🇿🇦 SA's hub for tech leadership

Tech Leadership Unfiltered

Insights, tools and resources you actually need to build thriving teams
James Samuel, speaker imageAnna McDougall, speaker imageGregor Ojstersek, speaker imageKelly Vaughn, speaker imageRonen Agranat, speaker image
Gregor Ojstersek
CTO & Author, Engineering Leadership Newsletter
Anna McDougall
Director of Engineering Operations, Blinkist
Kelly Vaughn
Sr. Engineering Manager, Zapier
James Samuel
Engineering Manager, Reddit
Ronen Agranat
Software Development Manager, Entelect
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/quick-search

/leadership-lessons
/resource-books
/lead-with-ai
/reports-articles
/events

/leadership-lessons

Real leaders. Real talk. Every month we sit down with tech leaders to unpack what’s worked, what hasn’t, and the lessons they wish they’d known sooner.

/up-next

Daniel Amber, Speaker Image
19 August. 12:00 SAST.
Leadership Lessons: AMA with Daniel Amber
CTO at Cars.co.za
RSVP

/more-from-our-speakers

Mike Fisher
CEO of MyFitnessPal
Stephan Swart
Fractional CTO
John Hartley
Head of Engineering for Conversational AI at Trellis
Leandro Fernandez
Engineering Manager at Meta
Anemari Fiser
Engineering Manager, O’Reilly Author & Tech Lead Trainer
Gregor Ojstersek
CTO + Founder of the Engineering
Leadership Newsletter
Kelly Vaughn
Sr. Engineering Manager, Zapier
Anna McDougall
Director of Engineering Operations, Blinkist
Ronen Agranat
Software Development Manager, Entelect
James Samuel
Engineering Manager, Reddit
Mark Copeland
Delivery Principal, Thoughtworks
Riaan Nel
Fractional CTO
Lena Reinhard
Engineering Leader
Adriën Erasmus
Co-Founder & Director, Warp Development
Kurt Kruger
CTO, Antidote
Mike Fisher, speaker image
Mike Fisher
Build teams that care about outcomes, not just output
"Shipping faster only matters if you're solving the right problems."
Watch on demand
Mike Fisher, speaker image

Book recommendations

🦖 How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
🦖 The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
🦖 The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
🦖 Fluke by Brian Klaas
🦖 Slow Productivity and Deep Work by Cal Newport
🦖 Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg
🦖 How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg
🦖 Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
🦖 Think Again by Adam Grant
🦖 Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
🦖 Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt
🦖 Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
🦖 The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by Admiral McRaven
🦖 It’s Your Ship by Captain Abrashoff
🦖 Grit by Angela Duckworth
🦖 Turn the Ship Around! by Captain David Marquet
🦖 Inspired by Marty Cagan
🦖 Transformed by Marty Cagan‍

Mike recommends

Fish Food for Thought
🔗
Fish Scalability
🔗
Stephan Swart, Speaker image
Stephan Swart
Build the environment, not just the roadmap
“You can't manage people, you can only manage the container.”
Watch on demand
Stephan Swart, Speaker image

Stephan recommends

BART Framework (Boundaries, Authority, Role, Task) – creating clarity and psychological safety
🔗
AI meetups by Afrolabs
🔗
John speaker image
John Hartley
You can't code your way out of a people problem
"The toughest bugs aren’t in your codebase — they’re in how we communicate, collaborate, and lead. You can’t code your way out of a people problem."
Watch on demand
John speaker image

Quick bytes

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Using AI tools
responsibly
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You don’t need
a title to lead
Video thumbnail
AI isn’t a
silver bullet
Leandro Speaker Image
Leandro Fernandez
Design Your Codebase for AI, Not Humans
“If most of your code is now written by AI, the main actors in your codebase are no longer humans. It’s time to design systems for AI to navigate, rather than for humans to read.”
Watch on demand
Leandro Speaker Image

