The Founders Catalyst

Steve Mellor and Lee Povey are seasoned high-performance coaches with decades of experience leading elite athletes, startup founders, and executive teams. As co-hosts of The Founders Catalyst, they translate elite performance principles into leadership practices that help founders build healthier cultures and more effective companies.

Episode Summary: Steve and Lee dig into a deceptively simple framework for becoming a more effective leadertwo annual questions popularized by Chris Williamson.

The first: What are you doing that you think is effective, but isn’tand you need to do less of? The second: What are you not doing enough of that you think isn’t effective, but actually isand you need to do more of?

They explore how ego and performative leadership distort decision-makingespecially around visibility, networking, and social media. Steve shares how stepping away from local, in-person connection in favor of online “presence” cost him momentum. Lee shares the opposite: forcing himself into networking rooms that drain him, when his real edge is deep one-to-one connection.

The conversation lands on a core principle from elite sport: outcomes are not controllableprocess is. And if you want to be more effective, you need space to think, reflect, and adjust before burnout forces the lesson.

Key Takeaways:

• Effectiveness requires ego-awareness. Ask: am I doing this for impactor to look good?
• Two questions can reveal your blind spots:

1. What am I doing too much of that I think works, but doesn’t?
2. What am I not doing enough of that I think doesn’t work, but does?

• What works for you matters. The “right” strategy is personalit must fit your energy, temperament, and strengths.
• Networking isn’t universally effective. For some leaders it’s fuel; for others it’s performance and drain.
• Social media can be a trap. Obsessing over details and engagement metrics often serves ego more than outcomes.
• 90% are watching quietly. Lack of likes doesn’t mean lack of impact.
• Process beats outcome. Set the goal, then focus on what you can control today.
• Founders who obsess over the exit often under-build the company. Build something sellable; the exit follows.
• Weekly reflection beats annual reflection. Small adjustments compound into major gains.
• Unstructured time is a leadership tool. Protect at least 2 hours weekly for low-cognitive-load thinking.

Resources Mentioned:

• Chris Williamson (Modern Wisdom) the two annual effectiveness questions
• Ego vs effectiveness / performative leadership
• Process vs outcome (elite sport principle)
• Gottman “bids for connection” (turn away, turn against, turn toward)
• Aggregation of marginal gains (1–2% improvements compounding)

Try this for the next 4 weeks:

• Block 2 hours of unstructured time each week (walk, museum, low-cognitive-load activity).
• Answer the two questions based on last week.Choose one small change (1–2%) and implement it immediately.

Busy isn’t a badge. It’s a signal. Adjust before burnout forces you to.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

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Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

Steve Mellor and Lee Povey are seasoned high-performance coaches with decades of experience leading elite athletes, startup founders, and executive teams. As co-hosts of The Founders Catalyst, they create candid conversations about leadership identity, culture, and performance, helping founders lead with clarity, courage, and humanity.

Episode Summary: Steve and Lee kick off Season 2 with a simple question that’s harder than it sounds: who do you want to be as a leader? Not what you want to do. Not what you want to achieve. Who you want to be.

They unpack how most of us developed “adaptive” versions of ourselves in childhood, masks that helped us belong, stay safe, and get approval. The problem: those survival strategies often follow us into leadership, where they show up as people-pleasing, defensiveness, control, or constant fatigue.

The conversation moves from belonging and identity to consistency: why authenticity is what makes leadership stable, why “I’m so tired” can become a shield (and create resentment), and how the best leaders adapt to others without compromising their values.

They close with practical reflection prompts: write down who you want to be, notice when you’re in fight/flight/freeze/fawn, and borrow clarity from leaders you admire, because authenticity isn’t a slogan, it’s a practice.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership isn’t just what you do, it’s who you are being while you do it.
• Your “mask” was once a survival strategy. It helped you belong as a kid, but it can limit you as a leader.
• Fatigue is a signal. If you’re constantly exhausted, you may be leading from adaptation instead of authenticity.
• Belonging drives behavior. The need to fit in is wired into humans—and it can quietly run your leadership.
• Great leaders adapt to people without compromising themselves. They meet others where they are, but keep their morals and standards intact.
• Authenticity creates consistency. If you’re not authentic, you become a chameleon, and consistency gets impossible.
• Name the survival mode. Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are clues, notice them, breathe, and choose how you want to show up.
• Don’t wear “tired leader” as a badge. There’s a difference between being tired and telling a story that leadership is suffering.
• Vulnerability + ownership builds trust. Share what you’re learning, own mistakes, and let your team see the real you.
• Want a shortcut? Look at who you admire. Identify the qualities you respect, and practice those.

Resources Mentioned:

• Adaptive survival strategies from childhood (“masks”)
• Fight / flight / freeze / fawn (nervous system survival responses)
• Men’s work / identity work (e.g., “Men Without Masks”)
• “Admired Leadership” (Randall Stutman)
• Reflection practice: “Who do I want to be as a leader?”

