GrowthReady Podcast with Steve Mellor

Latest Episodes:

GrowthReady Replay: Jesse Cole on Competing Through Limitations May 27, 2026

Show notes

This is a GrowthReady Replay, rewinding back to Fall 2020, when Steve Mellor sat down with Jesse Cole, founder of Fans First Entertainment and the owner of the Banana Ball Championship League, including the world-famous Savannah Bananas.

It’s a conversation about what real competitors do when the world gets smaller: they don’t complain about limitations… they lean into them.

Jesse shares the story behind building a baseball brand that sells out games, creates lifelong memories for fans, and turns entertainment into a serious competitive advantage, especially when pressure hits.

After a career-ending shoulder injury ended his playing dreams, Jesse pivoted into leadership and entrepreneurship, eventually helping build a fans first organization known for bold experimentation, unforgettable in-stadium moments, and a relentless commitment to creating joy.

Competing when resources are tight and stakes are high
Turning limitations into fuel (instead of excuses)
Experimenting fast, learning faster, and staying accountable to a public vision
Creating emotional connection as the real measure of success

Connect with Jesse / Savannah Bananas

Search Savannah Bananas on your favorite platform
Watch the short documentary: “The Banana Story”
Visit their website www.findyouryellowtux.com

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 320: You Have The Capacity To Handle Change w/ Ben Granger May 20, 2026

Show notes

What if the discomfort you’re trying to avoid is the very thing making you stronger?

Steve sits down with Ben Granger, Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics and author of A Leader Worth Following, to unpack what growth mindset really looks like in the real world: under pressure, inside messy organizations, and in moments where you don’t feel ready.

Ben shares how he grew up with a fixed mindset (“I’m just not good at that”), what neuroscience and practice actually prove about improvement, and why people who experience more change can end up psychologically better off than those who experience less.

They also go deep on leadership... why trust isn’t built on competence alone, why “benevolence” is the most overlooked ingredient, and how you can build a healthy team climate even inside a tough culture.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Ben’s definition of being GrowthReady: a mental orientation toward learning
Fixed mindset in childhood (and why it’s so common in athletes and kids)
The “internal bell curve”: how you can improve beyond your starting point
A surprising global finding: more change → better psychological outcomes
Why “knowing” isn’t the same as integrating (and how to make it your own)
Learning vs performance orientations (prove / avoid / learn)
How leaders can build trust: competence, integrity, and benevolence
Culture vs climate and how to build psychological safety from the inside out
Where to find Ben’s book (plus the playlist that goes with it)

Connect with Ben:

Website: benjamangranger.com (book + writing + podcast links + playlist)

#growthready #leadership #mindset #personalgrowth #resilience #highperformance #performanceunderpressure

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Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 319: Coaching Corner: There's No Hope... When There's Insistence May 13, 2026

Show notes

Most people don’t quit because they’re incapable.
They quit because they’re waiting for proof.

In this Coaches’ Corner, Steve uses Abraham Lincoln as a case study in resilience, someone who lost elections, failed in business, navigated depression, and still kept moving forward when there wasn’t much evidence things were “working.”

The core shift: hope sounds productive, but it can hide hesitation. Insistence is different. It’s the decision to keep going because it matters, whether it’s validated yet or not.

Steve also shares a personal moment from his own transition out of elite sport: how “waiting to feel ready” can quietly become comfort, and why insistence is often inconvenient, uncomfortable, and misunderstood… but necessary.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why hope can look productive while still keeping you stuck
The real difference between hoping and insisting
How setbacks test your “response system” at higher levels each time
What Lincoln’s life reveals about commitment without guarantees
Why waiting for clarity is often choosing convenience
A simple weekly challenge to turn hope into action

Pick one area where you’ve been hoping things improve... and replace hope with one insistence-based action this week.

Not perfect.

Not massive.

Just real.

