Leadership Confidential with Lena Reinhard
Episodes
Conducting as Leadership with Cornelius Meister
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In our work as engineering leaders, there aren't a lot of places where the way that we lead becomes super widely visible to a lot of people. Maybe...
Difficult Conversations: How to Initiate and Talk About Tough Topics with Nikita Rathi
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've all been there - That moment when you know it's time to have that conversation you've been dreading. The one that makes your stomach...
Peer & Leadership Alignment
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Small gaps in alignment at the leadership level become canyons by the time they reach your teams. Alignment, as in people really agreeing on what to d...
Disability & Leadership in Tech
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you're ill or disabled and working in the tech field, the long hours can be not just counterproductive, but discriminatory. And it is also be...
Being Stylish and Belonging in Tech: From Trying to Fit in To Expressing Yourself In a culture of Hoodies And Jeans
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“What does a leader look like?”, is a question we come back to here often, and this time, we take it literally: I meet with five exceptional senio...
Welcome Back! A Note from Lena
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Leadership Confidential podcast is back from a short hiatus. New episodes coming soon!
Real Talk on Allyship in Engineering: Using Your Position to Support Others
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"I don't think about being an ally as a badge or a thing... I start from the point of view of wanting to be a better person and be good to the people ...
Supporting Neurodivergent Employees: A Guide for Engineering Leaders
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“People don’t always take it well, unfortunately. But managers, a lot of the time, don’t do it out of malice.”Neurodivergent employees face un...
When Your Boss Won't Let Go: Surviving Micromanagement
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“The micromanager is rather someone who uses the details for control. You want to assert your own perspective on most things. You take the lead in d...
Debugging Product vs Engineering: Breaking Down Silos and Building Trust
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“This collaboration and making it work really well is such a critical factor to delivering great software for your clients.” In theory, product an...
Cutting Through the AI Hype: A Practical Guide to Building Your AI Strategy
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you respond when your boss or board asks “What's our AI strategy?” In this episode, Lena Reinhard talks with Daniel Paulus, VP of Engineeri...
From Metrics to Impact – Making Engineering Work Count in Business
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Can you actually explain in clear terms how your company makes money? If you can't, that's a problem.” In today's tech landscape where efficiency...
Handling Ambiguous Environments
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you lead your team through ambiguity? As an engineering leader, one of your key responsibilities is to navigate and guide your team through the...
Surviving the Job Search While Staying True to Your Values
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Interviewing knocks down pretty much everyone's confidence." With all the lost time and huge frustration that comes with interviewing, ...
Imposter Syndrome in Leadership: The Story of A Fraud
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“There's way more variability in people than a Python environment.”—Many leaders (myself included) have felt it: “Everyone has it all figu...
The Engineering Leadership Report 2024: The Data on Shifts in the Tech Industry & What It Means for Leaders LCPS01E03
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A special episode of this podcast. Like many of you, during the tech downturn of the last 2 years, I've been trying to understand the real data be...
Being a "non-technical" engineering manager in an industry that treasures technical skills - LCPS01E02
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What should engineering leadership roles look like, and how "technical" should managers be? What's been a hotly-debated topic in tech fo...
From Engineer to Team Lead to Teams Lead: What Got You Here Won’t Take You Further - LCPS01E01
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How “technical” should an engineering manager be? And what do different paths into engineering leadership look like?—These questions have been t...
Trailer
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you tired of outdated leadership myths, of "real leaders" who are "born with it", always confident, and have it all figured ou...