If you do one thing after this episode, do this:

• Write the question at the top of a page: Who do I want to be as a leader?
• Then get curious, no perfection, no performance.

And if you’re stuck, start with admiration: Who do you respect, and what qualities are you trying to embody?

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

About the Hosts: Steve Mellor and Lee Povey are seasoned high-performance coaches with decades of experience leading elite athletes, startup founders, and executive teams. As co-hosts of The Founders Catalyst, they bring the language of elite sport into business—turning messy leadership problems into clear standards, better conversations, and stronger culture.

Episode Summary: Steve and Lee open with a candid check-in on energy, routines, and identity—then jump into a founder problem that quietly wrecks teams: feedback (or the lack of it).

They break down why most leaders avoid feedback, how a vacuum of clarity creates anxiety and stories (“I’m going to get fired”), and why the corporate world often treats performance like a twice-a-year event instead of a daily practice.

From there, the conversation expands into culture: why people thrive in environments they actually want to be in, how boundaries and standards create freedom (not restriction), and why “we’re a family” can become a convenient excuse for low accountability.

They close by connecting it all to hiring and firing: when feedback is consistent and standards are clear, letting someone go becomes less emotional, less surprising, and far more humane—because the writing has been on the wall for everyone.

Key Takeaways:

• Most teams don’t have a feedback problem—they have a feedback absence. And people fill that silence with worst-case stories.
• If you want high performance, treat work like performance, every day. Not just during an annual “performance review.”
• Start feedback with permission. “Are you open to some feedback?” changes the emotional state and lowers defensiveness.
• Context makes feedback land. “Here’s what I saw and why it matters” beats “Here’s what you did wrong.”
• Make it objective where you can. Use the “camera test”: what would a recording show, facts over feelings.
• Praise isn’t optional, it’s capacity. If you only give corrective feedback, you empty the “cookie jar” and people stop being able to receive anything.
• Boundaries create freedom. People do better when they know the rules and can be autonomous inside them.
• Play is a performance tool. Build intentional connection time (especially remote) so meetings are sharper and teams feel human.
• The Rehire Test: If they took a 3-month sabbatical, would you enthusiastically rehire them? If not, you’re already late.

Resources Mentioned:

• The “camera test” (objective observation)
• The “cookie jar” model (capacity to receive feedback)
• Code of conduct / standards-setting with team involvement
• Marginal gains mindset (1% improvements)
• “Destination workplace” as an identity + experience
• The “Rehire after sabbatical” test (popularized in high-performance company thinking)

If this episode hit home, take 10 minutes today and audit your feedback culture:

• Are people clear on where they stand?
• Do they know what success looks like—this week, not just this year?
• Are you refilling the cookie jar as often as you’re taking from it?

Subscribe to The Founders Catalyst for more conversations that turn leadership fog into standards, clarity, and better performance.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

About the Hosts:
Steve Mellor and Lee Povey are seasoned high-performance coaches with decades of experience leading elite athletes, startup founders, and executive teams. As co-hosts of The Founders Catalyst, they dig into the real challenges of leadership, company culture, and performance, creating space for candid, reflective, and often uncomfortable conversations.

Episode Summary:
In this episode, Steve and Lee get real about one of the most overlooked and emotionally charged responsibilities of founders and leaders: hiring and firing. Why do so many leaders avoid tough conversations? What makes firing feel so personal, and why shouldn't it be?

Drawing from their years as elite coaches and founders themselves, they explore the often blurry boundaries between friendship and leadership, and how avoiding clarity in your hiring and firing practices can quietly sabotage your culture and company performance. This is a conversation about respect, candor, performance standards, and why you should never clean up the house before hiring someone to clean it.

Key Takeaways:

• Why “being liked” sabotages good hiring decisions
• The myth of the company “family”—and why thinking like a team wins
• What most leaders get wrong about performance reviews
• How to set expectations and communicate standards from day one
• Emotional traps in the hiring/firing cycle
• The case for trial periods, performance metrics, and candid conversations
• Real stories from Lee and Steve on letting go of co-founders and culture misfits
• How to know when it’s time to part ways—and do it with integrity
• Why most leaders keep poor performers 6–12 months too long

Resources Mentioned:

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy Model
• EO (Entrepreneur Organization) & EOA (Entrepreneur Accelerator)
• Daniel Kahneman’s hiring bias research

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

About the Hosts: Steve Mellor and Lee Povey are seasoned high-performance coaches who bring decades of experience from the worlds of elite sport and business leadership. Together, they co-host The Founders Catalyst, where they explore strategies to help leaders, entrepreneurs, and teams unlock their true potential. Their combined wisdom, humor, and honesty create a space where big ideas meet practical insights.

