Built In
Built In Leadership & Management
Managers at Built In lead with clarity, accessibility, and coaching. According to the Employee Guide (2025), managers hold regular one-on-ones, provide structured feedback, and conduct semi-annual reviews focused on development rather than evaluation. They also maintain an open-door policy that encourages transparency and collaboration, ensuring employees feel supported and heard.
Built In managers are trained through the People Leader Forum — an internal program where leaders share best practices, discuss coaching techniques, and align on feedback expectations. This community of practice helps maintain consistency in how managers communicate, develop talent, and reinforce company values.
Leadership reinforces alignment through company-wide roadmaps, quarterly strategy reviews, and monthly updates that connect individual work to broader goals. This structure turns performance conversations into genuine development partnerships — helping employees grow while embodying Built In’s core values: Be Inclusive, Lead with Solutions, Own the Result, Stay Curious, and Do More.
By emphasizing empathy, communication, and accountability, Built In managers help employees thrive while building trust and long-term engagement.
Employee Perspective
Employees describe managers as approachable, fair, and deeply invested in their growth. They cite consistent feedback, mentorship, and transparent communication as core drivers of their professional development.
“At every available opportunity, and from multiple people in leadership, I’ve been pushed to advance my skills and knowledge,” said Alton Zenon III, Former Staff Writer (2025).
At-a-Glance
- Manager rhythm: Regular 1:1s • Semi-annual reviews • Open-door policy
- Leadership programs: People Leader Forum • Quarterly strategy reviews • Monthly updates
- Focus areas: Empathy • Coaching • Accountability • Growth alignment
External Signals (2025):
Data from Comparably shows high manager favorability — with roughly 80 percent of employees saying their manager “seems to care about them as a person,” and over half receiving meaningful feedback monthly or more.
Learn how Built In cultivates growth and clarity in Built In Leadership and Management: Inspiring Growth, Clarity and Connection.
Built In leaders communicate goals through clarity, consistency, and open dialogue.
The Employee Guide (2025) outlines structured goal-setting and semi-annual performance reviews that align each employee’s objectives with the company’s broader mission of empowering technology professionals. Expectations are communicated early and reinforced through team check-ins, department touchpoints, and quarterly strategy updates.
Transparency is a cornerstone of leadership communication.Through companywide all-hands, manager cascades, and recurring leadership forums, the executive team connects every initiative — from hiring to product innovation — to Built In’s mission and values. The Open Door Policy ensures employees can raise questions or seek clarity at any time, while leadership modeling emphasizes reliability and follow-through.
“We always do what we say we are going to do … we underpromise and overdeliver,” said Maria Christopoulos Katris, CEO (2025).
Leaders at Built In maintain a “human-centered” approach, balancing autonomy with support. They empower teams to take ownership of goals while staying present to guide, listen, and adapt when priorities evolve. This culture of alignment, communication, and empathy helps employees understand expectations and stay connected to the company’s long-term vision.
Employee Perspective
Employees often describe Built In as “an entire company operating as one team,” emphasizing how alignment is reinforced by shared ownership of both challenges and successes.
As one former team member shared in 2024, “Leadership invites open, honest conversations, and new ideas are actually implemented. It’s a company that’s learning and evolving fast — not perfect, but always trying to do right by employees and customers.”
At-a-Glance
- Communication channels: Quarterly all-hands • Weekly team meetings • Slack updates
- Feedback structure: Semi-annual reviews • Goal-setting conversations • Open Door Policy
- Leadership values: Clarity • Reliability • Empathy • Alignment
- Award-winning leaders: Outstanding Tech CEO Award Winner for the 1871's 2023 Momentum Awards
Get an inside look at Built In’s leadership philosophy.
Leaders at Built In provide vision by connecting every initiative to the company’s mission and values. The Employee Guide (2025) emphasizes that leadership models ownership, curiosity, and solution-driven thinking — principles that guide both long-term planning and day-to-day decisions.
“Back then, and still today, we stay maniacally focused on our mission — built on the premise of serving others,”
— Maria Christopoulos Katris, CEO (2025)
This mission-centered approach has guided major milestones: national expansion in 2020, international growth in 2024, and the 2025 launch of the recruiting industry’s first AI-powered reputation product. Leaders hire for potential and humility, champion underrepresented talent, and foster diversity across teams — ensuring innovation aligns with inclusion.
Strategic direction is reinforced through quarterly strategy reviews, monthly company updates, and team goal-tracking rituals. These cadences keep strategy visible and help every employee understand how their work connects to broader goals. Leaders are transparent about shifts in priorities and consistently communicate the why behind major initiatives, so teams remain aligned, adaptable, and inspired.
Employee perspective
“It’s pretty remarkable to experience an entire company operating as one team. At Built In, we tackle problems and achieve goals together, sharing in the responsibility of successes and downfalls alike.“
-Alyssa Schroer, SEO Analyst
At-a-Glance
- Core Leadership Principles: Ownership | Curiosity | Solution-Driven Thinking
- Strategic Cadence: Quarterly reviews + monthly updates (2025)
- Major Milestones: National expansion (2020) | International growth (2024) | AI reputation tool (2025)
- Mission Focus: Serving others through connection and empowerment
External Signals (2025)
- CEO rating ≈ 88 / 100 — Top 5% of similar-sized companies (source: Comparably)
- Leadership Outlook Score ≈ 83 / 100 — Top 35% of similar-sized companies
- 83% of employees express confidence in Built In’s future; 77% report high excitement about their work
- Outstanding Tech CEO Award Winner for the 1871's 2023 Momentum Awards
Learn more about the recruiting industry’s first AI-powered reputation product.
