Hiring Masterclass: The Debrief

Getting promoted to Tech Lead should feel like a step forward. So why do so many brilliant engineers struggle the moment they get there? Pat Kua — former N26 CTO, ThoughtWorks technical principal and founder of the Tech Lead Academy — explains the hardest transition in software engineering: going from being the person who does the work to the person who makes everyone else better at it. What you’ll learn: • Why the move from Software Engineer to Tech Lead is so much harder than it looks • The shift from a maker mindset to a multiplier mindset, and how to make it • How new Tech Leads become the bottleneck without ever noticing • Why meetings, coaching and communication become your highest-value work • How to build leadership skills without losing your technical credibility • Measuring your impact by what your team ships, not what you ship For senior engineers eyeing their first leadership role, new Tech Leads finding their feet, and Engineering Managers who want more impact from the same hours. Free download Maker to Multiplier: 5 Questions Every Tech Lead Should Ask: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/maker-to-multiplier-5-questions-every-tech-lead-should-ask No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/why-engineers-struggle-as-tech-leads Pat Kua on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patkua/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

The conversation you keep putting off is the one costing you the most. Small problems rarely stay small. Tom Day, Partner at PA Consulting, draws on 25 years of leading teams, building businesses and raising a family to explain why conflict is almost always a symptom of poor communication — and how to prevent it rather than react to it. What you’ll learn: • Why difficult conversations feel so uncomfortable, and why avoiding them makes things worse • How to prepare for a conversation that actually matters • Why clarity builds trust, and vagueness destroys it • The Manual of Me: helping your team understand how you work before friction starts • The Manual of Us: aligning a team on roles, values and ways of working up front • How to handle the same conversations at home, not just at work For leaders, managers, parents, and anyone sitting on an awkward conversation they know they need to have. Free downloads The Manual of "Me": https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-manual-of-me The Manual of "Us": https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-manual-of-us No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-have-difficult-conversations-before-they-blow-up Tom Day on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomfday/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

The meetings happened. The emails got answered. And the work that actually mattered didn't get touched. Again. Zahra Saleh, Director of MindTactics Consultancy, draws on neuroscience, psychology and years of running complex technology programmes to explain why this happens — and why it isn't a personal failing. What you’ll learn: • What constant interruption actually does to your brain's ability to focus • The Mental Stage: why your attention keeps getting hijacked • How to build focus blocks that survive contact with a real working day • Habit loops that make deep work automatic rather than heroic • Setting boundaries without becoming the difficult one • Simple planning techniques that create calm instead of more admin If you have ever reached the end of the day wondering where it went, this will help you take it back. Free download The MindTactics™ Focus Framework: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-mindtactics-focus-framework No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/where-did-my-day-go Zahra Saleh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahra-saleh/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Technical people are often brilliant at solving problems and far less brilliant at explaining them. That gap decides careers. Ben Pearce spent more than a decade leading technical teams at Microsoft before realising that what held most engineers back wasn't their engineering. Now founder of Elevated You, he shares how to make complex ideas land. What you’ll learn: • Why technical teams struggle to influence the people who decide things • The communication mistakes engineers make most often • How to explain something complex without dumbing it down • Why emotion and storytelling belong in technical conversations • The AOREN framework for structuring clearer, more persuasive communication • How communication quietly drives promotions and leadership opportunities For anyone who has watched a good idea die in a meeting because it wasn't explained well enough. Free download How To Explain Technical Ideas to Anyone: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/how-to-explain-technical-ideas-to-anyone No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/engineers-who-communicate-win Ben Pearce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpthoughts/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

