Success Advice
How to Hire Top Talent and Create a Culture They’ll Never Want to Leave
The best leaders clarify complex situations, generate positive energy, and deliver results.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand how big tech companies prioritize hiring the best talent and how this focus drives business success
At IBM, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft, top executives are personally involved in recruiting, recognizing that exceptional individuals elevate the entire organization.
But hiring great people is only part of the equation. Developing talent and structuring careers strategically is just as crucial. High-performing engineering teams thrive when individuals are placed in roles that both inspire them and align with their strengths. I often joke that leading an engineering team full of exceptional professionals is easy, the real challenge lies in building and sustaining such a team.
Hiring the best
The presence of inspiring professionals is a catalyst for innovation. These individuals may create groundbreaking solutions that transform a business, drive massive cost savings, or unlock entirely new markets. While such breakthroughs are rare, they happen and companies must create the right conditions for them to emerge.
Beyond innovation, inspiring professionals shape company culture. They act as mentors, developing future leaders, and serve as magnets for talent — either because they attract followers or because they have a keen eye for identifying the right hires.
A great analogy comes from the world of art. Candido Portinari, one of Brazil’s most celebrated painters, was commissioned in 1952 to create the War and Peace panels for the United Nations headquarters in New York. The Brazilian government didn’t micromanage his work, dictate colors, or designate placement. They trusted his talent.
The same principle applies to engineering. Exceptional professionals are artists in their craft, and they need the freedom and conditions to excel. Hiring great talent isn’t enough, they must also have the autonomy and the right environment to do their best work. When people are motivated and aligned with the company’s mission, exceptional results follow naturally.
Distinguishing multipliers vs. diminishers
In their book “Multipliers,” Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown describe two types of leaders:
Multipliers create conditions for their teams to thrive. These leaders empower employees, allow them to learn from mistakes, and intervene only when necessary to prevent disasters. Multipliers think about the company’s big picture, foster collaboration, and build sustainable processes. They bring in new talent and get the best out of those around them.
Diminishers, on the other hand, are micromanagers focused on control and self-promotion. The tech industry has many professionals who, after years of being treated as the smartest person in the room, become centralizing, controlling leaders. I’ve encountered countless “prima donnas” with these traits throughout my career.
The truth is, at different moments in our careers, we can all act as either multipliers or diminishers. The key is self-awareness, continuously assessing our behavior, understanding our motivations, and making conscious efforts to be more effective motivational leaders.
Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella often says that he sees three essential characteristics in leaders
The first is that the leader can see their way out of complex situations and describe in a few words what’s essential and what needs to be done. The second characteristic is that those who lead must generate good energy not in the esoteric sense, but in extracting from the team the potential it must produce, very much in the spirit of the multiplier leaders described by Wiseman and McKeown. The third characteristic is that good leaders deliver results. They make things happen, promote innovation, balance short and long-term projects, and inspire.
Building a high-performing team requires more than hiring top talent
It involves creating an environment where individuals can thrive. Inspired professionals not only drive innovation but also shape company culture and attract other high performers. Leaders that play a crucial role in enabling success are multipliers who empower and uplift teams. Diminishers, however, micromanage and stifle potential.
The best leaders, as exemplified by Satya Nadella’s principles, clarify complex situations, generate positive energy, and deliver results. Self-awareness and intentional leadership are key to sustaining high-performing teams.
Success Advice
What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)
Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)
Entrepreneurs
The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025
Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
Entrepreneurs
What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators
Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)
Entrepreneurs
Building a Business Empire: Lessons from the World’s Boldest Entrepreneurs
Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)
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