Leadership Launchpad

Most companies say they’re developing leaders. But when you look at what actually happens on the floor, or inside a new manager’s first real team, it doesn’t line up. Craig Coyle spent years as an Army aviator and now works with frontline leaders in manufacturing and defense environments. What he saw in both worlds is the same gap, people are promoted into leadership, then left to figure it out in...

Most technical training programs fail before the first technician ever sets foot in the room. Not because the content is wrong. Because the entire design is wrong. Traditional training asks: did they understand it? Technical training asks something harder: can they actually do it? And in aerospace, where it takes a million things to go right and one thing to go wrong. In this first ever live episo...

Most leaders talk about speed. Ian Walsh doesn’t. In this conversation, he separates speed from what actually matters in leadership: velocity, meaning speed with direction. Ian has spent his career in aerospace and defense, from flying Marine Cobra attack helicopters to leading companies through scale and transformation. Now as CEO of FDH Aero , he is operating inside an industry that is growing f...

Most people think leadership starts when someone gives them authority. I don't think that's true. One of the ideas that kept coming up in my conversation with Keith Ferrazzi is that leadership is rarely granted before it's demonstrated. The people who create outsized impact inside organizations aren't waiting for the title, the promotion, or the perfect moment. They're already acting like leaders...

Most teams don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because they lose their ability to operate under discomfort. In this solo episode of Leadership Launchpad, I look at why the ability to stay effective when things get uncomfortable has become a defining factor in how modern teams perform. I draw a distinction between pressure that sharpens performance and pressure that overwhelms it, and wh...

Most companies don’t fail because they lack process. They fail because they keep the wrong ones alive for too long. Process starts as a survival tool. It reduces chaos, aligns people, and turns scattered effort into repeatable execution. But at scale, the same systems that create clarity slowly become the thing that blocks it. The real challenge isn’t building structure, it’s knowing when it stops...

Most people think leadership in technical companies is about being the most knowledgeable person in the room. Knowing the answers, setting the direction, and solving the hardest problems yourself. But the longer you spend actually doing the job, the more obvious it becomes that this is almost never what matters. The real challenge is much simpler to describe and much harder to execute. Getting peo...

Most leaders think their job is complicated. It’s not. I tend to break it down into three things: get people working together, get them working on the right things, and improve the work over time. The problem is that second one. Getting people focused on the right things sounds simple, but in practice, it’s where most teams fall apart. In this episode, I sit down with Matt Gialich , CEO of AstroFo...

This solo episode explores the challenges and opportunities facing hard tech and leadership in today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape. The host announces the rebranding of their company from Better Everyday Studios to Built, with a renewed focus on training the next generation of hard tech leaders. The discussion covers why large-scale technology projects so often run over budget, highlight...

On this week’s episode of the Leadership Launchpad, we are bringing you a crossover episode from the VHTB podcast. If you enjoy the discussion and want more make sure to check out other episodes. YouTube: https://bit.ly/4sooBQo Spotify: https://bit.ly/3YRPxue Apple: https://apple.co/4q3Zn8k Where’s the line between pushing people to do their best work… and just being an asshole? It’s a question th...

Most teams think leadership at SpaceX is about speed, pressure, and technical brilliance. Hans Koenigsmann, former VP of Build and Flight Reliability and one of the earliest employees at SpaceX, describes something more subtle: it’s about constantly operating outside your comfort zone, and learning how to make decisions when everything is changing at once. In this conversation, Hans reflects on wh...

Most teams don’t realize they’re missing critical data until something goes wrong. In this episode, Austin Spiegel, co-founder and CTO of Sift and former SpaceX engineer, dives into why telemetry, simple in concept, a value and a timestamp, can become a massive problem in hardware. Miss even a fraction of a second, and you lose the story. Software engineers have plenty of tools to solve this. Hard...

