Build Your Edge

Why Engineers Struggle as Tech Leads

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 05:03:53 GMT

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.

Have the Conversation You’re Avoiding

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:27:09 GMT

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.

Where Did My Day Go?

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 04:16:53 GMT

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.

Engineers Who Can Communicate, Win

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 26 May 2026 09:22:33 GMT

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.

Hiring Masterclass: The Debrief

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 12 May 2026 04:31:42 GMT

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 Masterclass: The Craft of Interviewing

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:58:51 GMT

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.

The Hidden Costs of AI Nobody’s Talking About

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:20:51 GMT

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 Happens Gradually, Then Suddenly

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:22:29 GMT

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.

The Career Advice That’s Ruining Your Future

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 05:40:03 GMT

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.

Build a Business You Can Rely On

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 06:29:43 GMT

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.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Business

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:00:42 GMT

If you've got the seed of an idea you keep pushing aside, you owe it to yourself to find out whether it's real. Not to quit. Just to start.

Ken Valledy, co-founder of Crystallised Communications, walks through a low-risk way to turn a side hustle into an actual business — one that gives you options without blowing up your life.

What you’ll learn:
• Why leaving your job isn't the goal; starting is
• How small steps build momentum long before any money appears
• What changes the first time you say the idea out loud
• Testing, shaping and validating while keeping your salary
• The R.E.A.C.T. model for getting from zero to one
• The five moves that take you from "what if?" to real progress

For senior people who look successful on paper and feel quietly stuck.

Free download
Ken Valledy's REACT Framework: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/ken-valledys-react-framework
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/from-side-hustle-to-full-time-business
Ken Valledy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenvalledy/

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.

Balancing Profit, Planet and People

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 07:58:44 GMT

Thirty per cent of the world is still offline. If you build technology for a living, that is not someone else's problem.

Freddie Quek — Research Associate at Henley Business School, CIO 100 technology leader and founder of #JoiningTheDots — makes the case that digital inclusion is now core leadership rather than optional ethics.

What you’ll learn:
• How digital exclusion shows up in everyday life, even for the supposedly tech-savvy
• The Triple Bottom Line — Profit, Planet, People — and why it's becoming a leadership requirement
• How AI and rapid change are creating new forms of inequality
• What organisations, teams and individual technologists can do this quarter
• Why this won't be solved by charity, but by collective action across the sector
• The NextPath Device Consortium, and tackling device access and e-waste at scale

If you work in technology at any level, this will change how you see your own influence.

Free download
Joining the Dots Between Profit, Planet, and People: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/joining-the-dots-between-profit-planet-and-people
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/joining-the-dots-between-profit-planet-and-people
Freddie Quek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freddiequek/

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.

Interviewing is Dating in Disguise

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 05:55:34 GMT

Most people treat interviews like an exam: tense, rehearsed, high-stakes. What if the thing that actually works is closer to a good first date?

Marylin Schlamkow, Global Partnerships Lead, returns to the show with a more human approach — built on the genuine parallels between dating and interviewing, split into before, during and after.

What you’ll learn:
• Why interviewing feels so much like dating, and how that helps you relax
• Preparing in a calmer, more intentional way
• Building rapport and turning an interrogation into a conversation
• Talking about yourself without performing
• Telling stronger stories and asking better questions
• Handling ghosting and rejection, and reflecting in a way that improves the next one

For anyone who gets anxious in interviews, or who simply wants to show up as themselves.

Free download
The Confident Interview Guide: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-confident-interview-guide
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/interviewing-is-dating-in-disguise
Marylin Schlamkow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marylin-schlamkow/

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 6 Skills Every Engineering Leader Needs

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 06:40:51 GMT

Most people think senior technical leadership means being good at everything. It doesn't — and that belief is what stalls careers.

Meri Williams has led engineering at Monzo, M&S, Moo, Healx and Pleo. Architect, manager of 300+, multi-time CTO and board advisor, she breaks down the six capabilities that actually define the role.

