What defines the leaders who truly stand the test of time?
It’s not just their ability to build high-performing teams or scale companies across continents. It’s their humility in the face of growth, their clarity of purpose, and their relentless commitment to performance without burnout.
In this special edition of our Human First Leadership series from Mindmaven, we’ve gathered the most powerful insights from six visionary leaders who embody these principles in action.
Each conversation reveals a different facet of what it means to lead with humanity in 2025. From the humility that builds trust, to the mission that fuels long-term purpose, to the balance between performance and recovery that keeps leaders thriving.
Whether you’re leading a startup or scaling a global team, these lessons will help you lead more intentionally and humanly.
How To Revolutionize Mental Health at Work: Strategies for Mindful Leaders with Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster
“A human-first leader is one who connects with the real needs of humans: to be seen, validated, and recognized.”
Tony Jamous has built a global organization where mental health isn’t an afterthought, it’s a foundation. Leading 550+ employees across 70 countries, the CEO of Oyster has shown that psychological safety isn’t just good for people, it’s good for performance.
For Tony, the role of a modern leader begins with mastering your own emotions before managing others. “The higher you go in the organization, the more your emotions ripple through everyone else,” he shares. “Your ability to stay grounded defines the culture that follows.”
His framework for mindful leadership centers on three principles:
- Default to trust. “Nobody wins anything by reducing the level of trust,” he explains. Especially in distributed teams, leaders must actively assume best intent.
- Lead yourself first. Managing reactivity is essential. “When things get tough, don’t make decisions from a reactive place. Pause, breathe, process, then lead.”
- Do no harm. Practicing emotional awareness ensures leaders don’t unintentionally pass anxiety or burnout down to their teams.
Tony’s perspective redefines what leadership effectiveness looks like: it’s not about output, but energy stewardship.
He likens leadership to tending a garden: “Your job is to create the conditions for people to grow infinitely and indefinitely.”
Mindmaven Insight: Mental health is the new leadership leverage. The best leaders build systems of trust, reflection, and presence that empower teams to perform at their best.
Humility in Leadership: How To Create Stronger Teams and Bigger Wins With Tyler Maloney, CEO of TeachMe.To
After raising $25M and weathering both success and failure, Tyler Maloney learned a hard truth: humility isn’t weakness, it’s leverage.
“You’re not hiring well if you’re the best at everything.”
Tyler believes the foundation of great leadership begins with recognizing your own limits and building teams that fill the gaps. His hiring philosophy centers on bringing in “energy makers, not energy takers,” and creating a culture of we-ambition instead of me-ambition.
Through his “Care Personally, Challenge Directly” approach (inspired by Radical Candor), Tyler demonstrates that honest feedback and personal care aren’t opposites; they’re partners in performance.
At TeachMe.To, transparency fuels trust. Every Friday, the team reviews KPIs, bank balances, and scorecards, ensuring everyone knows where they stand.
“Feedback is a gift. And in a culture where feedback is celebrated, people rise.”
Mindmaven Insight: Humility scales leadership. When leaders are secure enough to hire people smarter than themselves, they unlock innovation and speed.
How Special Forces and Elite Athletes Master High-Performance Leadership With Paul Meinshausen, Co-Founder & CEO of Aampe
For Paul Meinshausen, high-performance leadership isn’t about pushing harder, it’s about recovering smarter.
“The fundamental unit that matters isn’t time. It’s energy.”
Drawing lessons from elite military teams and athletes, Paul reframes leadership as a balance of exertion and recovery. Just as an F1 car is tuned continuously, leaders must treat their own performance as an ongoing process: constantly calibrating for mental, emotional, and physical energy.
“Recovery isn’t passive, it’s a skill. You can train for it.”
By shifting from “time management” to “energy optimization,” Paul invites leaders to build sustainable systems for long-term creativity, clarity, and endurance.
Mindmaven Insight: Leaders who protect recovery protect their impact. When you optimize your energy, you multiply your ability to serve others.
3 Things Every Mission-Driven Company Needs To Succeed: Communication, Strategy, and Collaboration With Pooja Khosla, CEO of Entelligent
Pooja Khosla’s path from scientist to CEO is proof that data and purpose can and should coexist.
“Our purpose is THE true leader. We all follow that mission.”
For her, running a mission-driven company means keeping communication, strategy, and collaboration in sync. That means building transparency into every meeting, tracking milestones clearly, and connecting individual goals to the company’s higher calling.
Her leadership reflects a balance between structure and humanity, where flexibility, trust, and empathy aren’t soft skills, but strategic advantages.
“Most people want to create value. It’s usually communication that fails, not intention.”
Mindmaven Insight: Purpose gives direction, but communication gives it momentum. When everyone understands not just what they’re doing but why they’re doing it, alignment becomes automatic.
Building a Global Tribe: Modern Leadership Lessons on Hiring and Culture With Kent Halliburton, CEO of Sazmining
Kent Halliburton knows what it takes to lead a team spread across continents. His leadership philosophy? Build a tribe, not a hierarchy.
“You’re not trying to cater to everyone, you’re trying to create fair rules for everyone to play the game together.
For Kent, leadership starts with trust and clarity. From hiring A-players using personality assessments to instilling accountability through transparent expectations, his focus is on consistency, not control.
His metaphor for leadership (being the captain of a ship) captures the heart of modern management:
“When the storm hits, lead with authority. But when the seas are calm, let your people steer.”
Mindmaven Insight: Clarity creates confidence. When leaders document how they work, they create alignment faster and scale culture sustainably.
Understanding Your Leadership Strengths: The Key To Building Stronger Teams & Culture With Michelle Tinsley, CEO of Sciata
Self-awareness isn’t optional for effective leadership, it’s foundational. Michelle Tinsley’s career at Intel taught her that understanding your own strengths is the first step to understanding others.
“Feedback is a gift and it comes without a return receipt.”
By leveraging tools like the DISC assessment, Michelle discovered her strengths as a people-oriented “influencer” and used that insight to build balanced teams where everyone can shine.
From hosting Iron Chef-style team events to alternating between service and social impact, Michelle champions creativity and connection as key drivers of culture.
“Leaders grow when their people grow. That’s how you build a culture that lasts.”
Mindmaven Insight: When leaders are authentic about their strengths and transparent about their weaknesses, they give others permission to do the same.
Take the Next Step: Become a Superpowered Leader
The most successful leaders of 2025 share a common thread, they build with humanity, purpose, and sustainability.
Each conversation in this year’s Human First Leadership series reveals a truth: when leaders focus on humility, clarity, and performance through people, extraordinary results follow.
If you’re ready to lead with more impact and free up the time to do it, we’d love to help you start that journey.
Drawing from more than a decade of coaching Silicon Valley’s top founders and executives, Mindmaven’s proven playbooks help leaders:
✅ Reclaim 12+ hours a week
✅ Build stronger relationships
✅ Create sustainable systems for scale
👉 Book a free call with a Mindmaven coach today and start your journey toward Human First Leadership.
