Revenue Builders Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: The Leadership Capacity Issue That Slows Growth
Date: February 15, 2026
Hosts: John McMahon & John Kaplan (Force Management)
Guest: Carlos De la Torre (Sales Leader)

Episode Overview

This episode centers on a candid discussion about leadership capacity—why it's one of the most critical, yet commonly overlooked, factors that can limit the growth of a sales organization. Carlos De la Torre shares two pivotal lessons from his own journey transitioning from top sales rep to manager and then to leadership roles at major tech companies. The conversation delivers practical advice for managers moving into leadership, as well as senior executives navigating rapid scale.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Common Trap for New Managers: Doing vs. Leading

[00:55–03:53]

• Carlos recounts his transition from top rep to first-time manager at Parametric Technology.
• He describes meeting with his intimidating boss, John True, who delivered a blunt but formative lesson:
  • Carlos was running himself ragged attending meetings across various cities—essentially doing his sales reps’ jobs.
  • True made it clear: "I didn't pay you to come in and be a rep. I'm paying you to be a manager. So you either become a manager or I'll make you a rep." (Carlos quoting John True, 02:03)
• Key Takeaway: Managers must focus on making their teams self-sufficient. Even if allowing reps to solve their own problems is slower or less effective in the short run, it benefits the organization’s long-term scalability.

  "As a manager, your job is to make the sales reps self-sufficient... you're better off solving it through the reps so that you build that skill and build that muscle.”
  (Carlos De la Torre, 03:13)

2. Ego and Insecurity in New Leadership Roles

[03:25–04:16]

• Carlos admits insecurity played a role in his instinct to “prove himself”—competing with or outperforming former peers, which is common for new managers:

  "I absolutely wanted to prove myself and I was probably a little bit insecure."
  (Carlos De la Torre, 03:54)

• The hosts agree this emotional response is widespread among newly promoted managers.

3. The Strategic Mistake: Undershooting Leadership Capacity at Scale

[04:43–06:39]

• Carlos discusses a second, more senior-level lesson from his tenure at MongoDB:
  • Despite strong results and great frontline managers, he neglected to hire or pipeline truly senior leaders capable of leading at scale.
  • Ramp time for senior leaders means you must plan hiring 6–9 months in advance—failure to do so can leave you critically understaffed as growth accelerates.
  • "There was one year at MongoDB where by Q4 we were probably 10 heads behind plan... and we just made the number... we needed these heroics to just get over the finish line. That was because I was late on the leadership six months prior."
    (Carlos De la Torre, 06:12)
• Lesson: You cannot catch up on leadership hiring when scaling—delaying the search is costly.

4. Variable Speed of Leadership Development

[07:39–08:33]

• Carlos notes that not all leaders develop at the same rate—some need more time to mature in a role, while others can leapfrog up quickly. Fast-growth companies rarely offer the luxury of long-tenure development.

  "A lot of people develop in spurts or they develop at an irregular pace. And so sometimes people just need to sit in a role for a while to mature, to connect the dots."
  (Carlos De la Torre, 07:45)

• John McMahon adds that great leaders must look for measurable changes in their people to decide who will make the next jump up—a proactive, evidence-based approach is required.

5. Perspective Gained Through Experience

[09:38–10:35]

• Carlos observes that his experience at MongoDB gave him far better perspective for subsequent roles on just how complex and fast-changing a scaling organization becomes.

  "I didn't have the perspective for how much more complicated things were going to get and how quickly."
  (Carlos De la Torre, 09:51)

• This nuance shaped how he built his leadership bench at future companies.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the manager’s real job:

  "I'm paying you to be a manager. So you either become a manager or I'll make you a rep."
  (John True, via Carlos, 02:03)

• On building self-sufficiency:

  "If there's a problem in a deal, even if it takes twice as long or the problem gets solved half as well, you're better off solving it through the reps so that you build that skill and build that muscle."
  (Carlos De la Torre, 03:13)

• On the impact of not developing a senior leadership bench:

  "We just made the number... we needed these heroics to just get over the finish line. The reality is it should have been a celebration."
  (Carlos De la Torre, 06:19)

• On variable leadership growth:

  "You can't just say, 'Oh, this guy's never gonna or girl's never gonna make the jump.' The reality is maybe they will... It's just that it takes them a little bit longer."
  (John McMahon, 08:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• First BIG Lesson – switching from rep to manager: 00:55–03:53
• Ego and insecurity in early management roles: 03:25–04:16
• Lack of senior leaders & its cost at MongoDB: 04:43–06:39
• Leaders develop at different speeds: 07:39–08:33
• The need for tangible evidence of growth: 08:33–09:38
• The value of perspective gained when scaling: 09:38–10:35

Final Thoughts

This episode provides hard-won, actionable wisdom for anyone stepping into management or executive roles in high-growth sales organizations. Carlos De la Torre’s candid stories and the hosts' commentary paint a relatable picture: the most common scaling bottlenecks come from failing to intentionally build and nurture leadership capacity. Ensuring you hire and develop leaders ahead of the curve—and coaching reps and managers to be self-reliant—will save your organization from painful fire drills down the road.