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 company, and three things you can do right now to make sure your leaders are developed for the business you're building — not the one you had two years ago.

This one's for every CEO and COO who knows their company is growing faster than their people are ready for.

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 moments that shaped her career — including the day her CEO told her, "This is the role you've been training for your whole life."What you'll learn:- The mindset shift required to thrive in high-growth, high-pressure environments- Why leadership skills outweigh technical expertise when advancing your career- How strategic HR — succession planning + talent development — drives business growth- Nicole's non-negotiables: transparency, psychological safety, and direct feedback- What "fail fast" actually means in practice (and why most leaders resist it)- How high-achievers intentionally recharge to sustain performanceIf you're a leader, HR professional, or aspiring VP trying to navigate a growing organization, this episode is for you.SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW🔔 Subscribe for weekly leadership insights:  www.YouTube.com/@TonyRSanders  🎙️ Listen on Apple/Spotify: www.growwithgawlo.com/podcast💼 Connect with Tony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyrsanders/#Leadership #CareerGrowth #HRLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #LeadingThroughGrowth

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 culture that can actually survive explosive growth.

In this conversation, Tony and Angie dig into what it really takes to grow a company without breaking your people. They talk about the rubber band theory of organizational stretch, why hiring fast is one of the most expensive mistakes a growing company can make, the Wednesday morning leadership development sessions that are changing how her leaders show up, and what vulnerability on stage taught her about showing up more authentically at work.

Angie also clears up some of the biggest misconceptions about HR — and makes a compelling case for why a strong people function isn't a cost center. It's a growth strategy.

If you lead people, build teams, or are navigating the chaos of a fast-growing organization, this one is worth your full attention.

What you'll learn:

• Why growth-stage companies need to hire for adaptability, not just skill
• How competency frameworks connect hiring, onboarding, and performance
• What HR leaders wish business leaders understood about partnership
• How to give people hope through change without pretending you have all the answers

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 intentional leadership, shared ownership, and people-first thinking have helped them preserve and strengthen their culture along the way.

They dive into:

• Why culture can’t live in HR alone
• How leadership must scale across the organization
• The challenge of integrating cultures through acquisition
• Why growth breaks companies that aren’t intentional
• And what leaders can do to build a culture that actually scales

If you’re leading a growing team or organization, this conversation offers a grounded, real-world look at how culture fuels sustainable growth.

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 emotion, not shared experience- The common patterns executive leaders fall into (like “fixing” instead of seeing)- How your own empathy patterns show up under pressure- What to say—and what not to say—when people are struggling at work or in your personal life- Simple, practical ways to build empathy as a leadership skillThis isn’t about empathy as a soft skill. It’s about becoming more effective in how you lead people.

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 effectiveness, the importance of adapting your leadership to others, and why modeling behavior is one of the most overlooked responsibilities leaders carry.

At the center of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea:

You don’t have to fill someone else’s shoes—you have to create your own footprint.

This episode is for leaders navigating growth, identity, and the responsibility that comes with both.

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 replaces it is not less leadership—but a different kind: clarity, structure, and trust.

Kevin shares how his role has evolved over two decades of leadership and a decade in the president seat—leading through sustained, rapid growth while maintaining culture, talent quality, and operational discipline.

This episode explores:

• The shift from control to clarity—and why it matters
• How leaders unintentionally become bottlenecks
• Why culture at scale requires structure, not just intention
• The role of purpose in sustaining performance under pressure
• Balancing transparency with confidentiality as a senior leader
• Why trust accelerates execution
• The hidden cost of ego in growing organizations
• How a single comment from a leader can carry unintended weight

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 learning to operate inside “the sandbox” you’re given, to building trust that lowers fear instead of standards, this conversation reframes empathy as discipline — not softness.

You’ll hear:

• Why purpose matters more than position

• The difference between training leaders and developing them

• Why strong leaders don’t lead with policy

• How ego quietly undermines growth

• Why proximity still matters in a remote-first world

If you’re scaling a team, navigating rapid change, or feeling friction between conviction and constraint, this episode will challenge how you show up when growth gets uncomfortable.

Because sometimes leading through growth starts with leading yourself.

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 easy it is to lose sight of what matters most. She shares hard-earned insight on burnout, perfectionism, and the quiet pressure high performers place on themselves.

This conversation is a reminder that growth rarely starts with knowing everything. It starts with recognizing the value of where you are, taking the next step before you feel fully ready, and trusting that leadership is built over time — often in places others overlook.

If you’re early in your career, sitting in a role that feels small, or navigating a demanding season of growth, this episode offers a grounded perspective on how confidence actually begins.

0:00 Favorite Girl Scout Cookies

0:17 Intro

0:55 I see greatness in you

2:03 33 years at Walmart

4:34 Walmart culture taglines

6:01 The little things6:56 Growth

8:16 Know your people

9:25 Burnout

13:04 Present over perfection

16:29 Don't limit yourself

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 how leadership evolves as teams grow, decisions become more consequential, and culture must stretch without breaking.

This is not a tactical how-to show or a promotional podcast. It’s a reflective, peer-level conversation designed for executives who value perspective, experience, and thoughtful insight as they lead through growth.

If you’re a CEO, operator, or senior leader navigating scale—and thinking carefully about how leadership, people, and culture evolve—this podcast is for you.