Ivan Herndon, VP of Engineering at Branch, joins Tech Teams Today to share a raw and insightful look at what’s broken in engineering leadership and what needs to change.

In this conversation, Ivan unpacks how high performers are quietly burning out, why unpaid interview work is still far too common, and how AI tools are reshaping the future of junior developers, sometimes for the worse.

He also shares his take on what great leadership actually looks like in 2025, why the “leaders eat last” philosophy may be flawed, and how he’s thinking about the next generation of senior engineers in a world with fewer apprenticeship opportunities.

Whether you’re leading a team today or preparing for your first leadership role, this episode offers grounded, practical advice from someone who’s been in the trenches.

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