«If Your Manager Belittles or Threatens You, Walk Away» Alfaleads Network CEO on Leading a Traffic Acquisition Team

Pouring your entire budget into testing new ideas and hiring media buyers based solely on their enthusiasm are exactly the things a top executive should do—if the goal is to fail at building and scaling a team, says Aleksandra Loginova, CEO of Alfaleads Network.

In this interview, Alexandra not only shares a series of tongue-in-cheek "bad management tips," but also explains how to build a high-performing traffic acquisition team, stay out of the day-to-day operational grind, and avoid turning leadership into constant firefighting.

In this interview:

• Alexandra's approach to hiring
• Why test assignments aren't suitable for every role
• The red flags that should make you leave a manager without hesitation
• Leadership trends shaping the affiliate industry in 2026

How can you tell during an interview that someone is truly the right fit? Could you name up to three universal criteria, plus any personal ones that matter to you—even if they might not apply to everyone?

The "right person" should first be defined through a clear competency matrix. Once that's in place, you can build interview questions that actually assess those competencies. I also find that discussing a real-life business case is one of the best ways to understand whether we're a good fit for each other.

When people see my hiring criteria, some say candidates like that simply don't exist. But they already exist in my team—and I know there are more of them on the market.

What are the three most common mistakes leaders make when managing a traffic acquisition team?

Hiring based on intuition, managing based on intuition, making decisions reactively instead of systematically.

What should a team lead focus on when building a team from scratch?

Every manager has an image of their "ideal candidate." The challenge is turning that intuition into a practical list of measurable competencies. Those competencies should then be assessed during the hiring process or throughout the probation period.

Don't hesitate to involve a recruiter when defining the candidate profile—but don't expect them to figure everything out on their own. As a leader, you're ultimately responsible for both the hiring outcome and the team you build.

Personally, I look for three core competencies regardless of the role: a growth mindset, strong communication skills, and professional expertise. Everything else depends on the position.

I also wouldn't recommend assigning test tasks for highly competitive roles. If candidates have plenty of options, every essential skill should be evaluated during the interview instead. Another approach is to build structured evaluation checkpoints into the onboarding process.

The only exception is when your offer is significantly above the market—then asking candidates to complete a test assignment can still make sense.

How has leadership in affiliate marketing changed over the past five years? What worked in 2021 that no longer works in 2026?

The biggest trend today is leaner team structures. As companies optimize headcount, the market is becoming saturated with highly qualified professionals, while teams themselves are retaining only their strongest and most committed people.

Overall, the affiliate industry has adapted remarkably well to this wave of optimization and remains resilient.

At the same time, businesses need strong leaders more than ever—people who can maintain a healthy team culture while balancing operational efficiency with revenue growth.

Delegation is one of the biggest challenges for any manager. What principles guide your approach to delegating work? How can leaders learn to delegate effectively—and teach their teams to do the same?

You can only delegate something that's already systemized. That's the only way it will work consistently.

Ideally, the process you're handing over is either thoroughly documented or clearly explained. What you should never delegate is chaos. If you do, you'll simply scale the chaos—and create even more management problems for yourself. At that point, delegation defeats its own purpose.

What are your three biggest taboos when managing a traffic acquisition team?

First, paying people more than your business can realistically afford. The numbers have to make sense from day one.

Second, funding growth entirely out of your own pocket. That approach will inevitably slow down your ability to scale.

Third, scaling traffic without forecasting profitability and accounting for risk. Growth without solid financial planning is a dangerous strategy.

Imagine you have just two months to build a traffic acquisition team from scratch. What would you do—and what would you definitely avoid doing?

I'd look for an existing team on the market and an investor willing to finance the project from their investment portfolio.

From there, I'd evaluate the business model, the team's expertise, and whether we're the right fit. Bringing those pieces together is by far the fastest path.

What I definitely wouldn't do is spend those two months hiring individual media buyers without having the necessary infrastructure, processes, and financial model already in place.

Let's consider another scenario. One of your media buyers consistently delivers the best results but regularly breaks internal rules and creates problems for the rest of the team. Where do you personally draw the line between tolerating that behavior and letting the person go?

Situations like this often indicate that the internal rules themselves have become outdated.

When someone consistently produces outstanding results, the first step is to understand what they're doing differently and see whether that approach can be scaled across the team.

If one person is repeatedly breaking the rules while succeeding, it's usually a sign of weaknesses within the system—not just the individual. That's why I'd analyze the entire situation and redesign the process to make it more resilient, rather than immediately blaming the employee.

Let's look at leadership from the employee's perspective. What kind of manager should people walk away from immediately? What are the biggest red flags when meeting a leader for the first time?

You should leave the moment you encounter any form of psychological abuse. No paycheck is worth the cost of repairing your mental health later.

That includes constant belittling or criticism, where your contributions are dismissed and the manager acts as if they're untouchable while everyone else is beneath them.

You should also walk away from manipulation, threats, yelling, and victim blaming—comments like, «I'm yelling at you because you made me do it».

And finally, avoid managers who ignore or isolate their people. If employees have to wait weeks—or even months—for answers to important questions, that's a serious warning sign.

As a leader, how do you approach suggestions and feedback from your team? And what's the best way for employees to present new ideas?

We run regular brainstorming sessions and work in sprints. When planning each sprint, we take ideas from every team into account.

Being open to feedback is part of our company's DNA. Every proposal is discussed, and the strongest ideas are put into action immediately.

I'd recommend presenting suggestions using the SMART framework and clearly explaining the value they'll bring to the business. If people understand the expected outcome and the benefits of implementation, good ideas are much more likely to move forward.

Final Round: Bad Management Advice. Imagine it's time to scale your business. What should you do if your goal is to make that scaling fail spectacularly?

Hire as many people as possible without defining what you're actually looking for. Focus on candidates with «fire in their eyes»—after all, enthusiasm is obviously much more important than skills or experience.

Set aside a huge budget for «testing new ideas» based purely on intuition. Half of your company's profit is a good start. Better yet, invest all of it.

And whatever you do, don't systemize management. Make sure everything depends on specific individuals instead of processes. Talented people are rare, so give them complete freedom to do whatever they want.

It's even better if no one has ever validated their skills or measured the actual business impact of their work.

After all, a manager's gut feeling is never wrong.

Key Takeaways

Finding the right people isn't about intuition—it's about hiring against a clearly defined competency matrix. And scaling should only begin once the necessary infrastructure, processes, and financial model are already in place.

If your top-performing media buyer keeps breaking the rules, don't rush to replace the person. First, ask yourself whether it's the rules—not the employee—that need to change.

For the past 10 years, Alfaleads Network has been helping affiliates scale their iGaming business. A strong sales team, partnerships across all major traffic sources, and premium-level support allow partners to focus on what matters most—sustainable growth and higher profits.

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