Revolutionizing Leadership with AI: A Conversation with Ioanna Mantzouridou

Alexis:

Welcome to Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership. I'm your host, Alexis Monville. Today, we are thrilled to bring you insights from a distinguished guest whose dedication to enhancing leadership through technology sets her apart. Ioanna Mantzouridou, a community builder, talent development strategist, and fervent advocate for applied AI, joins us to share her groundbreaking journey. As the co-founder and CEO of Dextego, Ioanna is pioneering an AI coaching platform dedicated to revolutionizing talent development. Ioanna, how do you introduce yourself to someone you just met?

Ioanna:

Awesome. That's a great question. So I would say that my name is Ioanna, I'm the co-founder and CEO of Dextego, an AI coaching platform for reducing top talent attrition by half. I'm from Greece, so I've been living in the U.S. for seven years now, and really focused on leveraging technology to push human capital further. That's my quick intro.

Alexis:

Excellent, I love it. What inspired you to start Dextego?

Ioanna:

So, my background is in HR. I actually thought I was going to pursue my PhD for a second on organizational psychology, but then I ended up working in startups. I was the VP of People and Chief of Staff at the end of another B2B SaaS startup here in New York. And I quickly realized the importance of developing talent and also the challenges that come with this development when it is in a remote setting, because especially during COVID, everyone started working from home and I saw how hard it was for us to develop entry and mid-level managers. And that's primarily because soft skills like communication, collaboration and leadership take time to be developed. You need life experience. You need to go through situations where you talk to multiple people, you negotiate, you handle conflict between colleagues. And so it was very hard for us to do this, and talking to other HR leaders and learning and development experts, I quickly realized it was not just a struggle we faced, but the whole industry, and that the current organizational tools we had — e-learning tools, learning management tools — were not sufficient enough, because they lacked the personalization needed to develop such skills and also the interaction with the learner and the experiential learning.

That is the moment when I realized that I had to do something and I created the team around Dextego to develop an AI coach that can democratize access to such skills across the organization, especially for anyone outside of the C-suite that couldn't afford an executive coach or didn't have access to one. And make it in a way that it can leverage also the company's internal know-how. So we can integrate with the existing systems that a company has — whether this is a learning management system or PDFs or information they have, we can fine-tune our model to that so that it can speak their language and really maximize the value it can give to its employees to support them during their day.

And for me personally, there's another layer of equity. People with soft skills sometimes tend to have access to more opportunities, whether we like it or not, because they're not afraid of asking for help. They're not afraid of meeting people. And on the contrary, you have some people, like introverts, that without the perfect pitch, they won't go out of their way to go to conferences or meet mentors. And as a result they might stay behind. And I think this is very unfair. The right training can equalize the playing field for everyone.

Alexis:

Very interesting. So I love the mission of Dextego and how it aligns with your leadership philosophy. You spoke about hiring new people and growing talents. So tell me, what qualities do you look for in team members? Especially in those early stages of a startup.

Ioanna:

Yeah, I love this question because I was just talking to a friend of mine where we were talking about the fact that outside of the U.S., recruiters tend to see employees both as a person and as a professional. But in the U.S. we tend to have this distinction between professional versus personal. Same thing for coaching — sometimes you go to a corporate coach and they just talk about how to boost your revenue, and then you go to someone that has more of the personal life coach approach and you see that the way they coach people is different. And to me, also coming from Greece, I think the lines get blurry a little bit. I like to work with people, but also hire people that I can see myself spending time with outside of work. So to find this culture-personal fit — I think it's very hard, but it's the number one thing I look for.

I look for people that have empathy, because when times get rough this empathy will allow us to work well together and overcome any difficulties. I like people who are very hardworking and disciplined, so that I can count on them and I know that if they say they will be on a task, they will actually do it successfully and on time. That doesn't mean perfectly — that just means that they do what they say. And I think that is something I really value: trustworthiness. And lastly, I love to work and hire people that are always eager to learn — they want to be developed, because if you don't have that willingness, no matter what your employer throws at you, it won't land.

