Why is feedback so hard?
with Kristina Kmieliauskaite
Neuroscience, trust and the conversations we avoid.
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Why is feedback so hard?
with Kristina Kmieliauskaite
Kristina explores why feedback feels threatening and how leaders can build a culture where people feel safe enough to speak honestly.
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EPISODE 07 · 12 Oct 2026 · 34 MIN
Why is feedback so hard?
with Kristina Kmieliauskaite
Kristina explores why feedback feels threatening and how leaders can build a culture where people feel safe enough to speak honestly.
In this conversation
- Why giving and receiving feedback feels uncomfortable
- How our brains perceive feedback as a threat to safety, belonging and status
- Why people choose silence instead of speaking up
- Why being nice is not the same as being kind
- How toxic positivity damages teams
- Why Radical Candor doesn't work without trust
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In this episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Kristina Kmieliauskaite, Founder of HiChristina, facilitator, trainer and neuroscience consultant, to talk about why feedback feels so difficult, the neuroscience behind our reactions, psychological safety, and how leaders can build healthier feedback cultures.
Kristina started delivering feedback training around seven years ago while working in the corporate world. The more she explored the topic, the more fascinated she became by the science behind human behaviour. Discovering applied neuroscience helped her understand why people avoid feedback, even when they know how valuable it is.
Today, through HiChristina, she helps organisations translate behavioural science and neuroscience into practical ways to build stronger teams, healthier cultures and better leadership.
One of Kristina's biggest messages is that feedback isn't just about learning the right techniques. It's about understanding what happens in our brains and creating conditions where people feel safe enough to speak honestly.
Together we explore:
• Why giving and receiving feedback feels uncomfortable
• How our brains perceive feedback as a threat to safety, belonging and status
• Why people choose silence instead of speaking up
• Why being nice is not the same as being kind
• How toxic positivity damages teams
• Why Radical Candor doesn't work without trust
• What companies need to build before introducing feedback frameworks
• Why senior leaders and CEOs often receive the least honest feedback
• How leaders can encourage employees to speak up
• Why the traditional feedback sandwich doesn't work
• How cultural differences influence feedback in global teams
• Why curiosity matters during difficult conversations
• Practical techniques for receiving feedback without becoming defensive
And of course, Kristina shares her Leadership Recipe:
🥄 Curiosity, especially under pressure
🥄 Staying open to different perspectives
🥄 Asking questions instead of making assumptions
🥄 Listening to understand
🥄 Giving others the benefit of the doubt
Because building a feedback culture isn't about introducing another framework. It's about creating trust, understanding human behaviour, and making honest conversations a natural part of everyday work.
Kristina's advice for anyone who wants to get better at receiving feedback is simple: You don't have to respond immediately.
Sometimes the best response is: "Thank you. Let me think about it."
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Kitchen
01:09 Why feedback is so difficult
02:44 When feedback is misunderstood
03:42 What is HiChristina?
05:06 Kristina's entrepreneurial journey
06:22 Living and working across countries
08:07 Lithuanian pink soup
09:43 What feedback really is and isn't
11:43 Why feedback feels threatening
13:02 Toxic positivity and being too nice
14:27 Radical Candor and psychological safety
16:59 When Radical Candor becomes just radical
18:48 Building a healthy feedback culture
20:14 Why giving feedback to leaders is difficult
22:53 How leaders can encourage honest feedback
24:12 The cost of silence in leadership
26:12 Why the feedback sandwich doesn't work
28:10 Kristina's Leadership Recipe
29:48 Feedback across cultures
31:20 How to receive feedback without defensiveness
33:07 Final reflections
The conversation covers neuroscience, feedback culture, psychological safety, leadership, behavioural science, Radical Candor, toxic positivity, cultural intelligence, global teams, and why honest conversations matter.
Connect with Kristina Kmieliauskaite:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinakmieliauskaite/
Connect with Renita Käsper:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renitakasper/
Follow Leadership Kitchen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadership-kitchen/
EPISODE 06 · 24 Sep 2026 · 32 MIN
Is your idea actually worth building?
with Bruno Pellicci
Bruno shares how listening to customers reshaped his startup, and why introducing AI is as much about people as technology.
In this conversation
- How Bruno went from consulting and corporate life to becoming a founder
- How running a family business influenced the idea behind Cortena
- Why Cortena changed direction after listening to customers
- Why founders need to ask: “What problem are we actually solving?”
