Leadership, Research and Curiosity - Season 5: Episode # 95

Lauren Goldstein, long-time Go-to-Market Advisor and Co-Founder & Board Chair of Women in Revenue, set out to understand what's actually getting in the way of growth. After 53 conversations in 46 days with CEOs, investors, operators, and GTM leaders, the answers were surprisingly familiar: leadership, alignment, and a return to fundamentals.In this episode, Lauren joins Justin, Josh, and Sean to share what she's learning from her listening tour. They discuss why leadership becomes even more important as companies experiment with AI, why organizations are still surprisingly misaligned around their ICP, and how leaders can give teams room to experiment without creating disconnected pockets of activity.The conversation also explores an emerging cost of AI adoption that doesn't get enough attention: burnout. Lauren explains why asking employees to transform how they work while continuing to deliver at the same pace can become an organizational constraint in itself, and why leaders need to balance efficiency with the human side of change. They also dig into the enduring value of relationships, mentorship, proximity to customers, and building a network long before you need something from it.Chapters00:00 Introduction and episode overview02:00 Lauren's recent activities and 'tour de interesting'07:02 Key findings on business growth constraints08:31 Leadership challenges in AI and go-to-market11:51 Characteristics of effective leaders in tech15:01 The importance of ICP and fundamentals18:06 Building trust and proximity in sales21:47 Managing organizational drift and operational debt25:50 Supporting teams and preventing burnout30:03 Leadership practices for change management35:58 Women in Revenue and mentorship initiatives43:58 Connecting with Lauren and closing remarksReferences in the Show:https://www.forrester.com/blogs/ai-is-accelerating-the-great-gtm-reset-for-partner-ecosystems/ https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2026/06/05/the-all-or-nothing-trap-how-ai-fatigue-is-warping-executive-judgment/ Quote of the Show:“I was expecting to hear a lot of stumbling and starts and stops around AI, right? That was the obvious thing of how experimentation was either creating a lot of breakthroughs or experimentation was creating a lot of efficiencies. And there was definitely a little bit of that. But when people took a step back and really thought about it and provided the honest answer, it was not surprising: lack of leadership, right? Like that emerged as a really big one on a number of occasions.” - Lauren GoldsteinWays to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpM8myxsUinc5bfLIbjJz?si=0af576adfb8e49f8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cheat-code/id1692445190 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cb0b3afa-063f-4f3b-96be-b98214c74912 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CheatCodePodcast