# S5E20 Francis Lacoste | Vulnerability, Psychological Safety, & Befriending Uncertainty

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2024-05-17
- Length: 50m
- Episode: 20
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/francis-lacoste-vulnerability/

## Summary

Francis Lacoste, a VPE and CTO coach, discusses strategies for balancing product development with organizational growth when scaling engineering teams quickly. He emphasizes that maintaining high performance requires both vertical accountability (clear mission) and horizontal psychological safety, which is built through vulnerability-based trust exercises like sharing defining life moments. Lacoste also shares techniques for leaders to manage the 'inner game' of leadership, specifically using mindfulness practices to befriend uncertainty and anxiety rather than fighting them.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=0) Introduction: Francis Lacoste and Pipeline Design & Engineering
- [1:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=89) Francis Lacoste's Career Journey: From Software Engineer to Coach
- [6:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=378) Balancing Product Development and Organizational Growth During Scaling
- [12:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=774) Building Psychological Safety Through Vulnerability-Based Trust Exercises
- [22:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=1341) The Inner Game: Managing Leadership Stress, Anxiety, and Imposter Syndrome
- [33:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=1981) Techniques for Befriending Uncertainty: The Power of Doubt Meditation
- [40:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=2433) Navigating the Identity Transition from Product Builder to Organization Builder
- [46:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty#t=2818) Accelerating Engineering Speed by Shortening Feedback Cycles

## Topics

- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)
- Ubuntu Linux (product)
- Heroku (company)
- Salesforce (company)
- Patrick Lencioni (other)
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (other)
- Shinzen Young (other)
- theVPE.coach (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [386: Not Managing Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-09-02-386-not-managing-robots) (Embedded.fm)
- [How Soft Skills Drive High-Impact Engineering Teams w/ Aaron Moncur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-08-26-how-soft-skills-drive-high-impact-engineering-teams-w-aaron-moncur) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Live From The HIBT Summit: Brené Brown](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-08-12-live-from-the-hibt-summit-brene-brown) (How I Built This)
- [Live From The HIBT Summit: Cynt Marshall, Chieh Huang, and Sadie Lincoln on Leadership](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-06-24-live-from-the-hibt-summit-cynt-marshall-chieh-huang-and-sadie-lincoln-on-leaders) (How I Built This)
- [#442: MedTech Leadership: Vulnerability & The CEC Framework with Dr. Jenny Hoffmann](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2026-01-19-442-medtech-leadership-vulnerability-the-cec-framework-with-dr-jenny-hoffmann) (Global Medical Device Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-05-17-s5e20-francis-lacoste-vulnerability-psychological-safety-befriending-uncertainty. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Being an Engineer.