- How to build trust when selling AI in conservative markets like Germany
- Why AI adoption is as much about people and change management as technology
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Full episode notes
In this episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Bruno Pellicci, CEO and Co-Founder of Cortena, to talk about becoming a founder, building AI for finance, finding the right problem to solve, AI adoption, and the future of finance teams.
Bruno started his career in consulting, working at EY and Deloitte before moving through corporate roles and eventually from Brazil to the Netherlands. During COVID, a family situation took him back to Brazil, where he stepped into his family's business and experienced what it was like to run a company himself.
That experience exposed him to a problem he would later build a company around: running finance in a small business with limited resources can be incredibly manual and difficult. Today, Bruno and his co-founder are building Cortena, an AI platform designed to automate finance operations.
One of Bruno's biggest founder lessons has been that the idea you start with may not be the idea your customers actually need.
Together we explore:
• How Bruno went from consulting and corporate life to becoming a founder
• How running a family business influenced the idea behind Cortena
• Why Cortena changed direction after listening to customers
• Why founders need to ask: “What problem are we actually solving?”
• How to build trust when selling AI in conservative markets like Germany
• Why AI adoption is as much about people and change management as technology
• How leaders can reduce fear around AI
• How finance roles could evolve as AI takes over more manual work
• Why future finance teams may become more strategic business partners
• When building your own AI solution makes sense — and when it creates another workload
• Why getting AI 70–80% of the way can be easier than solving the final complex part
And of course, Bruno shares his Leadership Recipe:
🥄 Positivity
🥄 Passion and energy
🥄 Listening to the customer
🥄 Staying focused on the real problem
🥄 Building what creates value, not what follows the hype
🥄 Asking: “Does it solve a problem?”
Because building with AI isn't about using AI simply because it's new or exciting. It's about understanding the problem, listening to customers, testing your assumptions, and being willing to change direction.
Bruno's advice for leaders beginning their AI journey is simple: Just start.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Kitchen
00:29 Bruno's journey from Brazil to consulting and entrepreneurship
01:10 Moving to the Netherlands
02:39 How Bruno became a founder
04:17 Making the decision to build
05:47 Bruno's carbonara challenge
07:10 What is Cortena?
09:31 Why finance operations are still such a painful problem
09:59 Building AI for conservative markets
11:17 Building trust in the German market
12:43 Becoming a transformation partner
14:12 AI, automation and the fear of losing jobs
16:41 Why accounting talent is so difficult to find
19:25 How leaders can reduce fear around AI
21:39 Mistakes companies make when introducing AI
23:27 Should companies build AI solutions themselves?
24:09 The finance team of the future
26:49 Bruno's biggest founder lesson
28:36 Bruno's Leadership Recipe
30:11 Where should finance leaders start with AI?
31:28 Just start: final reflections
The conversation covers entrepreneurship, AI, finance automation, founder journeys, customer discovery, AI adoption, change management, the future of finance, leadership, and why solving the right problem matters more than building the most impressive technology.
Connect with Bruno Pellicci:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brunopellicci/
Connect with Renita Käsper:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renitakasper/
Follow Leadership Kitchen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadership-kitchen/
EPISODE 05 · 8 Sep 2026 · 36 MIN
Can you lead yourself?
with Jessica Lacher
Jessica talks about leaving corporate life, rebuilding after burnout and creating the structure that makes freedom sustainable.
In this conversation
- Why burnout became a wake-up call for Jessica and made her question what success really meant to her
- How to figure out what you actually want instead of simply following the path society expects from you
- Why location freedom isn't quite as glamorous as it looks on Instagram
- What happens when there is no boss, no office, and nobody else creating structure or deadlines for you
- Why freedom comes with responsibility, discipline, and a lot more decision-making
- How to know whether a location-independent lifestyle is actually right for you
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Full episode notes
In this episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Jessica Lacher, Nomad Transition Coach and Mentor, to talk about self-leadership, leaving corporate life, burnout, location freedom, building your own structure, managing your energy, and what it really takes to become your own leader.
Jessica started her career in IT project management and consulting, building what looked from the outside like a successful corporate career. But after experiencing burnout in her mid-20s, she began questioning what she actually wanted from her work and life. She eventually left corporate leadership behind, became self-employed, and built a location-independent life that has taken her to more than 60 countries.
For Jessica, that transition wasn't only about changing where she worked. It was about learning how to lead herself.