Most technical teams think they have a technology problem. They usually don’t. In this episode, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, former head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, talks about what actually goes wrong after overseeing dozens of missions and tens of billions in spend. We get into why canceling missions isn’t failure. It’s what makes risk possible in the first place. If you don’t kill things, o...

Most people ask what makes SpaceX different. It's a fair question. But the answer isn't what most people expect. In this solo episode, Matt breaks down the two qualities that separate organizations that thrive in chaos from the ones that get buried by it — and why most teams are unknowingly doing both of these things wrong. The trigger was Jared Isaacman's changes to the Artemis program and a fram...

Most engineers don’t start their careers thinking, “I can’t wait to manage people.” They want to build things. Tinker. Solve hard problems. See hardware fly. In this episode, Brian Ippolito from Marotta Controls talks about what it’s been like to grow inside a third-generation aerospace company that grew from about 130 people to nearly 1,000 during his career. We talk about the moment you stop bei...

Managing people is still the hardest problem in business. We’ve built rockets, nuclear reactors, and AI systems… but getting humans to coordinate? Still unsolved. In this episode, Casey Handmer talks about what leadership actually looks like when real stakes are involved when families depend on payroll, when bad decisions compound, and when “being liked” can quietly kill performance. He shares wha...

In this episode, Matt Gjertsen shares practical advice for managers on how to set clear expectations for their teams. Drawing from his experience as a former Air Force instructor pilot and talent development leader at SpaceX, he introduces the concept of "commander's intent," a military technique for effective delegation and communication. The episode breaks down the three essentials for communica...

In this episode of Leadership Launchpad, Matt Gjertsen shares practical strategies for developing talent within teams. Drawing on his military experience, Matt Gjertsen explains why building talent internally is often more effective than hiring externally. He emphasizes the importance of employee development in driving engagement and productivity, referencing Gallup research on workplace engagemen...

In this episode, host Matt Gjertsen shares a personal story about a mistake made early in her management career—talking too much and not empowering her team members. She explains how new managers often feel the need to prove themselves and end up dominating conversations, which can undermine team trust and engagement. Matt offers practical advice on shifting from providing all the answers to askin...

In this episode, Ajay Gnanasekaran, Senior Program Director for Battery Workforce Development at Argonne National Labs, shares his experiences leading large technical teams in high-growth manufacturing environments, including the build-out of Panasonic’s Gigafactory in Nevada. He discusses strategies for workforce development, overcoming challenges in recruiting and retaining talent, and the impor...

In this episode, Susan Charlesworth, a specialist in human performance and former astronaut trainer for the European and UK Space Agencies, shares insights from her career in aviation psychology and leadership coaching. She discusses her path from early studies in psychology and aviation to working with astronauts and mission controllers, focusing on topics like leadership, teamwork, and communica...

In this episode, Paul Keutelian, CTO of Applied Atomics, discusses his experience leading teams to tackle complex engineering challenges in the nuclear and advanced industry sectors. He shares insights from his time at SpaceX, including the role of responsible engineers, the importance of ownership, and how to create a culture where mistakes are learning opportunities rather than career setbacks....

In this episode of Leadership Launchpad, guest Lauren Waldman, a learning professional with a background in neuroscience, joins the show during the Dev Learn conference in Las Vegas. Lauren shares insights on how understanding the brain's mechanisms is essential for effective learning, behavior change, and habit formation in the workplace. The discussion highlights the differences between behavior...

In this episode of Leadership Launchpad, guest Jess Almlie, a strategic learning and talent development consultant, explains why training isn't always the solution to team performance issues. Drawing on her experience and insights from her book "L&D Order Taker No More," Jess Almlie shares practical examples and questions managers can use to diagnose workplace challenges, such as misaligned re...

In this episode, leadership coach and trainer Jen Recla discusses the vital role managers play in supporting and sustaining employee development after formal training ends. Drawing from her experience with executive leaders in smaller organizations, Jen emphasizes that true learning and change occur in the workplace, where ongoing coaching and follow-up from managers are crucial. She offers practi...