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Listen to this week’s podcast episode, Ep.212: Bridging the Gap; Technology, Business & Leadership Lessons from Helping 65+ Startups, with Tetiana Kobzar, using the player below, or click here.

One of the quiet challenges of modern leadership is translation (not language so much, although sometimes that too, but in meaning). Translating between technical teams, cross-specialisation, and bridging the gap between ‘cool idea’ and ‘is it business-viable?’. Translating vision into execution, urgency without panic, complexity without dumbing things down (too much).

In this week’s episode of Leading with Integrity, I’m joined by Tetiana Kobzar, or Tanya for short. Tanya is a technologist, entrepreneur, and founder who has spent years working with early-stage and scaling businesses. Over that time, she’s supported more than 65 startups, often stepping into the “messy middle” where ideas, technology, people, and pressure collide.

Our conversation is about what actually happens inside growing companies when technology decisions are made, when leadership choices have consequences, and when founders and teams have to work out how to move forward without breaking what already works.

One theme that comes through clearly in the conversation is that technology decisions are rarely just technical. They are people decisions that happen to be expressed through systems, platforms, and processes.

Tetiana talks about how often leaders approach technology as something separate from leadership, as if choosing a tool or building a system is a neutral act. In reality, every technical choice shapes how people work, communicate, and make decisions. It affects who feels confident, who feels excluded, and who ends up carrying a hidden workload.

What stood out was the idea that leaders do not need to be technical experts, but they do need to be willing to stay close to the implications of technical choices. That means asking better questions, not outsourcing thinking entirely, and recognising when a decision that looks efficient on paper creates friction in practice.

In startup environments especially, speed is often rewarded. But Tanya’s insights tell a more complex story, like how speed without clarity can lead to rework, confusion, and frustration later. Leadership, in this context, is less about driving faster and more about choosing where and when to slow down long enough to think.

Another thread running through the episode is the challenge of working across different professional worlds. Founders, engineers, investors, product teams, and customers often operate with different assumptions, language, and priorities.

Tetiana shares insights from being in rooms where people believe they are aligned, but are actually talking past each other. The issue is rarely bad intent (as easy as it is to assume that’s the case), more often, it’s unspoken expectations and mismatched definitions of success.

Leadership in these moments is noticing the gaps before they become problems. That might mean clarifying what a goal actually means in practical terms, or checking that everyone is working from the same understanding of a timeline, a constraint, or a risk.

What’s useful here is the reminder that leadership is not always about having the answer, or even an answer. Sometimes it’s about holding the space long enough for the right questions to surface. In fast-moving environments, that can feel uncomfortable, risky, frustrating, unnatural… especially when people expect certainty. But skipping that step tends to create bigger problems later on. That old cliche about short-term vs long-term thinking rears it’s head once again!

Startups and scaling businesses live with constant trade-offs.

Limited time, limited resources, and competing priorities are the norm, not the exception. Tanya and I talked about how leaders make decisions in that context, and what happens when they default to habits rather than intent. She talks about patterns she’s seen repeatedly, where decisions are made to solve an immediate problem without considering how they shape future options. Short-term fixes can quietly lock teams into ways of working that are hard to undo. This can be as true for software development and building new technology as it is for leadership and people decisions.

What’s interesting here is the emphasis on awareness rather than perfection. Just like a software dev expects to iterate and improve as they go, so too leaders aren’t expected to get everything right; especially not first time. But they are expected to stay engaged with the consequences of their choices and to keep people in the front of their mind. That includes being willing to revisit decisions, admit when something isn’t working, and adjust without pride, blame or defensiveness.

There’s also a practical note about how decision making changes as organisations grow; what works for a team of five often breaks at twenty, and breaks again at fifty. Leadership requires noticing when old approaches no longer fit, even if they’ve always worked fine before.

Trust comes up repeatedly too, particularly between technical and non-technical leaders. Misunderstandings in this space can quickly turn into frustration or disengagement on both sides.

Tanya speaks of the value of mutual respect, where technical expertise is not treated as a mysterious black box, and business priorities are not dismissed as ignorance or missing the point. Leaders who invest time in learning just enough to ask informed questions tend to build stronger relationships and make better decisions.

This does not mean blurring roles or expecting everyone to do everything, but recognising that trust is built through curiosity, listening, and follow-through. When leaders demonstrate they are willing to engage rather than dictate, teams are more likely to raise concerns early, before small issues become big ones.

The conversation also touched on how trust is affected by change. New systems, new processes, or new priorities can unsettle people, especially if the reasons behind them are unclear. Leadership in these moments involves explaining not just what is changing, but why, how it impacts individual teams and people, and what support will be available along the way.

Even for those not working in startups, there are lessons here. Many organisations now face similar pressures around pace, complexity, and technology, regardless of size or sector. (Don’t mention the A.I.!).

Another takeaway from this episode is the value of staying grounded (which became something of a theme last month too). Leaders who remain connected to how work actually happens are better placed to make decisions that hold up over time. To do this well requires regular feedback, honest conversations, and a willingness to hear things that may be inconvenient and uncomfortable.

Another is the idea that leadership is not a separate layer added on top of technical or business work. It shows up in how problems are framed, how trade-offs are discussed, and how responsibility is shared.

Tetiana’s experience across dozens of businesses offers a reminder that leadership is less about having a fixed style and more about responding thoughtfully to context. Adaptability is a core competence of leadership. What works in one situation may not work in another, and noticing that difference is part of the job.

This episode is a reminder that much of leadership happens between the lines. Between strategy and execution, between people and systems, between urgency and reflection.

Technology can amplify good leadership, but it can also magnify poor decisions if it’s treated as separate from the human side of work. The leaders who seem to cope best are often those who are willing to stay curious, ask questions, and accept that complexity doesn’t always have a clean answer.

If you’re leading in an environment shaped by technology, growth, or change, this conversation with Tanya offers a grounded look at what that really involves, not in theory, but in practice. And if you’re interested in software design and development, there’s also some fun discussion on concepts like Agile and Human-Centred Design.

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Thanks for reading, Happy New Year, and to catch the full episode with Tanya, here’s that link again: https://smartlink.ausha.co/leading-with-integrity/ep-212-bridging-the-gap-technology-business-leadership-lessons-from-helping-65-startups-with-tetiana-kobzar - Or, if you prefer video, then here’s the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/YoUxpgI-eVA.

Hope your January is off to a great start, I’ll be back again next week with my next guest Jon Morris, who took a $10k business plan writing competition win and turned it into a $40 million revenue business in 16 years.

Be a Leader Not a Boss,

- David

In case you don’t know me that well, I’m David Hatch and I’m here to help new managers and first-time founders with their leadership skills, so they can become leaders not bosses, lead with integrity, and build happier, higher performing teams, more effective organisations, and, ultimately: successful businesses.

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply ready for your next chapter as a leader, the Integrity Leaders community offers tools, conversations, and support to help you grow one step at a time. If you have a healthy love of sci-fi and want to learn more about leadership, then this is the community for you. Solopreneurs also welcome. 😉

Here’s the link: Integrity Leaders: Community membership and learning, for new leaders or first-time founders.