GrowthReady Podcast

Steve sits down with Cindy Cohn, former Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, for a conversation about values, leadership, change, and knowing when it is time to make room for what comes next. Cindy has spent decades fighting for digital rights, privacy, free speech, and a better internet for the people who use it. Her career is a powerful example of what it means to stay grounded in your values while remaining flexible enough to adapt as the world changes around you. Cindy a...

David Hiler’s answer to “What does it mean to be growth ready? ”is simple—and hard-earned: adapt to whatever comes your way . A lifelong runner and hospitality entrepreneur, David’s life changed fast when a knee issue turned into cancer. Faced with two paths—an invasive rebuild with uncertain outcomes or amputation with a clear shot at living fully—he chose the decision that protected what mattered most: movement, presence, and the life he wanted to keep saying yes to. Then came the second wave:...

Jared Goralnick joins the GrowthReady Podcast with a deceptively simple definition of what it means to be growth ready: manage your energy and get clear on where you’re going. Jared Goralnick has spent 15 years building products that help organizations find, develop, and grow talent. He was Head of Product at LinkedIn Recruiter and VP of Product at Upwork, Go1, and Articulate, and previously founded SET Consulting and VC-backed AwayFind. He now leads Your360 AI, using voice AI to make coaching-g...

Patrick O’Donnell is the founder of Ignite Five and a performance-and-growth coach who helps leaders and organizations build repeatable rhythms that drive results without sacrificing the human being behind the role. He’s known for translating “systems” into something practical, daily routines, clear expectations, and real accountability. In this conversation, Patrick shares how the 2008 real estate crash became a turning point that pushed him to study peak performers and build a framework for su...

Some conversations don’t just spark ideas, they put words to something you’ve been carrying for a long time. In this episode, Jason A. Sousa (Coach J), known as The Performance Architect, founder of Mental Edge Athletics, and creator of the Performance Architecture methodology, joins the show to unpack what’s happening beneath the surface when the stakes rise and you can’t access the level you know you have. Jason works with athletes and high performers to map the patterns that show up under pre...

This is a Growth Ready Replay, rewinding back to Fall 2020, when Steve Mellor sat down with Jesse Cole , founder of Fans First Entertainment and the owner of the Banana Ball Championship League, including the world-famous Savannah Bananas. It’s a conversation about what real competitors do when the world gets smaller: they don’t complain about limitations… they lean into them. Jesse shares the story behind building a baseball brand that sells out games, creates lifelong memories for fans, and tu...

What if the discomfort you’re trying to avoid is the very thing making you stronger? Steve sits down with Ben Granger, Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics and author of A Leader Worth Following, to unpack what growth mindset really looks like in the real world: under pressure, inside messy organizations, and in moments where you don’t feel ready. Ben shares how he grew up with a fixed mindset (“I’m just not good at that”), what neuroscience and practice actually prove about improvement,...

Most people don’t quit because they’re incapable. They quit because they’re waiting for proof. In this Coaches’ Corner, Steve uses Abraham Lincoln as a case study in resilience, someone who lost elections, failed in business, navigated depression, and still kept moving forward when there wasn’t much evidence things were “working.” The core shift: hope sounds productive, but it can hide hesitation. Insistence is different. It’s the decision to keep going because it matters, whether it’s valid...

𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆. - Kendall Breitman In this episode of the GrowthReady Podcast, Steve Mellor sits down with Kendall Breitman, former political journalist (NBC, Bloomberg) and now Head of Community at @Riversidefm , to unpack the real story behind career pivots, personal reinvention, and building community that actually feels human. Kendall shares how she went from chasing a clear career tra...

What if the thing holding you back isn’t a lack of expertise, but the fact that your voice hasn’t caught up to what you know? In this episode, Steve Mellor sits down with Dr. Leslie Gordon, a speech, voice, and accent expert who helps high-performing professionals speak with more confidence, presence, and impact. Leslie introduces the idea of the “growing edge,” a powerful replacement for the word “weakness,” and explains why real growth requires more than mindset. It requires action, repetition...

There’s a moment in the Tour de France most people miss. Not the sprint finish. Not the podium. Not the yellow jersey. It’s the mountain stage, where you realize the leader isn’t actually alone. We use that image to challenge a belief a lot of high performers quietly live by: self-sufficiency equals strength. It might be the very thing that helped you win early stages of growth… and the same thing that now limits what’s next. We explore why high performance isn’t just about endurance and capacit...

A lot of high-performers know how to win, but far fewer know how to use failure well. And when life gets uncomfortable, the instinct is often to avoid it, rush past it, or pretend it didn’t mean anything. My guest today, Leanda Cave, is a four-time world champion triathlete who’s lived through elite success, personal setbacks, major transition, and a powerful season of self-discovery beyond sport. In this episode, you’ll hear how failure can become one of the greatest forces for growth, why awar...

