on decades of work with executive teams across the world, Gustavo Razzetti shares why avoided conversations create hidden costs, how groupthink disguises itself as consensus, and what it actually takes to move from nice conversations to decisions that stick.

A question to sit with: What does your team call “alignment”? What are you actually avoiding? Gustavo Razzetti is the bestselling author of Remote, Not Distant, Stretch for Change, and his forthcoming book, Forward Talk. He’s facilitated more than 1,500 workshops with leadership teams at Mars, Microsoft, Merck, the Inter-American Development Bank, and hundreds of organizations across the world.

What happens when leaders no longer have clear answers — but still carry full responsibility?

In this episode of Growing Pains, Ewa Hutmacher is joined by Pasquale Mazzuca, executive coach and trusted adviser to CEOs and senior leaders for more than three decades.

This is a candid conversation about integrity in the boardroom, the discomfort of not knowing, and being true to yourself. Drawing on lived experience across cultures and leadership contexts, Pasquale reflects on what ambiguity reveals — not just about decisions, but about who leaders choose to be.

A grounded, human dialogue for CEOs, board members and executive teams navigating uncertainty, pressure and the space between knowing and acting.

A question to sit with: When was the last time you had to make a decision without clarity — and what guided you in that moment?

När bias driver besluten ur kurs räcker inte mer data — det krävs modiga ledare som vågar korrigera riktningen.

I det här avsnittet möter vi Anders Brolin Jaconelli och utforskar varför perspektiv ibland bromsar mer än de hjälper. Hur överanalys skapar stagnation och varför mod, inte perfektion är den verkliga vägen till riktning.

Vi pratar om bias i beslutsprocesser, kvalitetsfällor i offentlig sektor och varför små fel tidigt skapar bättre resultat än stora fel sent.

Det här avsnittet är för dig som vill se klarare, tänka skarpare och leda med större mod.

Anders Brolin Jaconelli är enhetschef inom förebyggande vård och omsorg med bakgrund som ambulanssjuksköterska, chef, inspektör på IVO och politisk rådgivare. Han kombinerar systemperspektiv med operativ erfarenhet och ett skarpt analytiskt ledarskap.

👉 Vilken typ av bias stöter du oftast på i ledningsgruppen? Hur påverkar den er riktning? Kontakta Ewa Hutmacher om du vill diskutera detta medr.

Edtech Tuesdays is now Growing Pains. Growing Pains goes beneath the surface of leadership — exploring behaviors, organizational culture, and the choices that shape how organizations move through growth and transition.

As we’re recording the next episodes, we’d love your input:

Who brings the kind of candor, clarity, or challenge that sparks real conversations about leadership and strategy?

Drop your suggestions by sending a DM to Ewa Hutmacher. Your perspective might inspire a future guest.

Visit us at growingpains.se

Vi går rakt in i det som styr resultatet: att de viktigaste rösterna ofta är tystast, att ansvar aldrig kan lämnas till teknologin, och att värde uppstår först när man vågar prata om verkliga problem.

Ewa Hutmacher möter Peter Almberg, grundare och styrelseordförande i Katalysen i ett samtal om frågor som ofta avgör om organisationer lyckas: ansvar, relationer och hur problem definieras.

Vi diskuterar varför ansvar blir avgörande i takt med att AI tar över det operativa, hur gruppers förmåga att lyfta fram olika perspektiv påverkar beslutskvalitet, och varför problemdefinition är central för både entreprenörer och investerare.

Samtalet berör också värdelogik: varför det enkla tappar pris, varför det unika skapar värde, och hur snabbt människor kan förändra arbetssätt när osäkerhet gör det nödvändigt.

👉 Vilket värde tror du att din organisation skulle frigöra om de verkliga problemen kom upp på bordet? Dela och prenumerera gärna på Edtech Tuesdays om du gillar avsnittet.