Leading Through Growth

Workplace culture gets talked about constantly, but rarely defined — and even more rarely prioritized when a company is scaling fast. In this episode I sit down with Amber Fields, Partner and Chief Culture Officer at trueU, to get specific about what workplace culture actually is, why it matters more than most leaders realize, and what happens when you get it wrong. We cover how to actually define...

Pinky Cole built Slutty Vegan from an apartment Instagram hustle into a $100M brand — then filed for bankruptcy. In this Growth Trap case study, Tony Sanders breaks down the leadership collapse behind the brand using Pinky's own words: "Sometimes you put basketball players on the golf course." You'll walk away with four failure modes that show up in almost every fast-growing comp...

What does it actually take to get promoted to SVP in a fast-growing company? Nicole Fallowfield didn't follow the traditional HR path — and that's exactly why she got the job. In this episode of Leading Through Growth, I sit down with Nicole Fallowfield, newly appointed Senior Vice President, Talent Business Partner at Unison Risk Advisors. After 17 years of navigating one of the fastest-g...

If you've ever scrolled past a TikTok telling you to never trust HR, this episode is for you. Angie Woods has spent 30 years in human resources — and she's on a mission to change how leaders think about the people function. As a Chief People Officer at a rapidly scaling company, Angie isn't just filling seats. She's building systems, developing leaders, and creating the kind of cul...

In this episode of Leading Through Growth , Tony Sanders sits down with Scott Whitaker, Director of Human Resources at Ryan Fire Protection, to explore what it really takes to scale a company without losing its culture. Over the past four years, Ryan has experienced rapid growth—expanding from just under 300 employees to nearly 700. Scott shares what that growth looks like from the inside, and how...

Most leaders don’t avoid empathy because they don’t care. They avoid it because they were never taught how to handle it. In this episode of Leading Through Growth, Tony sits down with Workplace Empathy Expert Liesel Mertes to unpack what empathy actually looks like in leadership—and why so many well-intentioned leaders miss the mark. In this episode, we explore:- Why empathy in leadership is about...

In this episode, Tony sits down with Michelle Baker, Chief People Officer at Forum Credit Union and co-host of the Career Dreams podcast, to explore what it really means to grow into leadership. Michelle shares the mindset shifts that shape how leaders experience the same challenges differently—why some feel energized while others feel overwhelmed—and how that perspective influences everything fro...

What got you here won’t get you there. In this conversation, Kevin Gearheart, President of Rehab Medical, reflects on what leadership must become as an organization grows—especially when the instincts that once drove success begin to create friction. Early in a company’s life, control drives performance. But as complexity increases, that same control can turn leaders into bottlenecks. What replace...

Growth doesn’t just scale your business. It exposes you. In this episode of Leading Through Growth , Tony sits down with Marcie Anderson to explore what happens when leadership pressure reveals something deeper — ego, resistance, and identity. Marcie shares the pivotal moment when a system implementation forced her to confront her own reaction… and how that shift reshaped how she leads. From learn...

What if the most important leadership lesson starts at the register? In this episode of Leading Through Growth , Tony Sanders sits down with Demekya “Mekey” McAllen, who began her 33-year career at Walmart in an entry-level role and went on to become Chief People Officer at Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. Her story isn’t about titles. It’s about perspective. Mekey reflects on how seeing value in “...

Growth changes everything—especially leadership. In this trailer episode of Leading Through Growth , host Tony Sanders shares the intent behind the podcast and what listeners can expect from future conversations. Leading Through Growth features thoughtful, executive-level discussions with leaders and operators navigating the complexity that comes with scaling organizations. Each episode explores h...