Daria Rudnik is a Team Architect and Executive Leadership Coach — and the author of Clicking, a practical framework for building high-performing teams that don't depend on the leader to function. A former Chief People Officer and ex-Deloitte professional with 15 years of international experience in tech and telecom, she has helped leaders across six continents navigate financial crises, wars, and COVID-19. Today she works with executives and HR leaders who are building teams that can perform — and hold together — in an AI-driven world.

In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to build high-performing teams and a resilient independent career that doesn't depend on institutional support.

Daria and I discuss:

• What drew Daria to entrepreneurship after a fast-rising corporate career [03:41]
• Why a corporate job is no longer the safe choice [05:15]
• What independents get wrong about building a team [08:45]
• Why shared understanding is the foundation of every strong team [09:56]
• The role of well-designed processes in making delegation work [10:28]
• The five elements of high-performing teams from her book Clicking [12:48]
• How Daria navigates plateaus and keeps moving forward [15:13]
• Why optimism and perseverance are non-negotiable for entrepreneurs [16:05]
• How to build a peer support network outside of corporate [18:18]
• What makes a community worth being part of [20:20]
• Why building a parallel career is the smartest first step [21:37]

Learn more about Daria at https://dariarudnik.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariarudnik/.

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About Smashing the Plateau

Smashing the Plateau is a podcast for experienced independent leaders who have left corporate roles to build sustainable, expertise-based businesses.

Each episode features a thoughtful, experience-driven conversation about what changes when you no longer have the infrastructure of an organization behind you.

We explore judgment, decision-making under uncertainty, growth plateaus, identity shifts, and the role of trusted thinking partners in sustaining long-term success.

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