In this episode of SphereCast, host Adin Heric sits down with Nicolas Cava — serial founder, former Zendesk engineering leader, and now a fractional CTO and executive coach helping tech teams scale without burning out.
Nicolas has built startups, led engineering organizations through hypergrowth, and personally experienced burnout twice. Today, he shares practical insights on how tech leaders, CTOs, founders, and engineering managers can build sustainable systems for growth.
In this episode, we cover:
- What burnout really looks like for engineering leaders
- The subtle early warning signs most founders ignore
- How “grind culture” still shapes tech organizations
- Delegation as a burnout-prevention tool
- Leadership habits for scaling teams 500%+
- How AI and uncertainty contribute to stress and “AI anxiety”
- Why fractional CTO roles are rising
- How to stay ambitious without sacrificing wellbeing
Whether you’re a founder navigating rapid scaling, a CTO managing distributed teams, or a leader struggling to balance ambition with sustainability, this episode offers actionable strategies and real-world stories to help you lead with clarity — not burnout.
Key Topics: Burnout in tech, CTO burnout, engineering leadership, startup scaling, tech leadership podcast, hypergrowth teams, fractional CTO, AI anxiety, engineering management, leadership wellbeing, sustainable tech culture, avoiding burnout in startups, leadership coaching, Nicolas Cava, SphereCast.
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