What does it really mean to be Growth Ready? In this episode, Steve Mellor sits down with Joe Smarro for a deeply honest conversation about identity, self-awareness, and the cost of living for everyone else. Joe shares why growth starts with curiosity, why so much of our identity is inherited rather than chosen, and why external validation keeps so many high-performers stuck. Together, they explore the tension between the person we present to the world and the person we sit with in private, a...

In this episode, Steve sits down with Samara Bay to unpack what it really means to be “ready” when the stakes are high. Together, they explore the connection between body, mind, and communication—and why so many high-performers flatten their presence by trying to hide fear instead of working with it. Samara explains how public speaking is really about power, permission, and presence. She shares why “readiness” is more of a body-based practice than a mental state, how love-based thinking can shif...

About the guest: Megan Torrance is a workplace learning and development leader who helps organizations create better systems for growth, performance, and skill development. In this conversation, she brings together practical insight from her work in learning design, her perspective on AI as an augmentation tool, and her own lived experience as an athlete, coach-supported leader, and endurance hiker. About the episode: In this episode, Steve sits down with Megan Torrance to unpack what it really ...

About the guest: Meghan Popoleo is the President of The O’Connor Group, where she has spent the last decade helping organizations grow through strong people strategy, culture, and leadership. She came into the business from the nonprofit world, openly admits she did not start out loving HR, and has grown into a values-driven leader known for vulnerability, execution, collaboration, and people-first leadership. About the episode: In this conversation, Steve sits down with Meghan to unpack what it...

About the Guest: Raymond Lee is the founder of CareerMinds, a virtual outplacement and leadership development company he started in 2008. After years of building the business, Raymond went through a deep season of self-reflection in late 2021 that reshaped how he saw leadership, identity, and growth. He later sold CareerMinds and stepped into a new chapter with even greater clarity around impact, authenticity, and helping people find work that truly aligns with who they are. He’s also the host o...

This special archive episode takes us back to summer 2020, when Steve Mellor interviewed Alison Hadden for his Women Changing the World series. What he only learned afterward was that Alison had found out just one day earlier that her cancer had returned and was terminal. She never mentioned it during the conversation. Instead, she spoke with clarity, strength, and intention about leadership, resilience, and living like there is no time to waste. Alison passed away in January 2022, but her messa...

Most high performers chase ceilings: bigger goals, more revenue, bigger stages. Steve argues that what actually determines whether you feel steady in the moments that matter is your floor, your daily standards, mindset, and behaviors when no one is watching. He breaks down how “growth resistance” shows up subtly (protecting identity, reputation, competence), and why the path forward isn’t hype or intensity… it’s alignment. Key takeaways: Goals as “ceilings” vs. standards as your “floor” Why pres...

If you’re a high performer, leader, or founder… chances are your calendar is stacked, your brain is overloaded, and you’re trying to ‘push through’ like that’s the job. Today’s guest, Clint Rahe, former Royal Air Force PTI turned executive coach and author of The Cognitive Athleteworks with C-suite leaders who should be in their peak years… but instead are burnt out, exhausted, and running on empty. In this episode, you’ll learn how to sustain high performance without paying for it with your hea...

About the Guest: Betsy Cerulo is a seasoned entrepreneur, federal contractor, and accessibility advocate with over 36 years of leadership experience . She is the CEO of an organization specializing in accessibility staffing and services, supporting blind, deaf, and neurodivergent communities. Betsy is also an author, mentor, and champion for heart-centered leadership grounded in truth, accountability, and compassion. In this powerful GrowthReady conversation, Steve Mellor welcomes back Betsy Cer...

About the Guest: Luke DePron is a health and performance coach and the founder of The Fitment Project, where he helps high-performing men reclaim their health, energy, and confidence without extreme fitness tactics or unrealistic routines. Luke is known for his pragmatic, psychology-first approach to fitness helping clients build identity-based habits, minimum effective standards, and sustainable systems that integrate seamlessly into real life, careers, and family responsibilities. About the Ep...

About the guest: Dr. Alexa D’Agostino is a “doctor of marketing” and founder/operator who’s built and scaled multiple businesses. She’s known for blending sharp performance marketing thinking with operational reality, systems, metrics, team structure, and the mindset required to scale without breaking. She also runs an invite-only mastermind built around proximity to high-level operators and coaches. About the episode: Most leaders say they want growth, more revenue, more clients, more recogniti...

About the Guest: Rebecca Mountain is a high-performance coach, international keynote speaker, bestselling author, and the creator of the Mountain Method . With an electrifying story of transformation, from growing up in a cult to becoming a leader in personal development, Rebecca helps people eliminate the “knowing-doing gap” so they can unlock success in work, life, and love. Episode Summary: Rebecca shares her journey from escaping a cult to becoming a renowned coach and author. Together, they...