Together we explore:
• Why burnout became a wake-up call for Jessica and made her question what success really meant to her
• How to figure out what you actually want instead of simply following the path society expects from you
• Why location freedom isn't quite as glamorous as it looks on Instagram
• What happens when there is no boss, no office, and nobody else creating structure or deadlines for you
• Why freedom comes with responsibility, discipline, and a lot more decision-making
• How to know whether a location-independent lifestyle is actually right for you
• Why managing your energy, not only your time, can lead to more sustainable performance
• How personal growth and business growth are connected, especially for founders and entrepreneurs
• Why self-awareness becomes even more important as you move into leadership
• What leaders can learn from doing personal retrospectives, not just business retrospectives
• Why knowing yourself may be the foundation of self-leadership and leadership itself
And of course, Jessica shares her Leadership Recipe:
🥄 Self-care
🥄 Love for yourself and the people around you
🥄 Personal growth and curiosity
🥄 Openness to different perspectives
🥄 A systemic view of life and leadership
🥄 Agility, flexibility and adaptability
Because self-leadership isn't simply about being productive or disciplined. It's about knowing yourself, understanding what matters to you, taking responsibility for your choices, and building a life and way of working that actually fits who you are.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Kitchen
01:37 Burnout, corporate success and the moment everything changed
03:26 How do you figure out what you actually want?
06:50 Getting to know yourself and finding your direction
07:40 Jessica's favorite food and life outside the kitchen
09:57 The reality behind location freedom
12:42 The hidden mental load of a location-independent life
13:32 No boss, no office: creating your own structure
15:18 Is location-independent life actually right for you?
18:24 Routines, adaptability and constantly starting again
20:42 Should we manage our time or our energy?
24:37 Why personal growth and business growth are connected
27:55 Self-awareness and the leadership blind spot
30:17 Seeing the whole person behind the employee
32:11 Why we need personal retrospectives
36:19 Jessica's Leadership Recipe
39:16 What should you know before becoming location independent?
43:13 Final reflections and closing
The conversation covers self-leadership, burnout, location-independent work, digital nomad life, self-awareness, energy management, personal growth, leadership, freedom, discipline, adaptability, founder wellbeing, and why leading others may need to start with learning how to lead yourself.
Connect with Jessica Lacher:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicalacher/
Connect with Renita Käsper:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renitakasper/
Follow Leadership Kitchen for more conversations on leadership, AI, hiring, founder journeys, self-leadership, and building teams across cultures and borders:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadership-kitchen/
EPISODE 04 · 20 Aug 2026 · 31 MIN
From engineer to engineering leader.
with Mayada Fahim
Mayada reflects on growing into a leadership role, hiring for mindset and staying close to the people doing the work.
In this conversation
- Why Mayada left Egypt for Berlin and what she learned from starting over in a new country
- How she went from software engineer to Head of Engineering by taking initiative and solving problems beyond her role
- Why great teams start with hiring for culture and mindset, not just technical skills
- The surprising reality of becoming a manager and why leadership results can take months to show
- Why engineering leaders need to stay hands-on, especially in the age of AI
- Women in engineering, imposter syndrome, and the problem with being treated as a diversity token
Jump to a chapter 20 chapters
Chapter markers follow the publisher’s episode notes.
Full episode notes
In this episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Mayada Fahim, Head of Engineering at JOIN, to talk about her journey from software engineer to leading an engineering organization of around 50 people, building high-performing teams, hiring for culture, women in engineering, and what great engineering leadership really looks like.
Mayada grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, and knew from a very young age that she wanted to become an engineer. After starting her career as a software engineer in Egypt, she moved to Berlin looking for a new challenge and an opportunity to learn in a more international environment. Eight years later, she is still at JOIN, having grown from software engineer to Head of Engineering.
Together we explore:
• Why Mayada left Egypt for Berlin and what she learned from starting over in a new country
• How she went from software engineer to Head of Engineering by taking initiative and solving problems beyond her role
• Why great teams start with hiring for culture and mindset, not just technical skills
• The surprising reality of becoming a manager and why leadership results can take months to show
• Why engineering leaders need to stay hands-on, especially in the age of AI
• Women in engineering, imposter syndrome, and the problem with being treated as a diversity token
• Why new managers shouldn't rush to change everything in their first 90 days
• How great leaders build trust, stay close to their teams, and create a culture where people want to perform
And of course, Mayada shares her Leadership Recipe:
🥄 Stay close to your team
🥄 Stay hands-on and understand what your people are experiencing
🥄 Build the environment and tools that enable people to deliver
Because leadership isn't about changing everything the moment you become a manager. It's about understanding your people, earning their trust, creating the right culture, and giving them the environment to do their best work.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Kitchen
00:40 From Alexandria to engineering and moving to Berlin
02:28 Finding an engineering role in a new country
03:48 Why Mayada chose JOIN
05:15 Becoming an engineer and the influence of childhood
06:38 How we can encourage more women into engineering
07:30 Mayada's favorite food and Egyptian cooking
09:07 From software engineer to engineering leader
10:40 Building a new team and hiring different profiles
12:50 Taking initiative and earning your leadership role
14:12 The surprising reality of becoming a manager
16:00 Why great teams start with hiring
18:09 Do engineering managers still need to be technical?
