Episode notes
In this episode of the Leaders in Talent Podcast, Adriaan Kolff sits down with Yasar Ahmad, one of the most influential voices in global recruitment, for a deep, unfiltered conversation on what actually builds high-performance teams and scalable companies.
This is not theory. It’s real leadership under pressure, from bootstrapping and crisis management to culture design, candidate experience, and decision-making frameworks that scale.
If you lead people, build companies, or hire talent, this episode is your operating manual.
Timecodes:
01:22 Introduction: Yasar Ahmad and the conversation ahead
02:27 Entrepreneurship, anxiety, and the early years of building a company
08:23 Radical transparency and the hardest leadership decisions
10:01 When your team comforts you, culture in action
11:06 Why your worst employee sets the standard
12:22 Yasar’s leadership journey and learning through experience
15:09 The 5-minute journal and building self-awareness
17:06 Stoicism and controlling what you can control
18:40 The Belgian Horse Effect explained
20:16 Emotional regulation and leading without whiplash
22:04 High standards, North Stars, and continuous development
30:23 Decision frameworks and how leaders think under pressure
31:56 Mission, values, and culture that actually work
36:30 Marketing, content, and experience design in recruiting
39:29 Making candidates feel like the main character
42:24 How better interviews dramatically improve hiring outcomes
45:44 Why words and tone change everything
49:43 Recruiting is sales and why that matters
51:26 Final reflections and closing thoughts
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Follow Yasar Ahmad:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasarahmad/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Yasar_Ahmad
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yasarahmad_
Website: https://www.yasarahmad.com/
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Connect with Matchr: https://www.linkedin.com/company/matchr/
Get in touch with us: https://www.matchr.io/who-we-are/contact/
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Connect with Adriaan Kolff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriaankolff/
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RSS feed: https://media.rss.com/leaders-in-talent/feed.xml
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Learn more: https://matchr.io