Quick bytes

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AI Is Writing 90% of the Code. Is Your System Designed for That?
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How to know if your engineering work actually matters
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Why AI Adoption Is a Time Problem
Anemari speaker image
Anemari Fiser
Staying technically credible while leading strategically
"You don’t stay credible by knowing everything, but by being honest about what you know, asking great questions, and focusing on how to move the team forward"
Watch on demand
Anemari speaker image

Quick bytes

Video thumbnail
Imposter Syndrome as a Tech Leader
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Why Tech Leads
Struggle to Delegate
Video thumbnail
Creating Space for
Quieter Engineers
Gregor Ojstersek, speaker image
Gregor Ojstersek
How to grow from IC to Engineering Leader
“What makes you a great IC won’t make you a great leader. Leadership is about making the people around you better.”
Watch on demand
Gregor Ojstersek, speaker image

Quick bytes

Video thumbnail
Using AI tools
responsibly
Video thumbnail
You don’t need
a title to lead
Video thumbnail
AI isn’t a
silver bullet
Kelly Vaughn, speaker image
Kelly Vaughn
How to use empathy and curiosity to build human-first teams
"Leadership is social work 101. It’s how you communicate, build rapport, handle tough conversations, and help people grow."
Watch on demand
Kelly Vaughn, speaker image

Quick bytes

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Promotions are built,
not given
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AI can’t
replace judgment
Video thumbnail
Curiosity beats
tough feedback

More from Kelly

The Modern Leader Newsletter
🔗
Engineering Leadership in the AI Era course
🔗
Anna, speaker image
Anna J McDougall
How to turn self-advocacy into team impact
“I refuse to wait for someone to open the door for me. I’ll open it myself — and then hold it open for others.”
Watch on demand
Anna, speaker image

Quick bytes

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#1 mistake new Managers make (and how to avoid it)
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Lessons in fast
career growth
Video thumbnail
Overcoming imposter syndrome as a Leader
Ronen, speaker image
Ronen Agranat
How to grow great engineering managers from within
“Give them real impact. Let them succeed or fail on their own merit — and be there when they need you.”
Watch on demand
Ronen, speaker image

More from Ronen

The Intentional Manager Blog
🔗
Chaos Coach: Ronen Agranat Consulting
🔗
James Samuel, speaker image
James Samuel
How to build influence without the title
“Leadership isn’t about the role — it’s about creating a path and helping others get there.”
Watch on demand
James Samuel, speaker image

More from James

Hub of code blog
🔗
Mark Copeland, speaker image
Mark Copeland
How to scale team autonomy without losing strategic control
“Control doesn’t scale. But if you give your team context, they’ll often go further than you expected."
Watch on demand
Mark Copeland, speaker image

Quick bytes

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Clarity in,
control out
Video thumbnail
Imposter Syndrome
in Leadership
Video thumbnail
Asking for help
builds trust

More from Mark

Leadership at scale: From chaos to empowerment
🔗
Riaan, speaker image
Riaan Nel
How to lead when the path isn’t clear
“You’re going to make decisions that feel bad. That’s the job. And no one tells you that when you start.”
Watch on demand
Riaan, speaker image

Quick bytes

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Don’t make snap judgments. Understand the why first
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How to interpret context and lead within that context
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Actionable tips to create safe spaces for your team
Lena, speaker image
Lena Reinhard
How to stop confusing care with self-sacrifice
“Most leaders burn out not because they don’t care, but because they care too much.”
Watch on demand
Lena, speaker image

Quick bytes

Video thumbnail
Using AI tools
responsibly
Video thumbnail
You don’t need
a title to lead
Video thumbnail
AI isn’t a
silver bullet

More from Lena

Leadership Confidential Podcast
🔗
Practical Guides for leaders at all levels
🔗
Adrien, speaker image
Adriën Erasmus
How to scale your company without sacrificing culture
“It’s never ‘people or product'. It’s always both. That tension is the job.”
Watch on demand
Adrien, speaker image
Kurt Kruger, speaker image
Kurt Kruger
How to be a manager without losing your tech edge
“You have to be close enough to the work to care — and far enough to spot the patterns.”
Watch on demand
Kurt Kruger, speaker image

