This week on Tech Leaders’ Intel, we’re joined by Juan Gutierrez Plaza, the VP of Engineering for Scoro, a work management SaaS platform based in Estonia. Juan has been working in software development for 20 years now, in industries including telecom and banking before turning his focus to SaaS.

From implementing a four-day working week, to the advantages of launching and running a tech start-up in Estonia, Juan talks us through best practice and the importance of having the right tools, setting and context to help your business grow.

Of course, when it comes to running a successful start-up, employee retention is hugely important. As the manager of a large team in a fast-growing organisation, it is crucial that his engineers have plenty of freedom, Juan says. How to nurture this? Create an environment which allows both choice and opportunity.

To do this, Juan takes quite a unique approach to software delivery methodologies: the missions framework. Such a framework not only allows engineers to feel a greater sense of belonging and ownership, but also gives them the opportunities to be leaders – mission captains – in a safe environment where they can see if leadership is for them. Other benefits? Mission structures can be easily tweaked if priorities shift, making this the perfect approach for a fast-growing start-up. It’s a fascinating approach – and we won’t be surprised if many future leaders emerge from Scoro under Juan’s mentorship!

If you have more questions for Juan, you can connect with him on LinkedIn, or you can learn more about Scoro by visiting the company website.