How to build frontline leaders in technical organizations

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How to Make a Leader

Big Think+

18 episodes

1 week ago

How to Make a Leader brings you the ideas and voices shaping the future of leadership. Host Hannah Beaver sits down with bold thinkers, builders, and changemakers across learning and leadership development to explore how great leaders are developed, through smart design, real-world experience, and the moments that matter. These are candid, curiosity-driven conversations crafted for L&D and leadership development professionals who want fresh insight, sharper thinking, and a smarter way to build leaders who thrive. Brought to you by Big Think+.

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Management

Education,

Business

How to build frontline leaders in technical organizations

How to Make a Leader

28 minutes

2 months ago

How to build frontline leaders in technical organizations

Technical expertise doesn’t automatically translate into leadership traits. So how do we help engineers, scientists, and specialists become confident and effective managers?

Leadership development expert and former SpaceX trainer, Matt Gjertsen, shares how to grow strong leaders inside technical organizations. Drawing on 15 years of experience across aerospace, defense, and emerging tech, Matt specializes in turning skilled technical professionals into confident, effective leaders.

You’ll learn:

Why leadership is often the biggest blocker to scale, not technology
How to engage technical employees in learning (even the skeptical ones)
Why engineers are uniquely suited to lead and what holds them back
The mindset shift new technical managers must make

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Introducing Matt Gjertsen

(02:09) Why technical leadership is a unique challenge

(03:21) Scaling hard tech requires solving people problems

(05:23) The leadership gap in reindustrialization and the trades

(07:59) A humbling mindset shift: You can’t lead alone

(10:12) Why engineers are better at conflict than you think

(13:13) Getting skeptical technical leaders to buy in

(15:01) Designing leadership programs that drive measurable change

(16:27) Microlearning done right: Narrow goals, real impact

(19:16) How to get employees to engage in training

(22:54) Start small: The fastest way to executive buy-in

To learn more about Matt, check out his LinkedIn and his website.

Want to learn more about getting Big Think+ for your business? Schedule a call with us at https://www2.bigthink.com/request-a-demo-big-think-plus

About Matt Gjertsen:

Matt Gjertsen is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and former Air Force Instructor Pilot with 2500 flight hours. After leaving active duty, he spent over 4 years leading the training and development team at SpaceX before founding Better Every Day Studios in 2021.

Matt’s 20 years of experience working with and leading high performing teams all over the world has given him a unique perspective on what it takes to lead teams in this ever changing world. He has previously shared these lessons with organizations like the XPRIZE Foundation, Lockheed Martin, and NASA.

He and his team and Better Every Day Studios are now on a mission to train better managers, build better companies, and create a better world.