What you’ll learn:
• Why leadership isn't a promotion from engineering — it's a career change
• The six skills behind CTO, VP Engineering, Director and Staff-plus roles
• How to work out what your company genuinely needs from you
• Where you'll excel, where you'll stretch, and where you may be miscast
• How to evaluate a new role properly before you say yes
• Why you don't need to be five out of five on every dimension

For Directors on the rise, VPs wanting clarity, Staff and Principal engineers weighing the leadership path, and CTOs sharpening theirs.

Free download
The Career Vectors Framework: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-career-vectors-framework
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-six-skills-every-technical-leader-must-master
Meri Williams on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meriwilliams/

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 5 Levels of High-Impact Leadership

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 06:28:45 GMT

Hard work gets you started. It won't take you all the way. Eventually more effort stops producing more progress — that's the effort ceiling.

Giorgos Ampavis, technologist and former VP/CTPO at Tide, built The Multipliers Map to show where you are on the journey from doing the work to creating real impact.

What you’ll learn:
• What the effort ceiling is and how to tell you've hit it
• The five levels of high-impact leaders
• Why saying yes to everything makes you less effective, not more
• The small shifts that move you up a level
• How to grow your influence without growing your hours
• Building momentum and fulfilment at the same time

Download the self-assessment and follow along as you listen.

Free download
The Multipliers Map: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-multipliers-map
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-5-levels-of-high-impact-leaders
Giorgos Ampavis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ampavis/

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.

Who Cares? The Hidden Workforce

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:48:08 GMT

Around 12,000 people in the UK become carers every day, often at the peak of their careers. Most never use the word about themselves.

Kirsten Hurley, leadership coach and former tech MD, cared for her two autistic brothers while holding down senior leadership roles. Her story is not unusual — it's the reality for millions.

What you’ll learn:
• Why so many carers stay invisible at work
• The emotional and mental load nobody sees
• The leadership strengths caring builds: empathy, resilience, clarity, perspective
• Simple, flexible steps employers can take that actually help
• Why supporting carers is a retention strategy, not a favour
• How to spot the carers already in your organisation and make it safe to speak up

If you're a carer — even if you've never called yourself one — this will help you feel seen.

Free download
The Hidden Leaders In Your Workforce: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-hidden-leaders-in-your-workforce
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/who-cares
Kirsten Hurley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hurleykirsten/

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.

Your Website (Probably) Sucks

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:17:08 GMT

Your website is probably slow, out of date, and says everything except what your business actually does.

Craig Burgess, Creative Director of Genius Division, shares five fixes that need no code, no jargon and no expensive rebuild. Free tools and common sense.

What you’ll learn:
• Tell people what you actually do, in plain English
• Speed your site up using free tools
• Avoid the AI traps that damage your ranking and your credibility
• Write for your audience rather than your ego
• Look professional without hiring a designer
• Audit your own site and make the changes the same afternoon

Corner shop or global brand, the basics are the same.

Free download
5 Common Website Mistakes (and how to fix them): https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/5-common-website-mistakes-and-how-to-fix-them
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/your-website-probably-sucks
Craig Burgess on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigburgessuk/

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.

Why Nobody Acts on Your Strategy

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 06:02:01 GMT

A strategy is only as good as the people delivering it. The sharpest vision on the best slides goes nowhere if it doesn't land with your teams.

Andy Toor — fractional HRD, VP of People and CPO — unpacks what happens after the town hall, and how leadership intent becomes consistent action across a company.

What you’ll learn:
• Why most strategies fail somewhere between the slide and the team
• Running a 20-minute team conversation that makes the strategy real
• Communicating direction clearly at every level of the organisation
• Spotting misalignment before it hardens into inertia
• Weekly signal checks that build lasting momentum
• Turning strategy into a living system people own, rather than a document

Whether you set the direction or deliver it.

Free download
The Strategy-in-Action Toolkit: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-strategy-in-action-toolkit
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/make-your-strategy-land
Andy Toor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-t-042044347/

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 Career You Want Starts With a Plan

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 04:55:03 GMT

Most careers happen by reaction — taking the opportunity that appears. The ones that lead somewhere are built on purpose.

Bruce Pannaman, Senior Engineering Manager at 9Fin, developed the Tech Career Strategies framework. It starts with a question most people never ask: what outcomes do you actually want from your work?

