Talent & Development Episodes

Most leaders are technically brilliant. They work hard. They have good intentions. And they're still just… average. In this episode of Leading Through Growth, Tony Sanders sits down with Josh White, Vice President of Talent Management at Group 1001, to unpack what actually drives performance inside a company. Spoiler: it's probably not what you think. Drawing from Google's Project Oxygen study and Josh's real experience scaling companies, they challenge the leadership philosophy that says,...

Retention is dead. That's not a hot take — it's a reality that LinkedIn's first Chief Human Resources Officer, Steve Cadigan, learned the hard way while scaling one of Silicon Valley's fastest-growing companies. In this segment, Steve breaks down why chasing retention is a losing strategy in today's workforce — and what the smartest leaders are doing instead. From Tesla's dominance over century-old automakers to college basketball's one-and-done revolution, Steve reframes the modern talent eq...

Most leaders think about scaling in terms of revenue, product, and market share. But what about the people systems that have to grow with it? In this episode, Tony sits down with Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's first ever Chief Human Resources Officer, who helped scale the company from 400 to 4,000 employees in just over three years through an IPO. Steve didn't walk into a polished HR machine. He walked into chaos: no policies, no job architecture, no compensation philosophy, and a leadership team skeptical of HR. This is the story of what it actually takes to build a talent strategy from scratch in a hyper growth environment, and why most of what we've been taught about retention, culture, and leadership development is built for a world that no longer exists. What you'll learn: Why builders and sustainers are two different profiles (and how to know which one you are) The moment LinkedIn's board admitted they had no answers for the growth ahead How LinkedIn stopped trying to win the recruit…

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-growing organizations in the industry, Nicole shares the leadership mindset, non-negotiables, and pivotal mome...

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 from decision-making to team dynamics. They also unpack the tension between speed and effectivene...

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 “small” roles shaped her leadership philosophy, why complexity increases as you grow — and how e...