Kurt recommends

The Pragmatic Engineer blog
🔗
NDC Conference talks
🔗

/quick-search

/leadership-lessons
/resource-books
/lead-with-ai
/reports-articles
/events

/level-up-as-a-leader

Emoji of an open book

Books

Straight from the bookshelves of our /leadership-lessons speakers...
Cover of the book, leadership strategy and tactics
Leadership
Tactics
Jacko Willink
Cover of the book the Managers path
The Manager's
Path
Camille Fournier
Cover of the book, the making of a manager
The Making of
a Manager
Julie Zhuo
Cover of book, the first 90 days
The First
90 Days
Michael Watkins
Cover of book, the culture map
The Culture
Map
Erin Meyer
Cover of book, inspired
Inspired
Marty Cagan
Cover of book, empowered
Empowered
Marty Cagan
Cover of book, the five dysfunctions of a team
The Five
Dysfunctions
of a Team
Patrick Lencioni
Cover of book, facilitating software architecture
Facilitating
Software
Architecture
Andrew Harmel-Law
Cover of book, scaling teams
Scaling teams
David Loftesness
Alexander Grosse
👇
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Newsletters and blogs

Leading with Empathy
Subscribe
Fish Food for Thought
Subscribe
Hartley's Handbook
Subscribe
Level up as a Tech Lead
Subscribe
Engineering Leadership Newsletter By Gregor Ojstersek
Subscribe
The Modern Leader by Kelly Vaughn
Subscribe
Riaan Nel’s blog
Read
Anna McDougall’s blog
Read
Lena Reinhard’s tools, tips and podcast
Read
The Intentional Manager
Read
Hub of Code
Read
Emoji of a hand writing with a pen

Courses

Soft Skills for Tech Leads: Learn to Lead a Tech Team with Confidence
By Leadership Lessons speaker, Anemari Fiser
View course
Senior Engineer to Lead: Grow and thrive in the role
By Leadership Lessons speaker, Gregor Ojstersek
View course
Engineering Leadership in the AI Era
By Leadership Lessons speaker, Kelly Vaughnn
Discount code: OfferZen
View course
Emoji of a video

Watch on demand

Q&A with John Hartley, Head of Engineering for Conversational AI at Trellis
"You can't code your way out of a people problem"
Watch on demand
Q&A with Leandro Fernandez, Engineering Manager at Meta
"Design Your Codebase for AI, Not Humans"
Watch on demand
Q&A with Anemari Fiser, Engineering Leader, Coach & Author
Growing people, navigating change, and letting go of control
Watch on demand
Q&A with Riaan Nel, Fractional CTO
How to lead when the path isn’t clear
Watch on demand
Q&A with James Samuel, Engineering Manager at Reddit
How to build influence without the title
Watch on demand
Q&A with Anna McDougall, Director of Engineering Operations at Blinkist
How to turn self-advocacy into team impact
Watch on demand
👇

Join 100k+ others learning to lead.
In your inbox every 2 weeks.

Emoji of a book
Guides, frameworks, and practical steps from tech leaders
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New data on salaries, hiring trends and retention
Emoji of a calendar
Community events and resources to help you lead
Images showcasing various offerings from the OfferZen newsletter

/lead-with-ai

Explore how AI is reshaping tech leadership, with practical insights and tools to help you stay ahead and lead with confidence.
Dinocorn popping out of the website, with tech lines around him

/up-next

Emoji of a calendar
5 February. 12:00 SAST.
How AI fluency is redefining standards in engineering teams
RSVP
Emoji of a calendar
25 June. 12:00 SAST.
/the-next-gen-engineer: How high performing teams hire and grow in the AI era
RSVP
Emoji of a calendar
Events coming H2 2026.
Tech Leader Exchange
Waitlist