What you’ll learn:
• Starting from outcomes — autonomy, wealth, impact, recognition, leadership
• Turning those outcomes into concrete destinations and routes
• Choosing between a startup, big tech, or becoming a recognised expert
• Identifying the superpowers each path needs
• Mapping the stepping stones that get you there
• How to stop drifting without over-planning your life

A practical blueprint for building a career on purpose.

Free download
Tech Career Strategies: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/tech-career-strategies
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-career-you-want-starts-with-a-plan
Bruce Pannaman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-pannaman/

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.

Make Every Photo Look Like It Means Business

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 07:58:25 GMT

Your photo speaks before you do. People decide what to think of you in about two seconds.

Beth Perkins is a professional retoucher known as The Photo Ninja. She shares five fast edits that make any image look sharper and more credible without making you look fake.

What you’ll learn:
• Why your image is the first hook, and how to make it count
• Straighten and crop: the fix that costs nothing and changes everything
• Exposure and contrast without the over-processed look
• White balance, and why your headshot looks slightly wrong
• Vibrancy and spot-healing for a clean, consistent finish
• Where AI editing crosses the line from polish into dishonesty

For LinkedIn headshots, team photos and anything selling your product.

Free download
Photo Editing For Impact: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/editing-for-impact
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/make-every-photo-look-like-it-means-business
Beth Perkins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-perkins-26b65425/

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.

How to Rescue a Failing Project: A 5-Step Plan

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 05:35:54 GMT

When a big programme goes off the rails, panic spreads faster than the problem. Deadlines slip, teams freeze, leaders stop sleeping.

David Crawford, CTO and NED, has built a reputation for running towards the fire. He shares the five-step approach he uses to stabilise chaos and deliver under pressure, from small critical projects to multi-million-pound programmes.

What you’ll learn:
• The early signs a project is in trouble, before anyone admits it
• Five steps to bring back focus, control and momentum
• What to say to customers when you're behind, and what not to
• Why calm matters more than control in a crisis
• Rebuilding stakeholder trust once it's gone
• Tracking recovery week by week so progress is visible

If your project is wobbling, or you just want to lead well when the pressure arrives.

Free downloads
The Turnaround Measure Tracker: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-turnaround-measure-tracker
A Guide to the Turnaround Measure Tracker: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/a-guide-to-the-turnaround-measure-tracker
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-five-step-plan-to-rescue-a-failing-project
David Crawford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-crawford-13679a/

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.

How to Get Hired, and How to Hire

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 05:29:30 GMT

Copy-paste CVs, stock questions, and the myth that the company holds all the power. This episode takes apart all three, from both sides of the table.

Sam Grill, Head of Quality and Support Engineering, has hired across fast-moving tech teams and sat in both chairs. Practical advice whether you're interviewing or being interviewed.

What you’ll learn:
• For candidates: why "I used X for five years" isn't enough — show problem, context, outcome
• For candidates: how to work with talent partners from the first conversation
• For candidates: recovering from a question that blindsides you, without bluffing
• For hiring managers: agree what good looks like before the ad goes live
• For hiring managers: fewer, better questions, and pulling the right threads
• For hiring managers: gut feel versus evidence, and keeping bias out of the decision

Hiring? You'll leave with a tighter process. Interviewing? You'll know how to stand out.

Free download
The Interview Cheatsheet: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-interview-cheatsheet
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-win-at-job-interviews
Sam Grill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-grill/

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.

Stop Chasing Promotions

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 04:44:27 GMT

Tick the boxes, climb the ladder, chase the promotion. Most career frameworks stop at progression — and most people find they don't work.

Dan Ashby, Director and Head of Engineering, flips the model to start from impact instead. His five-part framework connects personal growth to what the company actually needs.

What you’ll learn:
• Why checklist frameworks create frustration and a sense of entitlement
• Reframing growth around impact, evidence and outcomes
• Why completing tasks doesn't qualify you for promotion
• Intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery and purpose
• Skills mapping, growth tables and Dan's radar for impact
• Building a career passport you can carry into any role or company

For anyone tired of frameworks that feel like admin, and managers stuck in endless promotion debates.

Free download
The Impact First Career Growth Framework: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-impact-first-career-growth-framework
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/transforming-career-growth-through-impact
Dan Ashby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-ashby/

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.

