Leadership Starts Identity with Rodrigo Alcaine

On this episode of The Z Pod, Ziba Alizadeh sits down with Rodrigo, CEO of East Ridge Workforce Solutions, to talk about a truth most leaders avoid: you have to step into the identity of who you need to be before the results ever show up.Rodrigo walks through his fast climb, joining East Ridge as Chief Growth Officer, becoming president of staffing and recruiting, then accelerating into the CEO role after a February 2025 divestiture that refocused the company and left the remaining entity operating at a loss. With no runway to ease in, he expanded into finance, legal, and operations while building out a new executive team, ultimately closing the loss gap, growing the business over 12% year over year, and doing it with 22% less cost.The conversation goes deep on declaring your leadership identity to overcome imposter syndrome, why "buy-in" is the wrong goal and alignment is the right one, taking career risks to close experience gaps, the case for executive coaching, and why Rodrigo sees staffing as a noble profession built on hard work and helping people move forward.In this episode:- How Rodrigo stepped into the CEO role during a company-wide turnaround- Why declaring identity comes before results, not after- The difference between seeking buy-in and building real alignment- Taking bold career bets to fill leadership gaps- The value of executive coaching in high-stakes transitions- Staffing as a profession rooted in service, not just placements- The Jenga vs. Legos mindset for rebuilding a teamTimestamps:00:00 Welcome and Setup01:00 Meet Rodrigo03:15 East Ridge Turnaround07:09 Lead Before Ready10:48 Buy In vs Alignment12:53 Bold Career Bets19:03 Staffing Values and Work23:41 Jenga vs Legos Mindset26:07 Closing and Takeaways26:35 Host Reflection Outro