The Modern Leader Conversations

Real stories. Real lessons. From engineering leaders who learned the hard way.

Every engineering manager has a moment that shaped them — the mistake they still think about, the feedback that changed everything, or the or the moment they realized leadership wasn’t just about writing great code.

This series explores those moments in candid 20-minute conversations with managers, directors, and VPs across tech.

Everything we discuss is part of your lived experience. No research required.

• Your path into engineering leadership

• A pivotal mistake that changed how you lead

• Key moments in your career development

• A book or resource that influenced you

• Your advice for new engineering managers

• A few quick-fire questions because I can’t resist

✔️ It’s low-pressure. These are casual, conversational recordings — no perfection required, no need to prep a script.

✔️ It takes about 45 minutes. A quick tech check, a 20–25 minute chat, and a small buffer at the end.

✔️ No audience needed. You don’t need a big following or fancy title. I care about real stories and lived experience, not job levels or LinkedIn follower counts.

✔️ It’s video-first. We record on Riverside. If anything feels off, we can always re-record segments.