19:27 How AI is changing engineering leadership
20:25 Supporting women in engineering
22:13 Imposter syndrome and proving yourself
24:58 Advice for new engineering managers: the first 90 days
28:10 What makes a great engineering leader?
29:46 Mayada's Leadership Recipe
30:37 Final reflections and closing
The conversation covers engineering leadership, career growth, hiring, culture, AI, women in tech, imposter syndrome, change management, and why great leaders stay close enough to their teams to understand what is really happening.
Connect with Mayada Fahim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayada-fahim/
Connect with Renita Käsper:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renitakasper/
Follow Leadership Kitchen for more conversations on leadership, AI, hiring, founder journeys, and building teams across cultures and borders:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadership-kitchen/
EPISODE 03 · 27 Jul 2026 · 50 MIN
Startups don’t have to hurt.
with Liina Laas
Liina shares lessons from scaling teams and building an AI startup, from hiring the first salespeople to staying close to customers.
In this conversation
- Why Liina left one of Europe's fastest-growing companies to build her own startup
- How Knowzilla was born from a real customer problem
- Finding technical co-founders and why networking still beats waiting
- Building AI products when even engineers sometimes ask, "Why does it work?"
- Why talking to customers should shape every product decision
- Raising venture capital and the fundraising lessons every founder should know
Jump to a chapter 21 chapters
Chapter markers follow the publisher’s episode notes.
Full episode notes
In this episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Liina Laas, co-founder and CEO of Knowzilla, to talk about building an AI startup, scaling sales teams, fundraising, and what leadership really looks like when you're building a company from scratch.
Liina has spent her career helping startups grow, from early-stage ventures to scaling Deel from around 100 employees to more than 7,000 globally. Today she's building Knowzilla, an AI-powered revenue intelligence platform that helps sales teams learn faster, perform better, and turn knowledge into results.
Together we explore:
• Why Liina left one of Europe's fastest-growing companies to build her own startup
• How Knowzilla was born from a real customer problem• Finding technical co-founders and why networking still beats waiting
• Building AI products when even engineers sometimes ask, "Why does it work?"
• Why talking to customers should shape every product decision
• Raising venture capital and the fundraising lessons every founder should know
• The biggest mistakes startups make when hiring their first salespeople
• Why onboarding, culture, and compensation matter more than hiring "rockstars"
• Sales myths, commission structures, and why capped bonuses hurt performance
• Leadership without ego, understanding people, and building teams that solve problems together
• Advice for women founders who are still waiting for the "right moment" to start
And of course, Liina shares her Leadership Recipe:
🥄 Trust your people to solve problems
🥄 Stay curious and keep learning
🥄 Ask anyway, because if you don't ask, you already have a no
Because leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about building an environment where great people can find them together.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Kitchen
00:40 Meet Liina Laas and the story behind Knowzilla
02:11 Leadership, predictability and caring less about others' opinions
04:44 Cooking as therapy and founder recipes
07:10 Why Liina left Deel after scaling from 100 to 7,000 employees
09:51 When startups need processes to scale
11:41 What Liina misses about Deel
12:39 Finding technical co-founders and building Knowzilla
15:16 The biggest challenges of building an AI startup
17:51 Communication between founders, product and engineering
18:36 Is startup life really as hard as people say?
22:10 Raising venture capital and learning how much money to ask for
27:10 Hiring great salespeople and common recruitment mistakes
31:05 Enterprise sales versus startup sales
33:08 Red flags when hiring salespeople
35:16 Building motivating sales compensation plans
41:07 Why capped commissions don't work
43:06 Liina's leadership philosophy
44:57 Leadership stereotypes and women in leadership
47:42 Advice for women founders ready to build something new
49:47 Final reflections and closing
The conversation covers startup building, AI product development, fundraising, sales leadership, hiring, and why the best founders stay close to their customers while creating cultures where people can do their best work.