The interview only gathers the evidence. The real hiring decision happens afterwards, in a room where the loudest voice usually wins. Former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O'Neill shares the debrief practices he refined across thousands of interviews — how great hiring teams compare evidence, challenge each other, and decide with confidence. Part 2 of a two-part masterclass. What you’ll learn: • How to run a focused debrief that doesn't drift • Blind voting, structured scoring and re-voting — and why the order matters • How to avoid bias, groupthink and deference to the senior person • Handling split decisions without defaulting to the safe no • Why "on the fence" is a weak vote and how to press on it • Deciding whether a candidate genuinely raises the bar Part 1 covers the interview itself: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-1-the-craft-of-interviewing Free download Sean O’Neill’s Hiring Debrief Template: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/sean-oneills-hiring-debrief-template No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-2-the-debrief Sean O'Neill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanon/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Hiring is the highest-leverage decision a manager ever makes, and almost nobody is trained to do it. Hire a multiplier and the whole team gets better. Hire wrong and you'll feel it for years. Sean O'Neill spent 11 years at Amazon during its hyper-growth years and became a Bar Raiser, the role created to protect Amazon's hiring bar. He has interviewed thousands of candidates and hired hundreds. Part 1 of a two-part masterclass. What you’ll learn: • How to ask experiential questions that surface real evidence • Using the STAR method to get past rehearsed answers • The investigative journalist approach to probing a candidate's story • How to tell drivers from passengers when everyone claims credit • Spotting candidates who talk a great game but lack the depth • Why AI-written CVs and coached answers have made surface-level interviews useless Part 2 covers the debrief, where the decision actually gets made: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-2-the-debrief Free download Sean O’Neill’s Hiring Debrief Template: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/sean-oneills-hiring-debrief-template No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-1-the-craft-of-interviewing Sean O'Neill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanon/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

AI promises efficiency, creativity and progress. This episode asks the less comfortable question: what are we trading away to get it? Eloisa Tovee, Senior Campaigns Manager at Xeneta and a UN Delegate for Women in the UK, brings a grounded view of how AI is reshaping work and society — and who is being left behind. What you’ll learn: • What AI is doing to jobs, critical thinking and creativity • Bias, deepfakes and misinformation, and why they compound • Online harm and the erosion of human connection • Who carries the cost of rapid adoption, and who decides • How to use AI without outsourcing your judgement • Staying human in a industry optimising for speed Less hype, better questions. Free download 8 Tips to Keep Ahead in an AI-Driven World: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/8-tips-to-keep-ahead-in-an-ai-driven-world No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-hidden-costs-of-ai Eloisa Tovee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eloisatovee/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Burnout rarely arrives overnight. It builds quietly, for months, until one morning it is impossible to ignore. Andy Skipper, Founder and Chief Coach at CTO Craft, burned out early in his own CTO career and lived with the aftermath. He now works with thousands of technology leaders and knows exactly how this pattern runs. What you’ll learn: • Why burnout is so common among CTOs and senior technology leaders • Andy's own experience of hitting the wall, and the symptoms that followed • How startup pressure and unclear expectations accelerate it • The warning signs to look for in yourself and in your team • Why burnout spreads through an organisation if nobody names it • A four-stage approach: recognise it, act, change the conditions, build something healthier For CTOs, engineering leaders and founders who are closer to the edge than they would like to admit. Free download The Tech Leader’s Guide to Burnout: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-tech-leaders-guide-to-burnout No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/burnout-happens-gradually-then-suddenly Andy Skipper on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyskipper/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Pick a lane. Specialise. Stick to the plan. That advice made sense in a stable world. The world of work stopped being stable. Kieran Cornwall has built a career across banking, media, software engineering and consulting. He argues that rigid career paths quietly limit your potential — and that direction beats certainty. What you’ll learn: • Why following a predefined career map can box you in • The difference between certainty and direction, and why it matters now • How adaptability became a defining career advantage • Thinking beyond the lane you were trained to stay in • What it means to build range without drifting • Why this is an argument against rigidity, not against specialising If you have felt stuck, boxed in, or unsure the path you're on still fits, start here. Free download How to Stay Relevant in Your Career: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/how-to-stay-relevant-in-your-career No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-career-advice-thats-ruining-your-future Kieran Cornwall on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kierancornwall/ Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Going independent sounds simple: take your experience, pick your clients, set your terms. Most people find unpredictable income and one client that feels suspiciously like a job. Dan Gwalter left a FTSE 100 technology leadership role and built a profitable consulting business the hard way. He turned those lessons into The Fractional Formula, an operating model for consultants, fractional leaders and NEDs. What you’ll learn: • Why most independents aren't failing — they're operating without a system • The difference between being a fractional employee and running a real business • Defining the right clients, the right offers and the right problems to solve • Why visibility alone doesn't create clients, and what actually does • Designing an operating rhythm that works alongside delivery, not against it • The psychological side: confidence, self-doubt and the identity shift No hacks, no personal branding tricks, no "just post more on LinkedIn". Structure. Free download Building a Business You Can Rely On: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/building-a-business-you-can-rely-on No email address required — no sign-up of any kind. Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/build-a-business-you-can-rely-on Dan Gwalter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielgwalter Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.