{"podcast":{"title":"Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts)","slug":"lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768","podcast_index_feed_id":1064768,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/leadtheteam/","website_url":"HTTPS://benfanning.com/blog","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/10af0b95-04e6-42cc-b03d-73690ea3bb8a/QKJ4Hxs4kaKpd554m1ArvK6B.jpg","author":"Ben Fanning","episode_count":480,"summary":"Real CEOs. Real Stories. Hosted by Ben Fanning—2025 Gold Stevie Award winner for Best Business Podcast and ranked in the Top 2% globally—Lead the Team draws on over 600 CEO interviews to take you inside the minds of leaders from brands like Honeywell, HP, IBM, Dunkin’, and L’Oréal. In each episode, you’ll hear raw, unfiltered stories of leading through rapid growth, high-stakes decisions, and make-or-break moments—plus the CEO-tested tools and strategies they use to build high-performing teams. From turning around billion-dollar brands to sparking innovation at scale, these leaders share lessons you can put into action right now to lead your own team better. Subscribe now. ------------- https://www.benfanning.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfanning/","last_synced_at":"2026-09-23T12:21:49.293200+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768"},"episode":{"title":"Why This CEO Became an Intern | Puneet Raj, Fieldwire","slug":"why-this-ceo-became-an-intern-puneet-raj-fieldwire","published_at":"2026-09-08T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768/why-this-ceo-became-an-intern-puneet-raj-fieldwire","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768","url":"http://www.benfanning.com/theceosessions/puneet","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6e14a6c2-7b1b-464b-9063-43d838a1ce04.mp3","summary":"When Puneet Raj became CEO of Fieldwire after its acquisition by Hilti, he inherited a successful 250-person startup facing a pivotal transition: the founders were leaving, employees were worried about losing the startup culture, and a new leader was walking in. Instead of arriving as the new boss with all the answers, Puneet introduced himself as an intern. For six months, he rotated through Fieldwire’s teams, learned the business from the ground up, listened to the people who had made it successful, and even failed the company’s demo certification twice. The approach helped him earn trust, opened a direct channel with employees, and gave him a deeper understanding of the company before trying to change it. Puneet shares what that experience taught him about humility, listening, organizational trust, leading experts, and creating alignment at scale . He also explains why he now treats his leadership team as his most important “product”, and why leaders in the AI era need to know when NOT to use AI. His warning: when leaders outsource their thinking to AI, they can lose the ability to debate, question, and think deeply about the decisions that matter most. In this episode: Why a new CEO deliberately became an “intern” How listening before leading can earn trust Why great leaders don't need to know everything How to align hundreds of people around one direction Why your leadership team may be your most important “product” The danger of outsourcing critical thinking to AI Leadership starts with learning and sometimes the best way to lead is to become a student first. ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter","meta_description":"When Puneet Raj became CEO of Fieldwire after its acquisition by Hilti, he inherited a successful 250-person startup facing a pivotal transition: the foun…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1847,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768/episodes/why-this-ceo-became-an-intern-puneet-raj-fieldwire/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768/why-this-ceo-became-an-intern-puneet-raj-fieldwire.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}