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 318: From NBC to Head of Community: Kendall Breitman on Hunger, Capacity, and Reinventing Success May 06, 2026

Show notes

𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆. - Kendall Breitman
In this episode of the GrowthReady Podcast, Steve Mellor sits down with Kendall Breitman, former political journalist (NBC, Bloomberg) and now Head of Community at @Riversidefm , to unpack the real story behind career pivots, personal reinvention, and building community that actually feels human.
Kendall shares how she went from chasing a clear career trajectory to embracing a more open (and more honest) version of growth, one built on trust, adaptability, and the courage to choose what fulfills you now, not what you decided years ago.
In this episode:
▪️Hunger vs. capacity (and why both matter)
▪️Leaving a “made it” career behind
▪️Trusting yourself without needing certainty
▪️How community is built through real conversations
▪️Why overproduced brand content is fading
▪️Kendall’s next edge: influence, visibility, and starting a podcast
𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒍:
LinkedIn: Kendall Breitman
Facebook Group: Conversation Creators by Riverside

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 317: Your Voice Is Your Edge: Dr. Leslie Gordon on Confidence, Presence, and Speaking Up Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

What if the thing holding you back isn’t a lack of expertise, but the fact that your voice hasn’t caught up to what you know?

In this episode, Steve Mellor sits down with Dr. Leslie Gordon, a speech, voice, and accent expert who helps high-performing professionals speak with more confidence, presence, and impact. Leslie introduces the idea of the “growing edge,” a powerful replacement for the word “weakness,” and explains why real growth requires more than mindset. It requires action, repetition, awareness, and the willingness to step into unfamiliar territory.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever left a meeting thinking, “I should have said something,” or who knows they have something valuable to contribute but struggles to make their voice match their expertise.

Why “growing edge” is more useful than calling something a weakness
Why high performers struggle to speak up, even when they know their stuff
How self-evaluation can help growth or quietly block it
How to work with the inner critic using Leslie’s “name it to tame it” strategy
Why presence, breath, and body tension shape how your message lands
Why confidence is built through action, not simply something you either have or don’t have

Connect with Dr. Leslie Gordon:

Website: https://www.leslie.gordon.speech/lesliegordonspeech.com

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 316: Coaching Corner: Why Self‑Sufficiency Isn’t High Performance Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

There’s a moment in the Tour de France most people miss. Not the sprint finish. Not the podium. Not the yellow jersey.

It’s the mountain stage, where you realize the leader isn’t actually alone.

We use that image to challenge a belief a lot of high performers quietly live by: self-sufficiency equals strength. It might be the very thing that helped you win early stages of growth… and the same thing that now limits what’s next.

We explore why high performance isn’t just about endurance and capacity, it’s about exposure. Exposure to feedback, discomfort, new reflections, and the kind of community that forces you to practice who you’re becoming.

What you’ll hear in this episode

Why we confuse self-sufficiency with high performance
The hidden cost of carrying pressure in isolation
Why growth requires exposure, not just effort
What community gives you that a mirror can’t
A better question than “How much can I handle?”
The Tour de France lesson: nobody wins the mountain stages alone

00:00 Why the mountain stage matters

00:36 The leader is never really alone

01:18 The hidden cost of carrying pressure in isolation

02:22 When self-sufficiency starts limiting growth

03:25 Growth requires exposure, not just endurance

04:05 Why community matters

04:47 Choosing a room that stretches you

05:42 What community gives you that a mirror can’t

06:18 What pro cyclists have to unlearn

07:12 No one wins the mountain stages alone

08:03 A better question for high performers

08:42 You might win one stage alone

09:33 Final reflection and share the episode

09:51 Outro

If this episode hit, share it with one leader who’s been carrying too much alone. A simple send could be the support they didn’t know they needed.

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 315: Failure Is the Benchmark w/ Leanda Cave Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

A lot of high-performers know how to win, but far fewer know how to use failure well. And when life gets uncomfortable, the instinct is often to avoid it, rush past it, or pretend it didn’t mean anything.

My guest today, Leanda Cave, is a four-time world champion triathlete who’s lived through elite success, personal setbacks, major transition, and a powerful season of self-discovery beyond sport.

In this episode, you’ll hear how failure can become one of the greatest forces for growth, why awareness changes everything, and how to redefine high performance in a way that actually serves your life long term.

We talk about setbacks, discomfort, relationships, identity, longevity, purpose, and what it looks like to keep evolving when your next chapter asks something different from you.