/featured

Emoji of a notepad and pencil
/the-next-gen-engineer
Why “Engineering Taste” is becoming a critical skill for Engineering Teams
AI fluency isn’t optional anymore, it’s the new baseline for modern engineering teams.
Read the article
Emoji of a notepad and pencil
Tech Leader Exchange
The realities of AI adoption
Thirty tech leaders unpack what “great” looks like in AI-enabled teams and how to lead through the growing pressure to adopt AI responsibly.
Read the article
Emoji of a notepad and pencil
Engineering Leadership Report
Leading in the AI era
AI and budget pressure are rewriting the rules of tech leadership. Here’s what more than 280 South African tech leaders are saying.
Read the report
Emoji of a notepad and pencil
Leadership Lessons
Engineering Leadership in the AI Era
Self paced option or live course from /leadership-lessons speaker, Kelly Vaughn (Senior Engineering Manager at Zapier).
View course
Discount code: OfferZen
Emoji of a notepad and pencil
Leadership Lessons
Career resilience in a GenAI era
Presentation from /leadership-lessons speaker, Gregor Ojstersek (CTO and founder of the Engineering Leadership Newsletter).
Watch now

/tools-and-frameworks

Emoji of a notepad and pencil
AI Engineering Archetypes
Find your team’s AI blindspot
When everyone optimises for the same thing, you get blind spots. Find your archetype and map your team's. See who's chasing speed, who's thinking about reliability, where the gaps are.
Take the 5min quiz

/community-hot-takes

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AI in Technical Interviews
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The real differentiator for Engineers
Video thumbnail
AI Is the Tractor. Are Engineers Still Pulling the Plow?
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What I built with AI and what it solved
Video thumbnail
My top lesson from working with AI
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Where to start: your first step into AI
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Common pitfalls with using AI

/community-events

Explore conferences, meetups and events in your area.
All
Online
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Durban
29 Jul
.
6:00 PM SAST
.
Meetup
.
Clawd & Claws 3.0
RSVP
29 Jul
.
7:30 AM SAST
.
Meetup
.
REMOTE: Lean (Startup) Coffee
RSVP
30 Jul
.
17:00 SAST
.
Meetup
.
Building & Scaling Venture Backed Businesses
RSVP
30 Jul
.
6:00 PM SAST
.
Meetup
.
Leading from the Middle.
RSVP
30 Jul
.
6:00 PM SAST
.
Meetup
.
Founders Running Club: Cape Town
RSVP
30 Jul
.
5:00 PM SAST
.
Meetup
.
Environment Configuration with Fabric Variable Libraries
RSVP
29 Jul
.
7:30 AM SAST
Meetup
REMOTE: Lean (Startup) Coffee
RSVP
29 Jul
.
6:00 PM SAST
Meetup
Clawd & Claws 3.0
RSVP
30 Jul
.
17:00 SAST
Meetup
Building & Scaling Venture Backed Businesses
RSVP
30 Jul
.
6:00 PM SAST
Meetup
Leading from the Middle.
RSVP
30 Jul
.
6:00 PM SAST
Meetup
Founders Running Club: Cape Town
RSVP
30 Jul
.
5:00 PM SAST
Meetup
Environment Configuration with Fabric Variable Libraries
RSVP
Oops... Dinocorn hasn’t spotted any community events yet. 🦖 Check back soon.
Oops... Dinocorn hasn’t spotted any community events yet. 🦖 Check back soon.

/leadership-bytes

Quick insights. Big impact. Bite-sized leadership wisdom and actionable tips curated to help you grow every day, no matter where you are on your leadership journey.

/featured

/the-engineering-leadership-report
Leading in the AI era
Leading a tech team has never been more complex. From isolation and invisible work to AI-driven change and evolving hiring practices, tech leaders are navigating uncharted territory. This report shares insights from more than 280 South African tech leaders on how they’re managing teams, growing as leaders, and adapting to AI in the workplace.
Download report
Dinocorn opening a chest of tech goodies

/latest-reads

view all articles
Growing people, navigating change, and letting go of control
Leadership lessons recap
Read
Building trust, managing change, and leading with AI
Leadership lessons recap
Read
Listening, learning, and leading with AI
Leadership lessons recap
Read
How to get noticed as a Developer in 2025
Career tips
Read
How letting go builds high-performing tech teams
Leadership lessons recap
Read
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