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 templates beat overbuilt frameworks. You’ll also hear how Heidi thinks about stay interviews, one-on-ones, and documenting feedback without turning every meeting into a legal artifact.

If you are building performance systems in a technical org or stepping into a bigger role, this conversation will give you practical ways to make reviews lighter and ongoing performance conversations stronger.

Book Recommendation: The Tao of Coaching [click here for Amazon link]

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This episode was brought to you by Topicflow — the team building the next generation of agentic performance management.

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Connect with the hosts and guest on LinkedIn:

Gavin Johnston | Amin Palizban | Heidi Germain