Why being growth ready means being prepared to fail
How failure can become a gateway instead of a stopping point
The difference between winning the race and winning the journey
Why comfort can quietly block growth
Learning through relationships, patterns, and self-awareness
The role of awareness in transformation
Reframing high performance as longevity
Health as a long-term leadership strategy
Purpose, philanthropy, and life after elite sport
Building a meaningful next chapter beyond one identity or lane

Links and resources mentioned

Instagram: @leandacave
Instagram: @leandacavecoaching
Best Buddies
TEDx talk: Failure Is the Force That Shapes You
Leanda website: www.leandacave.com

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Support the show

Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 314: Who Are You When No One’s Watching? with Joe Smarro Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

What does it really mean to be Growth Ready?

In this episode, Steve Mellor sits down with Joe Smarro for a deeply honest conversation about identity, self-awareness, and the cost of living for everyone else. Joe shares why growth starts with curiosity, why so much of our identity is inherited rather than chosen, and why external validation keeps so many high-performers stuck. Together, they explore the tension between the person we present to the world and the person we sit with in private, and how closing that gap can transform the way we lead, live, and grow.

About the guest: Joe Smarro is a speaker, trainer, former Marine, and former police officer who now leads SolutionPoint+, where he and his team teach human behavior, de-escalation, wellness, resilience, and emotional intelligence.

Key takeaways:

What it means to be “Growth Ready”
Curiosity, self-awareness, and introspection
Identity vs. titles and external validation
The “representative self” vs. the private self
Why high-performers get stuck in fear and safety
The cost of denying yourself
Boundaries, selfishness, and self-worth
Therapy, healing, and emotional intelligence
The obituary exercise and legacy
Aligning your life with what matters most

Connect with Joe Smarro

Send us Fan Mail

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 313: Own the Room in Your Next High-Stakes Moment even If You Don’t Feel Ready w/ Samara Bay Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Steve sits down with Samara Bay to unpack what it really means to be “ready” when the stakes are high. Together, they explore the connection between body, mind, and communication—and why so many high-performers flatten their presence by trying to hide fear instead of working with it.

Samara explains how public speaking is really about power, permission, and presence. She shares why “readiness” is more of a body-based practice than a mental state, how love-based thinking can shift us out of fight-or-flight, and why the warm-up before any important conversation may be the real work.

Key Takeaways:

Why readiness is more physical than mental
The role of body awareness in communication
Public speaking as a reflection of power and self-trust
How fear creates a flattened version of us
Why naming what’s happening in the room builds trust
The shift from fear-based thinking to love-based communication
Social evaluative threat and the modern version of fight-or-flight
Why context matters in every communication moment
The importance of imagination, curiosity, and play in leadership
Why warm-ups and rituals matter before big moments
Missed opportunity as the hidden cost of poor communication

Links and Resources Mentioned

Permission Inc. — permissioninc.co
Permissionaries newsletter — available via Samara’s website
Permission to Speak by Samara Bay
Upcoming TEDx talk — Samara said it will be shared on her website once released

Send us Fan Mail

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/

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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Episode 312: Growth Is What You Learn From the Leap w/ Megan Torrance - Readiness, AI, and Leadership Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

About the guest: Megan Torrance is a workplace learning and development leader who helps organizations create better systems for growth, performance, and skill development. In this conversation, she brings together practical insight from her work in learning design, her perspective on AI as an augmentation tool, and her own lived experience as an athlete, coach-supported leader, and endurance hiker.

About the episode: In this episode, Steve sits down with Megan Torrance to unpack what it really means to be growth ready. Megan reframes growth as what we learn from a leap, not just the leap itself, and explains why readiness is less about feeling fully prepared and more about having the mindset, tools, support, and willingness to step into the next challenge anyway.

Megan shares how real growth happens when people are clear on the goal, supported with the right systems, and willing to reflect in the middle of discomfort.

Key topics and themes discussed

What “growth ready” really means
Why growth comes from learning through the leap
The difference between being a teacher and teaching
Why workplace learning should focus on performance, not completion
Reflection as a critical part of the learning loop
The role of AI in personalized learning and leadership development
Readiness, uncertainty, and the “gulp” before the next challenge
Building systems that make the next right action easier
Curiosity as a driver of long-term growth
Expanding capacity inside and outside of work
Lessons from ice hockey, coaching, and endurance hiking

Resources mentioned

Megan Torrance on LinkedIn
Torrance Learning — torrancelearning.com
AI Implementation Guide for L&D by Megan Torrance
Khan Academy
MagicSchool

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Connect with Steve Mellor

Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163

Connect with GrowthReady

Join the community and keep your growth journey going: