Key Takeaways
- Technologists struggle in leadership roles primarily due to lack of relevant people-leadership experience
- Leadership development is often neglected because companies don’t know how to invest in these skills
- Demonstrate leadership behaviors before having a formal role to increase chances of promotion
- Temporary supervisor positions can test leadership aptitude without risking valuable technical talent
- Perfectionism and poor communication are the two biggest mistakes technical founders make
- Cross-functional leadership requires adapting your style to different disciplines and contexts
- Personal branding is crucial for attracting the right talent to your company culture
- Create a “version 2.0” career map with specific actions to bridge gaps between current and desired states
- Regularly validate you’re building what clients actually need through frequent communication
- Ensure co-founder alignment on vision to prevent organizational disconnects
- Executive coaching for entrepreneurs can help resolve common leadership challenges in scaling businesses
The Listen Perspective podcast, hosted by Rebecca Hastings, featured Vladimir Baranov, a CTO, exit founder, entrepreneur-in-residence at Cornell University, and executive coach for founders. With over two decades in fintech, welltech, and aerospace, Vladimir has co-founded and scaled companies including Advisor Engine (acquired by Franklin Templeton), launched satellites, built AI-driven space technologies, and advised over 150 people in 30 companies. As the founder of Human Interfaces, he now provides founder coaching services to help executives gain leadership clarity.
Vladimir discussed why talented technologists often struggle when stepping into leadership roles. The main reason is lack of relevant experience leading people – when moving from individual contributor to manager, there’s a significant gap in required skills. Companies often neglect leadership development because those in leadership positions either gained experience naturally or don’t know how to invest in developing these skills in others. For technologists seeking promotion, Vladimir recommends demonstrating leadership behaviors even before having a formal role, such as organizing team events, leading retrospectives, and taking initiative on projects.
For managers identifying leadership potential, Vladimir suggests looking for people who take initiative, earn respect from teammates, and demonstrate organizational skills. He recommends temporarily promoting promising individuals to supervisor positions to test their aptitude before making permanent changes. This approach is especially valuable for startup executive coaching since it prevents losing valuable technical talent when leadership isn’t a good fit.
Vladimir shared his career journey from feeling his work wasn’t making impact at larger companies to founding startups where he could have more ownership and accountability. This led him to the aerospace industry seeking more meaningful work, and eventually to his current role as a business coach for startups where he feels he can multiply his impact by helping others in fields he cares about like biotech, aerospace, and climate technology.
The differences between leadership in fintech versus aerospace were notable: aerospace allows much less room for failure, requires more precise and linear thinking, and involves significantly more cross-functional collaboration across different sciences and disciplines. Each component (mechanical, physics, electronics, software) requires different leadership approaches to succeed.
Vladimir identified two common leadership mistakes technical founders make: building until something is perfect before showing clients (rather than gathering requirements regularly and showing works-in-progress), and not communicating effectively due to assumptions that others share their worldview and understanding of concepts. This lack of clear communication often leads to misalignment between founders and potential customers.
Rebecca highlighted the importance of company positioning and personal branding for leaders. Not leveraging the individual brands within a business can cost companies millions in hiring, reducing both the quantity and quality of candidates. Vladimir agreed, noting that leadership coaching for entrepreneurs should include awareness of positioning and branding concepts, even though not everyone is naturally inclined toward external communication.
For technologists wanting to move into leadership, Vladimir recommends a simple framework: envision your “version 2.0” (what responsibilities you want, what company/industry), identify your current state, analyze the gaps, and create a prioritized action plan to bridge those gaps. This creates a map for career development rather than waiting for others to recognize your excellence.
For founders scaling companies, Vladimir emphasized two key things: constantly validate you’re building what clients actually need by talking to them regularly, and ensure alignment on vision between co-founders. When co-founders tell different stories about their business despite working together for years, it creates disconnects that ripple throughout the organization – something an executive coach for entrepreneurs can help resolve.
Vladimir generously offered a complimentary discovery session for listeners at humaninterfaces.co/podcast, making his startup founder coaching accessible to those looking to improve their leadership skills and overcome common challenges faced by technical founders and executives in the tech industry.
