In the Flow of Work

Jennifer Turner, Senior Director of People Operations at G2, joins Gavin to unpack what performance actually looks like inside a high-performing culture. Her perspective stands out because she treats performance less like an HR event and more like a daily operating rhythm grounded in clarity, feedback, and trust. In this episode, Jen shares why managers need to think like coaches, why “feedback is...

Many of you know the famous Stephen Huerta. If you don’t, he is the co-host of Modern People Leader and a 25-year HR operator whose career spans consulting, corporate HR, HR tech, and media. He brings a sharp point of view on what managers are really carrying right now. In this episode, Stephen breaks down how HR’s push for scale quietly dumped performance work, survey follow-up, and talent develo...

Ryan-Mae McAvoy, VP of People Ops at Blackthorn, joins Gavin Johnston to share how she thinks about performance when a company is scaling fast, staying remote, and trying to keep trust intact. We get into what managers actually need when “vibes” stop working - why Blackthorn treats bi-weekly 1:1s as non-negotiable, how to add guardrails without creating red tape, and why clarity beats ratings when...

Natania Mathany, VP of People at A Thinking Ape, shares how they build great managers in a remote team without drowning everyone in process. We talk about the leadership gap that shows up when strong ICs get promoted, and how ATA built a clear manager baseline that still leaves room for personal style. Natania breaks down their non-negotiable bi-weekly 1:1s, how they shipped manager training in mo...

Kyrie Burgoine is the Director of People Ops at Ravelin , and she’s spent the last few years building performance practices that fit how their teams actually work - especially in a company with high tenure and a lot of trust. In this episode, Kyrie walks through how Ravelin handles performance without formal ratings or rigid frameworks. We get into what it looks like when each department runs thin...

Stephanie Tate is the Chief People Officer at Ccube and founder of InnerCONNECTED. She brings a rare mix of HR leadership, neuroscience, and real operating experience in high-growth tech. In this episode, we unpack why annual performance reviews fall apart: our memories are biased, the data already exists in tools like Slack, GitHub, and Jira, and most “performance issues” are really leadership an...

In this episode, Gavin sits down with Heidi Germain, VP, People at Endor Labs, a fast-growing, engineering-heavy startup, to unpack what really changes when you move from HR business partner into the VP seat. They dig into the complexity of being both peer and advisor on the exec team, how to avoid giving “cheap feedback” to high performers, and why simple internal job descriptions and consistent...

Jennifer Shewan, VP of People at Wonolo, joins the show to unpack what performance management really looks like before, during, and after moments of major change. With years of experience navigating reorgs, growth, and hard decisions, Jennifer brings a grounded, human perspective on leading through uncertainty. In this episode, we explore why transparency matters more than perfection, how managers...

William West, VP of People at Wrapbook, joins us to unpack what it takes to rebuild performance management inside a high-urgency, fast-scaling company. With three distinct microcultures — entertainment, payroll, and tech — William shares how he stripped down a noisy system, rebuilt trust through clarity, and shaped performance around the reality of daily work. We dig into the pressure of operating...

Valentina, Head of People at Codurance, joins us to unpack how a flat, technical organization can still run a thoughtful and scalable performance model. With a team distributed across client projects and a culture built on collaboration, her perspective offers a rare look at performance design without traditional hierarchy. We explore how Codurance shifted from two overstretched regional directors...

Conor Sweeney, Global VP of People & Talent at Form Health, joins Gavin and Amin to share how he’s rethinking performance management inside a fast-growing healthcare company serving both clinicians and corporate teams. Conor explains why performance management is never “done,” how wellness and performance overlap, and why true buy-in comes from building with people, not for them. The conversat...

Wendy Pat Fong, a senior program and product leader working in Microsoft’s AI organization, joins Gavin and Amin to unpack how AI is reshaping the way growing teams manage performance. Drawing from her background in both HR and AI, Wendy breaks down the trends she’s seeing across mid-market companies, why scaling performance requires protecting the human element, and where AI helps - and where it...

Sascha Kasper, CIO & CHRO at 3 Screen Solutions ( 3SS ), joined In the Flow of Work to discuss what it means when HR & IT merge. We talked about how merging people and tech removes friction, drives performance, and builds culture that evolves with change. -- This episode was brought to you by Topicflow — the team building the next generation of agentic performance management. -- Connect wi...

Geri Murphy, Founder of Sinann People and seasoned fractional Head of People, joined us on In the Flow of Work . We talked about what it really means to reward top performers, why the phrase is often misunderstood, how hybrid work changes visibility and fairness, and what it takes to build a culture that rewards growth without creating burnout or bias. --- This episode was brought to you by Topicf...

Shannon Derbyshire, founder of Performance Catalyst Consulting, joins us to share what she’s learned helping HR teams turn painful review cycles into meaningful development moments. With a background leading people programs and advising scaling companies, Shannon brings a rare mix of empathy and practicality to how performance really gets built. We dig into why reviews still trigger anxiety, how t...