Kristaps Balodis: the captain of the ship sets the course and empowers the crew

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Kristaps Balodis, Country Manager of Tripod Latvia, who is an experienced people and culture leader with a background in psychology. He brings more than a decade of international experience in leading and scaling distributed teams across the technology and Trust & Safety sectors. We explore how his international journey has shaped his leadership philosophy, why people need a sense of autonomy, belonging, and purpose at work, and what it means to set the course while trusting others to do their best work.

💬 “I look at leadership as being on a ship—like an old-time sailing ship—and the leader is the captain. The captain’s main job is to look at the horizon, point the way forward, clarify what is important, and bring the group together. I trust in the professionalism of my team and let them do their work; my role is to empower them. I don’t need to teach them how to tie every knot—it is much more about asking, ‘What do you need from me to help you tie those knots better?’ Because if I start tying the knots myself, who is looking at the horizon and taking care of the whole ship?” – Kristaps Balodis

Enjoy listening ... 🎧