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Founders Catalyst, Steve and Lee dive deep into the real meaning of high-performance coaching—what it is, what it isn’t, and how it impacts leaders and organizations. They share personal stories, client success examples, and their own struggles with leadership, self-belief, and accepting praise.

Listeners will discover why focusing on behaviors over outcomes, reframing leadership as a privilege rather than a burden, and embracing long-term growth are key to unleashing true potential. This isn’t a sales pitch—it’s an honest conversation about how coaching transforms not just businesses, but human beings.

Key Topics & Themes

• What high-performance coaching really means
• Why focusing on process and behaviors matters more than outcomes
• The ripple effect of leadership on teams and organizations
• Common challenges leaders face (communication, feedback, self-belief)
• The privilege and responsibility of leadership
• Why coaching should be seen as a long-term investment
• Personal stories of growth, resistance, and breakthroughs

Resources Mentioned

• Simon Sinek’s Infinite vs. Finite Games 
• Ripple Effect Coaching 
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy model 

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

About the Hosts:

Lee Povey and Steve Mellor are leadership coaches and hosts of The Founders Catalyst, a podcast dedicated to helping founders, executives, and rising leaders navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth. With decades of combined experience in elite sports, executive coaching, and team development, Lee and Steve offer real-world insights, sharp coaching tools, and thought-provoking conversations for the modern leader.

About the Episode:

In this episode of The Founders Catalyst, Steve and Lee dive deep into what they believe is the most important leadership skill of all: self-awareness. They unpack why so many leaders think they’re self-aware (but aren’t), what self-awareness actually involves, and how to begin doing the real work.

The conversation spans everything from childhood programming and cultural influences to emotional intelligence, dyslexia, burnout, and building sustainable leadership habits. Expect powerful personal insights, practical frameworks, and a few laughs along the way.

If you're a founder or leader looking to improve your emotional intelligence, decision-making, and relationships with your team... this one’s for you.

Takeaways:

• Why self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership
• The emotional work of leadership: noticing vs. reacting
• How upbringing, trauma, and culture shape our responses
• Emotional intelligence (EQ) vs. intellectual intelligence (IQ)
• Why most people think they’re self-aware, and are wrong
• Emotions as data: understanding anger, sadness, fear, joy, interest, and disgust
• The importance of "noting" emotions in real time
• Building sustainable leadership practices: rest, boundaries, and balance
• Leading while tired, triggered, or overwhelmed and how to prepare for it
• Feedback loops, reflection, and what it really means to “do the work”

“You don’t become self-aware just by deciding to be. It’s a journey, a practice, one you get wrong, again and again, until slowly, you don’t.” – Steve Mellor

“Emotions are data. If we learn to listen, they tell us exactly what’s happening within us, and what we might need to change.” – Lee Povey

Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Daniel Kahneman's research on decision-making and self-assessment
• Brené Brown’s research on emotional language (83 emotions)
• The six core emotions model: Fear, Joy, Anger, Sadness, Interest, Disgust
• Lee Povey’s men’s group (mentioned during emotional awareness segment)
• The Founders Catalyst LinkedIn Community: Join here
• Contact the hosts directly for feedback or coaching inquiries

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

Lee Povey and Steve Mellor are leadership coaches and hosts of The Founders Catalyst, a podcast dedicated to helping founders, executives, and rising leaders navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth. With decades of combined experience in elite sports, executive coaching, and team development, Lee and Steve offer real-world insights, sharp coaching tools, and thought-provoking conversations for the modern leader.

📝 Episode Summary:

As Q2 wraps and the second half of the year begins, many leaders find themselves questioning: Are we still on track? In this timely and thought-provoking episode, Steve and Lee dive into why mid-year is the perfect moment to step back, reassess your goals, and ask the all-important question: Are these goals still relevant? They explore how to shift from reactive busyness to intentional leadership by focusing on what truly matters, your behaviors, your mindset, and how you use your time.

You’ll learn how to redefine success, eliminate the fluff, and make strategic adjustments that honor both your vision and your current reality. This isn't about doing more, it's about doing what actually moves the needle.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Why being "busy" doesn't equal being effective, and what to do about it
• The difference between goals and commitments, and why commitments drive results
• How to determine if a goal is still relevant mid-year (and what to change if it’s not)
• The “optimal vs. perfect” mindset shift that helps you make better decisions
• Why leadership without trust, of yourself and others, leads to stagnation
• How to involve your team in goal setting so they actually buy in
• A practical strategy for organizing your priorities using the “rocks, sand, and water” analogy
• What it means to lead from privilege, not pressure

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Traction by Gino Wickman (Rocks metaphor)
• Simon Sinek & Adam Grant podcast references (on creativity & meeting design)
• Join the Founder’s Catalyst LinkedIn Community
• Lee Povey's Leadership Coaching
• Steve Mellor's Executive Coaching

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

Lee Povey and Steve Mellor are leadership coaches and hosts of The Founders Catalyst, a podcast dedicated to helping founders, executives, and rising leaders navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth. With decades of combined experience in elite sports, executive coaching, and team development, Lee and Steve offer real-world insights, sharp coaching tools, and thought-provoking conversations for the modern leader.