How to Nail C-Suite Communication

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 04:10:59 GMT

Talking to the C-suite is nothing like talking to your peers. Packed diaries, constant context-switching, high stakes. Miss on clarity and you lose the room and the opportunity.

Cheryl Warlow, technology leader, shares the playbook she uses to land messages at the top of an organisation.

What you’ll learn:
• How to secure time in a senior leader's diary
• Writing emails executives actually read and act on
• Leading with the recommendation instead of the journey
• Handling hard questions and chaotic meetings without losing your footing
• The role of friendlies and sponsors in getting a decision made
• Reading the room when the agenda changes underneath you

For your first board presentation, or your fiftieth.

Free download
How to Nail C-Suite Communication: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/how-to-nail-c-suite-communication
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-nail-c-suite-communication
Cheryl Warlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-rosenthal-warlow/

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 Manager’s Guide to Effective Feedback

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 03:38:23 GMT

Get feedback wrong and you damage trust, confidence and performance. Get it right and it's the fastest way to grow a team.

Leadership coach Clem Pickering shares a practical framework for saying the thing that needs saying — including how to take feedback yourself without getting defensive.

What you’ll learn:
• Why most managers avoid giving feedback, and what that costs
• The See, Think, Feel, Intent framework for high-impact feedback
• Choosing the right moment, and why timing does most of the work
• The ABC technique for receiving feedback professionally
• Why annual performance reviews rarely change anything
• How to challenge your highest performers, who usually get the least feedback

The difference between criticising a behaviour and attacking a character, and why it decides whether anything changes.

Free download
The Manager's Feedback Playbook: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-managers-feedback-playbook
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-managers-guide-to-effective-feedback
Clem Pickering on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clement-pickering/

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.

How to Build Company Values That Deliver Results

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 05:27:54 GMT

Months of wordsmithing, and you end up with one-word posters nobody remembers. Values that don't shape behaviour are wallpaper.

Culture consultant Alya Lilani explains how to define values that actually change how people act, and how to embed them so they survive contact with a busy quarter.

What you’ll learn:
• Why most company values fail before they're launched
• Three steps to turn values into daily behaviours
• How strong values improve hiring, retention and performance
• Making values easy to remember and impossible to ignore
• Testing whether a value is real: what does it cost you to hold?
• Embedding values into the decisions people already make

If your values don't influence how people behave, this is how to fix that.

Free download
The Values Starter Kit: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-values-starter-kit
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-build-company-values-that-deliver-results
Alya Lilani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alya-lilani-19995497/

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.

Show Up and Stand Out on LinkedIn

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 03:49:40 GMT

Most people lurk on LinkedIn. They scroll, they like, they never post. The result is a beige feed and a missed opportunity.

Jack Ralph went from hating LinkedIn to building a following and winning clients in a few months. He was terrified of posting, decided to post the damn thing anyway, and everything changed.

What you’ll learn:
• Why so many of us freeze right before hitting post
• Finding ideas by turning ordinary working life into content
• Making posts and videos stand out with no fancy kit
• Moving from fear to confidence one post at a time
• Why imperfection and honesty beat polish every time
• Building visibility without becoming an influencer

If you've been sitting on the sidelines, consider this your invitation.

Free download
Post the Damn Thing: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/post-the-damn-thing
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/show-up-and-stand-out-on-linkedin
Jack Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-ralph-467a031b5/

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.

How to Job Hunt Like a Sales Pro

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 03:00:00 GMT

In a market flooded with AI-generated CVs and overwhelmed hiring managers, standing out takes more than luck. It takes a pipeline.

Marylin Schlamkow, Global Partnerships Lead, treats the job search exactly like a sales process — organised, targeted and confident, without any of the sleaze.

What you’ll learn:
• Identifying your ideal companies instead of applying everywhere
• Reaching out with a purpose rather than a template
• Telling a story that a hiring manager remembers
• Building genuine relationships before you need them
• Following up without becoming a nuisance
• Closing the interview properly, and what to do next

Ten steps that change how you think about job hunting.

