336: 3 Reasons Your Team Stops Following You | Matt McClernan, CEO of Augment Code

Release Date: Oct. 20

The goals you set on Monday can be irrelevant by Friday. Leading through that takes honesty, not certainty.

Matt McClernan is the CEO of Augment Code, the leading AI platform for professional software engineers. Before that, he helped scale MongoDB from roughly $60M in revenue to over $1.2B. A year into his first CEO role, he shares what he’s learned about setting goals in a market that changes by the month, and why the best leaders ask for help early.

What You’ll Learn:‍

How to set goals when your market changes faster than your quarterly plan
What to say to your team when your goals stop being relevant
Why asking for help is a strength, and who to turn to when the CEO seat gets lonely
The right reason (and the wrong one) to step into a bigger role
How a football career cut short by injuries shaped the way Matt leads under pressure
How to bring AI enthusiasts and skeptics along on the same transformation
A simple way to focus on your “big rocks” when everything demands your attention

‍In This Episode:

(00:00) Introduction
(00:54) When Goals Expire Mid-Quarter
(03:11) Owning the Mistake With Your Team
(04:37) Who a CEO Turns To
(06:08) Why Leaders Should Ask for Help
(08:03) Leading With Why, Not Fear
(10:28) “I’m Not Ready to Be a CEO”
(12:56) The Wrong Reason to Want the Title
(14:41) When to Trust Your Gut
(17:15) When the Pressure Follows You Home
(19:32) Augment’s Big Pivot
(24:00) Bringing AI Skeptics Along
(25:31) Finding Your Big Rocks
(27:29) Real Customer Impact
(30:20) Who Should Use Augment

About Matt McClernan:

Matt McClernan has spent nearly two decades in enterprise technology, building and leading world-class teams to tackle complex challenges at scale. Matt is currently the CEO of Augment Code, the leading AI platform for professional software engineers.

Prior to Augment, Matt served as SVP and GM of Workato’s Enterprise business. Earlier in his career, Matt held multiple leadership roles at MongoDB, helping scale the company from roughly $60M in revenue to over $1.2B and through its IPO.

Resources Mentioned:

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