Alexis:

So let's speak about a specific challenge that you faced as a CEO and how you managed it.

Ioanna:

There is a lot I can think right now, but if I was to pick one — as a CEO for an early-stage company, there are two main things you should focus on, and this is fundraising, if you are not bootstrapped, and getting sales in. I don't think that what I'll say is just specific to me — it's probably something other founders face. But I think there is always a difference between where you're in now and where you want to get as a startup. You have limited resources, so you do what you can today, but you have this grand vision. And so that gap is sometimes very difficult to put in words and to be explained to someone that just is getting introduced to your venture. So when I'm talking to investors or potential partners and companies that are super established — and it could obviously be a risk of association for them to work with a company that's new, that doesn't have the brand awareness and recognition in the field — I found myself many times struggling to find the confidence to persuade them that they should work with us now, because I know how far we can get, and that this might take some time. But if I, as the CEO, don't speak into existence this vision today to get to that level, then what am I doing?

Someone gave me very good advice. It's the fear of overselling and under-delivering sometimes that holds us back. Or imposter syndrome — all these things, different terminologies. But I cannot wear all the hats at the same time because I won't move the company further. I have to think, OK, right now I'm selling, then I'm doing customer success, then I'm doing investor relations. So I think the biggest thing I've learned this last month since starting Dextego is how to split these roles, so I don't get overwhelmed and I act for the best of the company.

Alexis:

That's, in a way, balancing the needs of different stakeholders by playing different personas. That's really hard when you need to do a lot of different things by yourself.

Ioanna:

You know, as a Chief of Staff, it's the same thing, but now it's, I would say, with more responsibility.

Alexis:

How do you believe we can really foster an innovative mindset?

Ioanna:

Even in a time where suddenly the innovation doesn't come from the top, it comes from the bottom — I think employees have so much power today to drive innovation and to speak up about what they want to see in a company. So the responsibility is spread across the organization. Anyone today can bring innovation to a company, because we see — and I'll speak on the L&D side — like 70 percent of employees today say that they're willing to leave to go to a company that develops them. Similarly, I feel like there is a lot of fear from leadership to not satisfy employees when it comes to innovation, to leveraging AI in particular, because the employees could easily go somewhere else.

So to drive innovation successfully, if I speak to an employee now, you have to understand how the outcome, the ROI of whatever solution you're bringing in will help leadership achieve their goals. So if you speak their language, they will say yes. Most of the times employees find such cool tools they want to use, but they can't make a case to actually implement them because they're missing that piece of: how will it really help us achieve our five-year plan or our quarterly goals? At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, leadership cares about these things because they have to report to someone else. So it's more about understanding the strategy of the company and identifying the right type of innovation, rather than a question of: is the company open to innovation, yes or no?

Alexis:

It's very interesting because you are looking at some success metrics that could be met using something. For your company, what success metrics do you focus on and why?

Ioanna:

Yes. So we focus on top talent retention. Because no matter what CEO you take from what field today, they really care about their top talent. They care about the people that they can call and they know they will get it done. These are people that they'll do anything to keep in their company. And so when you're able to bring them a tool that is very personalized, that matches their needs where they are today, and you help them develop for the next day, you're able to retain them.

But the other part — and I made a post about this — is totally on the company: how the company does the right change management to explain that implementing a tool like Dextego is for them. It's not just a checkbox. It's something that they understand they need for their personal and professional growth, whether they're working at this company or not. As a result, the employees will become loyal because they will be part of this company where the culture is always about personal development and moving forward and improving each other.

But today, unfortunately for the lack of technological advancements in L&D for the last years, HR leaders have had the misconception that they have no power because they can't drive revenue. They can't drive a significant metric in the company. So for us being able to deliver reduction of top talent attrition by half in just a quarter makes them the heroes they wish they were all these years. And now we can have a seat at the table and really have others understand that they can make or break a company. At the end of the day, without talent, you got nothing. No matter what strategy you have on paper, you have no one to execute. So to me, it's a very important metric, and we see it across industries from consulting firms that are really suffering from attrition, to startups, to big enterprises. And it's a way to impact the workforce overall, knowing that it's for their own development. To me, it's a just cause.