Free download
10 Steps to Job Hunt Like a Sales Pro: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/10-steps-to-job-hunt-like-a-sales-pro
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-job-hunt-like-a-sales-pro
Marylin Schlamkow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marylin-schlamkow/

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.

Fast-Track Your Career Through Learning

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 03:00:00 GMT

In a field that never stops moving, standing still is falling behind. But learning more isn't the answer — learning the right things, and being seen doing it, is.

Consultant Kevin McDonnell shares a system for choosing what to learn, turning new skills into genuine confidence, and sharing your work so the right people notice.

What you’ll learn:
• How to choose what's worth learning, and what to ignore
• Turning knowledge into skill through deliberate practice
• Why learning in public accelerates everything
• Sharing what you know without sounding like a self-promoter
• Building a learning habit that survives a busy job
• How visible learning translates into promotions

For anyone trying to level up, pivot, or simply stay sharp.

Free download
Learning Through Doing and Sharing: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/learning-through-doing-and-sharing
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-fast-track-your-career-with-continuous-learning
Kevin McDonnell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevmcdonnell/

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.

Why Happy Teams Outperform Unhappy Ones

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 05:13:55 GMT

How do you get things done when doing them risks upsetting someone? Most leaders pick a side: kind but vague, or decisive but cold.

Executive coach Charlotte Rooney shows how to hold both — clarity and compassion at the same time — and why happy teams consistently outperform unhappy ones.

What you’ll learn:
• Why results and relationships aren't a trade-off
• Being kind without being vague, and decisive without being cold
• Setting expectations clearly enough that nobody has to guess
• Kind candour: saying the hard thing in a way people can hear
• Simple team rituals that build momentum
• Prioritising by outcome so the team delivers without burning out

Getting results without burning people out.

Free download
Results First Prioritisation: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/results-first-prioritisation
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/high-performance-from-happy-teams
Charlotte Rooney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotterooney/

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.

Write an Email From Your Future Self (It Might Change Your Life)

Jeremy Burns — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 13:36:34 GMT

Most goal-setting fails because it starts with the goal. This starts with the person you'd have to become.

Aaron Norris, sales coach and author, draws on high-pressure sales at Amazon and years of coaching high performers to share a structured method for getting genuinely clear on what you want.

What you’ll learn:
• Writing the email from your future self, and why it works
• Defining what success actually looks like for you specifically
• Moving from goal-setting to goal-getting
• Becoming the kind of person who makes it happen
• Turning a long-term vision into something you can act on today
• Using reflection as a tool rather than a nice idea

If you feel stuck, distracted, or ready for a reset.

Free download
An Email From Your Future Self: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/an-email-from-your-future-self
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/an-email-from-your-future-self
Aaron Norris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-norris88/

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.

Why Success Doesn’t Always Make You Happy

Jeremy Burns — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 21:46:27 GMT

You did everything right. Hit the targets, got the title, earned the money. So why does it feel like this?

Executive coach Ellinor Glesner works with people who chased success expecting happiness to follow, and arrived burnt out. She offers a better order of operations.

What you’ll learn:
• Why success rarely delivers the happiness it promised
• What gets quietly compromised on the way up
• Science-backed habits for finding contentment now, not later
• Getting clear on what you actually want next
• Why happiness first makes success more attainable, not less
• Practical steps to reconnect with what matters to you

For ambitious people who've achieved the thing and felt nothing.

Free download
The Pursuit of Happiness: The Reconnect Questionnaire: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-reconnect-questionnaire
No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-pursuit-of-happiness

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.

Why We Started Build Your Edge

Jeremy Burns — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 16:13:52 GMT

Welcome to Build Your Edge — the podcast for people who want to get better at the job, the career, and the life around both.

In this first episode the host takes the hot seat. Jack Cole turns the tables on Jeremy Burns and asks the obvious questions: what is this, who is it for, and why now?

What you’ll learn:
• What Build Your Edge is, and what it deliberately isn't
• Who the show is for, and the problems it sets out to help with
• Why every episode comes with a free, ungated tool
• How guests are chosen, and what makes a good one
• The format: one topic, one guest who's done it, no meandering
• What to expect from the conversations ahead

Start here if you're new.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/an-introduction-to-build-your-edge
Jack Cole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-cole-354bb953/

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.