Does Your Tech Team Know What Your Business Needs, or Just What It's Asked To Build?

In this episode of Leaders of the WoT, host Steve Miksta sits down with Mikhail Papovsky, Founder and CEO of Massaro, to discuss hiring for soft skills, developing self-directed employees, and adapting to AI-driven changes in work. They explore how character and learning ability shape recruiting decisions, how consultants lead without formal authority, and why translating business needs into clear technical context matters. Mikhail traces his journey from arriving in the United States in 1989 and working in a warehouse to software development and management consulting. His frustration with being micromanaged shaped his commitment to hiring people who can exercise independent judgment. Through recruiting examples and a client automation project, he explains how ownership, self-awareness, and a willingness to learn help employees deliver results beyond their existing technical knowledge. ## **Key Takeaways** - Evaluate candidates across soft skills, underlying abilities, and character rather than technical knowledge alone. - Ask for examples of difficult work experiences and lessons learned to assess accountability and resilience. - Look for leadership without authority: the ability to rally others toward a shared outcome. - Give self-directed employees ownership of problems instead of prescribing every step. - Translate business needs and customer expectations into clear context for technical teams and AI tools. - Align teams on goals and responsibilities so faster execution does not leave ownership gaps. ## **Episode Timestamps** \[00:00] - Teaser \[01:08] - Introducing Mikhail Papovsky \[08:27] - Assessing leadership without formal authority \[12:28] - Helping executives separate operational noise from useful signals \[15:30] - Translating business context for AI-assisted development \[25:00] - Human alignment as an execution bottleneck \[28:02] - Giving a new employee ownership of accounts payable automation \[30:03] - Developing leaders and multiplying the company's mission \[33:08] - Company website and newsletter signup ***Disclosure*: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.** **🔗 Follow the Guest and His Company:** 👉 Mikhail Papovsky - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpapovsky 👉 Massaro - Company Website:http://massaroconsulting.commassaroconsulting.com 👉 Massaro - Newsletter: https://massaroconsulting.com/newsletter/ 👉 Massaro - Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/massaroconsulting/ **🔗 Follow the podcast:** 👉Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/033rjH7T2gSv9KyUs4uC4x?si=db0aed8e99f84fc8https://open.spotify.com/show/033rjH7T2gSv9KyUs4uC4x?si=db0aed8e99f84fc8 👉Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaders-of-the-workplace-of-tomorrow/id1896864216https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leaders-of-the-workplace-of-tomorrow/id1896864216 👉 YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@opptyunlimited9222https://www.youtube.com/@opptyunlimited9222 **🔗 Connect with the Host Steve Miksta:** 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemiksta/ **🔗 Connect with the Host Company, Oppty Unlimited:** 👉 LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/opptyunlimited/https://www.linkedin.com/company/opptyunlimited/ 👉 Website:https://www.opptyunlimited.com/https://www.opptyunlimited.com/