Founders Battlefield: The Talent Trap – When Culture Outranks Competence

The Talent Trap – When Culture Outranks Competence In a world obsessed with skills, what happens when your best hire becomes your biggest liability? From Africa’s entrepreneurial frontline, Founders’ Battlefield returns with Episode 6: The Talent Trap — where we interrogate the real cost of getting hiring wrong. Is the problem really talent — or is it founders who fail to define and defend their culture? This unfiltered conversation dives into leadership blind spots, team fractures, and the emotional toll of misalignment. With sharp insights, raw stories, and practical AFOS tools, we unpack how culture can either scale your dream — or silently sabotage it. 🔱 Founder Participants – “In the Arena” Michael Macharia – HOST – Serial Entrepreneur, Seven Seas Technologies & Ponea Health A veteran of scale-ups and cultural overhauls, Michael anchors the discussion with firsthand lessons on trust erosion, talent mismatches, and rebuilding with emotional clarity. He introduces the AFOS framework as a new way to think about leadership and sustainability. Manish Sardana – Co-Founder, Craydel | Brand & People Strategist Manish offers piercing commentary on the disconnect between education and workplace readiness, especially with Gen Z hires. With candour and wit, he challenges founders to rethink impact beyond output. Catherine Githua – CEO, Talent Frontier Solutions | HR Futurist Catherine brings a diagnostic view of why culture drifts and how values become lip service. Her insights expose the dangers of charisma hires and the systems required to rebuild trust and team capacity. Farah Esmail – Managing Partner, Boyden East Africa | Executive Coach From the boardroom to succession planning, Farah reveals what founders think they need vs. what truly scales teams. She brings a rare mix of governance rigor and soulful clarity to the founder’s hiring dilemma. Thank you for watching this video. Kindly subscribe for more content from 'Home of The Untold Stories.' *About TV47* 'TV47 is on GOtv (Channel 102), DStv (Channel 268), SIGNET, Gotv, BAMBA and STARTIMES. __ For Breaking News, kindly subscribe by sending ‘NEWS’ to 22047. __ Connect with us: Website: https://www.tv47.digital/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TV47KE Twitter: https://twitter.com/tv47news Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tv47ke/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tv47_ke Telegram: https://t.me/tv47_ke WhatsApp: 0797 047 047 __