Alexis:

So you mentioned that the tool is adjusted to the needs of the people. What kind of adjustment? If I'm early in my career or if I am a little bit later in my career, like me, for example, with over 50, how does the tool adjust to our needs?

Ioanna:

Excellent question. Let's take an example of something that will not adjust first. You go to a learning management system and you take the same course on leadership that everyone else in your organization takes. What we do with Dextego is the AI coach is able to understand through your answers — the way you answer to scenario-based challenges — your level of skills, and adjust the level of difficulty or the types of questions it asks you, to really make sure you develop the right skills.

So, for instance, let's take an example of a salesperson, and the scenario could be, hey, you have this client, that they're throwing you this objection. How would you handle it? You record yourself through video. The coach analyzes your facial expressions, your tone, your pitch and content of what you're saying, and it gives you personalized feedback back on what you did great, what you can improve. And over time, by you completing more challenges, it understands you might lack negotiation skills so you can close the deal. So we'll give you more feedback and more related challenges to these till it sees that you improve.

And what we have behind the scenes to track that is our proprietary coachability index framework, which shows you how coachable you are, how fast you're implementing that feedback and how you're improving your skills over time. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you start at 4 out of 10 in negotiation. What matters is that you're able to improve to 8 to 9 over time. And that's, I think, what any employer cares about today because we're moving into this skills culture. It's not just what you have on paper. Can you actually learn on the spot and develop?

Alexis:

Excellent. So now I turn back the questions to you. Have you evolved as a leader since starting Dextego?

Ioanna:

I think so. No, for sure. In startups, we have talked about this before — one year equals 10. You learn so much, you see so much, you meet so many people. Every day, putting myself out of my comfort zone, being in a situation for the first time — I love it. It's super intriguing and challenging, but it allows for a lot of self-reflection. I think the people that are following my journey can see that since the last time we meet, for instance, a lot has happened, or I'm improving, or the way I handle things is developing. So I get feedback from others, and also from my self-reflection, I can definitely see that growth.

I think the most challenging thing is to be okay with ambiguity, and vulnerability as a leader, whether you're a leader for the first time or the 10th time in your career — there will always be some ambiguity. And I'm definitely learning to handle that better than I did some months ago.

Alexis:

If you could give an advice to your younger self before starting Dextego, what would it be?

Ioanna:

That's a great one. My number one weakness, I've always said, is my patience. I've always said that since I was young — I feel like I'm very impatient. So life has a way to teach you to become patient, or else I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now. But I would tell myself that it's okay when things take time — there's actually a beauty in it. You can be more excited when you get to the end result, and you can develop more as a result as well. So I would tell myself to be patient and to enjoy each moment, whether it's tough or not. Looking back, every difficult moment in your life has made you who you are today. And if you took that away, you wouldn't be who you are. That's my little speech to my younger self.

Alexis:

I love it. Thank you for that. Can you tell us about an upcoming event you're particularly excited about?

Ioanna:

Yes, a lot. We have three events in November on LinkedIn Audio and LinkedIn Live. We're talking about leadership, why mentorship programs fail and how to overcome that, about flexibility. And then in 2024, I can say we're preparing what's called Dextagon. It's basically an invite-only event for HR leaders and C-suite here in New York. I won't say much more — it will be very exciting and we'll talk about human potential and how to drive us further as a human race.

Alexis:

Excellent. Where can people learn more about Dextego and get in touch with you?

Ioanna:

They can go to our website at dextego.com — D-E-X-T-E-G-O — as well as our LinkedIn. And mine as well, Ioanna Mantzouridou, and check out all our events and upcoming shows.

Alexis:

Excellent. Thank you very much, Ioanna, for joining the podcast today.

Ioanna:

Thank you, Alexis. Thank you very much for your time.