In Conversation: Guest Podcasts and Interviews
Leadership conversations from outside the CoachStation walls. Steve as a guest, sharing honest thinking on leadership, development, and what it really takes to grow as a leader and as a person.
Good leadership conversations are rare.
Most stay on the surface. These ones do not.
With more than 16 years of experience working with leaders across industries, Steve Riddle has developed a reputation for saying the things most people know but few say out loud. These guest appearances bring that perspective into broader conversations, covering the real mechanics of leadership development, the gap between intent and behaviour, and what it actually takes to build genuine capability in the people and organisations you are responsible for.
Similar challenges, different context. Always a solution.
Nobody Plans to Become a Leader. What Happens When You Fall Into It?
Most leaders were never taught how to lead. They were promoted because they were good at their job, and then everything changed. In this conversation with Coach Jay Izso on A New Direction, Steve unpacks why so many capable people find themselves in leadership roles without the preparation to match, how to close the gap between intent and capability, and what it genuinely takes to lead with clarity and purpose from day one.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- Why talented people are thrust into leadership roles without adequate preparation
- The self-doubt, impostor thinking and influence challenges that follow
- How coaching transforms leadership capability and confidence
- What it really takes to lead with clarity, accountability and purpose
- The story behind Falling Into Leadership and what it offers new and emerging leaders
Also Available On
The Promotion Trap: Why Your Technical Expertise Is Holding You Back
Were you leading the way you were rewarded before your last promotion? In this Part 2 conversation with Coach Jay Izso on A New Direction, Steve returns for a deeper dive into Falling Into Leadership, unpacking what happens when a brilliant technical expert is promoted into a people leadership role and forgets to upgrade their mindset. Steve and Jay get honest about the unspoken hurdles of modern leadership, from the anxiety of endlessly rehearsing a difficult conversation instead of having it, to the quiet loneliness that can come with seniority. It is a conversation about shifting from surface-level exchanges to real communication, and from short-term output to the kind of legacy that is actually worth leaving.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- The promotion trap: why technical expertise can hold back a new people leader
- What unravels when task-oriented skills replace a real shift in mindset
- Breaking the cycle of rehearsing a difficult conversation instead of having it
- Moving from surface-level exchanges to deep, intentional communication
- Speaking less, removing toxic assumptions, and asking sharper questions
- Why leadership can feel profoundly lonely, and the resilience it demands
- Turning one-to-ones from task checklists into engines for growth
- Redefining legacy as the difference you leave, not just the output you produce
Also Available On
Top Five Tips for Closing the Gap Between Leadership Intent and Impact
Audio Episode · 20 min
"Real accountability is not something you impose on people. It's a culture that they choose." In this episode of the Business Excellence TOP 5 Series, hosts Rael Bricker and Lindsay Adams OAM sit down with Steve to unpack his top five tips for closing the gap between what leaders intend and what actually happens on their teams. Drawing on 16 years of coaching experience, Steve moves from the fear that keeps leaders from setting clear expectations, through to the generational differences shaping how feedback lands today, and why self-awareness remains the one tool that ties it all together.
Top Five Tips Covered in This Episode
- Telling people the what without owning the how
- Accountability is chosen, not imposed
- The intent-impact gap
- Reflection only has value if it changes behaviour
- Self-awareness as the core leadership tool
Also Available On
The Accountability Blueprint Every Leader Needs
Most leaders were never trained to lead. They were promoted because they were good at something else, and then the real work began. In this conversation with Gurmeet Judge on the Business Leadership Podcast, Steve explores what it actually takes to build a culture of accountability without sacrificing the relationships that make teams function. Drawing on 16 years of coaching experience, Steve shares practical tools and honest stories about fear, decision-making, performance measurement, and the difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- Why fear is one of the most underestimated barriers to effective leadership
- What accountability really looks like when it is paired with genuine care for people
- The cost of delayed decisions and how leaders can reclaim clarity and context
- Aligning team goals with organisational vision, without losing momentum
- Measuring performance effectively and moving from information overload to action
- The story behind Falling Into Leadership and why accidental leaders deserve better preparation
Also Available On
Steve has also Also Appeared On
KAJ Masterclass Live with KAJ Sharma — Why Most Leaders Fall In, And How to Grow Once You're There.
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