📝 Episode Summary: In this insightful and candid conversation, co-hosts Steve Mellor and Lee Povey unpack the hidden struggles of being a high performer in leadership. Drawing on personal stories, from elite sports to startup boardrooms, they reveal how their own perfectionism, drive, and “abnormal” standards shaped both their successes and their blind spots. Together, they explore the emotional disconnect many leaders feel when their vision isn’t shared, their intensity isn’t understood, and their expectations aren’t met.

If you've ever felt alone at the top, frustrated that others “just don’t get it,” or caught between your future self and your current reality, this one’s for you.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Why high performers often create a warped sense of “normal” that others can’t relate to
• The emotional cost of resilience, from pushing through injury to avoiding support
• How leadership can feel incredibly lonely, even in successful, growing organizations
• The danger of measuring yourself against an idealized future version of you
• Why your team doesn’t “get it” yet, and how to help them catch the vision
• How to balance big-picture ambition with clear communication and compassion
• What to ask yourself when you feel misunderstood or disconnected as a leader

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

💬 Join the Founders Catalyst Community on LinkedIn

🌐 Lee Povey’s Coaching & Leadership Work

🌐 Steve Mellor's Executive Coaching 

If you found this episode relatable or valuable, share it with another leader or founder in your circle. Be sure to follow The Founder’s Catalyst on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if this hit home for you, leave us a quick review, it means the world and helps us reach more high-performers navigating the same challenges.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

Lee Povey and Steve Mellor are leadership coaches and hosts of The Founders Catalyst, a podcast dedicated to helping founders, executives, and rising leaders navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth. With decades of combined experience in elite sports, executive coaching, and team development, Lee and Steve offer real-world insights, sharp coaching tools, and thought-provoking conversations for the modern leader.

📝 Episode Summary:

In this milestone 20th episode of The Founders Catalyst, hosts Steve Mellor and Lee Povey dive deep into the power and necessity of emotional regulation for leaders. Building on themes from the previous episode about ego, this conversation explores how unregulated emotions can derail communication, relationships, and business outcomes, and how curiosity, awareness, and conscious choice can lead to more effective leadership.

Lee and Steve share personal stories, coaching insights, and practical tools that help leaders move from reactivity to responsibility. You’ll learn how our evolutionary psychology wires us to react, and how you can rewire those instinctual responses to lead with clarity, compassion, and confidence.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

•  Emotional regulation is a leadership superpower, it's not about suppressing emotion, but understanding and channeling it.
• The fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response is hardwired, but not destiny, you can reprogram your reaction.
• Understand your triggers: texts like “We need to talk” often prompt fear or assumption, but rarely mean what we expect.
• Replacing assumption with curiosity is critical for clear communication and relational trust.
• Leaders must recognize both internal (self-awareness) and external (others’ behavior) influences on emotional responses.
• Emotional regulation is best practiced in community, not in isolation, vulnerability builds trust.
• Coaching provides a powerful container for developing this regulation and improving team dynamics.

Resources & Mentions:

• Lee Povey Coaching
• Steve Mellor – Growth Ready Coaching
• Above and Below the Line model – The Conscious Leadership Group

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.

In this deeply personal and thought-provoking episode, Lee and Steve dive into the elusive and complex nature of ego... what it really is, how it forms, and why understanding it is essential for great leadership. 

They explore how ego shapes our perception of ourselves and others, its conscious vs. unconscious effects, and the journey from defensiveness to authenticity. With real-life stories, candid admissions, and practical insights, this episode unpacks how ego can either hinder or help leadership depending on how well we understand it.

Listeners will walk away with a framework for greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and authentic leadership, plus a few laughs along the way. 

Key Takeaways:

• The ego isn’t just arrogance, it's your self-identity, both conscious and unconscious.
• Leadership starts with self-awareness: know, understand, and then own who you are.
• How “the shadow” (unacknowledged traits) can shape how we lead and relate.
• The power of curiosity as a tool to diffuse ego and invite growth.
• Authenticity builds trust, trying too hard often does the opposite.
• Parallels between elite sports and leadership: the pursuit of self-improvement.
• Personal anecdotes on how unresolved ego issues can show up in coaching, communication, and conflict.
• “Leadership is an act of service”, how humility and vulnerability increase your influence.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Join Our LinkedIn Group!
Become a part of The Founders Catalyst, a free community for founders, start-up executives, and high achievers. Network, ask questions, and participate in our free monthly Zoom meetings. Connect with like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle. Join here.