Connect with Liina Laas:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liinalaas/
Connect with Renita Käsper:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renitakasper/
Follow Leadership Kitchen for more conversations on leadership, AI, hiring, founder journeys, and building teams across cultures and borders:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadership-kitchen/
EPISODE 02 · 28 Jun 2026 · 55 MIN
From LinkedIn to founder.
with Gina Schinkel
Gina opens up about leaving a corporate role, working through imposter syndrome and building trust in distributed teams.
In this conversation
- What it really feels like to leave a stable corporate job and become a founder
- The reality of imposter syndrome and building confidence as you go
- Why mentors, communities, and founder networks matter
- How to measure the impact of retreats and offsites in remote companies
- What remote teams still get wrong about connection and trust
- Supporting neurodivergent employees in distributed workplaces
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Chapter markers follow the publisher’s episode notes.
Full episode notes
In this episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Gina Schinkel, founder of Driftawave, startup advisor, speaker, and former LinkedIn Talent Solutions leader, to talk about founder journeys, remote work, and building something before you feel ready.
Gina's career path has taken her from hospitality and tourism across the world to tech sales and entrepreneurship. Today she helps distributed teams create meaningful in-person experiences through retreats, workations, and offsites.
Together we explore:
• What it really feels like to leave a stable corporate job and become a founder
• The reality of imposter syndrome and building confidence as you go
• Why mentors, communities, and founder networks matter
• How to measure the impact of retreats and offsites in remote companies
• What remote teams still get wrong about connection and trust
• Supporting neurodivergent employees in distributed workplaces
• Why building a founder brand can open unexpected doors
• The small wins, setbacks, and celebrations that come with building a business
And of course, Gina shares her Leadership Recipe:
🥄 Belief
🥄 Energy
🥄 A hack-the-game mentality
Because leadership isn't built from perfect recipes. It's built through experimentation, difficult decisions, and learning as you go.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Kitchen
00:16 Meet Gina Schinkel and her unconventional career journey
02:03 Measuring the value of in-person connection in remote work
03:12 The Greek recipe and the power of shared meals
06:44 From Australia to Aruba: building a global life and career
11:09 Leaving LinkedIn to become a founder
14:36 Fear, imposter syndrome and making the jump
18:09 Family doubts and finding support as an entrepreneur
25:36 Why Gina built Driftawave
27:10 How often remote teams should meet in person
28:53 Measuring ROI from retreats and workations
30:14 Offsites as rewards, culture builders and employer branding
33:38 Gina's hardest leadership lesson
35:34 Leadership, AI and managing teams in startups
40:13 The missing ingredient in remote work: trust and respect
42:02 Supporting neurodivergent employees at company retreats
46:27 Advice for women founders struggling with confidence
47:41 When do you finally feel like a founder?
51:39 Gina's Leadership Recipe
54:30 Final reflections and outro
The conversation covers Gina's journey from global travel and hospitality to entrepreneurship, the realities of startup life, and the evolving role of human connection in distributed work.
Connect with Gina Schinkel:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginaschinkel/
Connect with Renita Käsper:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renitakasper/
Follow Leadership Kitchen for more conversations on leadership, hiring, founder journeys, and building teams across cultures and borders:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadership-kitchen/
EPISODE 01 · 3 Jun 2026 · 67 MIN
When everything goes wrong.
with Alisher Jafarov
Alisher shares the reality of building a startup under pressure, hiring well and keeping going when the original plan falls apart.
In this conversation
- Building a startup when everything goes wrong
- Why hiring managers own hiring success
- The role of AI in recruitment
- Founder loneliness and resilience
- Leadership lessons from the kitchen
- Leadership isn't built from perfect recipes. It's built through experimentation, difficult decisions, and learning as you go.
Full episode notes
What happens when your co-founder leaves, your product isn't ready, the money is running out, and you still decide to keep building?
In the first episode of Leadership Kitchen, I sit down with Alisher Jafarov, founder and CEO of Avery, to talk about startup reality, hiring, leadership under pressure, trusting your gut, and why honesty might be the most underrated leadership skill.
We discuss:
- Building a startup when everything goes wrong
- Why hiring managers own hiring success
- The role of AI in recruitment
- Founder loneliness and resilience
- Leadership lessons from the kitchen
Leadership isn't built from perfect recipes. It's built through experimentation, difficult decisions, and learning as you go.
And don't leave the kitchen too early. At the end of the episode, Alisher shares his Leadership Recipe, the ingredients that have shaped his leadership journey. 🍳